Utah Trip Part 1

After talking with my family, we decided to DRIVE out to Utah to visit. The kids did awesome on the 25 hour drive. Rob and I drove all through the night, and we couldn't have had better kids. We have had a great time out here. We went to Hogle Zoo with my family.

Max really thought this elephant was real as there is a speaker inside it that makes noise.

Max hatching.

Kate and Lexi. Kate has a really bad eye infection in her right eye. She developed it on the drive out.

We had a surprise party for my sister, Mary. Here Max and Paige are watching a balloon fly up in the sky.

Kate at the party. She is teething.

All my siblings, in order from oldest to youngest. Sara, Matt, Mary, me, Danny, Rachel, Ben, Sheri, Holly, Paige and Tiffany.

My family with spouses and kids. Adam, Sara's husband, is the only one missing.

We went to St. George for Rob's 10 year class reunion. Here Mark is having the kids race to Grandpa.

Max sharing his popsicle with Kate.

Kate deciding if she likes the popsicle.

Robert wrestling with Doug.

We went to Fiesta Fun to do the bumper boats. Max was in awe over the cars. Here he is watching the cars with Mark, Courtney and Megan.

Bumper boats with Grandpa.

Getting another snowcone with Grandpa as his first one fell out on the grass.

Max and Kate with his Madsen cousins.

Cheering for cousin Ben during his cross country race in Cedar City.

My family came to St. George for a few days. Here Max is playing with Grandpa Milar at the pool.

Going down the slide.

Grandma Madsen has these 5-gallon buckets in her pantry. Max likes to make forts with them.

Grandma and Kate. Kate is actually smiling! She has MAJOR separation anxiety. She screams when anyone but me holds her.

Utah Trip Part 2

Max and his cousin Jack. They had a fantastic time playing together.

Davis and Kate.

Max has been taking swimming lesson from Alisha, my sister-in-law. She has done a great job teaching Max how to swim and float.

Diving for rockets.

We went to Red Cliffs for a hike. I had to carry Kate the whole hike- she hated the hiking backpack I brought. Max loved playing in the sand.

We found a tiny little frog.

Relief for my arms- Kate sitting in an iKea bag.

I took the kids over to the St. George temple for some pictures. It is tricky to get my kids to cooperate, but here are some of the better shots.

Max reading scriptures on the temple stairs.

I really wish my camera was in auto focus, not manual, for this picture. I didn't realize I hadn't switched it back when I snapped this. I will have to take them back over.

We are going to be going to Salt Lake on Tuesday, and staying there for a couple more weeks. It has been a lot of fun being out here with family.

Family Fun

Side Note: The pictures are not in chronological order, or any order for that matter.

On Sunday, Rob and I decided to take the kids over to Pinnacle Mountain to walk the Kingfisher Trail. It is a scenic loop, with lots of opportunities to take photos. If only Max would have cooperated! A nice couple took this picture of all us. It was the only picture, so while we are not all looking and smiling at the camera, at least we are all in the photo!

I took a picture of Rob with the kids.

And Rob took a picture of me with the kids.

A couple of weeks ago, I realized that Kate loves to roll a ball back and forth. I will shamefully admit, I thought rolling balls back and forth was only a "boy" thing. However, I could not be more mistaken. Kate was all smiles as we played "pass." Kate also loves eating Max's tractors/cars.

I have been wanting to get out and explore all the things Little Rock has to offer. A couple of weekends ago, we decided to go to Heifer Village. It was very interesting. To sum up what they do, Heifer provides sustainable resources to those in need. Here I am showing Max and Kate a mosquito net.

Max turned two on June 24. He woke up at the crack of dawn (seriously- 5 am). Rob was up getting ready, so I decided to make Max's requested breakfast of oatmeal pancakes first thing. I also had Max open a few presents before Rob left for work. Max had a fantastic birthday. He was so excited with his gifts and the activities for the day he did not take a nap. We gave him a doctor set, books, clothes, puzzles, tractors, and a bat. He was thrilled.

I took him to the zoo for his birthday. Here he is posing with a tractor on a big rock found at the entrance.

Max and Kate both love watching the penguins. Typically, the penguins are in the water and enjoying looking at the people!

Make a wish!

We go to the pool a lot. I was worried that Kate would not like the water because of her arm, but she has loved it! For a long time she would not splash the water with her left arm, but as of 2 weeks ago that has changed. YAY!

Ron, our neighbor, came with us to the pool one evening. Max loves hanging out with Ron.

Judy, Ron's wife, also came up to the pool. Kate was surprisingly calm while Judy held her. Kate has "stranger danger" and cries when anyone but her parents hold her. You can see Max on the diving board in the background.

Max LOVES jumping off the diving board. Every time we drive past the pool, I hear him in the back seat saying, "Bye diving board. See you soon!"

We went to a Travelers baseball game with some tickets from Rob's work. It was hot, but the kids had a fun time.

We have a lot of family fun. It seems like the weekends always fly past.

