A Special Doctor's Visit

On Lily's birthday we headed to the doctor for an adventure.  The girls loved playing with the kitchens in the waiting room.  They also have a fun collage of Disney characters that they loved looking at and naming the characters.  Lily had her 2 year old checkup and Emily got her cast off.  They both were brave, especially Emily.  She has been a great trooper with her cast - being careful to keep it clean and dry.  The scariest part was having the doctor use a saw to take it off.  The best part was hearing her exclaim, I can get my arm in the pool and tub.  To celebrate Lily's birthday and Emily's cast getting off the girls had a fun swim party with their cousins Natalie and Camden that evening.  They swam, and swam, and swam.  So much fun!

Lily is 2 Years Old

It is hard to believe my baby girl Lily is 2 years old.  It seems like yesterday she joined our little family, but yet I cannot remember life without her.  Lily brings so much life and laughter to our home.  It has been fun to see her learn and grow while sharing her newfound personality. 
Lily's best friend is Emily.  It has been fun to see Lily and Emily play more together over the past few weeks.  They are really becoming best of friends, using their imaginations together.  Emily can hardly wait sometimes for Lily to wake up to engage in a new adventure together.  I love the way they laugh with each so often.

• Lily loves to discover with texture.  She loves to get messy - with her food, dirt, playdough, or anything textile.  Lily especially enjoys soft things: her blanket, stuffed animals, and snuggles with those she loves.  Her favorite way to sleep is with her head on a soft, fleece blanket. 
• One of Lily's favorite quiet activities is sleeping.  With rare exception, Lily asks to go to bed for naptime around 11 am.  This has been a help to keep her (and mom) happy all day.
• Lily loves to play with princesses, dress up, dance, sing, and be outside.  She can name all of the Disney princesses and their side kicks (ie Pascal, Mrs. Potts, Scuttle, etc).  Dancing to princess songs is a favorite pastime for the girls.  Lily can associate a song to the princess who it belongs to.  I love watching her dance, spin, and sing along.
• Mac n' Cheese (Beans), ice cream, and popsicles are Lily's favorite foods.  She could eat them all day everyday!  She even had "Beans" for breakfast on her birthday. 
• Lily loves to dress in skirts and dresses.  In fact most days she tells me what to dress her in which is usually a skirt.  Even though Lily will not go to nursery alone, she loves to go to church just to dress up!
• Lily loves to play "get you" chasing game with her daddy every night when he gets home.  She gets so excited to see him and play with him.  It is fun to see them share some tender daddy-daughter time.
• Zootopia and Frozen are Lily's favorite movies.  She likes to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sofia the First too.
• Lily has a big vocabulary and can form 4-5 word sentences.  I love seeing her vocabulary blossom so much everyday.

I am so glad Lily chose our family.  I love her so very much!  She is a bright spot of our home with so much love for life, family, and princesses.  Happy Birthday Lily!

Bedtime Battle

Bedtime is often a battle, especially with the girls.  They seem to get their "second wind" just as it is time for bed.  Emily and Lily find it fun to run around or start to play with a new toy just as we say it is time for bed.  Nelson and I just look at each other and smile because we have been struggling to get them to play before this time.  They are great at procrastinating bedtime already!  As we close the door after stories and prayer, the girls continue to read and talk for some time.  I love hearing them read and talk over the monitor.  It is fun to hear the girls share highlights of the day or reread parts of their books to each other.  I am so glad they are good friends and get to share a room.  I hope they will always enjoy their "pillow talk" together.  As I tuck each of my babies in, I whisper, "I love you" and catch my gaze lingering longer hoping to savor them for a moment longer.  I love watching them grow, but sometimes it seems way too fast.

Logan 3 Months

 Our handsome buddy Logan is 3 months old.  He has stolen all our hearts and then some.  We love his gentle, fun loving spirit that is beginning to blossom more each day.  For me the biggest change with Logan this month was seeing his personality begin to shine.  I love seeing his smile, hearing him coo and giggle, and watching his eyes tell stories.  Here are a few other highlights about Logan this month:

• Still loves to stretch from head to toe on the floor.  I love the way he even stretches his toes out.
• Logan's biggest smiles are from head to toe too.  He scrunches and then stretches his legs as he give big smiles.
• He can keep his head up on his own when sitting up.
• Sharing longer awake times with us with up to 2 hours at a time sometimes.
• He is not a fan of the carseat, but loves to be outside.
• Logan loves to observe his sisters and people more than toys.  He will "talk" to you through coos and giggles.
• He has discovered his fingers and hands.  He likes to suck on them often.
• Logan loves to be swaddled in soft blankets to go to sleep.  He is sleeping longer stretches at night 4-5  hours - Hooray!

