12 Months as a Lewman 3.0

Happy Birthday to YOU

Family shenanigans.

As I sit here and write this - I am sipping on coffee on a lovely veranda in Laguna Beach as the sun rises over the canyon.  I am reflecting back on the past 12 months and how much life has changed- and I am only 35, we're just getting to started!  Having Delaney has been like eating dessert after every meal.  She's just the extra special slice of pie after having an amazing full entree (that entree being Emmy and Hayden...and Tye).  I love how she has changed each person in our family in some way.  She's like a baby therapist.  Hayden is SO gentle with her.  So protective of her and constantly needs to be holding her.  Emmy is learning to share the limelight and embrace having someone she can play with.  I think it's also inadvertently forced her to discover playing independently. Tye has always had a soft side for Emmy but it's a little softer now with Delaney.  I think he enjoys those snuggles a bit more knowing they are his last baby snuggles.  I don't know how she does it but she's a lover.  She seems to be the calming factor in our lives even as she's practically running now and only wants to get into things she's not supposed to.  What I love most about her is the look that she gives to each of us.  She is enamored.  There isn't one of us she prefers more, she absolutely loves us and I just want her to hold on to that through her teenage years  :).  

The tiniest belle of the ball.

Delaney Rae is 29 1/2 inches and just sitting pretty at 20 lbs.  They claim she is 50th percentile (although I've never really focused on the percentage assessment) but she seems so tiny to me!  I feel like if I look at pictures of her from 4 months and 12 months - she looks the same! Always so youthful, that one.  She eats everything now.  EVERYTHING. I have pulled 1/4 crayons, bark chips, rhinestones and paper out of her mouth. She has adventurous tastebuds. I even gave her some grilled onion and mild peppers and she loved them. There is something so funny about when she's eating.  It could be the combination of cave-man hand feeding with the nom-nom sounds she makes and the level of focus she has.  It's hilarious to me and I love feeding her!  It is so hard to articulate how special the baby months are but transitioning into the little kid stage is almost more exciting in some ways.  I think the constant fear for me (with a baby) has always been "what will she need to eat and will I have enough of whatever it is".  So now that they are all eating food, the same food we can eat - it's a bit of a relief.  I haven't introduced her to Burgerville yet but it's on the horizon.  Speaking of horizon, it is stunning here in Laguna Beach.  How do people live here??  Amazing.

This is 1

This is 4

This is 35.

This past month we celebrated Emmy's 4th birthday, my 35th birthday and Delaney's 1st.  Emmy had the most amazing princess party with 3 of her gal pals (Sadie, Presley &Laura).  We did hair sparkling, nail painting, little make-up, crown decorating and coloring.  I am not quite ready for those big parties yet because once they happen - that's all they'll want!  But the big gift was Emmy went from a toddler bed to a big girl bed, thanks to Gramma & Papa Lew and Grandma Judi for the sheets and comforter.  Poor Hayden slept in a twin bed from 4-11 and Emmy got a full size bed at 4.  Sorry Hayds! No need to worry for Delaney though, she'll probably always just be in our bed.  Yay - we might actually save money!! I didn't get anything as lavish for my birthday but I did get ridiculously drunk with my friends singing at the top of my lungs?  So SUCCESS!  My Mom and two sisters, Traci & Tiffany brought their families to the Oregon coast to spend time with my family.  I have never had the chance to spend a weekend with them (as an adult) and it meant the world to me.  They live in Everett, WA so we don't get to "drop by" when we want.  Thanks to my Mom, we watched old home movies (even the long boring ones with camera pointed at me playing in the sand for 45 minutes) to the fun ones of them riding that little motorcycle up and down our street to videos of my Dad's 40th surprise birthday party...and the piñata.  And of course my grade school talent shows that never disappoint. Cold hearted snake anyone?

We have had a full year with Sweet D.Holidays, birthdays, flooding, playing, sports, broken bones, learning, doctor visits, snoozing, lots of kisses - and I

3 LLs

mean lots of kisses.  Learning to parent the two girls at these ages has been challenging.  Dividing my attention and trying to focus on both of their similar/different needs is/was emotionally exhausting.  Sometimes physically. But things change and we learn and grow and I understand this is a short period of time - I am never complaining of the situation I am in just expressing that this time has been...an achievement, if you will.  We're all going different ways but doing it together.  I love these people and I am so excited to learn more about them as they get older and which circus we'll join this year.  Thank you for all the kind words and enjoying the blog. Thank you for being part of our extended family and obviously if you start missing the blog - you can always follow me on Instagram...I like the photos.  

