The Beginnings of Summer

We have had a busy and fun few weeks soaking up the Summer sun. We started Memorial Day weekend with the Jacksons down at Riverside with a fun swim and lunch by the pool. Livy loved getting back in the water and swimming and jumping into the pool like every 3 year old should. It was Penny's first time in a pool, and it took her a minute to get used to it, but began to like it more and more. 

The next weekend we spent at the Splash Pad, and relaxing under a nice shaded tree. It was such a fun afternoon just playing around with our own little family. 

Livy has loved coming to Scouts with us. Ryan just got called to be a counselor in the Elders Quorum, but until they can find someone else to do the calling with me, he will still help for a few months. At our last Pack Meeting we did s'mores, and Livy was loving it! She stood next to me watching very intently to make sure the marshmallow didn't turn black and crunchy. I was very proud of my perfectly browned marshmallow. They had chocolate covered graham crackers and turned out so good! We are hoping to put a fire pit in our backyard some time soon!

 

The Jackson's got a new boat a few months ago, so we were so anxious to take it out for the first time last week! We had a little bit of trouble getting it started, because the battery had died, but it was so nice to be out on the water again. We are looking forward to a fun summer, with lots of boat time, and a trip to Bear Lake in a few weeks!

We have loved having the trampoline in our back yard. It's a fun excuse to get out there and play with these cute little girls of mine. We don't usually do a lot of jumping, mostly playing 'duck, duck goose', or chasing each other, or rolling around, or doing "tricks", but I'm so grateful we have to to make so many memories. 

These girls are so lucky to have such a fun grandpa to play with them and love them. I love how Penny is sitting there looking on, and how Grandpa is in his dress clothes. I love it all. 

We have a had a few good park days with our friends the Poulsens and Allreds. We love having picnics, and letting all of our littles run around and play together. 

Livy is obsessed with wearing skirts every day. So I was able to find a simple skirt pattern, and made her 3 in one morning, and they turned out so cute. I love this girly girl of mine. She even helped pick out the fabric!

Just when I think I can't handle this needy little pup any longer I see how much the girls love playing with him. He may be a bit needy and annoying a lot of the time, but it's so fun to see these girls so happy. 

Enjoying the phase before she started to crawl. She just sat in her room with a bucket of toys for over 30 minutes while I got ready. I love this little baby. 

Great Grandpa Farnsworth

My parents got home from their trip to Europe to find my wonderful grandpa sick with pneumonia. He just couldn't quite get stronger and recover. I was lucky enough to go visit him the day before he passed away. I cherish those few minutes I had with him, to talk with him, to hold his hand and know that is was all going to be alright. I know that he is in a much happier place with his sweetheart, and he is a strong and faithful servant of the Lord that is now fervently helping with the work on the other side. I am so grateful for the last few years we had to regularly have dinner with him, and Olivia especially got to see him regularly and develop a sweet relationship with him. He was such a wonderful and obedient man that will be greatly missed. Love you Grandpa!

Penny 9 Months

9 months. Probably the sweetest age ever. She is the sweetest, most easy-going, and happiest baby ever. She is a great sleeper (still taking 3 naps most days), sleeps great at night, and eats like a champ! She is often out-eating Olivia. She'll eat a bowl of pureed veggies, then fruit or yogurt, and some bread or cheerios. The doctor said her iron is low, so she's started eating some more meat, and even with no teeth she manages just fine! She loves to take baths. She loves to play with Livy and laugh at her, and her eyes are always following her around the room. 

Her 9 month stats are:

Height - 28.75" in the 87% Percentile

Weight - 18.5 lbs. in the 55% Percentile

She's pretty tall and skinny, but not quite as skinny as little baby cousin Weston that we were finally able to meet!!! He's the sweetest little happiest thing. So grateful for cousins close in age for these girls!

This girl. She is a great napper too. Almost too great. If she misses her nap, she will let you know it!! She gets so extremely fussy, and the more tired she is the louder she gets. I love watching her sleep, especially when her face is this cute. 

I just can't resist this bath time baby. She loves to lay in the bath, hold a toy and just kick. It is often her sweetest time of day, she is so excited to get all cleaned up and ready for bed. 

 

Oh Baby Pen, Penners, Penster... She still gets stuck on her tummy when she rolls over. It has been the culprit of many naps and bed times cut short. For some reason she just can't get back. She kills me. Soon enough. 

This baby loves to eat. It's been fun exploring new tastes with her. This was her first watermelon of the summer. It was hard for her to chew, so she just sat and sucked on it for awhile. I love that babe. 

