July

We had a blast celebrating Independence day!

We started with the Lion's Club Pancake Breakfast. It was delicious! Little A loved the sausage. Baby L tried some egg and pancake and seemed to like them.

Next we went to the parade and book sale. I found some great books including a large collection of children's books. I was excited. We've read them several times; Little A loves them.

Little A had fun during the parade. She loved gathering the candy and seeing some of her friends in the parade. Baby L snuggled our friend and slept through almost all of it.

We got a group photo with some of A's friends.

After that we headed home for lunch and naps. When the girls woke up we went to the circus! While we waited to get in Little A got a pony ride. She really loves those.

The last time we went to the circus we ended up watching it from outside the tent. This time we brought A's headphones and got her some snacks. She LOVED it! Her favorite thing was the puppies, but she also loved the trapeze! She was even really brave and asked for a coloring book so she could get it signed by the clown! She LOVES that coloring book and has looked at it a lot since. She did her very best coloring in it too! It was so cute to see her concentrating so hard on doing a good job.

She also asked Daddy for a blow up Panda Bear toy that they had sitting at the entrance. Daddy sure loves his girls. He got them one, ha!

We headed to Nana and Pops for a family BBQ next. All the kiddos were exhausted, but they had a fun together.

Sunday after lunch I told Little A she could choose two candies from her parade candy. I looked over to see her searching her candies like this. Ha!

Baby L said her first sentence!!!! She looked over at Little A choosing a candy and said "A, I want some candy!" It was mostly vowels but she said enough of each word that we could understand! She was very pleased that we understood her. She didn't get any candy, but we did give her some fruit, which was just as good. She has also started army crawling! She's done it a little bit before but never really got anywhere. Now she can get all over the place. If we can find the right motivation she is really, really fast!

Little A has become more and more interested in board and card games. She loves to choose one for us to play in the evenings. Her favorite lately is "Guess Who".

Baby L has learned how to go down the baby slide! She loves it!

She has also become interested in the play kitchen, much to Little A's dismay. They've played pretty good so far though. A likes to make food and give it to her.

We had a fun afternoon at the Lake with family. Baby L loved playing in the sand.

Little A LOVES the water. It was really difficult to get her out of it. She had a blast! They took the boat out for a minute, but it was having some problems so they weren't able to stay for too long. I tried paddle boarding for the first time. I LOVE it! I wish I could do that every day!

I had to go to the doctor one day. While we were waiting little A found this guitar in the toy bin. She had her own little jam session! 

In pre-school she made this bird house for me for mothers day. It is darling. She is so proud of it!

We all got the stomach flu. It was so terrible. It started with Little A. Baby L and I came down with it about the same time (in the middle of the night). Allan took care of all of us that night. He hardly slept and never for more than 30 minutes at a time. He took care of us the following day as well and then came down with it right as he was getting the girls ready for bed. Thankfully I was well enough to take care of things. We are so grateful that Allan and I weren't sick at the same time!

The company Allan works for throws a family party every year. We love going to it. We ate a ton of ice cream and cotton candy, took some family photos at the photo booth, had a yummy dinner, swang on the swings, and chatted with K6 and her family who work for this company as well. Little A had a ton of fun. For Baby L it was just too hot. We tried to keep her cool with cold water.

We finally got around to painting our front porch. It looks SO much better! Little A was a really good helper. She did a great job painting.

Toward the end of the day she was all tuckered out and took a break to look at books. Allan and I had so much fun working together that we decided to continue painting for our date that night while the babysitter watched the girls.

K6 gave us some Care Bear costumes. Little A decided to wear one the other day! It was so darling. She wore it all day long!

On a walk the other day Little A was getting pretty tired. She was goofing off, holding onto the stroller and walking backwards. She tripped and landed in the basket. Then she decided it was a good seat and stayed there for the remainder of the walk.

Little A loves to take selfies! Ha! This is one of her recent ones. She's too cute! Her speech is getting more and more clear! She is speaking in more sentences as well. We are SO proud of her! She is becoming the family cheerleader! She loves to cheer us on in whatever we're doing. Allan took the girls to the dump with him the other day. When he got out of the car he let Little A out of her car seat so she could watch better. She cheered him on the whole time he was unloading stuff from the truck! "Go, Dad, Go!", she yelled over and over again. What a cutie pie!

Both the girls went to the audiologist to have their hearing tested. We took Little A in June the first time, but she was so shy they couldn't get any kind of information. So, we went back this month and made L an appointment too. Little A did a great job the second time around. Her hearing seems to be just fine. (We're not surprised.)

Baby L was hilarious! They have all sorts of lights, sounds, and moving objects in their sound proof room to try to get the babies to respond. Baby L responded for a minute or two then she said and signed "All done!" and wouldn't do it anymore. She continued to say/sign "All done" over and over. When they tried to talk to her through the window she would only wave goodbye to them, ha! Her hearing seems to be fine also. She did have some fluid in one ear. They think probably because she is teething. We'll go back in a few months to make sure.

