B O Y S

These three boys - Nathan, Harrison & Jake - have known each other since they were born. But they've never really played together outside of church functions. That is, until now.

They've played quite a bit together this summer and they've loved it. They are just BOYS. Plain and simple. They wrestle. They punch. They throw things. They swim. They play.

It's been interesting to watch Nate play with BOYS. He usually plays with girls {he loves his girlfriends/cousins} but it's been fun to watch him play with boys. It's a completely different kind of play. It's a little crazy and insane at times but it's fun to watch, nonetheless. They don't really fight or argue over things - they just play. And if there is an argument - it usually turns physical instead of emotional. Like I said - BOYS.

Boys will be boys. And I love it.

ryan and nate have a new cousin.

Madeline Jane Griffeth was born yesterday!



9 pounds 1 ounce
22 1/2 inches long

Maddie & Ryan can be little chunksters together. Maddie is Griffeth baby #4 born in the last 11 months - hooray for cousins.

Can't wait to meet you in November, Maddie. Congrats Grant & Alyssa!

happy birthday, america!

We spent the 4th of July at the cabin with my entire family. It was nice having everybody together for a few days & it was fabulous to be out of the Vegas heat and enjoy the outdoors.





A few highlights of this trip:

fishing boat. we took a fishing boat out on navajo lake where nate caught his first fish! to say he was excited is an understatement.





funny fishing boat story: we had been talking about catching fish all morning. Kyle caught the first fish and as soon as it came out of the water and in to the net - Abbie started screaming hysterically. She didn't realize we'd actually catch a fish and bring it on the boat.



4th of July parade. duck creek has a 4th of July parade every year. This year we decorated one of the "cabin cars" and my mom and dad drove abbie, daisy & nate in the parade while they threw out candy. They loved it. My mom had the kids yelling "happy birthday, america!" When it was all over, Abbie said to my mom . . . "this is the happiest day of my life!"

Kyle was a trooper and led the parade holding a flag in his boy scout uniform. We were all so proud of him for doing it all by himself!



the rest of us sat on the sidelines and watched the parade.



we were like kids, lined up on the side ready to catch all of the candy!




and of course, lots of cabin car rides.



the weekend was spent with great company, yummy food, lots of games of Sequence, paper airplane tosses from the loft, crafts {thanks aunt sam}, turns on the rope swing, walks in the forest, smores around the campfire, firefighters pancake breakfast, reading and/or taking a nap on the deck, washing the cabin cars, dancing to disney songs, Wimbledon & long nights with both of our boys awake and crying.

the cousins had a great time together. I constantly saw the little ones asking each other to play & Abbie loved baby Ryan. She read him books and played with him whenever he was awake.

is this what it's like when your kids are old enough to get up, turn on cartoons, and make themselves breakfast?

Wes and I enjoyed a first in our almost-three-years of parenting this morning - we got to sleep even after Nate woke up!

Let me start by saying that Ryan is a STINKER at night. He's a terrible sleeper - he's still so gassy so a lot of it is because he's in pain and needs to fart.

Last night was a particularly rough one for both Wes and myself {and Ryan}. So when Nate came walking in our room at 6:45 this morning we didn't want to move. We had finally gotten in to a deep sleep since Ryan had been asleep since 5:30am. Nate crawled in to bed with us at 6:45 and before I knew it - it was 7:45am and Nate was not in our bed anymore! Apparently he quietly went downstairs and was playing with his truck & trailer without any complaints. He even managed to find a red Sharpie and only colored in a coloring book. This is not our usual Nate that wants us up and playing with him as soon as the day begins!

It was soooo nice to get another hour of sleep this morning after a long, long night. I could get used to that. What a fabulous thing when your kiddos can entertain themselves for an hour in the morning!

Now if we can work on him turning on cartoons and making his own bowl of cereal . . .

Ryan in action

This is one of Ryan's new favorite things to do. Whether he's happy or sad - he can be found doing this:

ryan - 4 months old

My little man is 4 months old.

He's got quite the personality these days. If someone is giving him any kind of attention - he's all smiles. He makes all kinds of noises . . . he's busy trying to figure out all of the many things this little {or not so little} body of his can do.





A little bit about RYAN:

. He's acting like he's teething already. He's got a constant stream of drool coming out of his mouth. He wants to gnaw on anything and everything he can get in his mouth. And his nose has got a drip of clear snot.



. He reaches for everything. He is Mr. Curious - wanting to put everything he can get his hands on in his mouth. He's apparently ready for some Nielsens custard.



. He likes the pool.

. He loves being outside. We're often roaming the neighborhood at night with this little guy.

. He's still a chunk.

. He loves to lay on the floor outside of the shower when someone is showering. He spins around on the floor and eventually starts kicking the cabinet. He thinks it's hilarious and rarely gets fussy!

. He still spits up a lot.

. He is a binky boy. But now he is constantly taking it out of his mouth.



. He loves to grab his toes. Half the time he rolls on to his side.



. He went on his first airplane ride.

. He's got quite the smile but he'll also give you a mean scowl.

. He's not a great sleeper but I guess it could be worse.

. He went on the carousel for the first time.



We love having this little boy in our family. He's got such a fun personality that is developing so quickly. I feel like we've hit the stage where he just grows up so fast - constantly doing new things!

29

I turned 29 today - here we go for my last year in my 20's. I'm looking forward to the 30's - it seems like it will be a fun decade.

I had an enjoyable birthday! Although I have to say that Sunday birthdays are a little non-eventful. I did manage to take an afternoon nap and Wes grilled up some yummy burgers to celebrate.

Sam's birthday was last week so on Thursday night we had a little swim birthday party with some Metro Pizza and a Jamoca Almond Fudge icecream cake with my family to celebrate. I've always loved having my birthday so close to Sam's - there's always someone up for celebrating!

Nate was funny this morning - Wes told him it was my birthday today and he looked at us with a confused grin and said . . . "no, you already had your birthday with aunt sam!". I guess he's not up for multiple birthday celebrations.

Thank you for all of the phone calls, text messages, facebook messages and fun packages in the mail. I appreciate it. I do have to ask about a present I received with no card. It was from a company in Lehi, Utah and it's an adorable pack of stationery but I don't know who it is from!

And a big thank you to Wes for painting my office for me for my birthday - I love it!