Heart Tones

 Visiting Ottumwa




 This was my second time visiting Olivia. Some kittens had been born not long before we arrived this time. They were so tiny and cute!

 Fun At Home

 Labor Day Weekend

 It was the perfect weekend to get a lot of pool time in. Riley was really enjoying playing in the water with everyone. It was also fun to see Ainsley be so daring and do a lot of different things under the water. I only wish we could go more often. Summer always flies by.

 Next year I look forward to putting some fresh sand in our sandbox at home. Riley goes nuts for it. I do love the simple things, so glad she loves to play outside.

 Friday Fun

Mom, Stacy, Liam and Olivia came up briefly on Friday to bring me grapes for making jelly and to take some pictures of the kids.  Turns out it was a large cooler full of grapes and I spent all of Sunday juicing and turning them into jelly then the following morning bleaching the counters.  I ended up with 24 pints and also made some pickles that night too. 

We went to Brookside Park where we had a little photo shoot and some playtime for Liam and Riley. Olivia is two months old and has changed a lot. She is smiling more

                                                                                     Olivia Fell asleep, how cute

In more recent news Keenan and I went to my 12 week appointment Wednesday and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. Oh yeah, we are pregnant again. Riley is going to be a big sister!

The Laugh Sneeze

    We have been enjoying summer but I have to say I do enjoy it just a little more on the days when the humidity isn't as high. I also really miss thunderstorms. Its as if we used up all of our rain for the season too soon.
     So I guess I will get to the name of the post. Every time Riley sneezes it is quickly followed by a giggle. She does this pretty much every time and it always makes Keenan and I laugh.  She has also picked up the habit of every time she finds a baby wash cloth or something like that she begins to wipe down everything around her.  I think that she has been watching me clean. Maybe I will have a little helper sooner that I thought.

   

 Riley and I play outside a lot and I have been finding  these cute little frogs in the grass.  They are about the size of my thumbnail and I like to catch them and show them to Riley. She thinks its funny when they hop.                                                                                                                                               

 Last time I was in Ottumwa I brought home this water table from moms house. This is a picture of the kids playing and enjoying it. Riley just loves to splish and splash!

Tiny Shoes and Tired Parents

    My sister Stacy and her husband Jason welcomed Olivia Belle into the world on Wed July 3rd. We were nervous that the c-section took so long but relieved that they were both okay. She was born 9 lb 10 oz and 20 in long. She started out in the NICU because of low blood sugar which is typical of babies born with diabetic mothers. She is also a little jaundice but they are monitoring that closely as well. They were discharged Saturday and drove home from Iowa City.
    On Sunday Riley and I left for Ottumwa to see how everyone was doing and to meet Olivia. I always forget how small newborns are. It was special to get to see Stacy, Jason and Liam bonding with the newest member of the family and to get to hold her myself. Riley liked Olivia, she would giggle and try to touch her tiny hands. It was also fun to get to see her wearing a lot of the clothes that Riley used to fit into. I got to help cook meals in the evening while my mom watched the kids and Stacy tried to take a nap. Most of the time the naps didn't really pan out but hopefully she can get some extra sleep soon. It's difficult to take care of a busy 3 year old and a newborn on empty but she never complains. Liam is learning to be a big brother and that his parents now have to divide their time between the two kids.

 Riley just loved playing with that firetruck.  She would fill the back with other toys. She was always watching Liam and doing what he did. He was pretending to be superman so after a while she took to zooming around with her arms in the air too.  It was really funny!

Visiting Indiana and Other Stuff!

Indiana 

~Road Trip 2013~ 

      After Keenan and I arrived late to Marion the night before the trip, I hoped that wouldn't set the tone for the rest of the vacation. The following morning everyone was in good spirits.  We were all up, showered and ready to leave almost on time.  Mickey and Minnie were well organized, which made for a lovely trip.  I was happy at how well all of the kids did on the ride. I was also shocked because it didn't feel like I was in the car for 8 hours - but I was in Minnie, the chatty car.  It was nice to be welcomed by so many people and to get to see where Jim and Marge live. I really enjoyed getting to swim in the pool and to watch Riley experience that for the first time. She looked tired but really seemed to enjoy all the people and the splashing. 

       Side note - Riley is at my feet right now and she is carrying her blanket around and dropping it to lay down on. I have never seen her do that before. She is also improving on learning body parts. She can point out her nose and ear now.

 

The zoo was a really great place to visit and had a lot of fun exhibits. I really enjoyed seeing the giraffes and watching the otters.  The sea lions had a lot of attitude about getting their reward for the tricks they were performing which of course made them all the more entertaining.

 Family Photo Shoot

We all made it back in one piece. Thank you to Jim and Marge for hosting us and to everyone who helped to organize it.

This is Riley the Tuesday after the trip learning to color with Grandma.

  

Spaghetti Night

There is just something funny about a kid covered in spaghetti! I really enjoy seeing how the boys have changed each week. I can't believe Pete and Dawn are going to have a 2 year old soon. That's amazing!

 

 

A Lazy Saturday Morning

I love the mornings where we don't have anywhere to be, so naturally I made scones. These are raspberry, blueberry with lemon zest and just a little white chocolate. I was going to make just raspberry scones but turns out I didn't have enough of them. Riley loved hers! They are so fun and so easy, someday she will be helping me to make them. Can you see the blueberry smudges on her forehead. Haha. I keep trying to teach her to keep her hands down but it just hasn't stuck.