Firsties

That first day of Kindergarten was a while ago, but since we're still in the honeymoon period of this amazing thing called school, it definitely deserves a post. I think every family member appreciates that a large portion of Jackson's energy and stamina is getting a new outlet. I'm sure it will get hard, and that walk to the bus stop is going to get colder and colder, but we love seeing how excited Jackson is and hearing about all the neat things in his day. He loves Kindergarten!

Allie is taking the whole kindergarten thing in great stride, floating through her day as the new first in command. Her temperament is so different without Jackson, it has been incredibly fun to see her stretch in her new space. She flits from various activities throughout the day, with a bit of a song and a lot of self talk. It is beyond adorable. She still checks in nearly daily to confirm that she will go to Kindergarten when she gets bigger, and mentions what she is planning to wear--which does illustrate that she misses her brother a little.

The little P man? He's really working hard at trying to catch up with his older brother.

 This kid is on the move, and always practicing for his next big developmental leap. He just started pulling himself up to a stand at the beginning of last week, and today he was trying it out one handed. His eyebrows are nearly always up, with a look that says, "hmm...what's that!?" Everything on the floor goes into his mouth, and the pieces of loose carpet beat the legos for number of times being swiped out of his chompers. We sure adore this squealing, wrist pumping, little tornado of a kid.

And my new firsty came in a box 3 weeks ago, right after my trusty basic phone snapped in half. SIx years late, with no regrets, I took on a smart phone (when they finally became budget friendly enough for this frugal gal). It's super nice to be even lazier than I used to be--as long as I remember to charge it.

We're all excited for fall here, and the prospect of our first tree! Bring on the firsties!

A garden of growth

This 8 1/2 month little boy, just about melts our hearts every time we see him. 

His melting capabilities are directly correlated to his recent growing capabilities. Porter has sprouted 2 teeth (end of July), is nearly crawling (started scooting on vacation) and to help with it, he sometimes eats solid food. But mostly flashes those big blue eyes and cheeses the biggest grin and gleans energy from the rest of us.

Though this video is from a month ago, his scooting still looks very similar. He has started utilizing both legs, and accassionally rocks back and forth on his knees. This boy is growin' up!

Porter has definitely kept himself on a [mommy] milk based diet, and supplements with cheerios, pretzles and mum mums. Produce--especially cooked--is not welcomed. Whatever the food ends being, he enjoys making extensive noises right to accompany the chewing. Though it's cute (and confusing, since it doesn't really sound pleasant) the first couple of times, it's super inconvenient to listen to--especially at church!

On other growing fronts, our garden miraculously produced this:

We're so grateful for all the growing we get to do in our family, but especially when it's so cute or delicious!

Transportation Fam-Vacation

We love transportation. Especially when it helps us see and enjoy our families back west. We made the two week trek to see both sides of our family, visiting 3 states, sleeping in 5 different homes, and driving 2 different cars. We were sure glad to have all various things that move to help us get there.

Our suitcases were the first crucial vehicle we employed. Packing for 2 kids and a baby [and oneself] is a bit ridiculous, but pushing and pulling everything with wheels is sure a lot easier than carrying it all around. [On the way home we added a box and one more bag. Somehow, Allie and I managed to get all the checked luggage and the carseat to the bathroom and then to the curb without paying for the 5 dollar airport cart, while the boys went to retrieve the van. Not sure how much longer we can pull that off. Yay for cheap creativity!]

Porter loved flying and did an excellent job sitting, eating and sleeping (our first kid to fall asleep easily on a plane!) That same baby however, was not thrilled about all the time we spent in cars. The hours spent shuttling to and from the airports, to family cabins and to entertainment were either mostly peaceful (b/c Porter was asleep) or terribly painful as he cried inconsolably. Thankfully, as soon as he was freed, he would flash those big blue eyes and be our happy little guy again. Oh those eyes!



This black beauty of a car was our rental in UT. Although we prefer our van, it was definitely much cozier :) The rental company told us it was not designed for off-roading. We didn't think much of it until we got to Idaho and laughed at how many sand and gravel "roads" we ended up taking it on. It held steady and served us well, and so far we haven't heard from the rental company :)



We stayed a number of nights at my Dad's family's property in southern ID, near Bear Lake. I was stunned by the beauty of the lake as we came in from Logan Canyon. It is enormous and bluer than Porter's eyes. It was so fun to enjoy the company of aunts, uncles, cousins and my Grandparents, and all the fun toys they brought! We got to enjoy a boat (and try our hand at surfing!), sea doos, paddle boards and inflatable water toys. None of which we brought. Thanks everyone for letting us free load!

Jackson and Mark ready for a ride on one of the Sea Doos

Mark and I were fortunate to see all of our living Grandparents on this trip. I love this picture of "G'pa Po" (as Allie calls him), out trying to fix this old transporting beauty.




Porter, Allie and Lily took turns in the beach front pack n' play, after the constant transportation barrage got to them. 



Jackson was transported into pure bliss with these boys as company. He and kissn' cousin (once removed) Reed, were the best of little buddies, and had so much fun tagging along with the older boys.



Following UT and ID, we flew to AZ to see Mark's family and attend a large family reunion. Ranch life requires a diversity of transportation. Tractors, horses, 4 wheelers and lots of trucks are utilized weekly, if not daily on the ranch. 

Jackson didn't much care what vehicle he was taking, all were desirable--especially with Aunt Rebecca!