6 Months and 2 Years

Kate is now 6 months old. She went in for her check-up today. She is 22 pounds, 11 ounces (99%ile), 28 inches long (98%ile) and her head is 17.5 inches around (92%ile). She is learning and growing so quickly. She is able to roll from her stomach to her back. She is a food critic, using her tongue to see what we are having her try before she will open up and eat. Kate does not have any teeth, but I believe she is working on them now. She loves her brother, Max. She watches him and plays with him. She rarely cries if he bumps, pulls, or tries anything with her. She is sitting fairly well. She still goes in for therapy a couple of times a month. Kate likes to watch TV. She loves her blanket. She grabs her toes with her hands all the time. She is beautiful, and we love her so much.

Max went in for his 2 year appointment today. He was very excited to see the doctor. Max is 27 pounds (38%ile), 35 inches long (70%ile), and his head is 19 inches around (39%ile). He is learning so much every day. He loves tractors, cranes, fire trucks, ambulances, garbage trucks, balls, books, Curious George, Signing Time, and swimming. He is a great eater. He loves oatmeal pancakes, waffles, tomatoes, avocados, berries, bananas, and fresh baked bread (to name a few things). His favorite dessert (aka "special") is fruit snacks. We cut his pacifiers in half today, as he is getting a bit old to have one. He loves his blanket, and puts the tag in his ear. Max loves his little sister, Kate, and will tell her to "be happy" when she is crying/sad. He can play independently, but loves to play with someone as well. We love our handsome boy.

Happenings

Life has been busy around here. I find that life is just that way. There is always something to be done. Today has been extremely productive for me. I got up at 4:30 this morning, nursed Kate, and headed out the door for an 8 mile run. Rob has been appointed my "coach". On Sunday, we figure out what my running schedule will be for the week, and then I have a goal and am able to do the runs. I am really trying to drop my weight. Since being pregnant with Kate, I have lost 60 pounds! Yeah, I was fat. I still have 18 pounds to go to get to my goal weight. I am feeling like it is a doable goal. Anyways, after the run, I was able to get the bathrooms cleaned, and the main floor dusted and polished. Max was awake when I got back, but he is a great helper. Eventually Kate woke up, I got laundry started, I fed the kids, we went to the doctor for Kate (she has thrush... again... so we had to go see a doctor to get her a stronger prescription), went to the grocery store, finished cleaning the house, made bread, browned meat, unloaded the dishwasher, and started preparations for dinner. While I was changing Kate's diaper, Max got really quiet. As a mother, I am always suspicious of what is going on when things are quiet. When I found Max, this is what I saw. I am guessing he tried the salt, didn't like it, so he moved onto the sugar! He told me, "Yummy Mommy!"

On May 26, Rob had his birthday. Max was fascinated by the candles, and would smile for the picture, but wouldn't look at the camera. He couldn't look away!

It has been super hot outside lately- like high 90's with 85% humidity. When we aren't at the pool, I have to find things for the kids to do indoors. Max has always loved playing in the beans, and now Kate does too! Kate hated the beans for a long time. We were told to get them as part of her physical therapy. You see, Kate hated taking baths (which she doesn't anymore!). The temperature change on her arm would make her cry and cry. We would rub the beans all over Kate, especially her arm, to overstimulate her. Then when she got in the bath, she wouldn't scream so much. I haven't used the beans for a long time with Kate, but I thought I would let her try them again. She LOVES them! She would try and "splash" them with her hand (only her right, not her left). It was fun for the kids to play in them.

I was invited to play on a 3v3 soccer league this summer. It is a short season, only 4 weeks long. Each week I have a couple of games, and then the last week we play a tournament. It has been a lot of fun. Rob, Max, and Kate have been great to come and cheer me on. Last week was so hot, but we had still had a great time. Max loves to "dribble, dribble, dribble, pass" the "yah-ko" ball with me.

Kate loves to grab her toes. I usually help her get her left ones, but then she will just hang out, holding her toes, for quite some time. I think it is pretty dang cute. Love this girl!

I think those are all the major happenings around here. Life is busy.

New Things

I am having Kate try to eat baby food. So far, it has not been a positive experience for her. However, Kate is thrilled to sit in her high chair.

She is even happy to hit a teething biscuit on her tray.

But try and feed her, and she gives you a puzzled look and immediately turns away and spits out the food. She hates it! She also hates bottles. I had an episode last week where I wanted her to bottle feed as I had a lot of medicine in my system, and she wouldn't even try it!

Kate has been fussy lately due to her lack of mobility. The rolling has helped, but she really wants to stand up and see all around. We had an excellent exersaucer with Max, but unfortunately it didn't survive the move (a part was misplaced). Yesterday we found this on Craig's list. I picked it up in the afternoon, and Kate has been thrilled.

She liked the Johnny Jump-Up for about 5 minutes. She wanted to play with something, not just bounce.

My "little" girl is growing up quick! I am amazed at how time flies.

Rolling

Kate is rolling! We have been working on it for some time in physical therapy, and it finally clicked for her! She is not a consistent roller, but she will get there. Max is always happy to show her just how to do it.

Last week I was really sick. I had Rob stay home from work on Thursday to take care of me. Kate had an ear infection too. Max was just getting over his sickness. I am finally feeling better. I think I will even work out tomorrow! Yay!

Our garden is growing. I had to replant some corn, but other than that everything is popping up. Hopefully we will have an abundant harvest.

I will sync my pictures to the computer for tomorrow's post. No pictures tonight.