School Bus Day

The day Faye has been waiting for all summer long finally came!

"School Bus Day!"

Waiting for the bus to come is always the hardest part!

Sammy had no idea what was going on, he was just happy to be part of the fun.

And off she goes!  I am so excited to see Miss Faye eager to learn. 

Eight Month Boy

Eight months already?!  Who let that happen?   

 My handsome little guy is no longer a glorified house plant.  Sam is a mover!  He still mostly scoots, but has started to be a full-fledged crawler, can climb up stairs, and pulls himself up along the furniture.  His baby blues continue to melt the hearts of every old lady at the grocery store.  Even though he's a curious young lad, he continues to be my snugly little guy and even cries for "Mama."

I can't get enough of this little duded. 

Go Green Monsters

 Faye had the oportunity to play a short season of soccer this summer through the county rec program.  Even better, Reed was her coach!  This cute little group of 3-5 year olds was hillarious to watch play, and they all adored Reed.  The team unanimously decided on the name Green Monsters for their team.

Faye and Ariella were so excited to play together!  Ari would often grab Faye by the hand and drag her into the action.  She definitely was more competitive than our Faye.

That being said, Faye did pretty well with keeping up with the mass of children chasing the ball across the field.  While other parents coached their children from the sideline on tactics and strategy, I was cheering for Faye whenever she touched the soccer ball.

Little Sammo enjoyed watching the soccer games. 

Each game was set in the heat of July evenings, it wore the kiddos out!  Seeing Faye drop with the other kids to rest on the field happened at least once a game.  

Luckily treats make everything better.

Four Years Already

Our Faye turned four! She is such a joy to have around.  Her speech continues to improve, and we are LOVING it!  

Faye tells us about everything imaginary she sees: dragons flying outside the car window, baby Gila Monsters crawling over the kitchen table, baby black jaguars she wants us to hold, etc.  She's named our little Rogue Red Toothless, to which both Alan and I immediately approved.  Today's surprise was having Faye ask me to be the "bad guy" and chase her around the room.  

With summertime sunshine and late nights, bed time hasn't been as successful as usual.  Faye has started a habit of not staying in her room and will often lay at the top of the stairs calling for Daddy, climb right into "Daddy's big bed" and fall asleep there instead, or come into our room in the middle of the night wanting to lay in our bed (that was terrifying the first time I woke up to her silhouette in the doorway).  

Her love for sharks and ocean creatures continues, and the spectrum of interesting animals has broadened to land-based creatures as well.  She loves to learn about all animals,  but still tends to be terrified when near them.  She loves to walk the neighbor's little dog, Sophie, which has been a tremendous improvement.

I love when Faye sees other little kids and is excited to interact.  Her classic opening line is, "Hi, Friends!"

Above all, she loves being silly with everybody.  We often are loud, often tumble and play, often do or say things in public which are received with quizzical glances, but best of all, we often have a grand old time while doing it.

Love you, my Fayebalina.

Birthday Pictures

 I'm always so grateful for my generous Mom, but especially so when it comes to pictures.  She's so great with my kids knowing that candid shots are the only way to go, and she is good to suggest when we need to go have another photoshoot.  So, on a quiet Sunday evening, we took the kiddos down by the river bottoms to try and get a few good shots.  Between lots of prancing, dancing, and general silliness on my part, we got a few golden shots!

Thanks so much, Mom!

Birthday's All Around

July is a busy month anyway, but we're still getting used to all the birthdays we have to celebrate!  Faye's cousins, Cambrie and Kelton, have birthdays within a week of Faye's, as does her cousin Vivian and her Uncle Ryan T.  This year was extra special as we celebrate each month with Sam, so add him into the mix, plus celebrating earlier in the month to make room for the upcoming wedding.....the only solution was a COMBINED PARTY!  My darling sister decided a year ago to throw a My Little Pony themed party for the girls this year.  Lucky Ryan got to join in with the celebration as our honorary brony.  

Our party included a picnic-style dinner and soccer before the presents and cake.  Luckily Uncle Reed and Grandma collaborated to purchase soccer balls and a goal for the little ladies.  

Even though we tried to keep the party small this year, the girls still wound up being fairly spoiled. 

My very talented and organized Heidi-Sister worked hard to crocet/knit both girls their own pony doll.  (She had them completed before Easter.)  Both Faye and Sam LOVE the Pinky-Pie Heidi made.

Sam was just loving being a part of the fun. 

 

I can't get over that huge grin! 

Gotta get in a family shot.  

Thanks, Mom, for always sharing your pics!

Sam's Baby Blessing

 Sam's blessing day was wonderful.  We were surrounded by family in every definition of the word.  Alan's family drove down from Logan.  Grandma Stratford and Grandma Johnson and Jay were able to join us.  Mom and all of my sibs were present.  The Calvert clan was there in full force.  Even the Pools came!  Alan administered a beautiful blessing.  It was wonderful to see so many who we love in the circle to help bless Sam.  As luck would have it, Sam was being fussy leading up to the blessing.  He's such a calm and mellow boy that I never anticipated this happening.  It was so sweet to hear each of the men mention how they helped to calm Sam so the blessing could be heard.  Grandpa Calvert hummed to Sam.  Kris Blauer mentioned holding Sam's hand.  Kelly mentioned the men bounced little Sam during the blessing.  A combination of all these things helped Sam to calm down just in time.  