Different strokes.

View on Flipagram

10/11 Months as a Lewman 3.0

Happy 2016!

I think I will always remember this month when I look back at the “younger years”.  It was my most emotionally strained month as a Mother.  Between repeated child illness, broken legs, house flooding, work stress and not having any time to myself while making a home open to family for the holidays…it nearly broke me.  I didn’t really know it at the time because I was just focused on getting through the next hurdle but once the tree was down, the kids were healthy, the basement was unoccupied and work calmed down, I realized how hard it was on me.  Then 2016 happened and it was sunny, then snowed, and like that I snapped out of it and moved on to enjoy the daily annoyances and smiles of the ups and downs of life.

Sums them up.

December was a hard month on Delaney too.  She had two colds, a bronchial infection and pink eye (on Christmas).  She wasn’t eating well, cried a lot and was irritable most of the time.  It was so disheartening looking at her wondering when she would be healthy again and I had a hard time remembering what that looked like on her.  Emmy was having issues sleeping – would wake up with night terrors or have an accident or need to go to the bathroom or want to be with us.  It was so difficult to watch these little people work through these normal things on their own.  I will say that Christmas was magical though.  This year was certainly all about Emmy.  She had the big haul with a handmade 4 ft repurposed jewelry box made with perfect sized, barely adhesive choking hazards for Delaney, a scooter made for a 12 year old {boy},  a Rapunzel dress when she wanted an Aurora dress,  and all kinds of jewelry and clothes that she has already broken and/or ruined.  Hayden, graciously let her take the spotlight on Christmas morning and Delaney just ate tissue paper.  She truly is the middle child struggling to keep the attention.  So, we obliged. We got to see the kids in their crazed, twitching with excitement bodies for hours.  For whatever reason my Mom and I tag teamed Tye’s birthday/Christmas presents theme as “Builder Bob”with a new drill, drill bits, and a tool belt.  He made the comment (in true Tye hilarity fashion) “I don’t think you guys know what I do, I am in sales – not a contractor!” Then we had mimosas and momentarily forgot about all the illness and wet flooring we had in the basement and enjoyed the day.

The Lewman Five

Because of the unwanted water in our basement - we had to move Hayden upstairs and cut off access to the play room and the main TV of the house.`And I have learned there are a lot of frustrating things about compacting 5 people into 1,300 square feet of living quarters, mostly all congregating in our room 80% of the time.  Every day I have to figure out where I am going to get dressed and which toy would be the least painful/most quiet to step on.  It is either one of three things on the TV; football, The Odd Squad or The Great British Baking Show because 1/5 of us is always trying to go to sleep.  The bed sheets now have marker on them.  There are umpteen thousand mismatched socks of all sizes strewn about. There are snout marks on the windows, I am still not sure who's DNA it is.  And Delaney’s room is stuffed with a full size bed and 12 year old boy with his shoes/clothes/socks/books/laptop cords/headphones/homework papers/boysmell…it’s now Haylaney’s room. I think by her 1st birthday she should have ownership again.  With all of that said, I love that all of us are together and on the same floor.  At the end of the day when I lay down and close one of my eyes – I feel like all is right in the world.  We are all safe and I can hear everyone breathing and when they get up to pee in the night ☺ Looking forward to having our play area back but will be slightly sad Hayden goes back downstairs to his room.

Oh, the snuggles.

D weighs about 20 lbs and reaching 29” – she’s wearing 12 month clothing and just starting to wear shoes.  I cannot wait to see what that little figure looks like in a bathing suit this summer!  She’s already bikini ready.  Delaney has been hitting so many milestones now that she’s recovered from her 3 month ailments.  She’s smiley and happy and loving again.  She’s still struggling with being held by anyone but Mom and Dad but we’re pretty good at passing her to family when we need a break!  I was concerned that she wasn’t interested in baby food/solid foods or even PUFFS but then one day – BAM, she was into it!  She loves them all!  Now we are finally giving her bigger chunks of soft food, she's eating like she’s angry and killing the puff game.  Still nursing but now that she’s exploring more food we will probably start weaning in the next couple months.  It will be nice at work to not make two trips down to the basement anymore.  She has the most adorable nod that she’s sporting these days.  “Can Mama have a kiss?!”… no, with a fast shake of the head and a smile.  She's not a real belly-laugher.  Maybe it means she will be one of those people that only laughs at super hilarious material…and doesn’t have time for the day-to-day giggles. Although she does go into hysterics with Emmy fake spitting in her face - which then makes me think she doesn't understand humor at all...only time will tell.

