Adeline at 6 Months

I seriously feel like these past six months have flown by.  I also think that Addie is in the middle of a growth spurt because I pick her up in the morning and can tell that she's grown overnight (for reals!).  I love that she's growing healthy and strong, but why SO fast!?  This is a stage I do wish would go in slow motion.  She's so much fun right now, so sweet, sleeping more at night, and so happy.  Oh, how I love this baby girl!

Here's what she's doing now:

• She's getting much more consistent on sleeping through the night.  She'll now give me 8-11 hours most nights.  Occasionally she'll wake up sooner and want to be fed in the night, but that's happening a lot less now days.
• She's still eating about 4-5 ounces at each feeding, and will still eat 6 ounces before bed.  
• She started grabbing her toes a month ago, but now she'll grab them and often suck on them.  It's such a cute baby thing to do, isn't it?
• She's definitely mastered the rolling.  She can pretty much roll or scoot to where she wants to be. If she sees something she wants, she can get to it now.
• She is super grabby.  She wants to grab and/or touch anything that's in front of her.  This goes for toys, but it also goes for anything else.  For instance. . . if I'm holding her while eating, she'll go for my plate/cup/silverware/food.  
• She's really starting to put things in her mouth.  She particularly loves to try out the texture of fabrics.  If her binkie is missing, she'll just chew on her blanket.  :)
• She is definitely a tummy baby.  I've never seen a baby love to be on her tummy like she loves it.  She is most comfortable there.  She'll play on her tummy and loves to sleep on her tummy.
• Because she loves to sleep on her tummy, she is no longer swaddled.  Being tucked in tight didn't allow her to roll to her tummy and she would get so frustrated.  So, we ditched the "Miracle Blanket" and swaddling and she sleeps a ton better on her tummy.  It made us nervous at first, but she is sleeping great and can adequately move around so she should be just fine.
• She loves "Peek-a-Boo" now.  It's fun to pull out the smiles with this tactic.
• She can't sit without support yet, but she is definitely getting stronger in this area.  She can sit with little support, but she definitely still needs support.
• She looks for dropped objects now.
• She's SO close to having the gross/fine motor skills to grab her binkie and put it back in her mouth by herself.  She practices a lot during the day.  She gets it sometimes, but most times I end up helping her.  This is the same with her bottle.
• We started putting her in the bumbo.  She doesn't love it.  She'll sit it in for a little bit, but ultimately would prefer to be on the floor and on her tummy with toys.  
• She does however, still like the swing.  She's pretty darn close to outgrowing that thing, but I'll keep her swinging for as long as she'll fit.
• She still loves to be held.  More than anything this is what she prefers.  She loves that one-on-one interaction.  All you have to do is tell this little sweet pea how pretty she is and she's as happy as can be.

Half Marathon Cancer Run

I made it to the Half Marathon that I love to run every year.  I kind of wondered if I would make it this year because I was having such a hard time getting my training runs in.  My sweet little Addie just hasn't loved sleeping through the night (until lately), so training for a big run was pretty tricky.  I mean, I was exhausted from getting up during the night and being a mom all day.  Running just took a back seat.

But, life began to settle a little bit about 8 weeks before the race and I was able to get at least 2 runs in each week (which, when I'm serious I try to get 4) and in a good week I would get 3.  I definitely didn't have the chance to work on speed, but I did log enough miles to not bonk out on marathon day.  I was sooooo happy I made it to race day without wanting to die!

There was another first for this run.  Last year it was just me and my brother, Tyler.  This year we recruited two additional family members.  Tyler's wife, Jill and my sister, Traci.  We had a big sleepover at my house the night before the race because we had to catch the busses so early in the morning.  

We totally woke up at 3:15am to catch the busses for our ride up AF Canyon to the starting line.

This is us at the starting line.  So pretty, huh?!  I love this run.
Me, Traci, Jill, & Tyler

Tyler and I are pretty evenly matched when it comes to pace, so we stuck together the entire race.
I love having a running buddy!!  

