Dear friend,
I feel like we have turned a corner with the boys. They are coordinated enough to go without constant supervision and verbal enough to communicate most of their needs. There were actually times in the middle of some days when I found myself alone in a room. Alone! Given, sometimes I had to pay for the solitude, but I enjoyed it none the less. We had a ton of fun this month!
When I was little my parents used to throw impromptu Labor Day picnics with cereal box pinatas so we decided to throw one this year.
We added field day events to the celebration and they were a hit.
It was a fun morning with great friends.
That afternoon Elias took us on an adventure up to the river in Pecos.
We all had fun exploring the great outdoors.
Elias had to travel to Europe for a week this month, so the kids and I made the 9.5 hour journey to my sister's place in Las Vegas.
The kids were awesome traveling companions.
Fun was had by all!
Summer adores her cousins,
and she took full advantage of the plethora of dress-up clothes.
We spent a day at their amazing children's museum.
Even though she couldn't be there for the fun, Nana Toby supplied the girls with a little craft to do each day.
On the last day, the girls performed a ballet while wearing the new accessories they made.
I had a blast hanging out with my sister. The drive was totally worth it!
And though it was sad that Elias had to miss all the fun, it was hard to feel sorry for him when he FaceTimed us and we saw an Effiel Tower light show right out his hotel window!
We arrived home from our trips within minutes of each other and enjoyed a little walk to the park at sunset.
Much of the month was filled with happy toddler experiences, such as:
debates over breakfast,
figuring out how to put on clothes,
enjoying a care package from Aunt Chelsea,
being patient while I attends a church meeting,
playing with friends,
playing with food,
making dinner together,
celebrating our friend's birthday,
making new cardboard cars,
spending time with our neighbors John and Debbie,
goofing around in the backyard,
riding bikes,
dressing up,
FaceTiming with family,
putting on circuses,
rodeos,
cowboy circuses,
and dance performances.
Elias bought some gym equipment that has taken over our garage. Correction - it has taken over his car's spot in the garage. Boyd and Smith were extremely helpful in putting it together as I'm sure you can imagine. Elias and I are now starting our fourth week straight of waking up at 5:30 each morning to exercise together before he heads to work. It's been a lot of fun...and super exhausting. (Also note - this picture shows that our freshly painted garage only lasted a few weeks before Smith left his artistic mark with a black sharpie.)
One day we had a few of Summer's friends over. The boys played with them for a while and enjoyed making pretzels with everyone.
Then they suddenly disappeared and I discovered them hiding in their room with a bag of Cheerios. They had clearly had enough of the girls.
I have been trying to get the kids more involved in household chores and they have been so great about it. It makes me sad to think that someday they will grow up and not care to help me with the things I do throughout the day.
The boys are great helpers and are always quick to empty my dishwasher...even if the dishes are still dirty. But I love that they like to be around me. Summer will seriously come up to me and say, "What can I help you with Mom? I love helping you!" It melts my heart every time.
Elias and I try to sneak away on a date or two each month. This month we were able to go on a hike together and then he took me to this little Santa Fe dive that served awesome New Mexican food. 
We took the kids to the pet parade and town festival on the plaza one weekend.
It's kind of become a tradition to share a bag of kettle corn when we go to festivals.
That is always a hit!
One afternoon our friend held a darling "dress-up tea party".
Boyd takes life a little too seriously to stay dressed up for long, but Smith totally milked the opportunity. He went as a frog and then put on any other costume pieces he could find as the party went on.
The food was amazing and they even had a piñata. We don't often have juice at our house, so my boys went to town on that "tea". They downed an entire teapot by themselves. Needless to say all three kids had a serious sugar crash upon leaving and fell asleep in the car within minutes.
Elias has been playing this game with the kids where he pretends to be a boat. They all climb aboard and try to hold on as the waves crash and the sharks come. It's pretty hilarious.
It's been fun to chat with my parents this month as they were volunteering at the Catholic conference on the family in Philadelphia. We were surprised to see a new article on them in the Deseret News. Way to go Mom & Dad!
The kids have been a riot lately. Smith really enjoys dressing up and often insists on wearing his outfits to bed.
That kid is serious about his corndogs. One afternoon we got home a little late from our outings and I tried to feed them a quick lunch before some much needed naps. I accidentally cooked his corndog a little too long so the cornbread split and no longer covered the hot dot. Smith threw the biggest fit I have ever seen from him. He was bawling hysterically. I finally broke down and made him a new one. He proceeded to eat his new one and then move right on to the previously rejected dog. After completing two corndogs, he climbed down from his stool, walked to the bathroom, washed his hands, and then climbed into bed.
Smith is getting a little mischievous. He will often find my phone and then hide in Summer's room and play games. He also moves a stool across the kitchen to climb up on the counter and dig for treasures such as chocolate chips or powdered sugar. Once I walked into the kitchen to find him pouring a jar of sprinkles into his mouth.
Boyd is just as feisty and shy as ever. He loves riding bikes and often prefers playing by himself if there is a large group.
When I haven't seen him for a little while, I will often find him reading books to himself or playing with his stuffed animals. Every once in a while I will find him in the playroom going to town with the dress-up clothes all by himself.
Boyd is a physical kid. He loves to be chased and tickled. He loves to wrestle and be thrown around. He is also our biggest cuddler. We love it.
Summer continues to crack us up. She considers herself to be a "funny and smart" girl. She loves to make people laugh.
She is also quite feminine. A friend brought us some shoes that her daughter had grown out and Summer was in heaven. With each new shoe she pulled out of the bag, there came a loud gasp and a "Oh, Mom! Look at this one! It's gorgeous!"
She really loves her family. She will often ask to call or text her daddy while he is at work. Her quiet moment, go-to happy phrase is "I love you", and her quiet moment, go-to sad phrase is "I miss my cousins". She has a tender heart and loves to make people laugh. Here is one example of a typical thing she would do:
We concluded the month with a trip to McCall's pumpkin patch.
It was absolutely darling and since we went on opening day there wasn't a single line for anything.
The kids were in heaven and showed great stamina. We spent the majority of the day there and while Smith almost fell asleep mid-step on the way to car, we got everyone in and they were all asleep before we pulled out of the parking lot.
It is so fun to watch these toddlers turn into little kids.
They had a blast at the petting zoo,
the cow train,
and especially the corn box.
It was a month of fun and adventures. But we're excited for October! The kids are already gearing up for Halloween!
Hope all is well with you and yours!
Always,Elias, Brittany, Summer, Boyd & Smith
1 comment:
That corn dog story cracked me up! I love how much you brave on your own with the kids, like a 9.5 hour car ride!!
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