Privacy

One guess what he's doing 'back' there.  Business.  'Cause you know if he can't see you, you can't see him.  And the closet is just to far away for a kid busy at play.

Hand-sie

Of all my kids, Hailee is for sure the most explorative with her hands.  For several weeks now, she is constantly reaching for everything and anything within reach... and it all goes straight to her mouth.  I know that's pretty standard for babies, but she's barely 3 months old, and really has great hand-eye coordination.  And seriously, the boys did very little exploring with their hands until they were much older.  It's always so interesting to me to see just how different each child is from the next.

She takes her paci, and loves it, but she's doing an awful lot of sucking on her hands.  Every once in a while, she gets a finger or her thumb squarely in her mouth and she is in heaven. I'm thinking she's gonna end up a thumb or finger sucker... not so sure how I feel about that right now.

Pretty Little Piggies

Seriously, this is so much fun.

over breakfast

As Eli started eating his honey nut cheerios...

Eli: frink peas (drink please)
Me: drink?
Eli: yesh
Me (as I'm getting a cup out): drrrr-ink, drrrrr-ink
Eli: dwo-frink, dwo-frink
Me (pouring the milk): drrrr-ink, Eli, say drrrrr
Eli: dwo
Me (holding on the cup): ink
Eli (eying his cup) ink
Me: yes, drrrr-ink, drink!
Eli: mee-ilt, peas (milk, please)

Summer Hike

We took a family hike the other night in the Dishman Hills.  The last time Nathan or I had been hiking here was back when we were dating... we went on a hike with my parents. I'm pretty sure my dad's motive behind that hike was to show off Spokane to Nathan.  My dad is forever the 'move-to-Spokane' salesman.

I really wanted to hike up to where we had hiked with my parents- the view was amazing... it overlooked the whole Spokane Valley.  But the kids weren't quite up for it. 

Bryson embraced hiking by transforming into an attack hiker...

Oh the cliche phrases for this picture... 'when nature calls,' or 'when ya gotta go...'  I know he'll kill me for posting this someday, but I just couldn't resist.

Dallin lagged behind pretty much the entire time.  It was only when I mentioned that I had skittles for when we got to the top of the hill, that he picked up his pace and was way off in the lead. 

It was hot, but we had fun.  Hailee slept in the front pack, Dallin and Eli took turns in the backpack and Bryson was ready to attack.  I think he was a little disappointed that he didn't get to defend all of us.

Reflecting

I was scheduled to work today.  But a week ago, feeling the gravity of the waning summer, (and since the NICU census has been realllly low) I volunteered to be the first canceled if we were overstaffed.  I called last night and even though our census was up, we were still overstaffed by 4 nurses, so I was pretty confident my phone would be ringing at 5am letting me know I was off.  Instead, my alarm woke me up at 5:35... I was pretty surprised and called in to make sure that there wasn't a mistake before I showered.  Sure enough, twins born at 2:30am so they needed me.  I showered and was all ready to go and came downstairs to eat and noticed a missed call and voicemail on my phone... I was canceled after all.  It's always nice to be canceled last minute, because it's like I've gained an extra day.

So now it's 6am and I'm up for the day... I'm pretty sure that if I laid back down I'd fall asleep just in time for all the boys to come bouncing in and I'd be all tired and grumpy, so instead I'm enjoying the quiet of my house.  And I got to thinking.  I've been doing a lot of thinking recently.  Nathan is going to a funeral today for a friend.  His passing has hit me pretty hard.  He was young... left a wife and 4 kids all 6 and under.  It's been hard not to put myself in his wife's shoes.  But in the midst of this tragedy, I really have gained a new and precious perspective.  I've let some people know how much I care for them, and how glad I am to have them in my life.  I'm treasuring my husband more- I think I've always done a good job of that, but even more so now.  I'm holding my kids longer, reading to them more and letting all the other 'stuff' go- because you never know when and how things will change dramatically... and other things I do know will bring about great changes.  Like September 8th- the first day of school.  All day school for Bryson.  He'll spend more of his waking hours at school than at home and while I know he's not going off into the big cold world just yet, I do ponder if I've taught him enough, set a good enough example, and if he's sure enough of himself to stand up for what is right despite what his friends may say or do.  I know, it's just first grade, but it's a big step for both of us... and it'll be here before I know it... or am really ready.