And finally – my little lady is walking.  She is officially – not a baby anymore.  Heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once.  I love to watch her advance and hate to see her grow.  With Emmy I would look at everything as firsts, with Delaney I look at everything as lasts.  Which is no way to be but that’s just how it is.  That hair just doesn’t want to grow either.  She’s got a strong party in the back and not much on top.  Which was the way I was as well and now I have tons of hair - so I am sure we'll see it come in within the next 35 years.  I’ve already been sworn to not give her the famous “Emmy bangs”…I thought they were cute!!

 Miss Delaney Rae will be 1, a month from today which means only 1 more blog!  Bittersweet.   Here’s the last two months of  photos in a nutshell.

View on Flipagram

9 Months as a Lewman 3.0

My doll baby.

9 Months ~ seems like just yesterday, although it was actually 3 weeks ago because I am really late getting this blog out.  Delaney has been out of the womb for just as long as she was in...went by much faster this time!  She is just the sweetest little butterball.  Although, I am discovering that she's a VERY small butterball for her age.  She matches the 4/5 month olds at her daycare.  She's the first petite Lewman lady to join this gang though she's definitely a chowhound.  I thought for sure I'd be done nursing her by now {Emmy was 8 months when we stopped and I just went off her cues} but Delaney is very much still into it.  All the time.  Day or night.  Mostly night.  When I am trying to sleep.  She has shown a lot of interest in our food but any time we cut it up real small or mash it, she's over it.  She just likes the chase!  She will literally put anything in her mouth but the second you give her food, she has no idea what to do with it and smears it on the table. I can't wait to see her finally enjoy food!

I know, she looks like a swimmer in the 50s.

She is a healthy 19.9 lbs and 28" in height.  I am lucky enough to weigh and measure her every couple weeks with our routine doctor visits because we're still going bout after bout of colds with the girls.  I cannot express how happy I will be when spring hits and all we have to deal with is allergies and sunburns.  Coughs and fevers and runny noses and fussiness is so 2015 - ready for this to pass.  But other than that, she is developing personality traits that I can't wait to watch evolve.  When she wants something, she watches it for a bit, then darts.  When she does not want something, she darts.  Mostly a lot of darting skills but she's also such a snuggler.  Big time snuggler - and is experiencing what we all have been through in the family, a daddy stage.  Now that she will take a bottle from him, they are certainly bonding which takes about 10% of the pressure off of me. Emmy has really transitioned to a mommy stage, mostly during the night while I am nursing D off an on - Emmy calls out for me and only me.  Doesn't want Daddy - only Mommy.  Double duty to prevent midnight tantrums is worth it but really looking for some 
R&R during the Christmas break.

Family photo 2015 - Michael Byers :)

We have been a new kind of busy lately.  The kind I am unfamiliar with.  It's chaotic and unorganized and just the hold-on kind of crazy.  Oh yeah and our house flooded - which has forced a lot of upstairs activity.  There's a lot of people in this house!  The life with 3 kids has certainly altered our evenings and weekends.  It's about 70% preparation and 30% clean up. Don't get me wrong - not one day goes by where I wish it were different but that's not going to stop me from daydreaming about them being old enough to not fall off the bed, not step on their baby-sisters hand, not spill milk all over the table and wipe it into the wood, refuse to put their shoes on or scream when they only have on one headband. I am totally out of my element with them - they are teaching me things I thought I knew.  I thought I knew how to control my frustration and keep my shit together.  Turns out, I don't.  I am learning that I really don't care if the table isn't set when you come over for dinner, but I still care if the living room isn't vacuumed.  I am picking my battles with myself and learning all kinds of things.  I want to reiterate that I love this life I have chosen, and I am not complaining, just more or less sharing my observations but bullshit aside, it's hard.  And just when you've hit your max, you hear your daughter say she calls her little sister her "big sweetheart" and you're reset.  Back to winding up.


The video I have selected is about 5 minutes long.  It's real and I just love it.  This is what our car rides are like, this is what our life is like.  In the end, when I look back on this blog, it's stuff like this that I want to remember - hope you enjoy the goat noises.

