June Update on Clint.....

Well, in the month of June, we had sooo many milestones! I hope that I can get them all. Clint turned 8 months in June. Since he had RSV in April and a cold in May, we weren't able to do his 6 month well-baby check/shots until this month. (So not only am I behind on blogging, everything is behind in our world right now.) Anyway, we finally got him in for his check-up and the Dr. couldn't be more pleased. He said our little man is doing fabulous, and even said to me that "I don't know what a lucky mom I am" AAAHHHH!!! Thanks Dr. Wallace! He said Clint is such a good boy, and just doing everything "by the book". So he weighed in at 17.6 lbs. He is only in the 25th percentile on the growth chart for his weight. His height was 27.4 inches and that put him in the 50th percentile. So we have a lengthy, skinny boy!! HHMM..... wonder where he gets that from???

Along with growing like a weed, our boy is learning so much. This past month you could find him doing all sorts of new things. He learned how to get from butt to stomach without falling on his face and then back to his butt again! He started the month off by scooting around on his belly and ended it full on crawling!! And let me tell, this boy can move!! Especially when he is after something he's not supposed to have. Fair warning, I can't be responsible if he drools your phone to the point of not working!! He can also pull himself up to anything that won't slip out from underneath him...

good thing the vacuum cleaner has a neutral button and doesn't move to well in this position!! He will also let go now and has stood in the middle of floor completely on his own for over 10 seconds at a time! Afraid he's gonna be an early walker!!

Clint loves to eat. I always know when he is ready cause he will start humming, and saying mom...mmmmmm.....mmmmmmm.....mom!! And after every bite he gets he always says mmmmmm!!! His dad gave him and entire dinner roll, and he loved it!! Too bad he stuffed the whole thing in his mouth and started choking....we had to take it from him! Sorry bud....

He is eating pretty much all table food. Crackers and finger foods. He loves his Gerber puffs. So do I, their not messy!! Clint also got his first tooth this month. Finally!! We've been waiting along time for that milestone. It's on the bottom. The left front tooth. And it's sharp!!

Clint already has quite a vocabulary. His list includes: mom, dad, hi, lala(Lexi), Nan (Brianna), baba...he also loves animals, and though he can't say what they are, he knows how to get their attention. He yells "hey" at them til they look at him!! He also loves to clear his throat. Don't know if he thinks he's talking or what, but he does it all the time!!! At first cute, now it is just annoying!! But he loves it, so we love it too!!

Clint had his first swim just this last weekend. He wasn't crazy about it, but loved the dive sticks. I think I need to invest in a few...they made great teething sticks for him!! He was so cute in his little trunks!! Hangin with his daddy!!

Happy Birthday Brianna.....

We did celebrate Brianna's birthday this year, it has just been a crazy June, so needless to say, I am waaayyyy behind on my blog. Brianna was so lucky to have so many people come and help her celebrate her 9th birhday. Yes, I said 9TH! And don't ask me how that happened. Thank you to everyone who came: Papa and Mema from Taylor, Papa Ken and Gma Skeet, Aunt Kate, U.Todd and A.Jody, Brennen, Mak, Garret, Russy; Matt, Lisa and Ben; The DeGooyers, The Smiths, and Kayden, I know that I've said it before, but we have the best family and friends in the world. They are always there for our kids and it means so much to them and Adam and I.

So here are some of the moments that I captured on her special day.....
Some of the kids having cake and ice cream! Yummy...for some reason I didn't get a picture of the cake or blowing out the candles:( Sorry Nan!!!


Makenna taking a shot at the pinata


Waiting for presents....ooohhh the anticipation


A build-a-bear game for her ds....which they now fight over!! Thanks Kayden!!


This was her favorite gift....her friends made it just for her with her name on it and everything! Thank you Kiara and Katia!!


Along with all of the cake and ice cream, friends and family, and pinata fun...we also had a huge feast to eat! Brianna wanted sub sandwiches for dinner. Along with it we had all the fixings: macaroni salad, veggies, dips, chips and salsa, deviled eggs, and all kinds of stuff to drink!!



