Our Wonderful Girls

General Stuff

This week has been really good for our little family with all the great weather and being able to go out to the park so often and spending time with each other. We've looked for places around here that would be a good day care if I'm serious about doing as much subbing as possible when the school year starts. Chris is working as always and I am enjoying my time with my two beautiful girls as always. Claire and Shay play with each other in there own way, Claire running around and Shay following her with her head. It is the most delightful thing to have my two little loves loving each other.

Claire

She is being so smart these days and starting to practice habits she sees us do like cleaning our ears with Q-tips, and going down the big slide at the park all on her own now. There is a video of her after a bath time this week of her washing herself and it is so precious how she talks and even though I don't understand what she is saying she is very convincing. We watch Lilo and Stitch all the time, basically anytime I'm trying to cook dinner or have me time in the bathroom I'll put it on the TV to distract her. I don't mind because its a cute movie but Chris is bored with it already and I tell him he should be happy it isn't Frozen. Claire has been liking more foods especially if we are eating them and we share what we have with her out of our own plate or bowl so it must be a stealing thing...

Shay

Our wonderful Shay is getting so big! She is growing so much faster than Claire and is already in the same size diaper as a night diaper as Claire is during the day. She is out growing the cloths that her sister wore forever and it is kinda sad I only got to use some of these onesies a couple times instead of over and over again. But every time I break out the new size I remember the cute ones and get excited for them and how I remember them being cute for my Claire. Shay still doesn't like binkies very much and she plays with them instead of sucking on them, but loves slobbering on her hands and other things she can bring to her mouth. I will forever be in love with the beautiful blue eyes that all 3 of my loves have.

Preparations

I've got some new hiking trail running shoes that I'm breaking in for a big hike coming up in August to the wind rivers. I know it will be hard to leave my girls with other people, even if they are family, but I really am excited to finally get to go to the place Chris says is the most beautiful place he has ever been. We are making it happen and I'm not going to let the sadness I know I will feel away from my two angels ruin or taint the experience. I'm sure I'll have plenty of other complaints like no real showers and hiking for 8-14 miles a day...the simple stuff.

Another Week of Cuteness

Claire

She is acting just so ridiculously cute these days with everything she is learning and doing. She just recently started putting her toys to bed by laying them down in her bed, putting the blanket over them, and tucking them in. She even kissed some good night at church today which is so precious! I think she is so great and I need to work harder on teaching her words because she will be two in less than a month! I'm excited for her to be able to communicate better but she definitely knows what we say like when she has gotten something she isn't supposed to and we notice she runs away and hides. Luckily our apartment isn't that big and her hiding places are always the same so it's easy to catch her.

Shay

If Claire has been acting cute, Shay is getting even cuter by the second. She has very cute sounds and smiles when we play with her and is starting to play with toys when we hold them in front of her. She likes tummy time mostly and she has rolled over a few time still, and she starts to try to sit up when shes laying down which won't happen anytime soon but fun to see. She is starting to sleep so well and it makes things a lot better at night with my sleeping and quality time with Chris. That quality time is why I haven't taught any VIPKID classes for a while and I've enjoyed being more there for my girls and husband.

Temple

This past week we went up to Idaho Falls to spend time with Chris's family because his brother is preparing for his mission. We went camping and got to take a ride on their new 'toy' which is a rover, and go canoeing out on a lake with some of his siblings. It is hard to get to go do anything when Claire doesn't like wearing a life jacket, but she played on the beach with her aunts while we went out on the water. I want to be able to go canoeing and kayaking more when our kids get older so they appreciate the family outings we do and get used to it. 

More Bragging on My Girls

I don't want to brag, but we have the cutest baby girls in the world! The giggles that are heard in this house from both of my happy girls are the best in the land and I wish this could last forever. I love our happy little family and things are so great right now I know things have to always change, but I want to remember these times and keep them going.

