Road Trip!

The kids and I took a road trip down to Utah and Wyoming so we could attend Nate's oldest sons baptism.  Luckily, my mom came with us!  It was a long drive!  The kids did really good in the car!  I was a bit worried about Kate, as she is still not a big fan of her car seat, but she was a champ!  Adam was entertained with his DS, and watching several movies, and Jackson actually did pretty good also.  He took several naps - I even got a picture during one of them...  I love how he wears his sunglasses upside down!

We stopped for the night in Boise.  Adam and Jackson were so excited to go swimming!  Kate went swimming for the first time.  I love this little swim suit!

Here are all the kiddos ready to go. 

 Jackson had been talking about swimming for months - ever since he had his little get away with his dad.  He was excited - until we tried to get him in the pool, and then he screamed and held on for dear life!!  He refused to even get in.  The pool was a bit chilly, so we didn't swim for too long. We did enjoy the hot tub a little before grabbing some dinner and heading to bed.  The next morning, we took another little dip in the pool before getting back on the road. 

We got to Draper that afternoon, and hung out at Aunt Tiffy's work for about an hour, and then headed to Tiffy's house.  It was so nice to get there and be out of the car for a little bit!  I was so proud of my kiddos, and SO glad that grandma came along with us!  I never could have made that drvie by myself!

Playing doctor...

Jackson has a cute little friend that he spends most of the morning on Wednesdays with.  Jackson goes to her house while I volunteer in Adam's class, and then Lucy comes over to our house, while her mom volunteers at the school.  Lucy is about 4 months older than Jackson and they have a very cute love/hate relationship going on!  Lucy hides any food she has the minute she see's Jackson, but then she runs over and gives him a hug.  They are so funny!  The other day, Lucy was at our house, and she and Jackson were playing in the other room while her mom and I were talking.  They had told us they were playing doctor.  This is what came out of it...

Apparently, Lucy was telling Jackson what was wrong with his tummy - by drawing a picture in permanent marker. 

Fashion sense...

Jackson has a keen sense of fashion!

4 years apart...

Remember this...

Here's take number two!  Jackson's not as good about staying behind his dad - he likes to create his own path.  But, he does LOVE to help daddy mow the lawn, just like Adam did! 

6 months old

My baby girl is 6 months old!  This is her the morning of her 6 month birthday!  She had woken up at about 4:30 in the morning, so I brought her into bed with us, fed her, and she zonked out!  Of course, her thumb is never far from her mouth!

 Kate is truely growing so fast!  She is sitting up on her own, eating any food that we get close to her mouth, and she even cut her first two teeth in the past couple of days.  She loves her brothers so much!  Jackson is always at the center of her attention.  It doesn't matter what she's looking at, as soon as Jackson comes in to her line of sight, she doesn't take her eyes off of him!  It's adorable! 

Luckily, she is sleeping better!  So lucky for mom and dad!  Once in awhile, she still wakes up during the night, but usually she'll talk to herself for a little bit and then drift back to sleep.  Some nights, she'll do that every 2 to 3 hours, but she is putting herself back to sleep, so I'll take it!

She still isn't rolling over, but I've decided not to worry about it.  She doesn't really spend much time laying on the floor, because she's has an attitude, and likes to be held.  She also hasn't been very free with her laughs.  We try so hard to get a giggle out of her, but still haven't been successful.  She smiles all the time - which is so fun!  I love taking her places because she smiles at everyone, and everyone wants to come talk to her. 

I took Kate to the new pediatrician for her 6 month check up.  I haven't really decided if I like this doctor (I don't like that I had to wait for 45 minutes before getting into a room, and then another 20 minutes in the room before we saw the doctor), so I'm going to go back to him for her 9 months appointment and see how it is.  Her stats at 6 months are:

Length: 27 inches (up 1 inch from 4 months) 89th percentile

Weigth: 16 pounds, 15.2 ounces (almost 2 lbs more than 4 months) 69th percentile

Her brothers were both over and inch taller and almost 5 pounds heavier at 6 months.  I guess I can't complain about her being heavy when I cart her around in her car seat!!

Here are the pictures!

Having breakfast on the morning of her 6 month birthday.  That thumb often gets in the way!

We did a little photo shoot here at home to get a good 6 month picture.  There are so many great ones - we just can't decide which is our favorite!!

Here are a couple of her with her favorite thing in her mouth.  I tried to chase her thumb with a binky, but she quickly pulls the binky out and replaces it with her thumb - or she just chews on the binky.  She won't suck her thumb in high school - I'm sure of it!!

I love how her two fingers are up over her nose!  They are always like that! 

 So, I think this is my favorite picture.  Her eyes are so bright and vibrant, and that smile just melts my heart!!

We love our Kate!  She brings so much joy to all of us every day!!

MTYAA

I actually got it together this spring and signed Adam up for T-ball.  We decided to try out something more than the YMCA, and we are so glad that we did!  I asked some friends with older kids, and got two great recommendations, and decided to go with the Mountlake Terrace Youth Athletic Association (MTYAA).  This is Adam's last year to play T-ball, (next year will be coach pitch) and he has learned SO much!  It's amazing to watch him and see how much more coordinated he is.  I think it's a combination of growing into his body, learning different excercises and such in PE at school, and just getting older.  He really likes to play, and it's fun to watch him!

His team is the Fireballs!  His coach has been coaching for several years, and one of the parents on the team has even found a couple of sponsors, so they got these cool jackets!

 Here's Adam in the outfield. He's even got the stance down!

 This is from one of the first games.  Adam can really smash the ball!  Now, towards the end of the season, the coach is pitching to some of the kids.  Adam loves to hit, and if he pays attention to his stance, and watches the ball well, he can really hit it far!  I have a couple of videos, but once again, I can't seem to get them from my iPhone to the blog...

 Adam was so excited to get his own batting helmut!  Of course, it had to be orange!

 Here are the spectators at his first game.  It was cold!!  I'm glad the weather is getting warmer!!

 Kate enjoying the game!

Adam has really enjoyed playing T-ball this year.  It's been so fun to watch him progress and learn so much more this year.  I think he'll be playing for many years to come!

Mother's Day

I enjoyed a delicious breakfast in bed - with all three kids for Mother's Day. 

I love being a mom!  Such a huge blessing!  

Helpful Jackson

Jackson loves to be helpful...

 Sometimes Kate likes her thumb better than her breakfast!