July updated!

So, basically, for a long time I felt like if I was feeling well enough to sit on our hard computer chair long enough to post a blog, then I was feeling well enough to do some work. Work won out. But, today is Sunday and I'm not doing work today!

This is our traditional picture. Well, the 2nd one anyway. I made them all shirts that say "I'm the ..... Big Sister/Big Brother/New Baby."

An updated garden. Ben's eaten 2 tomatoes, Kannon ate one. We have 7 watermelon growing. Had tons of spinach and the lettuce is finally big enough. My mom's been a big help and thinned my carrots and beets. I actually bottled 3 pints of beets.


Sarah with one of our spinach leaves. Of course, we'd rather they didn't get quite so big as they start turning bitter.

One day I heard Sarah in the kitchen. She was making lunch. Yes, she's still in her pajamas, but that's just how it goes. And in my defense, it was still morning - about 11 am. She made pb&j for all of us. Some of the sandwiches only had a little bit of peanut butter in the middle - same with the jam. But, I thought it was a sweet gesture.

Relaxing summer days. These two have actually been playing more together. I'm sure that's because I've been unable to do much with either of them for awhile. Sarah's always been good at playing by herself, but Ben needs someone. He's also been very good at making her scream. We've been having a lot of behavioral issues -I'm sure that's also because I've been unavailable - at least quickly. They know I can't just jump up and "get" them anymore. We've had to use the naughty spot quite a bit.

I've got mixed feelings about school. Ben is all registered and almost done with his immunizations. We didn't get into the school we want - the one a block away - but we are first on the list of changing. So, more than likely he'll be there within the first week or two. I think life will be a little more calm with him gone during the day, but then I feel guilty because I should want my children to be home with me. Also, I'll miss him - he really is a big helper. We've recently given him more chores to do and he's been pretty good about doing them without too much complaining. I look forward to being able to give Sarah a little more attention, too. We still need to get him in for a last session of swim lessons before the summer is over - and we're late for soccer sign-ups so I think we might try something else this year. Sarah shopped for her dance clothes and we'll get her signed up for ballet soon, too.

Kannon's been a busy father. He takes the kids all over so that I can have some quiet time and they can still have some fun. Last weekend they did the pool and the circus. He often gets them outside to help with projects, too. He even lets me go to the store some nights and deals with the fussy baby. Today he napped with Joshua for 3 hours! That means I got to nap for 3 hours, too!

Last Friday was a busy day for us. I took the kids with me to get Joshua's PKU test done. They were both pretty bothered by "so much blood." The nurse tried to reassure them that it really wasn't that much. I don't think they believed her. After lunch we headed to Reno to drop off some insurance paperwork and visit the new dentist. I switched to a family dentist so that we could all go to the same one and I wasn't going back to the old dentist after my last experiences with his office. Anyway, it was the kids first visit to a dentist and their teeth are just great. The dentist and helper were both impressed with their teeth - or they're just really nice people and like to make the kids feel good. Kannon showed up in time for me to be able to do my x-rays and the dentist talked him into getting some done too. Sad thing is, he has 3 cavities. He thinks if he flosses every day from now til the appt. he will be able to get rid of them! I guess he doesn't understand how that works. These are his first cavities, ever!

Afterward, we went to S-cheels. No, I didn't mis-type. That is how Ben pronounces it and will not listen to anything different. (He also says, "in a jippy" instead of jiffy.) This was our first visit to Scheel's, and I was as impressed as I thought I would be - which wasn't very. Ben and Kannon rode the ferris wheel - Sarah didn't want to. We checked out the fish tanks, browsed around and we all played the gun game upstairs. Then we went to eat at Carl's Jr. We made one more stop, at Target, to do some school shopping. We only found one pair of pants, though we spent over $100. I ended up buying some jeans that were on sale for next year, new church pants, 3 swim suits for next year, and dance clothes for Sarah. We made a lot of trips to the bathroom and even I got to enjoy the hand dryer that makes your skin wiggle! It was a busy day - but fun to do something as a family again.

A few weeks ago I had a special visit from one of my mission companions. That was a fun time. Too short of course, but she and her family were on their way through, and I'm just grateful they wanted to stop and visit. I probably wasn't the best hostess or conversationalist, but I still enjoyed having them here. She was a great and fun companion and we got to hang out some in Utah after the mission, too.

We had our first outing (Joshua and I) when we went to our ward's Pioneer Day celebration just over a week ago. We had a yummy pancake and egg casserole breakfast. Then the kids did a parade and there were a lot of games to play. It was too hot for me though and I was glad to go home. Ben got a bloody nose, which seems to be happening a lot - must be the dry heat?

So, some days with the baby are good and others not so much. He's a good baby, I think I must need to eliminate something from my diet. I've already done the chocolate and spicy foods, but he's still acting like he's in gassy pain. So, I'm trying milk right now. Speaking of milk, this kid's an eater. I feed him a lot! Seems like there's not much left for him when he's ready for more. I guess my body will get it all figured out. I'm just trying to keep drinking water like I did when I was pregnant. Then some nights he sleeps really well and only wakes up to eat and goes back to sleep. Or, like last night, he was up every few hours and stayed up for a few hours! Meaning I've only had about 5 hours of sleep and its showing. I'm cranky and emotional. Ugh.

His 2-week checkup went well. The doctor said he is thriving. He weighed in at 10 lbs. 4 oz. and 22 inches long.

He poops a lot, too. I guess that's a given. I told my kids he eats, sleeps and poops. Then he starts all over again. One night I changed him 4 times - each time I put a new one on he immediately pooped again. By the time he needed the 5th one I decided to feed the crying baby and wait it out. The kids still love to hold him, but don't ask as often anymore. The novelty must be wearing off.

This is one of my favorite outfits. I think Ben only got to wear it once before he outgrew it. I just love his perfect skin.

My mom bought this cute teddy/blankie for him. It rattles, too. I hope he enjoys it as much as Sarah has enjoyed her "special blankie." You can kind of see his eyelashes here. He got the long ones from his Daddy. All of the kids have them and I'm so glad.

This is probably my new favorite photo of the baby. Ben took it and I think the light is from the flash bouncing off his hand. I don't know, I just like the way the lighting is. The baby sleeps best on his side like this, although there have been a few times he rolled onto his tummy and that makes me a little nervous.

So, we have family coming this weekend for the baby blessing and the next weekend is the wedding for Kannon's brother, JJ, in Elko. So, we'll be busy for a bit. But, I guess that gives me more to blog about!