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.