June

We celebrated Allan's birthday by going camping. He's been wanting to do a family campout for a long time. Last year we planned one, but when Baby L came it got set aside. This year we took the first open weekend we had and went. Little A and Baby L were super excited! There are a lot of great camping areas near us so it was a quick drive.

There was a nature walk on the way that we stopped and walked around at. Little A loved running down the paths. A and I got over heated pretty quickly though. It was hot!

There was a nice shaded spot that we found along the nature walk that had a creek and a tire swing. It was also a GREAT climbing tree. Little A swang on the swing for a minute before we continued.

When we go to the camp ground we made quick work of setting things up. Little A really enjoyed helping carry all of the stuff into the tent and setting it up. She was super excited about her bed. Baby L enjoyed playing on the tent floor.

While Allan got dinner ready L played near him, and Little A and I explored the campground. We also sang "The Ants Go Marching" over, and over, and over again at A's request. (I'm not sure our neighbors appreciated it.)

She was so cute though. She'd say the "boom, boom, boom" part and then say "The End" when we got to the end. She loved jumping off of all the rocks.

After dinner we went on a little hike. Little A led the way.

Allan and I had a nice evening together after the girls went to sleep. The next morning we had a nice breakfast and packed up.

We went on a short hike before we left. We were planning on doing a longer one, but both the girls started to fall asleep.

They both had so much fun!

At story time the girls got a pig nose. Ha! Little A thinks it's hilarious! It's on an elastic. Baby L loves to shake it and watch it bounce up and down.

We made Allan and L brownies for their birthdays. Little A was a really good helper. She loves to lick the bowl and spoons when we're finished.

I got Allan several tools he'd been wanting. I took Little A to the store, and she picked out a gift for both Allan and L. She got Allan a yard game (which is a lot of fun), and L a musical toy that they can play with together (also a lot of fun). She loves to give surprises and will often color a picture for Allan or I and give it to us as a "prise!"

Allan had a fun birthday! He didn't even mind sharing it a little with baby L, ha!

Baby L had her first birthday! We sent off a picture wishing her little twin a happy birthday too. 

Baby L tried some brownie and ice cream. She wasn't that impressed. She loved playing with it though.

She enjoyed opening her gifts. We got her a push toy, stacking cups, and a dress (that is too small, boo.) She's loved playing with all of her new toys. Grandma and Grandpa got her a phone and some books. Grandad and Grandma H got her a musical puzzle (and sent Little A a puzzle too).

Her Aunties and Nana and Pops threw her a little party too. They got her some swimming gear, bubble machine, butterfly chime, and some cute clothes. The bubble machine was a huge hit amongst all the cousins.

Little A went to the ENT for a check up. She did great! She wanted Baby L to sit in the chair with her. L wasn't a fan.

We had a rain storm and took advantage of it to do some puddle splashing. Baby L was napping so it was just A and I. We had to stick close to the house so we could hear L through the monitor, but we had a blast!

One Sunday we had a Temple Dedication instead of our normal church meetings. Little A isn't old enough to go. She was so, SO sad. She walked around for half of the day saying "me no church" all sad. So we played church together. She gave a talk and said the prayer. I gave a talk too. Then she colored in one of her church activity books for a while. After that she seemed to feel a little better. 

Baby L has been working really hard at her physical therapy. She plays on her knees in a box to help keep her knees under her.

We also get to use this Creepster Crawler. It's awesome! She hated it at first, but now she really seems to enjoy it. She hangs from the harness on her hands and knees, and then we help her crawl. It didn't take her long to figure out how to do it herself. She hates being on her knees though.

While Allan was at Scout camp for a week we went to AG's house and stayed with her for a couple of days. It was so much fun! The girls came down with a little cold so we had to change some of our plans, but overall it was a really fun trip. We love going to see her and her family!

Allan left Monday morning for scout camp but then had to return late that night so he could do a training the following day for work. I let the girls stay up to see him since that would be the only time they'd see him until Saturday. When he got home Little A ran to him, gave him a big hug, and started crying a little. She sure loves her Daddy.

Baby L had her yearly doctor check ups this month (most of them). We saw the cardiologist, hematologist, and Pediatric specialist. They all said she looks great! They also said to lay off the formula and switch to milk because she doesn't need all the extra calories. Haha! She is pretty chubby! We did find out that she has a dairy sensitivity, so we switched her first to soy, thought better of it, and then to almond milk. She's doing really well with it.

While we were at the doctor Little A got to go play with her cousins! She had a blast! They played in the water almost the entire time and helped themselves to pancakes when they felt hungry. I think she really enjoyed the independence. She sure loves her cousins!

On one of our trips down to see her doctors L tried her first French fry. She took a bite, grimaced, spit it out, and then threw the rest on the floor. Ha! I'm just fine with her not liking fast food, lol! I'm sure she'll grow out of it eventually though.

