BYU 50

BYU is having a fun promotion right now where they are counting down the 50 days to the first kickoff by dropping these boxes in all 50 states.  They have gone in alphabetical order and so a few weeks ago it was Indiana's turn.  Josh had heard about it and brushed it off thinking they would send it to Indy, but my dad being the superfan he is called me to let me know they would be dropping the box in Fort Wayne.  I thought what the heck, might as well try for it, so Josh got home from work and we headed out in the car and my dad watched twitter for us to see where they would be dropping it. They put it in Parkview field where our minor league baseball team plays so we headed over there apparently in record slow time (19 minutes) but still managed to be the first there so we got it!  We have often wished there were more members of our church here in Fort Wayne, but it turned out to be to our advantage this night!  The only other guy we saw there trying to get it was not an even a BYU fan, just a college football fan!  

 Inside was a jersey and a football signed by a bunch of the BYU greats, and some other little memorabilia.

We had a lot of fun getting it, and now we have plans for a "BYU room" when we get a house!  Thanks Dad!

First Things First

Sadie seems to like to do things backwards.  She wanted to climb the tallest ladders at the park before she could even walk, skip the sippie cup altogether and drink right out of a big one, and now she hardly says two words but she can use the potty?

A week or so ago I could see her pushing so I asked her if she was going poop and she started pointing to the bathroom and making her little grunt noise that lets me know she wants something, so I asked if she wanted to go potty and she ran right in there, got on the potty, and pooped, much to my surprise! I took this picture a few minutes later- after going potty she insisted on dressing herself and holding her cup without any intervention from me.

 She has put something in the potty about 10 times, and sat on it many more times, all of her accord- I am not pushing her to potty train and am sure it will fizzle out here pretty soon, and quite frankly I wouldn't be super sad if it did because it can be a little annoying!  But it has saved me a few diapers, and given me a few laughs too.  Here she is trying to push, probably listening to her sister too much:)

 

A Good Summer

I love summer!  I have tried to enjoy it as much as possible because I knew it would good by fast, and it has surely has!  We have one week til Shane starts kindergarten!  We've tried to spend as much time outside as we can, and it has really been pretty mild weather wise most of the time.

 We spent a fair amount of time playing baseball in the backyard,

 and obstacle courses were all the rage for awhile.

 We've of course spent lots of time at the zoo,

 and gone for many a walk around the lake, which got even more fun when the kids discovered throwing rocks into it.

 We spent a lot of time at the outdoor pool and splash pads, but didn't really document that at all- I think I was gun shy about bringing any electronics there after Josh's phone went kaputz when he forgot about it in his swimsuit pocket for an hour at the pool!  But the kids have made a lot of progress and had a lot of fun, and Shane can swim without a life jacket a lot more confidently now.  It doesn't get dark here til pretty late, and it has been nice to not really care too much about when the kids go to bed when we are out having fun, and to know they can sleep in in the morning.  (this picture was after the park after the evening baseball game)

I will miss that freedom next week, but I'm excited for this new adventure too!

The Perfect Day

When my cousins and I would go for walks on the beach during our vacations, we would always ask each other, "what would your perfect day look like?"  I joked with them last week that I think I found mine!  On July 11, Josh was post call and came home in the morning and I took these cute girlies out for a run.

We got free Chic Fil A

 AND free slurpees from 7-11

 on our way to hang out with some of our favorite people we don't get to see too often

 and watch the kids play with their cousins.

 Josh indulged my need to take advantage of free food, but I think the day  was perfect for him because he got to play a good game of soccer- his nephews and brother are getting to be good little competitors!

Sadie Bug

Our little Sadie Bug is 16 months today!  

 She loves her brother and sister, she wakes up about an hour earlier than the big kids usually and points to the door just waiting for them to wake up.  She wants to do whatever they are doing, so daddy's office chair just got a little more crowded for bedtime youtube videos!

 She gives the best hugs

 and loves her mommy if you couldn't tell.  If I am not there she will be happy for pretty much anybody but if I am close by she wants me.  I thought I'd be glasses buddies with her.

Which speaking of glasses- I took her to a pediatric opthalmologist in Indianapolis last week because her glasses are not completely correcting her eyes like they are supposed to.  So she is going to have surgery in probably a month or so to fix it, which I was nervous about going into the doctor, but after talking with was confident was the right decision for her.  But the kicker was that I asked him if she would still need the glasses after and he said they were going to try to discontinue them for awhile and see how she does.  What?!  I just got used to her in glasses and now she may not be wearing them anymore?  She even has a little glasses tan line!

She is not saying a whole lot but she understands everything so I am hoping it will pick up in the coming months.  She has already started some of the "I want to do it by myself" stuff and can be a pretty determined little girl when she wants to be.  She is the cutest to watch at the pool, she is a little water baby and her favorite thing to do is "jump" off the side of the pool and will just kick herself around in her floatie happily, and loves to go down the slide into the pool and cracks me up every time when she gets to the bottom.  She has two more months and counting til she can go to nursery at church but she loves going to primary with me third hour and getting all the attention from the big kids, and they sure love her though I feel bad she is kind of a distraction!

Miss Marissa

Man is this little girl a cutie, and it's a good thing cause she can give me a run for my money some times!  I have a feeling her daddy is going to be in for it when she gets older!

We had a couple weeks there with a LOT of meltdowns, but they seem to be slowing down some.  On one particular meltdown she did NOT want to leave the Y without playing in the kids gym, and I had to drag her out and she screamed the whole ride home, "Mom!!!! I. Want. To. Get. Out. Of. The. Car!!!!".  I tried to ignore her and when I was stopped at a stoplight and couldn't take it anymore I pushed the button to open the door and told her sarcastically, "okay, get out of the car."  And she stopped crying and said, "Mom, get me my shoes so I can get out of the car"- she was ready to jump out in the middle of the intersection!  Needless to say she has spent a lot of time in time out (which Sadie likes to imitate), and it has been a work in progress figuring out what works for her.

 And then in the next breath she can be the sweetest little girl on the planet.

One of her favorite things to do is to walk to the lake and throw rocks in it, and if given the choice she will almost always pick to wear a dress and "two ponytails" in her hair.

 She is my best little helper around the house, still the best little eater, and I am looking forward to getting some quality time with her while Shane is at school this year.

Shane Man

Oh how I love this boy!  Do you notice how his shorts are on backwards?  I am beginning to think he tries to do that!

 He is really into numbers right now, he is always counting or asking me about numbers or math problems and I am continually amazed at his number sense and the way his little mind works.  So things like dot to dots or putting stickers on a 100s chart are super exciting to him right now.

 He has been doing chores to earn this Octonauts set, and I don't know which he enjoyed more- getting his prize or counting and figuring out how many boxes he had left on his chart every day!

 He has been playing baseball and has really enjoyed it.  It is coach pitch and he has already hit the ball two out of three games without needing the tee, so he has already surpassed his mom's skills!  (I still vividly remember being super upset that my parents missed the one game I made contact with the ball- even though it was only a foul ball!)

 He is a super big brother and adores his little sisters, he tells them all the time, "Marissa you're beautiful!"   and "Sadie you're cute!" and gets offended if they don't want to hug or kiss him.

Can't believe this little man will be leaving me for kindergarten in a few weeks!  He is pretty excited!