GO 'ZERS!! (that looks really bad on me)

Emmy had two school music performances since I last wrote. The Thanksgiving one was very tearful, and the Christmas one was very statue-esque, but she's getting more comfortable being in front of people and that's all I care about.  She is singing ALL THE TIME - making up songs just like her Mom when she was her age (you may remember her as Ms. LaRue with such hits as Rippling River and I Love You [video will not be provided]. 
We went to a Blazer game, flag football, the Nutcracker, had Thanksgiving and let's not forget the birthday boys.  Tye turned 35 and Hayden turned 12.  Both are shocking my system right now - I can't believe how old they are! We had so many opportunities for quality time this past month. Tye has moved on from a softball league to a basketball league.  I finally got to watch one of his games and it's kind of like being in high school again.  I love watching him play and maybe, just maybe try to show-off in front of me even though now it may result in a sprained ankle or other injury.  Gotta be careful out there babe, those hips aren't what they used to be!

I know this year has been incredible for some and difficult for others - it's been quite a mix of both for us.   We are really looking forward to a HEALTHY Christmas with magic and laughter. That's all I want, is that too much to ask? From the bottom of my heart, to everyone we know, from our family to yours, Merry Christmas.

Thank you for reading and see you in 2016!

View on Flipagram

8 Months as a Lewman 2.0

On last month's episode we were falling into a new school year and football had begun...so had cold and flu season.  We were lucky enough to experience all of those things ten fold.  Let's start with Delaney since that's why we're all here.

This face.  I love this face.

My sweet D.  Remember those months I was talking about how she never cried?  Those days are long gone.  She is a regular baby now with all the fixings.  She is still the sweetest gal on the block but she's a girl who knows what she wants.  Actually, she knows more of what she doesn't want.  Like getting in her car seat.  It is as if I am trying to stuff her into a suitcase made of thorns - she squeals and really causes a scene while I look around hoping people don't think I am breaking limbs to get her buckled up.  And then moments later she is just fine, looking around to see what the fuss was all about.  I finally got her a mirror for the car, mostly so she can see herself, and everything else around her although I love to shoot a few smiles her way!  Her sister loves to shove her face through the shade on her car seat to either scare her or make her laugh - somehow she manages to do both.  Emmy is a lot like me in that way! Here's a video of Emmy trying to make Delaney laugh...

We spent a good amount of time at the doctor's office this past month.  3 Doctor visits and 1 emergency room visit.  We had flu shots and croup and possibly strep and oh yeah...Hayden broke his leg and needed surgery! It was a wild ride.  And by wild ride I mean emotionally, physically and financially taxing for everyone.  Which Lewman was seeing which doctor and which Lewman was the reason we needed to stay home from work? It was exhausting to watch these little people struggle.  I know it's cold and flu season but we'd like it to be "it's cold outside and open the flu for the fire" season instead.  Too many germs are circling this home!  We appear to be healthy now but I recently heard that a baby will be sick for approximately 2 weeks out of the month...that is A LOT!

And she does yoga.

Probably the biggest accomplishment for Delaney this past month has been her increased ability in mobility!  She's crawling and standing and pulling herself up and then just letting go.  Her daycare seems to think that she's going to be running before she's walking!  She has so much to see and so many friends at daycare that she's got to get moving!  One of her friends continues to bite on Delaney's back which has been a concern but I say it's because she's so delicious.  The little Hannibal has been fixed and no longer bothers D.  The school started talking to me today about when she goes into the toddler room at 12 months and blah blah blah (I zoned out because I realized THAT IS IN 3.5 MONTHS).  How did this happen? My last baby is almost my last toddler?  Insane how long the days are short the years become.  Silver lining there is cost goes down about....$50 a month!  A win is a win.

1st day home from hospital

Speaking of winning.  As I mentioned before, Hayden broke his leg.  He was playing in a football game and was in motion with the ball - then the biggest kid on the other team TOOK.HIM.DOWN.  And snap - compound femur fracture on his right leg.  Jenny hopped in the ambulance with him and we all met at Legacy Randall Childrens Hospital. Surgery the next morning and on crutches two days later.  That was 5 weeks ago and he may possibly be off crutches Friday at his appointment.  So basically, that means no sports until he's recovered (around baseball time).  As much as I would love to have him still playing football and NOT broken his leg, I am really enjoying this period of time where we have no sports on the weekends!  No practice during the weeknights!  Soon the girls will be in their events and life will be in full swing.  But right now...we chill.  Thank you for all of the gifts and support on behalf of Hayden, Jenny, Tye and I.  He's doing great!

Over protective much?!

