MATH

This:



Plus this:



Equals this:


The girls are always wanting to use scissors and for the longest time I haven't let them. Well, the other day at Wal-Mart they had some little kid scissors for a buck, so I thought "Why not?" After all, they can start using scissors to cut small things and do some fun little projects, right? WRONG. Yea, I suddenly remembered why I haven't let them use scissors. Kenna can be trusted, but obviously her little sister can't. Fortunately she is a master barber and I really can't tell where on her head the hair came from. Which is crazy because I found plenty of it on the floor and sticking to her clothes. Whoever coined the phrase "terrible two's" was terribly wrong. It's the terrible THREES and it seems to magically begin as soon as the third birthday celebrations have ended. My oh my we are in for quite a year with Miss Allie. There are days when she is definitely more spice than she is sugar.

Yes my girls really are quite sweet. Of course for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, for every ounce of sweetness one little girl can contain, she has an equal amount of spice to really liven it up.

Our little Spice Girls:


Complete with a little art project we did where MOM did the cutting.

'Tis a Blessing

Now really, there never was a cuter little boy. Ever.

Yep, that's my little Ty guy all decked out in his white tuxedo. Many many thanks to Jacob's Aunt LaDean for being so generous to make Ty his little blessing outfit. His blessing day was absolutely perfect. Jacob did a beautiful job with the blessing and the afternoon was spent enjoying our wonderful family and eating some really good food. I'm still craving the homemade ice cream. And the girls are craving all the attention they got from grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was so awesome to have extra hands! Jacob and I even got to squeeze in a trip to the temple. Time alone with Jacob is almost non-existent, we loved the time together.

Is it any wonder this little guy is so handsome? Just look at his darn good-lookin' daddy!

My sumo son is now weighing in at 13 pounds. He is definitely not hurting for anything to eat, that's for sure! I can't believe how much he has changed. It's amazing what a difference 2 months makes in a baby. Our neighbors had a cute little baby girl just 4 weeks after us. She weighed 2 pounds lighter than Ty did when he was born, and has stayed just little petite. He has definitely got her beat. This is just so darn hilarious. Maybe because it looks like he's beating on her.

I've decided after having 3 babies that I really like the 2-month mark. It seems to be the point where we've gotten used to our "norm" and routine of having a new one in the home, and the newborn fog seems to have lifted. Life has definitely been kicked up a notch, but blessings keep pouring in along with the trials.

Some more random pics from our great weekend:

My Grandparents with Ty. So special. I absolutely love and adore my grandparents.



A 4-generation with dad, Grandpa Clark, and Great-Grandpa Floyd. This baby has come into quite an extraordinary family, I have to say.



Just in case you're wondering, I kiss these cheeks ALL. DAY. LONG.


And just for the record, his daddy's pretty fun to kiss too.

3!

My little Allie Gal recently celebrated her THIRD birthday! Hooray! When did those 3 years fly by?

Look at this sweet little baby girl.


And what a difference one year makes- my goodness:


And this just sums up Allie (and two-year-old's in general) perfectly:


In the weeks leading up to her birthday, whenever I asked Allie what she wanted she just said that she wanted blue ice cream. I better enjoy simple requests, they probably won't last long! But, I must say that I was NOT going to buy a whole tub of blue ice cream, that sounds appealing only to a 3-year-old. So, we went to Maggie Moo's (to spend the most ridiculous amount of money on a single scoop of ice cream) where we all could choose our own flavor. The day had been crazy and we didn't even make it in there until 9:30 at night. On the way over, Allie crashed in her carseat. As soon as we parked, Jacob whispered to her to see if she was ready for ice cream, and that little lady popped right up and was headed out of the car in no time! She won't miss a chance for ice cream! Of course the ice cream color of choice changed to green by the time it was all said and done. Thank goodness- the blue was the brightest blue I have ever seen and I instantly saw myself in a nightmare trying to get the stain out of Allie's clothes. Mint green was a lot more tame.

Her actual birthday was on Sunday and it was so fun to spend the day telling Allie "Happy Birthday!" and watching her just smile and love it. Here is her ice cream-shaped cake that managed to have little chunks taken out of it before we even got the candles lit.


Her sister was more than happy to help blow out the candles. All 3 of them.


She got lots of great little things for her birthday- thank you Grandmas and Aunts! Here she is sporting a little (or not so little) tutu from her Aunt Nicole. Prima Ballerina!


We love you Miss Allie Rae! My how you have grown.

Ninas

Obviously one cute little dude has gotten most of the attention around these here parts lately, so thought we'd give a rundown on what my little ladies have been up to:

For the 24th, our little town does a fun hometown parade put on by the Stake. Jacob was determined to hook up the pony cart to ride in the parade, and was just as determined that I accompany him to celebrate our pioneer heritage. Despite my initial hesitation, it was fun! Kenna decided that she wanted to ride on the float with the Primary kiddos, so Allie rode with us and helped throw out candy. Ty man just camped out in his car seat between my legs and took a happy snooze.




Kenna has a great little determination about her that is so fun to watch sprout out at times. She's been watching the neighbor kids ride their bikes around, so a few weeks ago she asked her daddy to take the training wheels off her bike. I'll be honest, in my mind I was predicting tears and much frustration. However, I gotta hand it to my little tike- she took matters into her own hands and within a few days and just a minor fall or two, had mastered riding on two wheels! She is oh so proud of herself and loves to ride. It's so cute to watch an itsy little thing whizzing past on an itsy little bike. Way to go Kenna! It's hard to get a good picture of a moving target...