Brianna, you are such a good kid. You strive so hard to please everyone around you and always try to make good decisions. I am so proud of you and am so thankful that we have you in our family. You are the best little helper any mom could ask for, and I appreciate all you do in our home to make it run smoothly. I am sorry this is late, but hope you know how much we love you. Happy Birthday little Nan!!

Its been a while now since I've posted on Clint. Honestly, I have been waiting to get him in for his 6 month check-up and then give a full rundown. But with the lingering cough he keeps getting, I have put it off. They won't give him shots unless he is perfectly well. So here are a few updates:

He loves hanging out in the laundry baskets. He has even stood himself up in it once. Good thing I was right there, cause it quickly tipped over!!


He is eating just about anything and everything he can get his fingers on. Although I don't let him have anything that will choke him, DUH....anyway....he loved chewing on this celery stick. It kept him busy for quite a while. He still has no teeth, so there was no risk of him getting the strings stuck in his throat.


Yesterday, we met Aunt Kate for lunch. I had a pickle on my plate that I wasn't going to eat, so to be mean, I gave it to him. Thinking he would make funny faces, and we'd get a good laugh at his expense!! To my surprise, he loved that thing. And not one funny face. Before it was over, he had it squishing out of his fingers. There was pickle seeds everywhere. I HATE pickles. Mostly because they STINK......


Needless to say, I was smelling pickle the rest of the day. Guess the joke was on me!!!


Lately, when I am getting ready, Clint has decided I need his help. Yet, he won't sit on the floor and play. Nope, he has to be right up in the middle of it all. He thinks that he has a buddy there every morning waiting to play with him. He get the biggest kick outta watching himself in the mirror!!


I don't know how many mornings I go into in his room, and he is cuddled up with his little fluffy dog. He loves this thing.....


This was the first time he crashed out on the floor. He was so tired and we were all busy doing our things....he couldn't wait any longer.....


I love this picture. He is just exhausted after a hard day!!! I love the hand!!!

A few more things:

• He sits up completely on his own now
• He can say mama, dada, La (lexi) and Nan (Brianna) we think he says baba (bottle) too, but not sure if he knows what it means!!
• He plays well on his own. Unless he sees you leave the room. He hates to be alone!!
• He is very nosey....HAS to be in the middle of everything
• Puts himself to sleep when we lay him in his bed. No more rocking chair.
• Loves to flirt with the girls
• Has just enough hair for a baby mohawk
• Still no teeth
• Thinks he can stand on his own and wants to jerk his hands out of yours to do this
• Did we mention he's independent. HHMMM wonder where that came from???
• Sits in the high chair/shopping cart...No more car seat when we're outta the car!!!

He brings so much joy to our world. I know I say it all the time, but I just can't get enough of him. Love you Prince Handsome!!!

Fifths Disease

This is only the 3rd time in my life I have ever heard of this terrible illness. And 2 times has been in the last week. My visiting teacher is the attendance lady at the school the girls go to. During her visit last week, she told me about her daughter having it when she was in high school. She also mentioned that it had been going around school. It wasn't until Monday night that I put 2 and 2 together. Brianna came in the living room after her shower, and showed me the rash that covered her entire body, except for her face. She says "mom, Lexi told me that I should let you know I have this rash. I have had it since LAST Monday." So I checked her out. It wasn't red, her skin just appeared really blotchy. I asked her if it itched at all. She said a little but nothing bad. I also told her if it got worse or started bugging her, we would call the Dr. Tuesday came and for some reason, this thought enters my mind, that she may have this "fifths disease". So immediately I get on the computer to try and rule it out. Oh no, sure enough she has all the symptoms. When I picked them up from school, I stopped Cortney, (my vt's daughter) to talk it over with her. And she said I bet she has it. So this morning I called the Dr. He said that at this point, she is no longer contagious, but is positive that is what she has. Not to worry, as long as the fever doesn't return, she should be fine. Side note: Brianna had what I thought was a mild flu bug on April 6Th. 2 weeks later, the rash developed. It says that it can last for 17-28 days in children. In adults, it can take up to 2 years to get over:( Are you kidding me....2 years!!! After talking with the Dr. I gave Clint his bath, and sure enough, he too had the blotchy rash on his skin. Last week, when I thought his fever/vomiting was him teething.....turns out it wasn't. Thankfully in children it is very mild. The older you are the worse it becomes. It eventually starts attacking your joints and muscles and can be very debilitating. So please keep your fingers crossed for all of the adults that my children have been around. So while the rest of the world is battling swine flu, here in Florence, Arizona we will be dealing with a mini pandemic of our own....fifths disease!!!

