slice of life: september

the first few pictures are actually the end of august, but i'm throwing them in anyway!

logan went with dave and pappy to the last day of the usa pro challenge in downtown denver. he even got to participate in a little strider bike race. 

having fun on nana and papa's waterslide! 

a beautiful hike on labor day. logan did great and gets better every time we go. emma also thought hiking was great! i would too if someone carried me and fed me water and snacks!

their first time helping feed connor. they were so excited and did such a great job! they love to help with him. 

emma is always full of loves for connor. this picture of her snuggling him while feeding him is so fitting. 

snuggling with pappy

i included this because a long time ago dave started arranging their cut pieces of quesadilla into the shape of the first letter of their name. ever since then, logan demands his quesadilla be in the shape of an L!

this is the bead that we found stuck up emma's nose. yes, in her nose. i was just laying her down to change her diaper and happened to notice something in her nose. it was a bead from a bracelet she had broken in her bed a couple of days earlier. luckily dave had a steady hand and was able to extract the bead. talk about real life application of the game operation!

gerri, my visiting teacher and the kids adopted church grandma, gave the kids these banks they could paint. they loved the art project.

getting connor up in the morning. it's a whole family affair!

do you think he was nervous about being in a small crib with his 2 crazy siblings?! the picture on the left below seems to suggest the answer is yes!

 

brothers! 

(plus a picture of some sweet feathered looking hair on logan. i promise we don't actually feather it!)

even cute when he's crying!

the kids were painting (watercolors) and decided to do a little body paint (doesn't emma look like she got into a fight?!)! logan came and told me he was a lamanite (or he could be an amlicite)!

a day with morgy!

everyday i go something called "mommy loves" with the kids (which ends with a little horsey ride on my lap). emma is doing mommy loves to logan here (specifically the horsey ride part).

logan was doing a "bike race" out back and set up quite the comfy spot for emma to watch the race. 

 

probably my favorite picture of connor. i love this boy so much!

i had gotten out the markers for the kids to color while dave and i were working on something on the computer in another room. really leaving the kids unattended with markers wasn't my smartest move. they did this just to remind me of that fact! by the way, while markers are washable, they still don't wash off bodies all that easily or completely. the kids sported paler versions of their body art for days afterward (until after enough baths it completely washed away).

our first time visiting cabelas

i'm loving my special time with emma while logan is at preschool 

taking their babies for a walk. just in case you're worried, dave didn't forget his baby. it's just in the bassinet beneath that empty seat. and please note emma's dolly is covered up by her lovie. she's such a good little mama (and a safe one too)!

whenever connor is laying on the floor, it's only a matter of time before logan and emma join him. 

sleepyheads

i love sneaking in to my kids rooms and watching them sleep. usually before i head to bed i check on them and make sure they are ok and cover them up with the blankets they've inevitably kicked off. there is something about this nightly experience that feels so motherly to me. i remember reading once that no matter how frustrated and exasperated you can get with your kids during the day, there is something about watching them sleep that melts all of that frustration away. and it's true! after many a frustrating day, watching them sleep peacefully reminds me of their sweetness and helps me forget the whining and disobedience. and lately i can't help but snap a picture of the sweetness...or the funny ways they sleep! 

logan and emma share a room now, but it hasn't been very conducive to sleep (they have way too much fun). so after too many days in a row of them staying awake during nap time and keeping each other awake for hours after we put them to bed (and a lot of yelling from me. that didn't do one bit of good, by the way), they now nap in different rooms and we put logan down at night in our bed and move him back to his bed when we go to sleep. it's not the ideal, but the kids sleep and i don't have to yell. win win!

poor sweaty girl. no ac during the summer is brutal.

i love that little hand he wiggled out

 sleeping on the huge bean bag chair at the taylor's in kansas. surrounded by books, toys and stuffed "friends." a typical scene. 

 moving logan back into his bed. it's sweet to be able to snuggle him while he's sleeping. he is so big now.

the kids got a kick out of seeing pictures of them sleeping!

connor: months 1 & 2

i am finally getting around to connor's monthly update post. i'd like to say that i'm running so behind posting because i now have 3 kids, but i think that was the case for the first 2 kids too! these 1 month pictures were actually taken when he was 7 weeks old and since he was practically 2 months, this is going to be his 1 & 2 month post. so it goes! 

• at one month he was just starting to coo and now at 2 months he coos and "talks" to us a lot. we just love it!
• he makes the sweetest little noises, especially when he eats. i had forgotten about the sweet little newborn sounds and they bring me such joy. 
• he seemed to turn from a "newborn" into a "baby" too fast. he is a fantastic eater and is chunking up quite nicely. maybe that's why he lost that newborn look so fast.

• he goes down to sleep well at night (around the same time as the other kids, 7:30 or so) and goes back to sleep easily after nursing in the middle of the night.
• we're working on sleep training, so hopefully those middle of the night feedings will come to an end soon :)
• he used to love being swaddled tight with his arms in, but now he prefers to have his arms out

• he is so loved by his siblings! sometimes maybe a little too much ;) emma smothers him with kisses and loves constantly and we have to remind her a lot to give him some space. she even passed on her cough and runny nose to him. what a sister! of course we're so happy the kids love him so much!  
• he has the longest eyelashes that curl. i am jealous.

                   this picture below is him on his 1 month birthday! 

• he's most alert in the afternoon. although the constant sleepiness is starting to wear off and he is more and more alert these days.
• he has a really strong neck and rocks tummy time (when i remember to have him do it)
• he is starting to move his arms and kick his legs a lot more

• he smiles! these baby smiles are the best and we'll do just about anything to try and get a smile out of him (like a lot of baby talk)! but honestly, wouldn't you do anything to see this darling smile?!

i call connor my angel baby. he is the most content, happy baby. rarely does he cry, and if he does you can figure it is either because he is hungry or needs to burp/has gas. really, that's about it. we are so happy he is ours!

2 (and a half) month stats:

13 pounds 1.5 ounces (50th percentile)

24 1/4 inches (75th percentile)

head: 40.5 cm(50th percentile)