Baby Fun!

We have sure enjoyed baby Emmy the past few weeks.  Hard to believe that she is already 4 weeks old!  I have to admit, the long nights and fussiness are challenging, but these people only stay tiny for a short time, so we are enjoying it while it lasts!

This is Emmy's first bath... not so much a favorite for her.

Here she is all dressed up for church.  The beautiful quilt in the background was given to me on Sunday by a sweet woman in our ward.  I can't imagine how much time it took!  It really has been amazing to feel so much love and support from so many people.  One day last week, I was really struggling and prayed for help.  Within one hour, a friend called offering to bring me dinner that night.  It was a miracle.

Sunflowers!

On mother's day, Ruth brought home a packet of sunflower seeds from nursery.  The kids decided to plant them and 3 months later, we finally have flowers!  

Happy Birthday David

David turned 8!  He is sooo happy to reach this milestone and is eagerly anticipating cubscouts and his baptism.  We are so proud of our David.  He is a great helper and a happy-go-lucky kid.  Along with his scout uniform, we gave him a headlight to use in bed at night for reading.  The first night he used it, James came out of the room to say, "mom!  It's a spooky night!"  The glow from the lamp must've been a little scary for him.

Hamburgers and chocolate cake were the requested birthday menu.

Ruth turns 3!

Hard to believe that my baby Ruth is no longer a baby.  She seems HUGE compared to little Emmy.  For her birthday we invited family to a nearby park and celebrated with pizza and cupcakes.  It was a big hit!

We decided to amp up her selection of dress ups for her gift (since her only choices have been mostly starwars and superman).  She was very happy!

Here are the cousins that joined us for the celebration.

I am happy to report that we are now 10 days out from one of life's most difficult, but marvelous experiences: the birth of a baby.  I had forgotten how much I love newborn babies: their smell, sounds, and snuggles are so enjoyable.  I especially love rocking in a cozy chair with a baby angel on my shoulder- definitely a piece of heaven on earth.

Ruthie is enjoying her sister, always kissing and requesting to hold the baby.  It has helped to have grandma here to give her the attention she would otherwise be missing out on.  I thought that having a real baby around the house would cause Ruth to be even more into her baby dolls... quite the opposite... who wants a plastic baby when there's a real one around!

Mom has been a LIFE SAVER!  I think that I would have given up in despair had she not been around this past week.  She's cooked, taken the kids for outings, and made sure that I have had lots of quiet time to rest.  Thanks mom!

Mom even made sure Joseph had a birthday cake the day we got home from the hospital.  Did I mention that we also celebrated our 10 year anniversary the day after Emmy was born?  Joseph brought in Sushi and chocolate- definitely an anniversary I will never forget.

The boys got to do soccer camp this past week.  My sweet friend drove them to and from each day and then topped off Friday with an outing to chick fil a!  They have definitely had a good week!

Funny how life keeps going.  Here's James at his first attempt with the lawn mower.

Baby doll today- 10 days old.  So sweet.

summertime

James has been waiting for years to fit into David's old suit coat.  It finally fits!  Like father, like son...

Another coming of age for James: soccer.  Sometimes I think that the kids get more excited about the gear than the game.

Our summer has composed mostly of waiting for baby... I am so ready to get off the sidelines.  The kids are just as excited.  Joseph has been seriously nesting, partly because grandma is coming to town and partly because baby will arrive soon.  James has been keeping count for the past two weeks.  We are down to two days until my due date/ induction day!  Hurray!

Life is a Highway

I feel so blessed to be able to stay in touch with dance, even if it is just a couple of hours a week of dance teaching.  This year's theme was lots of fun.  My tappers danced to "Low Rider"; the yellow costumes reminded me of a taxi cab.  My modern dancers danced to a song called "Traffic", which featured a lead dancer and trio.  I was happy with the results and hope that they enjoyed it.  Next year I am only teaching one modern class.  After having a 5 year run with most of my tap students, it will be really hard to let them go!  Ruthie will be signed up for a preschool class, however, so that should be fun!