Sunday, June 30, 2019

Fathers Day

We love celebrating the world's greatest dad! In honor of him, I recreated a photo of him with Blade.

Toddler Lance refused to take a picture without his duct-taped screwdriver. I gave Blade a safer option.

 Also he is obsessed with toothpaste.

On Saturday Lance took the girls to go see Dumbo at the dollar theater. We were going to make it a family event, but decided to leave me home with Blade because he was being a stinker.

That evening we ate out at Cracker Barrel, Lance's favorite. 

Cherry pie on Sunday, per his request.

We opened presents after dinner, and as one last surprise when he cut into the pie, he saw that it was a handprint pie dish painted with love at Color Me Mine. Lucky guy.

Stop! Why are they so cute??


We're so lucky to have him!

Blade at 15 Months

This kid is turning into a full-blown toddler (with the antics to prove it). Most of the time at home he is an adorable goofball with a penchant for getting into things he shouldn't. He keeps us on our toes!

Sour cream on his quesadilla was a big hit.

This rocking chair is his new favorite thing. He uses it to get on the couch. 

He's ready to go a-huntin'.

"I got this, Mom."

Ok little heartbreaker.

Little Mr. America

Blade was our best baby but is turning into our hardest toddler maybe. He is super clingy in public and will not let anyone else touch him besides Lance and I. He flips out if we leave him somewhere. Church is super hard with him. At home, he likes to be near me most of the time and follows me around the house. He screams loudly whenever he wants something. As long as he has what he wants, he is super happy and giggly and adorable. He loves to play with his sisters. He likes being outside and exploring the yard. He can go up and downstairs and has been walking 100% of the time for at least a month. This past week we weaned him from pacifiers and bottles (and whole milk- trying out almond milk to see if it will help with his diarrhea). He loves bathtime and tries to climb in himself whenever we aren't looking. He flings everything that doesn't interest him at that second as far as he can. He points and coos at lots of things and has said a few words (turtle, tree). He gets into and dumps out everything. He hates hats but loves his sisters' headbands and shoves them on his head whenever he finds one. He takes one 2-3 hour nap after lunch and sleeps 11-12 hours at night. He wears size 12-18 month clothes and size 3 shoes. He has finally started to chunk up and weighed just over 23 lbs (55th percentile) and was around 31 inches (45th percentile). His head is still improving in roundness but we want still see a slight flat spot. He spends most of his time being totally adorable and we are all still obsessively smothering him with affection. We love that sweet face!

June

Well, against all odds, we finally made it to the end of June. I thought it would never come. Longest and hardest month of my life, for sure. It was a struggle, but we still found some good times in the midst of Daryn's recovery. 

After coming home, she slowly felt a little better each day. Her cousins sent a care package and these mustaches really lifted spirits.

She felt well enough to go to her last tball game, hit the ball, and walk slowly around the bases. 

And to attend her first weekly cooking class with Maddie!

Reagan has art class at the same time.

I took all the kids to Salt Lake to meet Lance and so Reagan could get her ears pierced (an early birthday present).

Before and during:
She was a little nervous but very brave.

After:


Feeling better every day!

She was even up for a scooter ride eventually- she's committed to getting stronger. 

I bought passes for Reagan and I to go rock climbing this summer. It's a forgotten hobby of mine and Reagan is a natural- she flies up the wall and really loves it. It's been so fun having her for a climbing buddy!

They must be related...

Reagan took a sewing camp and learned how to use a sewing machine. She made a pillowcase, a heart pillow, and a drawstring bag. I was so impressed!


As you can see, she also had a mishap. She was "practicing swinging without holding on" - don't even get me started. She flipped backwards off the swing (of course) and ended up with a very small buckle fracture. They actually couldn't even tell for sure if it was broken for a week. 

I thought for sure our summer plans were toast (goodbye, rocking climbing buddy) but it turns out she can still do basically everything with it on- including rock climbing! Can't keep this girl down. We bought a waterproof cover but haven't done swimming anyway because of Daryn's recovery. So far the worst part is I have to help her shower and the itching. 

After a week her pink cast was coming apart and they had to do another x-ray to confirm the break, so they took it off and then we ended up with a blue cast for the next two weeks. 

We got a new fence on the side of our yard to replace the wood one that was falling down and it was the most exciting thing to ever happen to the girls. They spent multiple days on out there non-stop, talking the workers' ears off. They love a captive audience. 

Aunt Cassidy and baby cousin Travis came for a visit! It was so fun to meet this little cutie. I forgot how much work babies are!


We went to Temple Square to visit while they were here.


The next morning Reagan and I went back again to attend Music and the Spoken Word. We watch it every Sunday morning and she's been asking to go for years. Now that she was 8, she could finally go! It was an awesome experience. 


Helping a neighbor friend walk her dog.

Daddy rescued a baby bird from the window well! He's such a softie. 

Daryn practiced her photography skills and took these adorable pictures.


Reagan and I got attend Activity Day camp (me as a leader, her as a member) and it was so fun. Lots of new things to try!



I  love this group of girls!

Lance had a good time with the younger kids and even made it to the park! (More than I can say these days...)

 I was at Target late one night and it's possible that I was just tired, but this reminder made me laugh and laugh.

These girls are adorable but so silly sometimes. 


Even with a cast on, she can climb better than me.

Lots of sweet cherries from our tree finally! This was 1/4 approximately of what's on the tree.

Facepainting at a fundraiser while Reagan was at a birthday party.

 Getting our patriotic look on. We're ready for July! (In more ways than one.)


Daryn had one of her tubes removed last week and we are now using a catheter to empty her bladder every two hours. This is our new normal and for now, it's seems her surgery was very successful! We are so grateful she has to opportunity to stay dry. Time to turn our faces to the future!