4 Months

Our sweet baby boy had his four month check up. Our boy! 4 whole months old. I am telling you this guy is the happiest, always smiling boy I have ever seen. He brings our family so much joy. He is starting to go all over the place, rolling all over and laughing while he does it. Oh his laugh, we love his sweet darling laugh. He laughs while we talk, he laughs when I change his diaper and he laughs when we get him dressed. He loves his brother and sisters and smiles whenever he sees them. Spencer still loves his swing and now sleeps (when he sleeps) in a room with his big brother. He likes to take a long nap in the afternoon and loves to grab hold of his toys and play with them. He still spits up all. day. long but it doesn't seem to bother him. Spencer loves to nurse. He would nurse all day long if I would let him. :) 

Official stats:

Weight: 15 lbs. 8 oz. (50th)

Height: 26 in. (75th)

Head: 43 cm. (90th)

Everyone loves Spencey Piey. 

100

So this girl of ours finished 100 reading lessons! I can't believe she (we!) made it all the way to the end. At the beginning of the summer I asked the kids if there was anything they wanted to work on over the summer. Camilla said she wanted to "read like Jane." I told her that Jane did this program with 100 reading lessons. She was sure that she wanted to do the same. This program is no joke. It took every last ounce of patience in my being and some days it ended in fits and frustration but we did it! I am so proud of my girl who when she sets her mind to something, she never gives up. 

So we knew we needed a big reward to keep her motivated so she picked out spending the night in a hotel and eating out at a restaurant. So we got a cute hotel in Georgetown and drove up and spent the day/night there. We had a great time. We swam in the pool, we went out to dinner, and we watched movie in the hotel while we ate ice cream.

 It was such a fun night. Then we got up Sunday morning and had a big breakfast (our kids' favorite part) and then went for a walk on a trail they have. It was great and they had parks along the way. 

Then it was time to pack up and head to church. I am so proud of my Camilla, she has worked so hard on her reading and is doing awesome. 

I also deserved some celebration for all the hard work that I put in. So Aaron booked me a massage. So I went for a long run and then got a massage and then came home and got ready and we went out to dinner and dessert. It was a very fun day for me. 

Love being out with this man of mine. 

The Last Time

Aaron got on a plane to fly home for the last time this week. The LAST time!! We can't believe it. We are so excited to have Aaron home with us. We have missed him. His time at Deloitte has been great and we are proud of all he has learned and how much he has grown but we are so happy for him to begin his career at Dell. For Aaron's last week he wanted to bring the kids home special presents. So he got the girls art projects. They sure loved painting their special boxes. 

Camilla worked diligently on hers and now sleeps with her special box every night. She keeps her most special things inside. :)

And for Carson - Pokemon cards. He sure loves these things. Not sure why but he thinks they are pretty much the greatest. 

We are excited for new adventures. 

My boys

I just love them. Two of my favorite boys. 

Mastitis

I unfortuantely came down with mastitis. It was pretty awful. The pain I felt like I could manage with meds but it just completely wiped me out. Like I couldn't get out of bed for days. My whole body ached and the chills were crazy. Thankfully it hit hard on a Friday, I got on antibiotics immediately and Aaron was home all weekend to help me. I have amazing friends who brought over dinner and helped a ton. Aaron's parents came for a couple of days and took care of the kids and then my Mom came for an afternoon to help me as well. I was very well taken care of, but man I still feel like I haven't recovered completely weeks later. It is a serious illness. 

I did not leave the house for several days, like not once. But man it felt good to get outside again. The first thing Brookey wanted to do was go for a walk and push her on the swing. 

Now that is has "cooled off" some - like a few degrees, I have started pushing the littles in the stroller some for runs. Well I decided to head out at 11 am the other day, it was 90 something degrees. SO hot. I was bright red when we got home. This was after I had been cooling down for like 15 minutes. 

Brooke saw me and said, "mom, red my favorite color!" She thought it was awesome. 

And sometimes are you ever amazed at what a mess dinner leaves your kitchen? Dinner always seems like so much work and then its over in like 10 minutes. And yet we keep doing it. 

I have been following a cleaning schedule for a couple of weeks. Brooke helps me with my projects. On kitchen day she likes to clean her slides. :) 

Dates with Dad

Aaron has been taking the big kids on bike dates. The requirements are it has to be at least a mile away and you have to be able to get a special treat there. :) 

Carson picked the gas station and got Gatorade and a hot dog. We are so proud of how good he is riding his bike now. 

Millie of course wanted some place that had ice cream. She works so hard to ride her bike. This girl doesn't give up on anything. 

It sure if fun to have the kids get old enough to go on bike rides by themselves. Josie also accompanied them and enjoyed herself greatly. 

Some fun lately

We hit up the children's museum while Aaron was out of town one Friday night. After the Thinkery we went to dinner in Mueller. It was a fun night. 

Draining the pool. We have gotten a lot of rain. 

Oh how we love our Spency piey. 

Spencer works out with me at the gym. He loves to do bridges. 

And just because he's the cutest. He has been so much fun lately. We all enjoy him so very much. 

And She's Off

Brookey started preschool this week. She loves it so much. She had been counting down the days until it was time for her to go to school. She happily got ready and went right in when we got there. She was so excited to pack a lunch and have her very own water bottle. I can't believe I am letting my baby girl go to school. I missed her so very much. She is such a delight to have home but I know she enjoys school so much that I'll do it. I cried a little bit at orientation, I am slightly attached to my Brookey boo but its just one day a week. :) 

She told me she loves school. She loves both her teachers, both named Ms. Jennifer. She loves her friends, "I not know their names Mom." She loves to play outside, in the sand and on the riding toys and to be pushed in the swing. She loves to paint and talk about letters and she loves to eat her whole lunch. I think she is going to have a great year! 

Mary Louise Adkins

My sweet Grandmother passed away last week. It happened very quickly and she passed away peacefully in her nursing home. It is always so hard to watch someone get old and in her case begin to forget but she always lit up every time we visited her and I am so grateful that my kids were able to spend time with her. I was blessed with a strong, amazing Grandmother that taught me lessons that will stay with me my whole life. I am proud to be a part of her legacy. I am so grateful that she can finally be with Pappy again. I am so grateful for eternal families.