mess maker

last Sunday I heard William say that Joseph had nail polish so I hurried to go find him and this is what I found.

Russ and I scrubbed as gently as we could and got most of it off.

It wasn't long before I realized where he got the nail polish. I saw Gracie and she looked like this. We were going over to the Hardisons and she wanted to show them how she could look like a cat. 

She knows she is not supposed to do stuff like this, but she seems to think that rules are more like suggestions that we have for her.

box or a boat

I was trying to get some dressed listed on Etsy one day while the kids were playing happily in the toy room, but you know they always end up where I am. Good thing there was a box in there to play with.

pudgy feet and a dirty rug

he always ends up in my lap

luckily Gracie lured him back in the boat with a book and I got some dresses listed also check out the cursive William wrote on the box. Fancy huh.

dress up Joe

The other day I was trying to make dinner and Joseph was doing what he does best - standing at my feet and yelling/crying. I asked William to play with him but I guess he was way to involved in the imaginary play he was doing right then, but Gracie stepped in. Those two had the best time together getting him dressed up.

It made me laugh so hard when he came into the kitchen to show me. It is still a little weird to me that he is big enough to be playing like this.

A New Temple

Back in May we took the kids along with Connie to go and see the new temple that is being built in Gilbert (my home town). They had recently put the Angel Moroni on top and we thought it would be cool to see. We drove close to it, but there was no where to park close to it so we went to the park across the street and had a picnic.

Gracie and Joe scooting down the hill.

it wasn't too warm especially in the shade, but if you ran around in the sun it was (look at those red cheeks).

It really is a beautiful temple. 

Look at these cute girls. Besties.

owie bum

Back in May I was changing Joseph after a swim and he kept putting his hand underneath him and picking at a small red spot on his bum. I touched it and it felt hard underneath the skin. I figured it was a zit that would be coming.  It didn't change much in the coming days except the hard area was expanding and he would not sit on his bum. He was so nervous of us touching his bum at all. If we put him in the car seat or high chair he would cry for a second but then be fine which made me think that it didn't hurt him that bad to sit on it, but the idea scared him. It was pretty sad. Here are some pictures of positions he would try and relax in.

trying to drink from a sippy cup without laying on his back

watching a movie

sleeping on his side (he always sleeps on his back)

I took him to the doctor and they gave him antibiotics and instruction that if the redness spread to take him to the ER. They also told me to put warm compresses on it to help draw the "stuff" out, because it is good for it to come out. Warm compresses were hard to do since it was on his bum but I did a clay poultice (if you are curious you can see here) and was able to leave it on for a long time under his diaper. When I wiped it off I could see a head and was able to pop it (I know, it was gross and sad) but after a few more clay treatments and finishing his antibiotics it is gone! Whew! He can sleep on his back again.

Every week

Tuesday mornings this is where you will find us - the splash pad. It is somewhere free and fun for the kids. This particular morning we got there way too early. But that means I got the best seat where I can see the whole park.

 It wasn't long before the fun started.

 Gracie loves pretending to be a mermaid in the waterfall. William loves making friends there.

 I guess Joseph decided that it feels good to let it spray his belly.

So we have spent the summer doing this, chores (I am trying really hard to teach the kids about this so they will have it down when school starts), some crafts, more reading, playing, and lots and lots of swimming. I haven't done nearly all the things I had planned, but that is okay. We are having fun. So much fun that I have neglected blogging...a lot. I am going to spend the next little while blogging things I have missed in no particular order. SUMMERTIME!

forgetting and remembering

I was looking through my blog today, searching for a specific picture and came across this gem - 

and more from this post and I can NOT get over it. I posted it on instagram and kept going back to look at it all day long. It is just so funny. He has no neck and not only does it look like he is about to bust out of his clothes, it looks like he is going to bust out of his skin. I look at this picture and all at once I remember 15 months ago. I remember squeezing those arms and legs. I remember kissing those rough red cheeks. I remember rubbing that soft round head. I remember his squishy but very heavy body being held in my arms curving around my stomach (that has been made soft by he and his siblings) as I patted his bum and bounced him into dreamland. I remember trying all kinds of oils and lotions to get rid of his rashy cheeks. I remember letting him gum on my knuckles. I remember massaging lotion into the creases in his legs and I remember him enjoying that. So many things that I had forgotten. Not forgotten in the sense that I was unable to recall them, but in the sense that I had failed to remember. Life is too busy (and short) to sit around reliving the past, but sometimes it is nice to look back. Which makes me so grateful for cameras, pictures (like this one), and for this blog.

Things are different now. Tonight I brought him home after a long day at Grandma and Grandpas and he fell asleep in the car. As I carried him inside his head lay on my shoulder and his hanging feet hit just above my knee as I walked. He can talk now sometimes saying two words together. He has just grown so much. How quickly things change with babies. It is such a whirlwind of no sleep, growth, and change. All of those things are hard (for me at least) but oh-so worth it.

A day for fathers

On Fathers Day this year my mom decided to set up an adults only dinner for my dad at Monti's La Casa Vieja. Apparently there is a lot of history there with my dads family. It was a favorite of theirs. 

 It had a lot of history in general. Lots of stuff to looks at.

Here is the whole group together (missing some). The food was delicious. Connie got a salad and I got a pasta and we both are half. That is my favorite thing to do at a restaurant.

Here is Russ the master packer.

And here I am with my daddy. I am so grateful for him and the good man he is, the good choices he has made, and the hard work he has always done.

Then Sunday was fathers day. Luckily on Saturday Connie came over while Russ was at work and first we went Goodwill shopping and then we came home and made some t shirts.

Despite the look on his face he really did like these.

I just put a bunch of the Batman logos from across the years on one shirt using the freezer paper method. Did you realize there have been so many logos?

This shirt was inspired by his actual present which he bought himself a few weeks ago.

Maybe someday he will get to go hunting and get something. Cause he really deserves it, cause he really is such a great father and husband.

all my love right there in a tiny square.

Washington 2012 Day 9

That morning we got up early and packed and fed the kids and woke Kirsten up just before we left (that poor women must be exhausted!) and she gave the kids gifts. Gracie got a Calico Critters cat family and a hedge hog family to take home for Grandma and Grandpas house. And William got a Thor hammer.

That morning when we left the sky was clear and we could see Mt. Rainier. 

We got to the airport on time and without indecent. Whew.

Joseph got his own seat but only sat in it a few minutes and then spent a lot of the time fussing on the plane. Until flying with kids I never noticed how noisy the actual airplane is but I am grateful for it because I don't think much of the plane could hear him. And luckily he eventually fell asleep.

William loved the magazines on the airplane and Gracie loved playing with her new animals.

She had a nice little set up there.

 She also got to play on my phone for awhile (and William played on Russ') so that means I have more picture of her making faces in the camera. I could make an hour long slideshow out of all the pictures I have of her like this.

 When we walked out of the airport it was warm, but that is okay cause that is what summer is supposed to feel like. We got home, did some unpacking and then jumped in the pool.

 It felt good to be back in big blue. Thanks for taking care of it while we were gone Connie. And for everyone who it tired of reading about our trip, it is finally done.