enjoying summer

Last weekend was full of adventures, such as:

wheelbarrow rides

a good old-fashioned weenie roast

a big wind storm, which Marnie was NOT a fan of

water fights


watching water fights
by the way, we had just gotten back from a 12 mile bike ride and Kaitlynn still looks this good! There was no way I'd let anyone within 40 feet of me with a camera after that...

fishing
(which is best done while wearing a lucky hat- the uglier the better...)


watching people fish, while wearing a fishy dress

watching a mama duck and her 7 little ducklings

trying (desperately) to catch a baby duck


and (quite possibly my favorite picture of the weekend) uh... enjoying nature.

he wanted to look like a "surfer-man"

snacktime

Britt just had to see if his toes would reach too :)

Half-a birthday to you

The main drawback to having a December birthday is (obviously) its proximity to Christmas. Since Britt's birthday is a week before Christmas, we usually try to do some kind of celebration in June, for his half-birthday. This year I decided to take it a bit further... I made him half a cake, he got to blow out three and a half candles, he wore half of a birthday hat, and he got half of a present. (You can probably see his present on his left hand in the picture. It was a baseball glove without a ball- haha...)



On another note, happy birthday today to Ellee! I remember three years ago, yesterday, being so excited about Brooke being in labor because if she had Ellee on the 17th then she and Britt would be exactly 6 months apart. Ellee had other plans though, and waited until 4-something the next morning to be born. I guess 6 months and 1 day is alright. :)

A lot of catching up to do...

Here's a start:

Last weekend Justin and I took the kids to their first Major League Baseball game. To make it even better, our team won and since it was a Friday, there were also fireworks after the game.


You just can't enjoy a baseball game without a hotdog.


Britt was excited about the fireworks...

and a little nervous :)


We decided to take the Light Rail there, which worked out great because after three hours in the car seats, the kids were less than thrilled about being in them any longer. I wanted to take a picture of Britt's super-happy face on the train, but I'm starting to realize that I'm turning into the mom who takes pictures of every tiny thing... so I just enjoyed looking at his smiling face instead. :) Another fun thing about the Light Rail was that on the way back to Mesa (where we parked) our train car was full of ASU students who kept randomly breaking out in song. I guess you just had to be there to get the full effect, but it sure stuck with Britt, because yesterday (out of nowhere) he started belting out "Don't stop believing" (you know, the Journey song...) So that's been fun. :)

Britt's favorite thing about traveling is staying at a hotel, and here's why...


Marnie's a fan too.


Yesterday was Marnie's 4-month check-up. She's up to 15.5 pounds now! So her height is in the 95th percentile and her weight is in the 90th. Our delicate little flower... :)

She's been rolling from her back to her belly for a month now, and just last week she mastered rolling from belly to back, so she's a rolling machine! She's also started pulling her legs under her and trying to scoot around on her tummy. She's sure growing up fast.

Four months ago today...

She's changing so fast.

{more info after her 4 month check-up next week}

a little froggy...

A little back-story first:
My younger brother Brett has always had a special relationship with animals and all kinds of small creatures, meaning that he's never been the least bit afraid of them and they love him! He can catch ANYTHING and for the few years we shared a room, our "roommates" ranged from geckos to tree frogs, snakes, tarantulas... anything he caught and convinced my mom we needed to keep for a while. I'm sure it's this exposure to "critters" that toughened me up and made me like them too. Britt always loves meeting the "friends" that Uncle Brett shares with him, and this time he was in for a BIG surprise...

and (naturally) the memory card ran out of space at the exact moment that the beast jumped out and landed right next to Britt's foot, causing him to squeal like a little girl. I guess we just need to break down and get another memory card...




Meanwhile, Marnie's been getting into a mess of her own. Rice cereal! I wasn't going to make a big deal out of it and post pictures, but she's just too cute! I think I average about 5 pictures for each time I've fed her (hmm, no wonder our memory card is full...)
I let her play with the spoon before the first feeding and I guess she was pretty disappointed about it not having anything edible on it because she flipped me off!



I forgot what it's like to give a baby 3 baths a day.

A happy baby makes a happy mama

I was attempting to use the "booger sucker" (as Britt has so accurately nicknamed it) after Marnie's bath a few nights ago, and apparently it was hilarious...

I just wish we hadn't run out of space on our memory card while she was mid-giggle.

Autumn in May

Last week Marnie had a fabulous time playing with her cousin Autumn. Autumn was born about 3 months before Marnie and although they're technically second cousins, they still have a ball together. Marnie's never been so thrilled to have someone else play with her toes. :) I'm really looking forward to watching these girlies become great friends throughout the years.

Not much size difference, huh? :) What can I say?..Marnie's a tank!


yeah, two outfits... you know how it is with babies- puke, poop, drool, etc. She sure keeps my laundry basket full.