 (He was definitely her little groupie)

Even without Rebecca, he totally soaked up the various ways to get around.

Not everyone loved to be transported around by large moving creatures and machines. Allie is much more the Ferdinand. How nice to have a Grandma to sit with!




She did finally get brave and try out her horse riding skills (after the 2nd day of attempting), and following one round, demanded going on a ride with G'pa!




At the reunion, we got to haul ourselves around on foot most of the time, and all that practice came in handy during the annual family race. Mark Jackson and I all placed 3rd in our "divisions"--Jackson did the whole 1.7 miles in his trusty cowboy boots that transported him throughout the whole vacation.

The reunion was for 5 generations of Mark's family--(Norman's cousins). I missed the big family picture, but our feet got us to the more immediate family pic. It's sometimes overwhelming to look at a picture with so many amazing people. It's only funny to suddenly realize that within this picture, over half of the cousins (who are also amazing) aren't even there! Oh family.



Mostly, the whole thing was a blast, and we were so glad for all the transportation that made it possible.

We came back to a little Porter who can now transport himself as he scoots across the floor. WHAT?! Video soon.

2 Bonus pictures:

 Lewis who transported us all back into multiple time genres, as he sported this look for most of the time he was at the homestead. We all felt very protected and assured of our safety with this Ausie, cowboy, Arabian sword wielder protecting us.

And here's one of G'pa Paul riding [in jeans] down a steep gravel dirt road. Luckily it was Brant who crashed on the 2 wheeled transporters, and not this snazzy guy. Goodness-what a crazy great-g'pa--who we totally love!

Popsicle Frenzie

 I'm working hard on my vacation post, as we just returned from quite the familial extravaganza. But in the meantime, here are some shots of our popsicle lovin' kiddos.

I suppose we've gotten a little too accustomed to popsicles, as Jackson threw four or five fits today demanding one. I told him he could have one if he picked up some of the toys in the playroom. To which he responded, "NO! WE don't EARN POPSICLES!!!"

Today, unfortunately wasn't a popsicle day. :)

But this lovely, post-bath, evening in June made for a delightful popsicle day.

 

I wanted a popsicle, so Porter and I shared. His list of tried foods went from 3 to 10 that evening. (Organic blueberry popsicles have a lot more than blueberries in them!)

Allie almost made it through the whole thing, but lost it at the very end. I'm sure the ants were grateful. 

Note to self: Don't give the kids a bath and then pass out sticky berry juice. Let's do that before hand next time.

Our 6 Month Baldy

 Oh goodness. Not only do his cheeks scream "KISS ME!" but he gives wet open mouthed kisses right back.

We did a quick photo shoot on a lazy Sunday  last weekend, and I can't pick which one to put on the wall! What a lucky conundrum.

Ta-da!

I think that's how Porter felt on Tuesday. You know that one day when he was clearly no longer an infant. I was going to lay him down, but instead thought I'd try sitting him down. And he stayed up. For a good 10-30 seconds, multiple times. His cheer leaders were all very excited

He seemed rather confused as to why we hadn't been paying attention to his skill he'd been working on!

 

Since he could sit so suddenly, I thought we'd try for the sudden introduction of real food. I keep forgetting to buy baby cereal, and I'm too lazy to ease him into solids by mixing things with my milk, so we just went straight for the banana this time! Ta-da!





He seemed to like the idea, but didn't really swallow anything. We tried avocado today, and he and Allie are just best buds! He totally consumed at least a teaspoon of avocado.

We've discovered Allie has no fear of sharing her talents. Along with conducting (which really just gets more and more impressive), she loves to sing all day long, and will gladly let anyone record her (as long as she gets to watch it afterward). Ta-da!

 

 (*I love love Porter's focused chewing during the whole thing--so cute)

Jackson has likewise held strong ta-da moments lately during some of our outdoor adventures.  We've been going on little family bike rides, and little meaning 6-8 miles round trip. Jackson's little legs keep up with our scenic pace and have everyone on the trail cheering for him. His only issue is down hill (as he tries to keep pedaling with his fast wheels), and his desire to look at all the cool scenery around him (the ducks, trains and planes are just so exciting to look at--but likely to cause a crash). We inevitably get to our destination with shock as he then runs around and plays before riding all the way back. Awesome.

And this is how we all feel the next day: Ta-da!

I suppose that's the aftermath of too many ta-da's.

At least for most humans (but not this little guy)

Ta-da!

Fast Feet, Slow Toes

 I was listening to the radio today, and heard a program that only airs on Fridays, and had to do a double take. I swear I just heard that program yesterday. Was it really Friday again? I knew it was Friday, but it seemed I had heard this program so recently, there was no way a week had transpired. But yes, a week flew by with such vigor--it felt nearly like one day. The week was full of a certain 5 year old's birthday, many children up during the night, warm weather (a swimming pool), and moments that lasted so long or were gone in a blink.  Really I'm grateful for a life balance of both--the blinks and the drawn out, the fast feet and the slow toes. What a joy to have 3 children who remind me everyday of their fast feet and slow toes.
 

 

Disclaimer: the beach shot was technically not from this week, but since this week felt like a day, the beach trip from two weeks ago definitely counts.

 Especially since this little hidden puffer fish surprised Mark's fast feet--instantly turning them to slow [pain-ridden] toes.

 Ah the puffer fishes of life. They add balance also.