St. George Family Reunion and Utah Trip

The first 2 weeks of August were spent in Utah visiting with my family.  The first week we were in St. George UT.  My family and I rented a house in Hurricane.  It was just beautiful and perfect for our needs! It had a pool in the back yard which kept the kids entertained at all times.  Along with relaxing at the house.  We spent some time in St George at a children's museum and Brigham Young's home.  We spent one day in Zion's.  Which truly is breathtaking.  We did the walk up to the Narrow's where the kids could play in the river at the end.  We also saw my dad's cousin Annie and they hosted us for dinner which was so yummy!  The whole week was a lot of fun.  Terrill flew home at the end of the week and I was on my own after that!  I drove home with my sister to her house in Logan.  It was so fun to hang out and be in her home.  We went to the zoo and the heritage farm.  Mason had a blast with his cousin Hudson.  Tessa was also a huge help with the baby.  After my sisters, the kids and I headed to my moms house where we just relaxed.  It was so nice!  We also spent the day at the Hogle Zoo.  Then it was time for us to fly home.  Both kids did amazingly but I was so excited to be home and see Terrill!!!  It was a good test for me to be alone with both kiddos.  I think I survived :)

Madison 2 months old!

Madison is 2 months old today!! We love her to pieces and she is such a good baby! She pretty much sleeps through the night and just wakes up once around 4:30 or 5:30, sometimes even 6:30.  It's amazing to have a newborn that sleeps! I couldn't be more blessed.  She had to get shots yesterday and screamed, but quickly stopped and pretty much has been fine ever since.  This past month she learned to smile and giggle.  She is also ticklish too!  I love watching her grow up.  

Weight: 12lbs (74%)

Height: 23 inches (80%)

Peach Picking in July

On Saturday we decided to head out to Brentwood and do some peach picking.  We decided on Wolfe ranch because they had the best price at only .90 cents a lb!  The peaches were HUGE and ripe.  Mason had fun pulling the wagon and running around.  He also helped Terrill pick some peaches.  Madison enjoyed it too because she was nestled in close in the Ergo.  She slept the whole time.  We ended up with 40 lbs of peaches.  I canned 12 quarts worth and made 12 half pints of jam as well.  I actually went back to the ranch yesterday and picked up 35 more pounds.  I am freezing all of those.  The peaches this year are so yummy so I figure I better stock up!  After we picked peaches on Saturday we headed over to Eric's deli for some delicious sandwiches!  Overall a really fun family outing.

Madison's Baby Blessing - July 13

Madison's blessing day turned out wonderfully!  I was so thankful my brother was here because he was a huge help with getting food ready, taking care of Mason and setting up tables and such.   My sister also made Madison's blessing dress which turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.  She is so talented and always willing to help in whatever way she can.  The morning of the blessing Terrill had church meetings which I didn't realize so that was a nice surprise! :) The blessing was beautiful, although at the very beginning Mason fell and hurt himself and started screaming so Karen Stapley took him out for me (bless her heart!).  Luckily Laurie recorded it and the rest was just perfect.  After sacrament meeting we came back to our house for a BBQ in the scorching 100 degree weather.  We set up tents and misters but I think people were still melting in the heat.  Overall, I thought it was very fun and I hope people had a good time! We love our family and that they came from far places to be here to support us!! P.S. I am SOOO sad that I didn't get a picture with my brother!

4th of July in Tahoe

We made it to Tahoe! Before the baby was born, I wasn't sure if I would be up for it since she was only 4 weeks old at the time.  We decided to go for a short trip for just a couple of days. It was so nice to be with everyone and to see the beauty Tahoe has to offer.  We really love it up there.  I also got to hike a bit with the baby since I am not 100% comfortable with on the boat, being so little.  Mason and Terrill had a blast riding on the boat.  Mason also was so excited to be with his cousins and dig in the sand with his shovel.  Overall it was such a fun trip!

Madison 1 Month Old

Madison is 1 month old! And we call her our little screamer.  She makes the cutest noises and does these really dainty screams.  Honestly, it is so cute.  She is the best sleeper ever!! She sleeps until about 4 in the morning every night.  It just doesn't seem right for a newborn to be that way, but I will take it! It has allowed me to get back into the swing of things faster than I did with Mason.  She loves to be swaddled, held and is starting to smile.  She is as healthy as can be is and is starting to get a little chub!

one month stats:

Weight - 9lbs 15oz; (71%)

Height - 22 1/4 inches; (94%)

Head - 14 1/2 Centimeters; (52%)

Mason's Swim Lessons

About 3 weeks after the baby was born, Mason started swim lessons with a couple of his friends from Nursery.  Dean in our ward offered to give lessons at his pool at his parents house.  He was great with the kids.  Mason learned to kick, blow bubbles, stay near the wall, go under the water and float on his back.  He really did well, even though every day he said he didn't want to go.  Since we have had these swim lessons, he has gotten so much more comfortable in the water!