After I had finished, I walked back about a half mile to wait for my sister.
I ran the last half mile to the finish line with her.  It was awesome.

I'm not exactly sure why, but I got pretty emotional at the close of this run.  I teared up BOTH times I ran over the finish line.  Perhaps it could be that I'm a true cancer survivor and this was a cancer run. I've had melanoma.  It was caught SUPER early (I had a bad mole) and I didn't have to have any major cancer treatments (I just had the mole and the surrounding skin cut out), but I still had it.  At one point in my life I didn't think much of it (probably because I didn't have any major cancer treatments).  However, lately I have really grown to appreciate the fact that I'm still here.  I mean, Melanoma is one of the fastest growing cancers and had it not been discovered, I wouldn't be here today.  I am checked every six months to ensure I don't get any more bad moles.  Along with my doctor, I am WAY on top of everything and I don't fear much because he and I catch it all (if there's ever a mole in question, he just takes it off).  That being said . . . I look at my sweet family; I think about my awesome husband and my darling girls and I can't help but tear up in gratitude for the opportunities I've had post-melanoma. 

This is what these sweet girls were doing while I was running.
They both ended up in bed with Beau.  :)

As mentioned above, I also have had such a hard time training since Adeline came.  That being said, I finished strong.  I thought the last few miles would be SO hard, and they really weren't.  I mean, I was ready to be done, but I wasn't dying.  I'm pretty sure that got me a tad bit emotional.

And, that being said . . . while it was a little frustrating on the exercise/training side of things . . . I wouldn't trade a thing for that sweet baby Addie.  Oh my word!  I'm so blessed.  I'm so blessed to have her in my life.  

I was also so happy to have more of my family members join me.  I'm such a promoter for healthy living and fitness and it makes my heart happy to have others on the trail with me.  

And . . . I'm sure the song playing through my earbuds as I finished the race definitely helped to contribute to the emotions.

This is my fight song

Take back my life song

Prove I'm alright song

My power's turned on

(Starting right now) I'll be strong

I'll play my fight song

And I don't really care if nobody else believes

'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me!

Here's to another half marathon down and MORE to come.  

Oh!  And, I may have finished the half marathon with this.  Heaven knows I earned it.  LOL!

A Good Daddy

Father's Day came and we had the chance to honor our dads.  We paid a special visit to Beau's dad, his stepdad, and to my dad.  They are great influences in our lives and the lives of our girls.  We appreciate all they do for each of us.

We also had the chance to honor Beau.  He seriously is a good daddy!  He loves his two girls so very much and it's sweet to watch how he loves, teaches, and plays with them.

The girls LOVED helping Beau open his gifts.  

We gave him a new iPod, some gloves, a BBQ tool and a game that we can all play as a family.

I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again.  These girls love their daddy.  You should see the lit-up faces of these girls when their dad returns from work (or the tears in Evie's eyes if he is gone for a night).  Evie loves to be comforted by her daddy when she gets hurt and she loves to snuggle with him at bedtime.  Addie loves to be held by her daddy and loves it when he smiles and coos right along with her.  I am so grateful for adoption and that the birth moms of these girls craved the importance of giving their babies a stable two-parent home.  I KNOW that the lives of these girls are greatly enriched by having a stable, loving, caring, and supportive dad 24/7.  It has made such a difference in the lives of Evie and Addie.  I'm even more grateful that the dad that these girls have is Beau.  He is a true gem.  

Lagoon - That's What Fun Is

To some, Lagoon is not fun (Beau!).  But, to others it is.  Evie and I had a great time as we joined some of my family for a fun day at Lagoon.

My parents challenged us all to read the Book of Mormon by a specific date.  Those of us who read it, were rewarded with a trip to Lagoon.  Evie and I made it.  I read the actual Book of Mormon, and Evie read an age-appropriate one. 