L's birth family came for a visit! We loved having them! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures. I know they got some so I'll have to see if I can get a few from them. We got some really cute pictures of them with all of their girls! The twins didn't really care for each other. L yelled at E and E cried. Their daughter L played so good with Little A. We exchanged some gifts for the girls and each other, except I forgot to give them theirs. (Sheesh. I feel terrible and am really embarrassed about it.) We got E stacking cups and a dress that matches L's. They got L a camera kaleidoscope (it's pretty cool), teether blankie, a magnetic stacking toy, and some adorable shorts. They brought Little A her first chapter book about a little dog who got lost. She LOVED it! We read it in about 5 days. They also brought her a vet kit. She also LOVED it! She's taken it everywhere with us and shows it to everyone, ha! One set of Baby L's birth grandparents gave the girls some beautiful dolls. The other set gave Baby L a gorgeous pin that was her great grandmother's (if I'm remembering correctly).

Nana and Pops watched the girls for Allan and I while we went on a date one night. Little A brought her vet kit with her. She and all the other girls gathered around Pops, and he helped them nurse all the stuffed animals back to health, and wrap each other's owies too!

One afternoon we had a picnic with Allan's favorite, pork chops. Baby L was very determined to get some of our food. Particularly the pork chops. I thought I had them far enough away, but when I turned my head for a second she grabbed the left overs of one! She never put it in her mouth, just hung on to it looking very pleased. Ha! Her twin, E, did this when they came to visit (but she actually tasted it).

May

We celebrated 9 years of marriage this month. We just had a small at home date chatting over the fire, with s'mores of course. :) I am so grateful every day for my wonderful husband and how hard he works to provide for us and to keep our marriage and family happy and healthy. I couldn't ask for a more loving partner.

When I get ready for the day the girls either play or read books on our bed. I love it when they read together! These two love each other more and more every day.

We took the girls to one of our favorite play places. They both loved the rice bin. Baby L grabbed onto some unsuspecting woman who was passing by and gained an new fan.

Little A loves "surprises" and any kind of hide-and-seek game. These doors were a lot of fun for both of the girls. L loved that she could open one.

The music room is always a favorite. We all love this harp.

Outside was the biggest hit though. Little A loved running up and down the ramps and going up and down the stairs.

While A and I did that, Daddy stayed with Baby L in the sand box.

They caught up to us when we reached the spiders web climber. I don't have a picture, but the best thing was the zip line! Little A has eyed this zip line every time we come. She wants to go on it so bad. This time she finally got up the courage to go! She did great! She thought it was the funnest thing ever! She also loved pushing me down it. :)

The little doors are always a big hit too.

K6 had her second daughter at the end of April. We are so excited to have another cousin close by! Baby S had to be in the NICU for a little while. Unfortunately they also sold their house at this time and needed to move! For a week I helped get them packed up. They were very grateful and very glad to finally be by themselves when we were done, lol! I'm glad that I can do things like that. The girls always play so good together, and little A LOVES their dog, Nay Nay. They have a Great Pyrenees. It is the sweetest, gentlest dog! (Except it hates other dogs) Little A would follow her around all day playing, petting, laying on, etc. The dog loved it as much as A. Little A tells me all the time about how Nay Nay kissed her, ha! She thinks it's the best thing ever.

We took the girls to see another Temple Open House. Little A LOVES to see Temples, especially if she gets to go inside. It was a good opportunity to remind her of when L was sealed to us.

We've been spending a lot of time outside. One time the sun was really hot so I lathered the girls up with sunscreen and then put a hat on baby L trying to keep her out of the sun. Well, I turned around from helping Little A with something only to find L lying on her back taking in the sunshine happy as can be! Funny girl.

She also fell asleep on the swing holding onto her tongue, lol!

This is Little A's favorite way to go down the stairs! She slides down on her belly and aims for the box, usually (but not always) sliding into it, ha!

We got to go to Jackson Hole with Nana and Pops for a few days. It was a really relaxing trip. We walked all around the town and got ice cream and then candy for later at the candy shop. We loved their toy store! They had some really great toys there, and they have samples of everything out for the kids to play with them.

We walked/hiked around the resort, and then took Little A up the tram to the top of the mountain. She LOVED it! We were really worried that she would be scared. She was scared at first but then quickly relaxed and loved seeing everything. She loved that there was snow at the top of the mountain.

She and Allan walked around at the top. I watched and had a panic attack while they got closer and closer to the edge. (They weren't really very close, it just looked like it from where I was). I have a serious fear of cliffs so I didn't want to get anywhere near where they were (when I was around 6 years old my family rolled off the side of a mountain, I've been terrified every since).

Because it was still so cold at the top of the mountain, and we hadn't brought anything warm for Baby L, we left her with Pops. He really wanted some time with her anyway. He's a baby hog, lol! We found them like this when we got back. He said she cried the whole time. She wouldn't go near him for about a month!

We watched "The Voice" with Nana at the end of the day. Little A loved the snuggle time.

We had a tea party picnic with K6, cousin P, and our new cousin S. The girls had a blast!

They took turns holding S, and then all posed for a picture. Baby L was thrilled to get her hands on S's head, lol! Little A always rubs L's head. I think she was happy that she finally got to do it to someone else.

Then they played dress up until they were both exhausted.

We set them up for a little movie and quiet time while we had a chat. I'm so glad that we live near family so the girls can be close to their cousins.

Quiet time with Daddy. Curious George are Little A's favorite books right now.