Claire

She is having a lot fun when we play outside in our back yard with the horses and the tree she just discovered she can climb. We like to play with water as often as possible back there because it is getting really hot these days! Anytime we go to the park we end up drinking all the water we bring and Claire gets red in the face, but it drains her energy pretty well so I call it a win. Her naps and bedtime used to be a breeze but she is fighting us every time these days because there is just so much to be awake for now! Well maybe but I'm thinking she is probably almost ready to stop having naps some days so she actually goes to bed on time. She is only a month away from being 2 years old...and she already has so much attitude its crazy.

Shay

What a little cutie this one is being! She loves laying out on a blanket in the grass and has rolled over on her own from tummy time 2 times but isn't consistent yet because I'll sit there for 5 minutes trying to get it on video and she just is mad I put her back on her tummy. She has recently found her feet and loves grabbing them and playing with them when she is on her back just hanging out like the perfect angel baby she is. She is also doing a good solid 4-5 hours when she first goes to bed at night and that is very exciting for me!

Parents

The week was a success with working out and we even got the pleasure of having Chris's friend over with us to work out with us. He recently moved to the area and Chris is liking someone to spot him and work out with him who does the same work outs and lifts heavier than me. I like my food being appreciated so we have him over for dinner as often as possible and I get lots of compliments on making the house smell good and cook delicious food. I applied to be a substitute when the school year starts so I can get back to what I love and it works out because Chris only works 3 days a week, I'll be available to sub 2-3 times a week and not have to take the girls to a day care.

4th of July Travels

Family

Before the actual day of our reunion, my immediate family all got together to celebrate the 4th of July and finally being all together. My oldest brother and his 3 girls drove out with the help of my mom all the way from Tennessee and my second oldest flew in from way out in Virginia. Dad drove down from Montana picking up Andy and Katelin on his way, and Chris and I came late from Utah since Chris had to work. We are a very spread out family but I was excited to be all together for this short amount of time, plus we could get a good full family picture just like the Bells got just a few months ago! Unfortunately, Katelin got car sick on her way there and ended up leaving the night Chris and I got there so our picture is missing her.

Claire

The early week was really great for Claire because she got to spend time outside playing in water and chasing butterflies and getting daddy kisses good night. She loved going shopping for the food we were all going to eat on our trip and helping me pack by being cute in her sister's travel bassinet. Unfortunately, the night we drove to southern Utah and stayed in a hotel was a really bad night's sleep and none of us really caught up with it so she wasn't our normal happy little girl. She did have her moments of having fun but whenever she didn't get to do what she wanted she was pretty upset about it in the natural tantrum of a toddler. She had her first experiences playing at a McDonald's with one of her cousins while we were trying to let her get out of the car for a while and was overly loved by all her cousins the whole weekend.

Shay

Being still too young to run and play with the cousins, she was content with being held safely on a couch by the girls and given kisses. Everyone else in the family enjoyed holding and trying to avoid her spit ups and poop explosions the time we were with family and we found out that she likes grass as long as it doesn't touch her face. We got her a seat during our trip that my husband likes to joke is a flying saucer and she is an alien trying to take over the family. I think she likes it and even though she doesn't know how to play with the things on it, Claire does and its a way for them to be cute together.

Reunion

This is the first time in 4 years that I've been to our family reunion from my dad's side of the family so it was great to see people I haven't seen in a while. I mostly like introducing my husband and two cute girls to those who haven't even met them because we haven't gone since being married. They have this reunion in the same place the weekend after or on the 4th of July every year for as long as I can remember with a big meal and then an auction of donated items. This year I donated reversible table place mats (got the idea from the mother's day ones I made for Chris's mom) that I had finished making just in time for us to bring them. We also donated by buying things in the auction which is fun because one of my cousins in a professional auctioneer and it is amazing to hear him go. I really enjoyed showing my husband my childhood memories of Southern Utah and talking about how great it was to see family every year.