My Emmaline...boy, is she something.  She has been to a play with Papa and Grandma Lew, Frozen on Ice with Grandma GG, Judi and Mama.  She had an incredible Halloween where she managed to be Anna & Elsa.  Hayden was an injured football player (he managed to walk about 45 minutes on his crutches from house to house - trooper!) Emmy was Frozen and Sweet D was a cabbage patch kid.  She was the cutest in a handmade hair/hat by our friend Bree.  It was absolutely pouring that night so she stayed in and we braved the rain.  Loved how excited Emmy was to go house to house and how she kept hoping the next one would be "the scary one".  Amazing what this year to last year was like!

This right here.  

I am SO, SO, SO looking forward to all the fun things we have ahead.  Holidays, birthdays, football, parties and baby snuggles.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I won't go on to list all the things I am grateful for because I'll save that for it's own blog post, but the one that I will mention is my husband.  THANK YOU for going through all of this with me.  Sometimes it's a breeze, sometimes it's muddy and sometimes it's hard to see where we're going but you are my teammate and I am so grateful for our life.
Love.

View on Flipagram

7 Months as a Lewman 2.0

All my favorite heads in one place.

Well this little gal has gracefully transitioned from a sweet baby to a mature baby.  I swear I can see the wheels turning when we place toys in front of her. Either there is no interest or it goes in her mouth and she will determine if that was a good decision.  Delaney is still nursing and sleeping like a dream baby.  Oh and sleeping with us.  I have TRIED many times to put her in her crib but we both hate it so for now she'll just always stay with me forever.  I know she needs to be in her own room - I'll get there.  If this really, truly is my last baby - I am just trying to hold on as long as I can. Besides, I have a feeling she'll be the one leaving me ready to go to her crib.  She's pretty determined (yes even at 7 months). She already knows what she likes and doesn’t…

Not a fan of…

Applesauce

Getting in her car seat

Getting out of her car seat

Looking at her car seat

Facing people when they are holding her

Getting her nails clipped

Sun in her eyes

Teething

Socks

Big fan of…

Bottles of any kind (plastic)

Eating anything but applesauce

Music – 90’s club mix

Her brother and sister

Her right foot

And her left foot

And her sister’s foot

Any foot will do

Sleeping with Mom

Walks outside

Crawling

Not growing hair

This past month has been VERY eventful.  Delaney had her 6 month check up and weighed 16.14 lbs. and 26 ¾” in height.  She is really strong.  Sitting up 90% of the time without falling over and using her hands to support her.  She stands on her own for a solid 20 seconds before her little giraffe legs give out.  She is scoot-crawling everywhere.  Long gone are the days we could leave her on the center of the bed and run to the other room for something.  She is mobile and ain’t got time to sit around.  She’s so so so curious about everyone and sounds and sights.  She moves her head so fast around fearing she is going to miss something.  Delaney is a tough crowd in our house.  There is a lot of comedy generated within these walls and she laughs at about 1/10 of our material.  We’ll find her weakness and soon have her in stitches.  Still waiting for that can’t-breathe-bend-over-slap-your-knee type of laugh...but she will grace us with a few pity chuckles here and there. Here's a little vid of her version of spin cycle and a little leg work out with said chuckle...

She had her first (two) colds, and her first fever.  If you would have told me 10 years ago that sucking snot out of my baby girl's nose with a weird tube would be the highlight of my day…I would have raised my beer and said “cheers”! Boy do times change.

4 eyes and 2 smiles - pretty rare!

Her verbal communication is really taking off.  I think her first words were “Deb, Deb, Deb” or “Mama”…or “gah”.  But now that she has her two first little sprouted teeth, I bet all kinds of words will be headed our way.  I am always encouraging Emmy to talk/sing/laugh with Delaney.  Emmy is much smarter than I give her credit for – I will say “Emmy, did you ask Delaney how her doctor’s appointment went?” and she replies “did she see Dr. DeVoe? She doesn’t know how to talk so I didn’t ask her” and then I feel like the fool for even suggesting such a thing.  Emmy is doing great with Delaney as long as it doesn’t have to do with her toys, blankets, books, or anything else.  She has realized now that D is hitting milestones and we celebrate them, she wants to be celebrated too for those same things.  So, we indulge her and think of other things that she can do that Delaney can’t yet.  It’s a delicate balance of letting her take the attention and sharing it. 

He walks to/from school now...CRAZY!

September was the beginning of football, 6^th grade, Hayden playing the saxophone and he is about to head to outdoor school.  I have been pushing camp on Tye and Jenny for about…9 years now and I think I might have my chance to really prove how awesome it is if he really enjoys this.  Hayden, don’t mess this up for me!!! Such independence and anxiety and just FUN.  I wonder if it’s too late for me to be an outdoor school counselor?!  Either way – super excited for all the fun events he has coming up this year. 