The bottom-less pit. I fill her tray with food, but she just eats and eats until it's all gone. I am so grateful for all of the joy she brings into our home and our family. 

SUMMER

We couldn't be more thrilled that summer is finally here! Livy had been asking for cotton candy for months, and we had no idea where she had had cotton candy before. Then finally I asked her where we ate it, and she said it was by the fabric store by our old house....it was the shaved ice stand!! I was so relieved we finally were able to figure it out, we were even more thrilled to see that the shaved ice stands are all open! So we were finally able to get Livy her cotton candy on the nice and hot day. 

Olivia also had her last day of preschool! This was a tough year for her because she started with Ms. Brooke in American Fork, then we moved to Provo and still drove her out there. Then Ms. Brooke moved, and so did we, so we found another preschool here in Lehi. Her new teacher left after a few months, and Livy had her third teacher of the year. Needless to say we are excited for a new and more organized preschool in the Fall. 

On the last day of preschool, we went to the park and had a picnic. I was so excited to see these baby swings, and let Penny experience her very first time in a swing! I think she liked it. 

We are looking forward to days of running around in swim suits, or in the babies case their underwear...

Going to the duck pond...

And lots and lots of mowing this beautiful yard. 

And hopefully our very own fire pit coming in the next few weeks!

Cinco De Mayo

We found an opportunity to have a fun party with our new neighbors, and celebrated Cinco de Mayo! We had delicious carne asada tacos with chips and salsa, and tres leches. Then the kids got to a pinata, they absolutely loved it!! Livy was talking all day about the "Piesta", being a little confused about the Pinata and Fiesta that we were having. It was a such a blast. 

Ms. Erika's Dance Studio

It was an amazing few months. Probably the best months of Olivia's life. She started taking dance lessons! It was an absolute dream for her. She loved her dance class, and looked forward to it for days and days. She never wanted to leave. She had her dance recital in April, and it was the most proud moment for me, to see my sweet little girl on stage with a huge smile on her face dancing her little heart out. I just about died when we got her dance pictures back. They depict her perfectly. She is just full of personality and brings so much joy to a room. I can't wait for many more years of watching this little dancer!

This 3 year old

I just don't know what to do with this girl. She is crazy, funny, smart, nuts-o, kind, caring and silly all at once. I have been trying to write down some things that she says because they just make me laugh. I am just trying to embrace this silly young age and not get to frustrated with everything else that comes with it. 

 

Livy will often say "Yester-Night" and "Last-Day". I mean we say "yesterday" and "last night", so it makes perfect sense to me! She also has a hard time with the "th" sound. So when she is counting she often skips 13, because "firteen" and "fourteen" sound an awful lot the same. She has also loved coming to scouts with us, she will look forward to it all week, and call the boys "Our Scouts". She loves to take them treats and flirt with them all. 

She has become a lot more helpful around the house, and has even started making her bed when I ask her to. It makes me so happy to see her bed "made", some time with 15 stuffed animals. She loves to play with Penny, and will often ask to help feed her, or get her food or toys. She also loves to run into her room when she is waking up from a nap and climb in the crib with her and play for a few minutes. 

They've even taken a few baths together. Not always, because Penny gets slippery buns and can't sit up the whole time, and Livy likes to stretch out her legs and take up all the room. But this was the first bath they ever took together, and boy did Penny get excited to see someone in there to play with her!

Livy is very good at coloring, doing stickers and playing with play dough. One day I asked her if she could put the play dough away and in the fridge. I was happy to come into the kitchen and see that she had indeed cleaned up the play dough. I then had to laugh pretty hysterically when I opened the fridge a few hours later to see she had indeed put the play dough in the fridge, but just not in the bag. It just made me happy that she was trying so hard just to help out. 

This girl already gets crushes on boys. She gets all red and when I tease her she'll say, "MOM! Stop!". It makes me so excited for the years ahead. We have a new family in the ward, the Poulsen's, that we've become good friends with. Livy loves to hang out with Hank. He has two older sisters, so he knows how to play with girls and knows to play a little more gently with them. They are the cutest. I just love this little girl and can't get enough of her... most of the time. 

The last few weeks, we'll get Livy ready for bed, read her some books, sing her some songs, and she's almost asleep, and then she'll say "Mom...." and these are some of the questions that follow:

What's a man village?  (jungle book)

Are gorilla's good animals?

What's a goblin?

How long will it take to be tall like Kate and Meg? (the Poulsen girls)

Is a cheetah going to come into our house? (from Tarzan)