Texas Trip Part I

(July 2018) 

Off to Texas we go!

We were supposed to go to Boston with my entire family this summer for our reunion but my nephew Greyson decided to get married.

So everyone flew to Texas for a wedding.

We went a few days early so we could spend time with the Stubbs before meeting up with my family.

The kids did great on the flight.

They really are good little travelers.

Lots of books, snacks, coloring and toys for entertainment.

We try really hard to NOT pull out the ipad until we are desperate for a movie.

We landed in Dallas and made our way to the Ethan and Amys where we were greeted with a birthday cake with 37 candles on it.

It just so happened to be my birthday on our traveling day.

After they sung me a great birthday song we left the kids with a babysitter and we went to a yummy dinner.

We went downtown Dallas to the Reunion Tower and it was DELICIOUS! 

It was so great to have a yummy fancy dinner with such great company. 

It was so hot and muggy all day every day.

The humidity was so bad and watching the kids swim was brutal. 

So we took turns being outside with Lane and taking him back inside to cool him off.

The kids loved the water!

We love that Miles is a confident swimmer now and he is floatie free.

And we love that Andie LOVES her floaties so much...otherwise we'd be in trouble.

We also love how fun she is in the water.

She doesn't hold back and lets the world know shes present!

If the kids weren't swimming they were fishing down at the bottom of the Stubbs property.

Miles really loves fishing and I swear that kid catches fish every time he fishes.

 In the evening the kids would cuddle up and watch a movie together.

Honestly my heart is more than happy when we are with our favorite friends.

I'll say it 100 times, we hate that they had to move so far.

Every night while the kids watched a movie we would play games and Lane would lay on the table in his boppie and just be perfect.

After a few days of so much fun we had to leave.

We cried..

we hugged...

and smiled and cried again!

We have such a sweet spot in our hearts for this family.

Romney and Ethan have been best friends since they were little boys.

Their babies were my babies for so long before mine came along.

We were sad to leave them but so excited to get back to Dallas to meet up with my whole family.

It has been years since all my siblings have been together all at once!

And I cant wait!

2 months of Baby Lane

(July 2018) 

 Oh sweet baby boy.

Time is a thief.

He is starting to figure out his voice and loves his sleep!

He needs gas drops all the time and is a fantastic burper.
He does not like tummy time at all but is trying so hard to lift that head of his.

He has doubled his birth weight coming in at 12 lbs.

He is a beefy one.

He is smiling more and more everyday 

We are obsessed with him in night gowns.
Those legs and feet tucked up are just the sweetest.

Oh my goodness, he is such a cutie boy.

His eyes are opening up bigger and longer periods of time. 

He has been refusing to sleep in his bassinet since day one so he sleeps in this boppie every nap and every night on the floor.

 He is so much happier propped up.

His cheeks are getting bigger and his hair is getting thinner.

   Where does all hair go???

He loves his pacifier!

Miles is his biggest fan!

When Lane cries, his big brother is the one to run for a pacifier to calm him down.

Big brother is the one who wants to lay with him until he is settled.

I just love the bond that is being created.

And at two months Andie has decided she can share her favorite blankie that she calls "white" with Lane....but only for one second.

 Happy two months baby!

We sure love you and appreciate how calm and sweet you are.

Beach Camping

(July 2018)

Another summer, another beach camping trip.

The Stubbs were in from Texas and we made plans to camp for a few days with them.

We love them so much and miss them so much.

Miles and Elise have been buddies since the beginning of time and they literally pick up where they left off every time we see them.

They played hard every day and my heart can explode of joy when I see their little friendship.

It was the first time Amy and Lane met.

They cuddled on the beach every day.

Taking a baby camping ins't the easiest but Lane did really well.

He was content to lay under the shade and drifted in and out of sleep throughout the day.

Surpriseingly Andie didn't love the beach scene this trip.

She was always asking if we could go back tot he motor home.

She stayed busy eating snacks and staying up on the towels with us.

(which really is okay, it was one less kid we had to worry about by the water)

We tried luring her to play with Blake in the sand but she rather hang out on Ethans back.

In the evenings we'd go back to our motorhomes to start dinner.

Lance was so darling wanting to love on Lane...

While we worked on dinner Miles and Elise would take their scooters around the campground..

One of the nights we babysat Elise while her family went to a family gathering in San Diego.

These two bundled up to watch a movie and they fell asleep pretty quick.

 and these two crashed pretty quick too...

Every morning  Miles wanted to hold Lane.

Having a motorhome sure is nice when you have a newborn.

We were pretty spoiled to have a mircowave to heat up bottles, a sink to wash the bottles and space for diaper changing.

It really is nice and accommodating.

We love our 1998 winnie!  

And Lane loved it too, we even have proof with one of his first smiles on camera.

Our mornings were slow and didn't get back to the beach until 9-10 every morning.

I loved it all.

But Miles and the Stubbs kids were always ancy to get back as soon as possible...

But really the beach never gets boring.

Covering the kids up with sand is always a hit

Even Andie finally ventured off of us for a second and got buried and she loved it.

It is always pure joy to see your babies happy....

and loving life experiences!

 

On our last day extra friends form Riverside came down to play for the day.