Two Swings Built for One

Dallin learned how to swing on his own this summer.  Nathan built this great little swing set in the spring- and all Dallin wanted to do for the longest time was swing... it was handy that he taught himself to swing shortly after Hailee was born *grin*  Apparently, he also learned that two is better than one... or that more is better?  I dunno, but it always cracks me up when I see him swinging like this:

We from Kentucky

Nothing like a little redneck fort building.  I love me my boys.

Nathan's brother Aaron and his wife Amie came out from Kentucky for a visit in July.  They left their three older kids in Kentucky with grandma and brought almost-three-year-old Jackson with them.  It was so fun spending time with them and getting to know Jackson better since he was born just after we moved away- he is a little monkey!  Nathan's sister Christi and her husband Bob came up with Walker from Oregon to visit for the weekend and see Aaron and Amie too- their three older kids were in Kentucky for the summer visiting Aaron and Amie's kids *grin*  Pretty sad that between all of us,  these are the only pictures that were taken...

Livin' the dream... rolling around on the floor in their pj's and eating giant pretzels.

Eli and Jackson have both successfully chewed gum separately just fine many times before... but apparently when they are together and chew gum....

it ends up in their hair.

We have no idea who did it first, but the other copied very quickly.  Neither Amie or I were very gentle in the removal of it... and the gum-in-the-hair act hasn't been repeated since, either.  Tough love.

snug as a bug

Now tell me you wouldn't be a little freaked out to see your kid sleeping like this most nights....

And plenty of nights, he's face down... good thing the side rail is mesh, right? 

The Ice Cream Man's Lucky Day

Sittin' up!

Well, in my bumbo seat, at least.

Still just as excited

Honestly, I still hear the boys saying to each other that they can't believe they have a baby sister... they love holding her and talking to her.  I must say, I am rather relieved, especially with Eli's acceptance of her.  A few months ago, I was upstairs getting the boys dressed and ready... Hailee was crying up a storm downstairs in her bouncy seat that was in the port-a-crib... but I just needed to get the boys dressed real quick, so she was gonna have to deal with it momentarily... somewhere in the chaos, Eli disappeared.... and Hailee stopped crying... I finished with the older 2 and called for Eli but he didn't come... so I went looking, and found him IN the port-a-crib next to the bouncy seat talking softly to Hailee...

It was unbelievably sweet.  He'd given her a paci and had his left arm up and around her, cradling her head and was holding her hand... at one point he was resting head on hers, the whole time talking very softly and sweetly with his unintelligible words- how I would love to know what he was saying to her!

A few mornings ago, each of the boys were very eager to hold Hailee... she was not about to let me lay her in her crib so I could get some things done, so I let each boy hold her in her rocking chair with the boppy pillow as long as they wanted...

It worked great for all parties involved- Hailee was held (and fell asleep), the boys were entertained and I got the bathrooms cleaned!

Honestly, I can't lay Hailee down anywhere without her brothers instantly being all over her...

I love how Dallin talks to her... "how's my little princess?" or "hi my sweet angel"... so sweet.

I tried to get some pictures of her in her cute little summer dress... Bryson thought it was an open invitation for a personal photo shoot with her...

He seriously kept changing positions and saying, "now take another one mom... how about like this?"  I have NO idea where he got that from...

My friends who have recently had a little girl after several boys all report that the magic will wear away as soon as she get mobile and can start getting into and stealing their big brothers toys... makes sense to me, but I'm sure enjoying this time while I can.