My little guy looked so handsome in his darling outfit Grandma Sharon made for him.   Sharon mentioned the vest material was originally gray.  She loved the texture and decided to bleach the fabric until it was white.  Her attempts at bleaching took four separate rounds, one of which included the use of Drain-O.  The resulting pearl tone was perfect, and I love it even more knowing the story behind the fabric.

Miss Faye was cute to play with cousins and friends all day.  After all the commotion and excitement, she was feeling a bit jealous that everybody wanted pictures of Baby Brother. 

Our little guy was plum tuckered out after such an eventful day.  I'm so grateful to have this little soul in my life.  He is a joy and a blessing to me and reminds me of that with each little smile.  

Three Months

 At three months, our little Sam is sleeping through most nights.  He coos and giggles, chatty as can be.  He is still such a mellow little baby. 

 

Weighing in at 14 lbs and 24 inches, our man is a bit of a chunk.  He officially moved out of the 0-3 month clothes, which was surprisingly emotional for me.

Words

My heart is brimming with joy after enjoying the springtime weather this week. Miss Faye's speech has been continually improving, but these last few days she seems to have so much to say! And there's no particular light bulb moment, but even just hearing her respond to "why are you sad?" with "sucker fall" on our way home from dance class, it made my soul rejoice. We spent the evening digging in the garden with my mom.  Faye was so excited to use the shovel, so concerned when the two hoses were "stuck" together, and she asked Uncle Greg to play "rocket ship."  

She is loving Dr Suess books and can nearly recite Green Eggs and Ham. 

Faye is also more aware of how other people are feeling and of their conversations. Today she heard Sam cooing while he was wiggling on the ground. 

"Mommy, sam!"

"Yeah! Sam is talking to you. He says 'Faye, where are you? I miss you."

"Oh, okay."

At this point she walked to where Sam was, said "kiss!" then bent down and kissed her brother. My heart melted. 

I am so grateful for her development and for the budding relationship between our two kids. Thank the heavens for these tender mercies.

And a Green Parasol

 I recently purchased Faye a new dress as a reward, and also to double as an Easter dress.  She was eager to wear it around the house.  While wearing it, she re-discovered her green parasol.  Suddenly a vision was born. Mom and I both wanted to get a picture of Faye with her parasol and new dress near a lake.  So we packed up the kids, the forecast was 60 degrees (And it felt like 60 degrees), and we had a mission.

At  Daybreak's lake, though, there was a significant drop in temperature and the breeze increased the chilly factor.  Between the two, Faye wasn't as adventurous as she would have been otherwise, and Sam was pretty upset that he was chilly.  While I attempted to take care of Sam, Mom was able to get a few cute shots of Faye.

We didn't have the dream photoshoot we were hoping for, but these few shots made the adventure worth it.  Thanks, Mom!

Dino

Dear Dino,

Five years have already passed since we saw you last. So much has changed since you left, and I often catch my self imagining how things might have been. I wish you could have met my two babies, I know you would have loved them to pieces. I hope to watch you wrestle and tickle them one day when we are all reunited. 

I love you so much and wish you were here.

Love always,

Your Baby Bear

2 Months

Time has flown by so quickly since Sam arrived.  At two months he is still my happy and content little guy.  We are learning he's not too fond of being in the car, but otherwise still only cries if he needs something.  Every night he gets in one five or six hour stretch between feedings, which I am most grateful for.  He LOVES to eat, which I thought wouldn't kick in until he was a teenager. Currently he referred is to as "Baby Brother," "McChubbs," and "Junior" more than anything else.

At his two month appointment Sam measured 23.5 inches and 12 lbs 3 oz which puts him at 56% for both height and weight.  

I'm so grateful to have this little charmer in the family.

Zoo Trip

My mom's current work schedule allows her to have every other Friday off.  So this Friday we spontaneously decided to go to the zoo! We packed up the two kiddos and left to enjoy the sunshine and 50 degree weather.

Lion tamer Faye.

Sam got hungry a bit into our adventure, so he and I sat on these bleachers by the elephants while Mom and Faye continued to explore.  I rather enjoyed my tranquil half hour of watching the elephants.  They, too, were eating.  I was amazed to watch them pile up bits of hay that had fallen, and then dusting off the hay before they ate it. 

It looks like Mom and Faye found some fun play areas while Sam and I were busy.

Happily fed and unaware of the excitement he can't participate in.

Faye had been riding on the polar bears when she asked for Baby Brother to come sit with her.  (Yay!  Love hearing her mentioning Sam.)  

 

The seals and sea lions are always fun to watch.

 

Faye giving Grandma a princess pose next to the bear size chart.

 

I love this picture of Faye.  Partly because it captures so much of her personality, but also because there are numerous pictures of me and my siblings on this very wall from every zoo trip we've ever had.  I'm so glad they kept this wall between all the renovating of the grounds.

Faye did so well with walking/running all about the zoo.  She didn't become tired until we were making the downhill walk back to the gate.  She adores my mom, the two are thick as thieves.  So, naturally, when Faye became tired, she insisted on Grandma carrying her.

Thanks, Mom, for such a fun outing at the zoo!