Sam at Seven Months

Guest post by Mom:

Sam was seven months on May 25th. I'm struggling to keep up with four kids and more work! I hope I do this post justice. 

Our Sam.

Sometimes he won't look at the camera for anything. Especially if there is water to splash in. 

He's so good at going with the flow. He puts up with Daddy's antics and mine.

He's starting to get the hang of food. For awhile there, he just didn't get it. One pizza crust later and he's constantly reaching to get whatever is in your hand that you are trying to put in your mouth.

I swear Iva is still his favorite person. I am only ranked above her because I am a food source. He absolutely LIGHTS UP whenever they make eye contact. She gets him giggling like no one else. 

I took these pictures after they had both woken up grumpy... then they saw each other.

Sam has developed "almost" a sleeping schedule. He was getting up at 6:30 am for awhile there, but now Mom can kind of hold him off until 7 am. He naps around 9:30 or 10:00 and then cat naps in the afternoon and evening. After 8 pm rolls around he is ready to checkout for the night. It's a sliding scale between 8 and 9 pm, but it's definitely his internal bedtime. 

Almost fits still!

 Seriously, he and Iva are my buddies. They go everywhere together and generally everywhere with me. The big girls have had school or I have even been letting them stay home together while I run errands!

His bald head is going to be spending a lot of time under this hat.

He got to ride in Iva's carseat for about two blocks and it just happened to be on his 7 month mark. It helped him look small still.

Both Pete and I feel like he has gone through another big awakening in the last two weeks. He sits up so well now and only falls over because he gets excited. He's also finding himself on his tummy more because he's reaching so hard for things. He doesn't exactly like being on his tummy, but I get the feeling I'm going to turn around one day and find him across the room. He doesn't like rolling enough to do that for mobility, but it might be because he doesn't realize how far he could get. He's still fairly quiet although sometime in the middle of May he woke us up with the sweetest "Dadadada" while gripping his toes. This was also at 6 am and so I decided he was calling for dad by name. Ha! For the most part he still grunts more than articulates, but his sleep growl has disappeared. I am not sure when that even stopped, but suddenly I miss it. He's starting "yelling" more when he wants attention. He loves to bite on things although there are no teeth at all. 

Oh, baby boy! I love watching you get bigger, but I'm going to miss having a tiny baby. 

Mother's Day

Guest post by Mom:

Mother's Day was great. I will admit I always envision just a little more relaxation for me than ever happens, but I'm not great at allowing Pete to just relax on Father's Day so it's only fair. Plus it is so close to my birthday.

This year, however, Pete NAILED the present. He surprised me with this:

That is a giant canvas print of photos I had never seen or even known were taken! It's stunning. I do remember the day that the kiddos got all dressed up. It was my birthday and my mom had bought matching outfits for everyone. She said she just went crazy at Target and even bought some for my sister's kids. I didn't think a thing about it. Angie even took the time to do my kids hair all cute after we had gone swimming. That was unusual either. I'm sure it drives my family crazy how haphazard my kids' hair can be. I even took a SLEW of photos myself because they looked so darn cute!

I should have known. He and his buddy, well now business partner, have started a printing company called Smashing Canvases. His buddy, Nate, is even the guy who has taken ALL our family photos for the last little bit. Including my parents! And yet, I was entirely surprised. It is so beautiful and I just stare at it.

The other "gift" was really from myself, but I let Pete take credit and give a present to each of his girls. I have a friend who sells Lulularoe clothing and I just couldn't help myself. I bought the Mommy and Me dresses.

Iva will be able to wear hers for probably TWO YEARS because I bought the size up and didn't realize I really shouldn't have. We love twirling in them together though.

I love Mother's Day also because I reflect on how much I love being a mom to each of my kids. And I really mean that I love being Siena's mom and I love being Cara's mom and Iva's mom and Sam's mom since they are all so unique.

Luckily all my kids are cuddlers, but Iva is still young enough that we spend lots of time snuggling. she loves to be silly with me and smile and sing and have a "dance party!"

Siena is really a dream. I love that she's getting old enough for me to discover who she REALLY is instead of me creating it. Her "All About Mom" stuff from school was awesome. I love that she tries everything and wants to do it all. She was even okay with not winning the district science fair although she was disappointed and had high hopes! She still went and was well behaved and knowledgeable and happy.

My Cara tends to remind me to feel things a little deeper and quieter. She breaks when I am mad and I learn to hold my tongue because of her. She also finds joy in just about everything and she does it in a way that's almost bigger yet quieter than me. Her little smile always has so much more behind it.

Then there is this guy. It's not different to have a boy yet. All my babies have been their own person so for me it's still that he's just a different baby (with some diaper issues being different!) He has got to be the quietest most observant little soul in our family. Only Cara can rival him and that is just because her voice is small. He loves to watch us and smiles with his WHOLE BODY when he catches the eye of his girls. He's still little and helping me soak up the baby time.

I know I am in the trenches of young motherhood. Sleep is not a given. People need me physically and emotionally 24/7. I'm trying to find ways to discipline and yet be better at loving and picking my battles, but I LOVE IT. I love it so much. In fact, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go play with my kids.

Snapchat

So my mom finally downloaded the Snapchat app because her siblings have it. And because we love to play with selfie mode. I think we have mentioned it before.

Siena with Lebron James' face!

So much silliness.

Spring Weather

Spring time in St. George is funny. You can be so blasted hot that you are begging for an outdoor pool to dip in and then you can be so cold that you are sorry you packed up your winter clothes already. We have enjoyed our storms and truthfully we still need more.

For example, Mom snuck me out of school to swim on her birthday and while I'm in school other days she has played at the splash pad.

Then there are days in the same week that have rain and coats and chilly weather!

We even jacuzzied in the rain...that one was probably dumb. There was thunder, but it was kind of fun.

Grandpa and Grandma even took us big girls to hike in Zion and look at waterfalls during the rain.

The dogs have enjoyed snuggling with Cara when they are allowed inside during rain. This day that they snuck in, it was hailing!

We have run through sprinklers too!

Summer is definitely in the air is definitely getting warmer and the days are getting longer. It's mom's favorite time of year. School is almost out!