We were sad when we moved from that great place and Miles was only 18 months when we left so it was really fun catching up with old friends and watching our kids interact.

We are so glad we got to spend a few days at the beach as a family and with the Stubbs who are like family. 

I just hate that Texas is so far.

Thanks for a great week guys!

Fourth of July

(July 2018) 

 These two were very excited to go up to Grammys and Grandpa Niels for the pre 4th of July firework show.

Every year Crestline does their show the weekend before the 4th.

SO we get two awesome shows!

The kids loved wearing their red, white and blue clothes and glasses and were 100% ready to go!!

Andie hates pig tails BUT she absolutely loved these 4th of July bows and let me put the little hair she has in pig tails!!!!
She looked darling!!!

 While we waited for it to get dark, Grammy read some new books for Miles...

and Andie talked Neils ears off...

and of course we ate yummy food!

On the actual Fourth of July the Williamsons came out to join us for swimming and fireworks.

The kids loved the glow sticks, mini flags and pop its that entertained them as the sun was setting.

(somehow Kennedy is missing in this picture of the kids)

I just loved having Romney home this year-it has been years since he was off!

It ended up being a chilly night that we were not prepared for BUT it was pretty great celebrating with my family and dear friends who we love so much.

One month old Lane

(June 2018)

This naked baby is one month old.  

He is sleeping, eating and pooping around the clock...well sorta, pooping isn't his strong suit BUT his grunting is. 

If you don't believe me, come over 4am-6am for that showing. 

He loves being held and loves to sleep on your chest.  

He's a good burper, and loves the bath. 

 He is starting to discover our faces and we kinda wonder if he will have blue eyes.  

Jury is out on that one but it is fun to speculate.  

He just graduated from newborn diapers and clothes. It is always a sad day when that happens- I tried squeezing him in my favorite jammies one more time but his poor toes looked like ballet pointers.  

In his one month of life Lane has had a darling photo shoot where every picture is MY FAVORITE.

In the first month my mom was able to come and help for 10 days!

we appreciated the dinners, the folded laundry and naps she let us take!

Somewhere in that first month we actually had a calm moment as a whole family!

 In the first month Lanes eyes were opening up more and more everyday.

It didn't take long for this little guy to become very popular.

Now that were moving on to 0-3 month clothes I have told Lane to stop growing so fast.

I think he was listening!

We love you Lane and are so happy you are here with us!

Summer Library Program

 (Summer 2018)

This summer we have hit the library every Monday for fun shows and  get new books to read.

The shows have been from magic shows, to puppet shows to animal shows.  The kids have really liked it and its been good to check out new reading material each week.  Both Miles and Andie signed up for the reading program this year.  Miles had to read 10 books a week and Andie needed 10 books read to her in order for them to get the weekly prize they had for the kids.  It was a fun incentive to keep Miles reading over the summer.  It was a good experience for all of us and I am pretty sure we will keep this up through all of grade school for each of them.

It was darling to watch the two kids walk hand in hand into the library each week.

The kids really loved the reptile show.  Especially Miles, he is our reptile loving boy. He was in heaven seeing all the snakes, turtles, lizards and frogs.

And the most memorable show for me was the puppet show.  As all the kids were sitting on the floor completely captivated I was in the back taking care of baby Lane.  He had a super soaker diaper and needed a fresh diaper.  I just decided to quietly change him on my lap.  My friend Rachel whispered in my ear "you're brave, do you ever worry he's going to poop on you?" and right at that second Lane exploded!! He pooped all over my shirt, my pants, my arm, it got the chair next to me, it splattered on my glasses...it went everywhere. My friend and I were laughing so hard and we were trying to be quiet and not cause a scene.  We were dying. There was so much to clean and we didn't                        know where to start. Rachel pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures and we kept laughing.  We used every wipe in the diaper bag and began the mad dash clean up. It just smeared all over my jeans and shirt and it smelled gross.  The puppet show was wrapping up and the kids wanted to look for some books to check out and I just wanted to get out of there!  I ended up letting them get books really fast! They found books they wanted and I just walked around with a huge blanket that covered my whole body with a baby in my arms.  It looked so awkward and you could smell me a mile away BUT dang it we got new books for the week.

But look at that cute face.....how can anyone be mad????

Fire Station Fathers Day

(June 2018)

Romney worked on Fathers Day this year. We are always bummed when he has to work on any holiday BUT it is ALWAYS so fun to go to the Fire Station and visit. I just love to visit with all the other families that come to see their daddys, and its always so fun to watch the kids play.  They just love climbing on all of the equipment and exploring all of the fire trucks.

The kids and I made cookies to take down to share with the crew and Andie was so excited to pass them out. She looked adorable walking around the massive table sharing with everyone one by one. Its always my personal favorite to watch the big guys gush over the littles.

 

I thought I saw this cute moment of Lane and Daddy looking at eachother...

but really the darling part is the very background...

(I spy two kids on the kitchen table eating chips the rest of the cookies!!!)

sneaky sneaky.

Happy Fathers Day Romney!

We love you and appreciate all you do for us.

No, really you do it all!

Even when you've been up all night at work you still manage to walk in the door at home ready to be a husband and daddy!