And, I've meant to mention this before for those of you who could use some help with reading scriptures with your littles.  Evie has LOVED "reading scriptures" because of a couple of books I found.  They are awesome and I picked them up when she was just over two-years-old and she still loves them.  We read:

"Who's Your Hero?: The Ultimate Collection."  We have Volume 1 and 2.  Each night when we go to read scriptures as a family, we let Evie look at the cover of the books and choose the Hero we will read about.  Usually we end up reading more than one scripture story because she loves them so much.  It's great.  (I also picked up a similar book that covers bible stories.)  

Anyways . . . We got to go to Lagoon!  It was super fun!  

Evie SERIOUSLY loved it so much.  She had a ball on the rides.  

This was her favorite ride.  It took us pretty high and then just dropped us.  When we went on it for the first time I knew she would either LOVE it or HATE it.  She LOVED it.  She was smiling from ear-to-ear and requested to ride it again and again.  I think we rode it four times throughout the day.  It was so fun!

We also rode several other rides, the train included.  Evie told me that it was James who we were riding because he's a steamy and that's what this train was (it truly was a steam-powered train and it was red . . . so, James it must have been!).  The train takes you through the little zoo they have there.  Evie loves animals, so that was a treat.  She also loved going to an entertainment show where people sang and danced.  

We had a blast!  

Family Vacation

We took a 5-Day vacation as a family.  Beau took the time off work and we enjoyed some much needed time together.

We stayed relatively close to home and went to Midway, Utah.  It was beautiful and the weather was so perfect (80's every day).  It was perfect for our little family.  We were able to pack all of the baby gear and we were lucky enough to stay in a little home for the week.  That meant that the girls each had their own room (which allowed for proper naps and sleeping times), we had a kitchen to cook in, and plenty of room to roam.

This is what it looked like right below the vacation home.
I took this picture on a run one morning.

We tried to do something fun each day.

We rode a real train (Heber Valley Railroad).
Evie loves trains, so this was definitely a highlight.

We went to Cascade Springs.  A beautiful place found in the mountains.

We looked for wildlife and found fish, ducks, and birds.

We had a picnic lunch there too.

We did a lot of swimming at the HOA pool.  The girls loved this!

We went on plenty of walks with the girls and Evie loved riding scooters together.

Since we were close enough to home, we also had some visitors.
Here's a great ping-pong match between Beau/Evie and Amber/Joel.

Chance & Jamie battle it out at Air Hockey.

Mom & Norm also had a close match with Air Hockey.  Go Mom!

Evie had tons of fun with cousin HaLee. 

Besides all that, we also had fun eating out, going for ice cream at night, and we even took a tour at a local cheese factory.

It was so nice to have some fun quality time together as a family.  It's hard to get time like that between Beau's job and the farm so we certainly relished it.  Beau REALLY had a hard time going back to work the following week. . . . and his three girls missed him like crazy when he did.

Adeline at 5 Months

Oh. My. Word.  This beauty is officially 5 months old.  I am dying just a little because it is going WAY too fast.  She is soooo much fun and such a delight.  She is the perfect amount of chubby that I seriously want to hold her at all times and just squeeze her.  She is so darn lovable.

Here's what she's doing now:

• She's sleeping a little bit longer at night.  She's giving me 7-10 hours at night (usually 7, but occasionally more).  She's also sleeping in her crib and sharing a room with Evie now.
• She's still eating about 4 ounces at each feeding, but will eat 6 ounces before bed.  
• She grabs her toes and plays with them.

• Addie can roll over both ways.  She can roll from her right and from her left.  She just barely rolled back from her tummy to her back.  This is SUPER new, so she hasn't mastered this yet, but she has officially made the roll on her own.
• She plays with toys a little longer.  Her favorite thing to play with is her wipes.  She loves the sound of the plastic as she plays with it.
• She started to "spit" bubbles using her tongue.  She loves to do this a lot.