Last Saturday we took the girls to a little reservoir they have here in town.

It was really fun. For 45 minutes.

Just as we unpacked the cooler, the picnic basket, the camp chairs, the towels, the cameras, the car seat with the baby stroller and then started to enjoy, it starting raining. Hard. Party over. We'll be sure to make it back, though.


This week a Primary friend had a "tea party" and invited the girls over. They were so excited to go! So they each chose a little dress up and spent the afternoon playing like princesses. Aaah, a quiet afternoon for mom. The only downfall? The quiet afternoon didn't include a nap. Beggars can't be choosers!

My little Kenna had her first soccer practice last night! I told Jacob now I'm an official soccer mom. He reminded me that now I just need a van! Hmmm, guess I can't quite fill the role just yet. Maybe I can get a great bumper sticker to stick on the back of the ol' sedan. I'll keep working on that...

She looked so cute in her little soccer garb that completely drowned her. We didn't even attempt the shorts. I'm afraid my sewing skills have met their match. We may have to save them for soccer that is 3-4 years down the road. She has 3 other cute little girls on her team and it was so fun to watch her. I think she liked it. Fortunately there was a playground next to the soccer field that occupied Allie during practice.


And of course, after a long hard day of playing in the summer sun, it's nice to just lay in bed and fall asleep next to your best buddy. Sometimes ya just gotta share your bunk.

ONE MONTH!

Oh my goodness gracious and heaven's sakes! My baby is one month old today! Have we really gone through almost the entire month of July? That is the fastest month that ever was. Which is really crazy because I've been awake for most of it, so I'm not sure how I missed it. Seeing as though time can go by so fast, why didn't the space between May 29th and June 29th go that fast? Hmm. I guess I conclude that I am enjoying my little guy much more having him OUT rather than when he was IN. Happy one month Ty!

While we are on the topic of "one's" we'll send a shout out to Jacob. His tally of diaper changes is up to...

(drum roll please)

...ONE! Way to go dad! Yes love, he is small, but no, he won't break if you change him. It's your turn to get peed on.

While we are doing SHOUT OUTS, this shout out is for a cherished and forever friend HAYLEY who is having her birthday tomorrow, July 30th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAY! LOVE YOU! I know how much you love your birthday. Hope it's a perfect one.

Genius

Another one for the memory book:

This afternoon the girls were out playing in the front yard while I was in the living room feeding Ty. They had bowls of dry Rice Krispies and were pretending to eat out of them like dogs. Yes, my little girls love to pretend to eat out of bowls like dogs, and I let them. Don't judge. I like to think my children are genius level, and their intelligence spills over into creativity.

Well, as inevitable as always, Allie started crying. Kenna came up to the screen door and announced, "Mom! Allie has blood!" First thought: Great, not again. Second thought: I need a clone. Allie came up to the screen door and I could see she had a lovely bloody nose. I admit, I was so happy to see her forehead was still in tact and I wouldn't have to make a mad dash to the ER. So, I interrupt Ty from his very peaceful, sleepy feed and head out to assess the situation. When she calmed down a bit and we stopped the bleeding, I got the story. To sum it all up, here's how it went:

She stuck a Rice Krispie up her nose because she was pretending to be a sheep.

No really, go ahead and read that again, there is no typo. I have no idea how Rice Krispies up the nose and being a sheep have anything to do with each other, but to my little Allie gal they go hand in hand. I took great comfort when through those big blue alligator-tear filled eyes she let me know that she did get the Rice Krispie out. Thank heavens, I really didn't want to go digging for it.

So, next time you are pretending to be a sheep, learn from the misgivings of a 2.99 year old that you should NOT stick a Rice Krispie up your nose. Doing so will result in nasal trauma.

Preoccupied

Whew- this newborn deal keeps me pretty preoccupied! I have a million things I could write about, but can't quite get my thoughts to run together. So maybe I'll just post some pictures and call it good. Besides, all you really want to see is a cute baby, right?

In no particular order....


The first family trip with all 3 carseats. It's tight- an upgrade may be necessary. We're currently accepting any donations to the Jacob-hates-to-admit-it-but-we-need-a-van fund.


The girls love their brother. They actually are pretty darn good about not smothering him too much. All things considered, the transition to having little brother has been fairly smooth. Of course now that I've put this in writing, all heck will break loose.




This picture doesn't capture it well, but my little Ty guy has the cutest little swirl of hair on the back of his head.


And let's just be honest here- this is the cutest little profile you ever did see.

Who knew a little boy could be so stinkin' cute? I am so in love with this little dude. Even if I get peed on many times a day. This new anatomy takes some getting used to with diaper changes. Every once in a while he has some fussy times. I think he actually would just prefer to be held. Some nights are better than others, but I suppose that's just all part of having a new baby. Even though this is my 3rd baby, I still play the "is this normal?" game. Each baby is definitely different, that's for sure.




The girls have been quite the little helpers for daddy lately. Daddy has been quite the helper for mom by taking the girls out. Ever since coming home with Ty, Allie seems to have gotten huge to me! She definitely is not my baby anymore. Here she is with her dad- pretty darn sweet:

We'll see how much success I have at getting another post done soon. Having a new baby, "soon" takes on a whole new meaning!