July (part 1)

This was the first week in July and the only week in July that we were in Michigan. We were in Boise for 5 weeks after this so their are a ton more to come, but i couldn't leave these cute ones out.

Ava in the midst of saying cheese.

Ayden and Gavin turned 3!!!

Ayden

Gavin

Our little 3 year olds

STATS:

Gavin - Weight: 33 lbs 6 oz. Length: 38.5 in.
Ayden - Weight: 34 lbs Length: 38 in.

Seriously, the cutest little 3 year old boys ever!! Ayden and Gavin turned 3 on Sept. 12, so as you can see I am a little late posting this. I really think they had a good day. It was on a Monday, but we celebrated it on the Saturday before. Usually for their Birthday we get them like one big gift or maybe a few small ones, but I was realizing that they were in need of a few big boy toys. I don't know how successful I was, but I tried. I never realized how hard it is for me to shop for an age I don't ever shop for, and it will always be like that for them since they are our first born. I am sure it will get easier, in a way, once they know what they want and they can tell us. But I know when that comes it has its challenges as well.

We started our morning by opening up gifts of course...



We then enjoyed some donuts...



And then decorated some cookies...


I don't know what it is, but they do not like to eat the cookies they decorate, but they love decorating. Maybe they are smart enough to realize all the frosting and sprinkles are fun to put on, especially in large quantities, but disgusting to eat.

And the observers/helpers through out the morning...



To end the night we decided to go to Chuck E Cheese. They loved it!

This was a picture of the car ride there. It was a pretty rainy and gloomy day outside.



They didn't ride a lot of the rides, but they enjoyed playing the games, I didn't realize how many they had for their age. And they didn't mind being very picky and specific about the prizes they picked out with their tickets they won. Hopefully as they get older I can be a little better like my sisters and be more creative about their Birthdays, but for now, I think this is good!

Update on Easton

Ok so wow, Easton is almost a year at the end of this month and I am now just posting his 9 month check up which he actually got at 10 months!! Life has just been nonstop with no extras.

So...

10 month stats:

Height: 30 1/4 in. (95%)

Weight: 22 LBS 4.5 OZ (75%)

Easton is growing up so fast. He is constantly trying to keep up with his older siblings. He just wants to be part of the gang. The boys put their snacks on the edge of the entertainment center while eating them and Ava holds onto the edge while dancing and now Easton is making his way up and dancing up right with them. What ever sippy cup the other kids have, he has to have as well.

He started crawling right before he turned 9 months while we were in Idaho, so Jordan missed up, but I kept him up to date with video clips of it.

He started drinking out of sippy cups at about 10 months and at 10 months already eats like he is a one year old.

He has learned the word "UH OH" from Ava

He loves to wave and clap. He started both at about 9 months. He actually wakes up in the morning at times clapping, it is pretty funny, but not when it is way to early for all that happiness! And anytime he here's someone say "YEAH" his hands can't help but clap away.

He loves to give kisses and loves to get them from his siblings, Ava especially. Ava seems to have a way with people and EVERY ONE LOVES HER from baby to adult.

Ever since he has been able to crawl for the most part, he just wants to be down doing what everyone else is doing, especially when he is outside. Just like Ayden and Gavin, being outside is when he is happiest. When I leave he has meltdowns and the only way for Jordan to get him to calm down is by taking him oustide and going for a walk. I have given up and if we are at the park with all the wood chips, I just have to let him down and play in them, if the kids are in the sand box, I can only pull him away so many times, so, he gets in the sand box. He is a very active and observant little boy!

He has got his Mamas temper unfortunatly. He gets so frustrated. Right after he catches on to something, he moves right onto the next and can't handle it when he can't get it right. He has started using a walker to help him with his walking skills at about 10 months. When he started he would get so frustrated, I would try to help him and he would just get even more ticked, and so i would just take the walker away and that would just blow him up. He conquered it and then moved on to the mower that he see's his siblings using. It is front heavy and makes him fall, but he insists on using it and the frustration starts all over again!!

He is a pretty good eater. Every morning he eats 2-3 eggs and about 3/4 of yogurt. He eats pretty much what everyone else eats for lunch and dinner. He

He is a pretty crappy napper, please, any advice would be helpful. He has been acting as though he has been wanting to transition from one to two naps for just about the months of July and August. So, he woud take a morning nap for a couple of days and then miss it for a couple of days. Then for like a week he wouldn't take a nap and then act like he needed one all of a sudden. I know this is how the transitioning works, but come on, for two months, he was so on and off. Sometimes his morning nap would be awesome and then other times it was 30 min.

Anyway, he is now down to ONE nap, which makes it harder for me to even get dressed in the morning, but I can actually go to the grocery store or take my kids to the park or the "play place" in the mall, which sometimes makes up for all the chaos that goes on with ALL of them up in the morning ALL morning long!

His one nap is about 2- 2 1/2 hrs. However, he rarely sleeps it with out interuption and pretty much like clock work wakes up at the 45 min. mark I rock him back to sleep, and sometimes I can lay him back in his crib, but usually wakes up sooner than if I lay him in my bed. He does sleep well in his crib at night though. I know I should probably let him cry it out, but I let him cry himself to sleep once at night and he woke up just like he would have if I rocked him. He has been so attached to me, I think I have a little bit of attachment issues myself. He is killing me with the naps, It should be my little bit of a break, but with all the interuptions it is hard to get anything done. But I am pretty sure I had issues like this with my other kids and I am pretty sure it is something I am doing. I have attachment issues with all my kids.

Easton has been a joy to have in our family and with all the trials that come with having a baby there are definitly plenty of ups. He is so sensative and loving, and enjoys his brothers and sister. He has such a sweet little laugh and it is not hard to get one of his big smiles out of him, especially in front of the camera. It has been so fun to watch this little man grow and we are grateful to have him.

this was right after the picture above. It looks like he is laughing, but he is actually crying, it was funny how quickly his smile went away when he kissed him.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com