New Guns for the Girls.....

The weather here has been just awesome! To nice to stay inside. The last several weekends Adam has been home, he has taken the girls out on the quad to do some shooting and rabbit hunting. Most of his guns are just to big for the girls to handle, so we decided to get them each one their own!! Nothing too fancy, just a bb gun. One that they can get the fundamentals down with.



Before they could handle their new "weapons" they first had to have a conversation with dad about safety. Cause "nothing we do is worth getting injured over"!!!



After the briefing it was time to get to it!! If you're gonna learn to shoot, you gotta have a target...



Nothing like a pampers box, with a self-adhesive target smacked to the side of it!! Thanks Clint for your box!







Ok...yes the barrel is pointing straight at her face, however these things are hard to caulk, and the safety was on....



While Clint didn't get his own gun, he did get to sit in the dirt for the first time and cheer on his big sisters at the range!!! Ok, we were in the back yard!!



Of course he had to put the dirt in his mouth...



And have a man to man chat with dad about gun safety....



I don't know if I should be pleased to report this or not...but as of last night, Lexi has killed her first bird. While we don't encouage this type of behavior, the temptation of it sitting on the top rail of the fence was too much!! And who would've thought she would get it!! Nice shot Lex!!

Our Pantry....

So most of you have been to our home, and had dinner with us. It never fails, at every get together someone always has to comment on our pantry. While it is never completely stocked, especially now that Adam is gone so much, it is almost always organized. I wish I could take credit for this, but I can't. I always have to say thank you, but then give the credit over to Adam. He hates it unorganized. This past weekend, after a long trip to Safeway, I caught him once again....hard at work......



He is so going to kill me for this post, but I couldn't resist!! I am so happy to have him!! He is so good about pitching in and helping me, even when he has been gone all week, and really just wants to hang out on the couch or at the barn!! Anyway, here it is....our lovely, organized pantry......



Notice every single label is facing out, so you know exactly what you're looking for!! I love it!!!

The gift of a sister....

Today, as I hurridly dropped the girls off at school, I was taken back for a moment. A precious moment that stopped me in my tracks and brought a tear to my eye. There was a school bus pulling up to the curb in front of us, so in a split second I realized that if I continued to the usual drop off spot I would be stuck. I was already running late, so I cut to the left and proceeded to let the girls off in the middle of the parking lot. I hate hate hate doing this, because they normally don't pay attention, and most people are running late as it is, and in a huge hurry to be the first one out of the lot. As I said goodbye to them, I stayed there for a moment, making sure they went straight to the crosswalk, and made it safely across. When they reached the crosswalk, they both looked at eachother, and at the same time, they grabbed on to one anothers hands, and together they crossed. Such a simple thing, but to me it was more. Just the night before, they were both nearly at the point of meltdown with eachother. But there, on the school campus, they were looking out for eachother! I was suddenly taken back to a time when I too, had little sisters to look after. Before I knew it I was reminissing all of our good times and memories that we have made over the years. I thought about the countless days Mattie and I would spend fighting, just to wind up in one anothers room laughing until we cried! I thought about every early morning trip to the dentist with Kate, and going to every single softball game of her Jr. high and High school career! I thought about joining the gym with Jody. And after our night-time work outs, sitting in our driveway til 2:30 in the morning, talking about who knows what...but laughing til it hurt. I thought about vacations and trips to Vegas with Anna, and how much I miss our weekend BBQ's!! Every favorite memory I have are with these girls. My sisters!! As I watch my girls now, I can only hope that the bond they have, will remain ever so strong!! I hope that one day they look back on their lives and realize that no matter where they were, they always had a BEST friend!! I know in my life, these are the first ones I call, no matter what. My sisters!! I love these girls with all I have in me. Sisters are the best gift ever!!