• She loves to be outside.  Now that the weather is so much nicer and we go outside more, she really LOVES it.
• She loves going on stroller rides.  
• She still LOVES to laugh.  Sometimes I'll just laugh and she'll laugh back.  It's a riot.
• She is so smiley!  She gives most people a smile and everyone will respond back with, "She's so smiley!"  She'll often times do this shy twist into me as she shares a smile with someone else.  Cute!
• When she's on her stomach she can raise her chest, supported by her arms.
• She still  smiles back when smiled too, loves her pacifier, naps in her swing, loves to "talk," and is particular towards having her immediate family members in sight.

This girl is the biggest sweetheart there ever was.  Her temperament is so mellow, happy, and delightful.  I love her beyond words.

Evie Turns 3

Our darling Evie doll is officially three-years-old.  Wow!  Where does the time go?  She is seriously a ball of fun and a ray of light in our family.  She says the cutest things and wants to play all day long!  She is busy, inquisitive, athletic, kind, and full of life.

We celebrated her birthday with a quiet, little family birthday party this year.  I took her to pick out her birthday cake in the morning, which she was ecstatic to do.  She chose the one with carrots on it.  I tried to persuade her to pick something else that I thought she might like to eat better, but she was insistent on getting the cake with carrots on it.  (And, for the record, she loved eating this cake.  She's a girl after my own heart.)  I then took her to get a picnic lunch that we could eat at the park since the park is one of her most favorite places to play.

We had all sorts of fun playing at the park.  We climbed, went down the slides, and did plenty of rolling down the hill.

Here she is rolling down the hill.  She LOVES it!

Later that night we took her to dinner at one of her most favorite places.  She chose the place and her grandmas and grandpas joined us.  Evie was thrilled.

Have you ever met a three-year-old who had a
Thai restaurant as her favorite restaurant?

We then hurried home to open all of her gifts.  She was completely spoiled.  So many people love this girl!

She got a big barn, animals to go in the barn, a new umbrella, a fishing pole,  clothes, a doctor kit, money for her education fund, a new pair of cowgirl boots, a Squirrel game, puzzles, play dough, markers, and kinetic sand.

She loved it when we sang, "Happy Birthday" to her.  And, she loved blowing out her candles.

We love having this beautiful girl in our family.

We spent the rest of the evening playing with all her new toys.  She was in heaven.

She loved playing with her new fishing pole with her dad.

We let her stay up way too late, but isn't that okay when it's her birthday?

Her new barn and animals.  She is loving this new toy!

I must share what Evie is up to now.  It is totally impossible to share EVERYTHING that a busy, busy three-year-old girl does and likes, but these are the things that come quickest to my mind.

• She loves shave ice.  If she could, she would get one EVERY day.  Her favorite flavor is "Blue Hawaii" and she calls it her "blue ice cream."  
• Among shave ice, her current favorite foods include rice with Masaman Curry (found at the Thai place), hot dogs and corn dogs, corn chips and salsa/dip,  popsicles, applesauce, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
• She knows all her shapes and recognizes them wherever we go . . . especially in road signs.  She'll constantly point out the red octagons (stop signs) and yellow triangles.
• She is extremely curious and inquisitive.  She wants to know why things are the way they are and what things and people are doing.  She is so bright and soaks it all in.
• She recently potty trained and did a great job learning.  She caught on very quickly.  
• She constantly gives us hugs and while hugging us she'll say, "I love you, mom/dad."  Yes, it's a heart melter every time!
• She is very flexible, active, and athletic.  She is a great climber, she loves to jump on trampolines, and she can run forever!  She loves to "exercise" with me.  If I am running on the treadmill, she'll want to take "her turn" as soon as I'm done.  She loves to play with basketballs and footballs.  She also loves to watch basketball and football with her dad.  She constantly asks her daddy if he'll take her to a basketball game.  Now that the basketball season is over, Beau is telling her that he'll take her to a soccer game.  Fun!
• She continues to love animals, but right now kitty cats are her most favorite!  She LOVES our barn cats (Thelma and Louise).  She also loves to pretend to be a cat, and she constantly takes her stuffed animal cat with her places.

