Back Again!

So we're back in Utah after 3 whole weeks in Kansas.  I am recovering from several bad nights of sleep, but hopefully my brain power will be back enough to write some good blogs this week.  We had a really great time going to the lake and seeing lots of friends and family.

A few quick things:
-- Ash won the weight loss challenge while I was gone and notified me via text message photo of him on the scale with the numbers to prove it.  I have no idea where the cash went. He's very skinny, I almost didn't recognize him at the airport.  I'm proud of him.  Unfortunately, I still have work to do! :)

-- Helena asked me why we live in Utah last night as she was going to bed.  She seems to think Kansas is a lot more fun.  And she's evidently over her shy streak-- yesterday on the plane she made a friend with our seat mate.  They were BFF's by the time the whole 3 hours was over...Helena had looked at all her pictures on her phone, was sitting on her lap, asking her to watch Toy Story with her, putting stickers all over her, etc., and as we were saying goodbye Helena says, "Hey Tara, you should come to my birthday party.  It's going to be really fun.  It's on October 4th!"  Hilarious.  This lady was SO NICE and I was SO GRATEFUL for her help on the flight.  The kids were as good as can be expected, but flying from Minneapolis to SLC by myself with those two is not on my to do list again any time in the near future.

-- Harper is a walking fool now.  He's so funny, and he's saying a few more words too -- "thank you", "fish!" and a few names of family/pets he learned in Kansas.

That's all for now! :)

-Emily :)

Let the Vacations Begin!

We're heading to Kansas tomorrow...just me and the kids...for a 3 week stay visiting friends and family.  Ash has too much going on at work to leave, and an intern to...intern. :)  I'm glad we're able to go for such an extended period of time....my hope is that it will be a little less stressful than visits past in terms of seeing everyone adequately.

Anyway, we're very excited to see my sister & her family and all of my grandparents who we haven't seen since Christmas.  And some lake time is sorely needed....and I think it's been warm enough (or maybe too warm) for lake time.  My sister and I are going to Lawrence for a couple of days...just us, no kids (a big thanks to my mom and aunt for watching all 4 kids for us while we're gone.  May the force be with you!).  We're very excited for a little sister mini-break.

I'm going to try to post from Kansas a little so that I don't forget things and hopefully make it a bit more interesting for my 10 readers than one big Kansas post at the end of it all. We'll see. :) Internet is a little sketchy in Burrton....

Hopefully I'll see some of you around B-town and beyond.  :)  I'll be the really pale one at the lake who is sweating profusely since it hasn't been more than 95 with no humidity here in Utah all summer....


-Emily :)

Headbangers

Who knew John Lee Hooker-ish music would be such a hit with the kiddos.  One of their favorite while-mommy-is-putting-the-laundry-away activities is having a dance party in Harper's room.  Hopefully next time I tape Harper there won't be a near-injury moment captured.  :)

-Emily

Stats

Cow tipper in training. Ha!

In honor of Harper's recent milestone, a little list of stuff he does / digs.  This will be so useful when I get around to filling out his baby book properly. :)  Yes, I use my blog as a cheat sheet...
Physical stats:
Weight- 20 lbs. 10 oz. - 25th percentile
Height - 31 in. - 75th percentile
Head - enormous, the doctor measured it twice because he thought that the first nurse measurement was surely a mistake.  Nope.

Communication:
Words: Dada, Mama, Helena (Lay-nah), drink, cat, Dill, Uh-oh, this, that.  Signs for 'all done' and 'night-night' and shakes head yes and no.

Playing:
Water table, playing catch, climbing stairs, trying to jump off stairs, reading books, playing with Helena, riding along on hikes, splashing in the bathtub, cars, riding on cars, squashing bugs, chasing bugs.

Physicality:
Sleeping through the night. Yes, mostly.  Naps - still 2 most of the time, but mom only lets me nap for 45 minutes to an hour in the mornings or else we get messed up.

Not walking yet, but can stand on his own and has taken 4-5 steps by himself several times.

Currently has 3 teeth on top, 2 on the bottom.  Working on 3 more at the moment...ugh.

Eating:
Still eating just about everything enthusiastically -- meat, broccoli, blueberries, yogurt, cauliflower, cherries, strawberries, green beans, oatmeal, peas, spinach, mashed potatoes, waffles, apples, pears, blackberries.  Not a big fan of bread, carrots, cheese or fish.

Personality:
Very fun-loving, jovial, friendly and easy going at this stage.  He's starting to get a little clingy to mommy sometimes.  Loves following Helena around and kind of wonders where she is when she's at school. 

End of the hike around a lake at Brighton ski resort.

Love ya little buddy!

-Emily :)

Harper's First Birthday



Dump truck cake made by myself, Helena and Meghan.

Harper turned one last Friday.  Hard to believe it's already been that long!  We had a good time on his special day -- my mom, Ash's grandma Claudene and his cousin Meghan all came to help us celebrate.  We tried to go to the zoo on his big day, but it was so crowded we ended up going to the children's museum downtown.  Then we opened presents once Ash got home from work and had cake.  Harper took down the cake...it was hilarious. 

Some pictures from the day -- Happy Birthday little buddy!  :)

Post-cake smile.

New truck!

Playing outside in the water table.  Very very fun.

At the children's museum just chillin'.

I'm very good at splashing.

Rare moment of not being too wiggly.

-Emily :)

Jayhawk in our Basement

We've got a new roomie this summer.  And jeez, he's already halfway though his stay and I've yet to blog about it.  I suck!  This summer is just kicking my ass and I've had no time to write.  Lots of visitors, swimming lessons, park dates, etc.  :)  Good times.
Anyway, my cousin Jonathan is living with us this summer and interning with Ashford.  He just finished up his first year at KU and is planning on getting a degree in Civil Engineering.  We're having fun with him and I appreciate someone else around the house to wrangle the kiddos while I cook dinner.   I hope he's having fun, too...he's definitely working hard and learning a lot, I think.
I'm also teaching him how to cook this summer....so far we've conquered chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and salmon.  This weekend we're moving onto cherry pie and enchiladas.  :)  Hopefully these cooking skills will impress his future roomates and girlfriends! 

The kids love him...especially Harper.  And Helena would boss him around all day if he let her.

Intern and pack mule for the summer.

Harper likes to cuddle with him. :)  So cute.

- Emily :)

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  We've either had visitors or I've been traveling for the past 3-ish weeks.  :)  It was fun, all of it, but now I have major catching up to do around the homestead!

My dad paid us a visit before Memorial Day -- we all had a lot of fun -- especially Helena who loved building towers with Papa Larry and appreciated him carrying her on his shoulders during a short hike we took.  While on his shoulders, she actually proclaimed "This is such GREAT exercise!"  Jeez...

During block building Harper earned the nickname 'Godzilla'.

Then I took a little girls trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma over Memorial Day weekend.  Ash did great with the kids while I was gone, even taking them on a slew of outings -- a friend's BBQ, motorcycle race, and to a Thomas the Train event.  I came back well rested (I slept until 9:30 am one day!  OMG!) and more appreciated by my husband. Ha! :)  It was one of the few vacations that I can remember that I came back more rested than when I left.  Lots of chillin', eating, talking, movie watching....good times for sure.

Tracee, Aimee, Erin & myself. 

When I returned from Tulsa, my Aunt Kerri & Uncle Herman were here dropping off my cousin Jonathan for the summer.  And that, my friends, will be the subject of my next post. :)

-Emily :)