This little man is sure fun to have around.

Parade Preview

We had a fun adventure to the Days of 47 Parade Float Preview today.  The girls loved seeing the floats and participating in some games to win some little treats.  We saw lots of bears, bees, bunnies, and foxes on the floats.  Aunt Sissa was able to join the fun too which is always the girls' favorite part.

Swimming with a Cast

This afternoon the girls had some fun playing in the buckets and with the water toys.  It was a quick, but fun adventure outside.  I am missing our pool time fun as I am nervous to pull it out with Emily's arm in a cast.  She was good to keep it out of the tub to strive to ensure it kept dry.  We are almost half way through our cast adventure - hooray.

Perfect Day at the Park

The high today was only 76 degrees.  WOW!  It was a perfect day for the park as a break from the summer heat.  We all were loving the new playground to explore, cool breeze, and sunshine.  With our water play limited with Emily's broken arm, the girls were thrilled to have an outside adventure.

My Little Buddy

From the moment I found out Logan was a boy there was something different about our little relationship.  For years I have felt a premonition of his spirit around me.  I knew some day I would have a son and we would have a tender connection that began even before he was born.  Logan is such a gentle nature baby and spirit.  He is generally happy and content, except when he is tired or hungry.  Like his dad, Logan is patient with me when I am trying to balance everything with the girls.  I love his sweet smiles and gentle snuggles.  It darling to see his whole face light up and his body scrunch in excitement when he smiles.  I love the way Logan is beginning to coo and talk to me.  It is like we have some special conversations. In the stillness of the night as I feed him I love hearing his quick breaths whisper in my ear.  I always whisper, "I love you son!"  I am so grateful to by this sweet boy's mama!

Sweet Sisters

These two sisters are becoming best of friends.  Both of them love to play with each other - most of the time.  When the other is away they yearn for their return or to wake up from a nap.  Lily and Emily are constantly mimicking each other in word and deed.  They love to play princesses, Barbie's, in the water, and everything else together.  I love how they are beginning to engage with each other in play rather than just parallel play.  Seeing their sweet love for each other reminds me of the special connection I feel with my sisters.  I know they will always have each other as best of friends.

A Broken Arm and Nose

Emily has had a bit of bad luck lately.  She was getting into bed Friday night when she stumbled and fell down on her arm.  Immediately she complained of her arm hurting and was in tears.  Emily often asks for a band aid when something hurts as she feels it makes it better.  I gave her a band aid and sent her to bed thinking she was emotional from being overly tired.  It had been a long day with an early morning and playing hard.  Saturday morning Emily woke up and was not herself.  She was emotional and clingy.  I noticed she continually was holding her left arm.  Seeing this I became worried she may have sprained or broken her arm.  I called the pediatrician and set up an appointment that morning.  Unfortunately, we found out at the appointment they do not take x-rays there.  Disappointed at finding nothing out, I thought about going to Kids Care.  However, I thought to maybe hold off another day.  We tried going Sunday but the wait was ways too long - 1-2 hours.  Emily was so upset we didn't go to the doctor.  She loves the stickers and treats she gets after.  I told her we would go tomorrow Monday.  My family and my pediatrician said a cast wouldn't be made until at least 3 days later for the swelling to go down, so I was not as worried that I wasn't doing enough for her.  Monday morning we went to the doctor to find out  she had a broken radius and tibia.  I was relieved to know what was wrong, but sad to know she would have to be in a cast for 4 weeks.  Our summer swimming and water fun will need to be changed.  Emily has been a trooper through it all!  I am amazed at her bravery and patience. 
Today on top of everything, Emily woke up with a stuffy nose.  She has been lethargic and not herself.   I felt bad watching her continuously wipe her nose and even put a band aid under it all day.  I could tell she was trying to fight off sleeping all day. Finally, at about 4 pm she fell asleep on the couch.  She seemed so at peace resting that I didn't want to wake her up.  I hope things soon turn up for the fun loving, energetic 3 year old.

Smiling Boy

Logan is a sweet smiling boy.  He shares smiles with many, especially mommy.  I love it when I catch him smiling to himself as he lays on the floor.  Logan is really a content baby and fits so well into our family.  The girls and everyone loves him so very much!  I love watching his personality blossom.

Fun Weekend with the Yates Family

We shared a fun weekend with the Yates with David and Heather in town from Kansas City.  We had fun celebrating birthdays at Aunt Steph's and then Julie's blessing at Grandma's.  The girls always love playing with their cousins, aunts, and uncles.  It was fun to see Julie and Logan together as they are only one month apart in age.  I know they will be fun playmates as they grow.