Playtime at Nana's

School has officially started, but my heart is still in summer. I'm super behind on posts. So much has happened, including my husband's birthday, but I'm going to keep going in chronological order until I finally catch up. As I've mentioned in the past, the first couple of weeks are completely exhausting, so this will be short and sweet. These photos are from Glenda and Daniel's house, taken back in June. We had a lot of fun Sunday evening playtimes over there. They got a kitten and Liv was totally enamored by it. Ingrid was excited at first, but then she was ready to play with all her toys and didn't have too much to do with it. Cole carried it around and loved on it the whole time. Gannon was in the same boat as Ing.

Nine months old!

Dear Liv Riley,

I am astonished that you are nine months old today. How have you been in the world as long as you were in mommy's belly? You are growing up so quickly. And your personality is coming out more and more. You are strong in every sense of the word. You are physically strong: crawling as fast as lightening, pulling up on everything in sight, grabbing and picking up heavy toys, and climbing on anything. You are strong-willed: you know what you want and go after it! If Ingrid has a toy you want, nothing is stopping your from getting it from her! Usually she gives it to you so you don't climb on top of her. It's quite a funny scene. You never want to sit still long enough to get your diaper or clothes changed and you let the world know you are unhappy! You have the strongest set of lungs this side of the Mississippi! You love to clap and wave. You have the cutest voice and I love hearing the new things you are trying to say! You can clearly say dada, mama, baba (bottle), and uh-oh! We can hear you trying to say a lot more words and I look forward to listening to more over the coming months. Everytime you drop something, you say Uh-oh! and it's so precious. I don't ever tire of it. Even when you purposefully drop your cup or Cheerios over and over. :) You are still eating like a champ, but you are definitely want to have something to feed yourself while Mommy is giving you baby food. You snack on puffs, melts, and Cheerios. You will eat almost any kind of fruit, vegetable, or meat baby food. You still have your same two bottom teeth. I just knew you would get a couple more in this past month since you gums have been so swollen, but no luck. You love to play with all your toys, and you move quickly from item to item. I haven't had a whole lot of luck getting you interested in listening to many books yet. You will sit in my lap and listen to one whole book a day usually. You're too busy and on the move. You go strong all day long. You're still taking two naps a day, but they're not usually very lengthy unless you're being held. Oh Livy poodle, your sleep habits have not improved since last updated. I think they've actually gotten worse! But I'm still trying and I will keep trying until we get it right! I have cherished the snuggles I've gotten to have with you this summer more than anything. You love to snuggle and cuddle mama when you are sleepy. I love this time with all my heart. Your cheek fits perfectly next to mine and you hum in my ear as I sing "Jesus Loves Me." I love seeing your sweet face relax as you peacefully fall asleep. I love you my precious baby.

Love,
Mommy Peacefully sleeping (with mommy) One of your "strong-willed" moments, wanting your sisters blanket I'll end on another sweet sleeping shot

Summer Story Time

One of the things I'll miss most when I go back to school (there's a million) is going to the library with Ingrid. She signed up for the Summer Reading Program and pledged to read 5 books a day/35 books a week. We read so much everyday that this was no problem and she turned her sticker sheet in each week with pride. At the end of the program they had a pool party for all the kids who completed their goals for the whole summer! She had a blast. And so did I. We would meet Derek for lunch after library and it was such a highlight each week. The summer session was geared for 3-8 year olds so I was a little worried about how she would do with the bigger kids. But she got her mat out and sat on her spot on the carpet each week with no problem. She LOVES making crafts. And going out to eat, of course! Towards the end of the summer Miss Sandy starting giving "smelly tattoos" which were really just drawings with scented washable markers. Ingrid loved them. Her first trip to the city pool definitely lived up to her expectations.

Maelea Turns Two!!

Maelea and Ingrid's birthdays are so close together! It's neat having girls the exact same age, but makes it hard to plan parties! We've already decided we're having a joint party for them next year!! Maelea had her party at her new house in Arkansas. It was outdoors and the girls had a blast in the pool. The loved jumping up high and landing on their buns making a big splash! While the big girls swam, Liv was loving on everyone. The ice cream cake was a big success. Maelea loved all her gifts. Especially her fancy heels. The biggest present was saved for last. Maelea rode all around the yard on her Tow-Mater truck. She is such a big girl! We're so happy to get to spend more time with the Hatches now that they're back!! Happy Birthday Maelea!

Sister Snaps

The stomach bug has hit this house in a rough way. I shudder remembering the last 36 hours. I woke up around 4:30 Friday morning feeling yucky. I pushed through all our morning routines but around 8:30 I just couldn't do it anymore. Derek shipped the girls off to his mom's house and collapsed on the bathroom floor, puking my guts up. This is the first time I've really thrown up since 1996. And I did it over and over again. Around 30 times total. It was awful. Then my poor little Ingy got it, then Derek got it too. Neither of them had it quite as bad as me, thankfully. The girls are back and I'm feeling better. Still very weak from lack of food (yuck) but better nonetheless. I'm so thankful for my mom (who has been deathly sick herself) for bringing me a Sonic drink and a Neighbor's Mill muffin so I could have a teeny bit of energy to make it through the night! I have a bunch of random pics I'm dumping on the blog today. Cute ones that need to go somewhere.

This was taken at the very start of summer, back in May.  Can you believe how much her hair has grown???  We've played lots and lots of stickers this summer.

Sometimes they wake up from nap at the same time! "Feeding herself" lol I adore these dresses Mom bought the girls! Besties! She's always too nosy to drink her bottle! This game lasted for about a week...Now Liv won't sit there and let Ingrid pile toys on her! haha. We've tried to squeeze several crafts in this summer too. As you can see, we feed Liv tons of puffs to make it through. I love this precious vintage sailor dress. Too sweet. And she's done.