• She loves to take Codee for walks.  She will do just about anything to earn the chance to walk Codee around the block.  She loves that dog!
• She prefers her daddy to put her to bed.  After we say prayers and read scriptures, he'll stay and cuddle with her and sing songs with her.  It's so tender and cute.
• She constantly wants to go up to the mountain . . . she'll want to go to the mountain to climb, look for big bucks, build fires, sleep in tents, look for Christmas trees, and whatever else comes to her bright mind.
• She loves to dance and loves music.
• She is way into imaginative play.  We "play" every day doing something.  She directs the play (telling me what to do or who I am) and it's so fun to watch her mind work.
• She absolutely LOVES her little sister, Adeline.  She loves to hold her.  She "baby talks" to her, rubs her head, gives her kisses, helps to get her pacifiers, is always concerned if she's crying, and always wants her to come with us wherever we go.

• Her favorite movies right now include, "Rio" which she calls, "Blue Birds," "Curious George," "Annie" which she calls, "Sandy" for the dog, "Madegascar" which she calls, "Alex the Lion," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Lady and the Tramp" which she calls, "Mister and the Lady."
• She is kind.  She is always concerned for the sad or the hurt.  She also loves the "underdogs."
• She can count to 20 (sometimes missing a couple of the teen numbers).  She can also count backwards from 10.
• She still knows her alphabet.  She knows the letters, the songs, the sounds of each letter, etc.  One of her favorite apps she loves to play on the iPad is "Hooked On Phonics."  We are lucky that she is so interested in this aspect of learning.  

• She loves anything that allows her to be creative/artsy.  She loves play dough, painting, drawing, coloring, using markers, etc.
• She still loves to read books.  
• She is fascinated with bugs.  She loves to look for ants and ladybugs, but most other bugs "scare" her . . . although she wants to see them and is completely fascinated by them . . . so long as they don't move or fly.  If they do, she can lose it a little.
• She would probably love to play at the park above just about anything else. Although, she does love to go swimming and she loves to ride the train.
• The first 2 1/2 years of Evie's life we hardly ever took to her the doctor, except for wellness visits.  I think we took her to the doctor twice for minor ear infections.  However, the last half year has been a COMPLETELY other story.  She has been to the doctor for stitches under her eye (which we ended up gluing instead of stitching), for a sprained wrist, and for a kidney infection.  She also had the flu and RSV of which we didn't officially take her to the doctor because there was nothing they could do for her for either virus (but we did call the doctor/nurse to talk to them about her symptoms and how to treat them).  
• Because of her various doctor visits, she actually has grown quite fond of the doctor (I'm sure the fancy bandaids, suckers, and stickers helped).  She loves to play doctor too.
• She is so independent and wants to do anything and everything on her own. 
• She has really captured the spirit of holidays.  She gets sooo excited for a holiday, birthday, or other celebration.  It's so much fun!
• She loves the weather.  Every day we determine if it's a snowy, rainy, windy, or sunny day.  Along with that, she LOVES umbrellas.  

• She has fantastic speech.  She talks so well and has such a broad vocabulary for a three-year-old. She talks as well as most four-year-olds.  And trust me . . . she talks a lot and I LOVE it!
• Her hair!  It took a while to grow in, but now that it's really coming in, it is soooo beautiful.  We can't go anywhere and not have people comment on her darling curls.  
• She makes friends easily.  She is always sad if we go to the park and there aren't other kids.  When there are other kids, she loves to make friends with them and wants to play with them.

This girl seriously makes my heart swell with love.  She is my Evie Doll who will forever be my Evie Doll.  It's such a delight to watch her grow.  I am completely honored and blessed to be her mommy.