lazy summer

Nothing very exciting has been happening around here the past few weeks (unless you count getting sick twice in a month..all 4 of us.) But I have enjoyed just spending time at home with my kids, going to the pool, and decorating my house. Although things have been pretty low key around here, I still felt like we had some blog-worthy moments to post about.

**As Mia gets older and more mobile, it's been interesting watching her relationship with Jake. I get a mixed bag of behavior from Jake. Most of the time, he is her little protector, and will constantly find stray little bits of paper or small/sharp toys, and keep them away from her path of destruction. He is constantly putting stuff on the counter, telling me "Beebs can't play with that, she is too little". It's awesome.

Sometimes he gets kind of frustrated though, and does the normal sibling stuff, panicking if she starts chewing on one of his favorite cars, occasionally ripping things away in an aggressive way. And every once in awhile, if he is tired enough, we go through the "Mom!!! Beebs is looking at me! or "Beebs is touching me!!!" hahaha.

Mia has become a pro at using her walker, and she spends a lot of time running around the kitchen (where there is tile instead of carpet). The problem is, she charges forward in that thing so fast, and if your feet get in her way, they will get jammed right under the bumper. This has happened to me a few times, and let me tell you--it hurts like a swear word. The upshot of this is--Jake is now terrified of the Mia/walker combo. If she is in there, he will immediately head for high ground (the couch, the chairs, or up my body if I'm nearby).

I finally convinced him that if he just stays on the carpet, Mia can't get the walker past the kitchen tiles. He still doesn't seem to trust me though. And yeah, he's naked ... he is always naked. (work in progress...)

**Mia learned to crawl!!! She has been rolling all over the house since she was about 6 months old, but she learned how to really crawl (the correct way even) a couple weeks ago. (I think she was almost 7.5 months old)

**A few days ago (at about 8 months old) she also learned how to pull up and stand next to furniture. While this is a very cute skill that makes my princess so joyful--It's honestly not my favorite milestone. My formerly awesome night time sleeper is now getting up once or twice at night, clinging to her crib bars, and screaming for attention. I've tried letting her cry it out, or soothing her with a quick cuddle or pacifier, but jeez--the girl just wants to nurse. I always end up indulging her too--She's in the 4th percentile for pete's sake, maybe she really is hungry? Blech...whatever the case, I really miss my sleep and her amazing 10 hour stretches. (Also, wondering when the heck her little teeth are planning on making an appearance...that could be part of the waking up problem too..dunno.)

Always on her tip toes..

**I discovered Pinterest. It has inspired me to try so many fun new recipes, and find new fun ways to be crafty too. It's basically the best time-waster since Facebook.

**Jake has started to fly solo with his prayers. Sometimes I think I should write every single one of them down, because they are sooo cute. I experience a full range of emotions when he prays-- from struggling not too laugh, to feeling so touched by his innocence that I cry. He has such a sweet and pure little spirit. Not sure if it's appropriate to post his prayers on here verbatim, but here are a few of the cuter things that he has said:

"Thank you that I go to church...and thank you that I go to Costco."

"Thank you I i-chat with Omi" (or whoever he happened to i-chat with that day)

"Thank you for my pool, my floaties, and my bike"

"Please help Sawyer to come over"

His prayers are so sincere and honest, and he always seems eager to tell his Heavenly Father about his favorite parts of each day.

**While I'm on the subject of church.. Jake loves the show Blues Clues. For those who have never seen it, at some point during every episode, Blue and Steve "Skidoo" into one of the framed pictures on the wall. They do a little twirl and jump into the frame, where they do some sort of activity with the cartoons that are in the picture. (Steve always sings "Blue skidoo!, we can too!") A couple weeks ago we were in the foyer, where there are a couple pictures of Christ. Jake was looking at one of them for awhile, and turns to me, telling me it was a picture of Jesus. He then began jumping and twirling, saying "Blue skidoo! Blue skidoo!" He was trying to skidoo into the picture. haha.

One last cute Jake story before I wrap this up. Jake is kind of unusual. I don't know how we trained him this well, but he will NOT get out of his bed unless we come and get him. He will sit there and cry until we go in. We keep telling him that he just needs to come on out if he needs something. The other night, I was in the middle of doing his bedtime routine and I heard my phone ringing. Wesley was out that night, and I was expecting a call from him, so I told Jake I would be back, and to wait for me. (we still hadn't sung songs, or done hugs/kisses) The call ended up taking longer than expected, and by the time I got back to Jakes room, he was crying soo loudly! I opened his door and said (somewhat harshly) WHY ARE YOU CRYING!?? He sat up in bed, tears just streaming, and said "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" he then mumbled things about how I still needed to sing songs and give him kisses. His response totally took me by surprise and definitely made me rethink my angry tone.

I've been dealing with a few trials the past couple months that have been pretty hard on me. And adjusting to my new town has been kind of hard too. I've had to pray, and pray more, to get some perspective. But through every challenge, the blessings have rained down as well. With kids to kiss and cuddle, and a great husband by my side, I'm always reminded of my good fortune. In a few days, we are driving up to Utah, where I will be lucky enough to see so many of the people I love. My parents will be driving out to meet up with us, and are even bringing my brother David! I can't wait. This will probably be my last post for awhile, because I'm gearing up for a busy and funfilled month. :)