Tye has finished another round of one-pitch softball  - which he of course, excelled at.  The diamond can’t hold him…THPRID has some deep fences and I think he’s hit 3 or 4 over the fence and had an incredible Tye Lewman catch out in center field.  It’s so fun watching him play – if only I didn’t have two little people to keep track of during his games I would probably volunteer to be water boy.  Makes me want to play!!!

Coming up…HALLOWEEN!  So ready for the temps to cool down and the house to warm up.  Fall in the NW doesn’t get any better.  See you in November!

Emmy and Delaney have the same outfit with the same pose at the same age...and look identical.  

6 Months as a Lewman 2.0

This blog is particularly difficult for me...half of Delaney's first year has flown by.  And as I look at Emmy, I see how fast this time goes.  How quickly they learn and develop a thirst for knowledge of all things.  I keep looking at Delaney as if she were 4 weeks old, refusing to believe she's getting older.  When Emmy was born I was so excited for the next milestone and how she was advancing through this world.  Now, I feel a twinge of sadness as Delaney learns to sit up, try baby food,develop sounds.  I just want her to stay this way forever.  But who am I kidding, I would love to watch her become best friends with Emmy and Hadyen as they grow into little people.  Watch her make decisions and see how similar and opposite her and her sister are.  As the only child from my Mom and Dad, a sibling is so foreign to me.  I can't wait to see how this works and what it will be like for them.  And then throw a brother in the mix and I am totally out of my element.  I have to be honest when I say, I am truly blessed to live the life I do with the people I live it with.  Watching three children at different stages is so fascinating and fulfilling.  I love them and am so proud of each of them.  Okay, enough of that - let's get talking about chumba-wumba Delaney.

A typical scenario with these three.

6 Months of smiling

She is 6 months old today!  I would guess she's about 17 lbs based on the soreness of my left arm.  She has her next check up in two weeks so we'll see!  She's already in size 3 diapers although I am pretty sure her and I have the same size tush (that's not a good sign for her).  She's already dipping into her 9 month clothes which is fine by me because for some reason I always want to dress her warmer than necessary.  Similar to Randy in A Christmas Story.  Not to mention getting to use Emmy's clothes again is fun for me! We tried giving her some applesauce and peaches...I'll let you decide if she liked them...

Ladies and gentleman, she has found her voice.  She LOVES to cackle and inhale real deep and squeal while exhaling.  She just chats with herself, with her friends at daycare and is still the most jolly person we know.  She is teething pretty hardcore right now so there is another side of her voice that I am unfamiliar with - crying?  It's weird.  The girl doesn't cry and when she does, she's pretty easily consolable.  I've recently been introducing her to her room, one day at a time spending more time in her crib, looking at her walls, etc.  I think she thinks she's going to sleep in our room forever and I will tell you one thing - we will not be sharing our bed with her during her high school years!  No promises on any time before that. :)

Delaney has been very busy meeting people this summer.  Aunt Tiffany, Aunt Traci, Uncle Mark, Uncle Jim, her cousins Taylor, Morgan and Michael ~ she's been to 3 birthday parties, 2 weddings, 8 softball games, pools, parks, beaches and BBQs.  She's never met anyone she doesn't like and will pretty much let anyone hold her and enjoy her company.  Speaking of softball - we went undefeated in regular season, made it to the playoffs and then beat ourselves in the championship game.  Tye was the home-run leader and even in his old age can get around those bases like in the cartoons with dirt behind him.  Proud of how we played - and looking forward to next season with the Skull Crushers for the 6th year.

It's been one whirlwind of a summer and the closer we get to the end, the busier it gets.  Squeezing in those last beach trips, camping, fun activities is keeping us pretty consumed. Plus Hayden started football and it's amazing what one year will do.  He's thicker, taller, stronger and looks like a football player!  Here's a video of him throwing his first touchdown pass on Saturday!  As you can hear, super proud Dad!

Hayden starts 6th grade next week - and I am so excited to participate in his school activities.  This is such a crucial age for kids and Tye won't let me be involved in any more of the serious talks because I divulge too much information so I will leave that up to him and Jenny :) but I'm always here if they need me to be share worst case scenarios!  I think most people remember me as a teenager so I think I have some guidance on how to NOT be.  The girls are still at the Montessori which I really love.  I don't want to jinx anything but either Emmy is phasing out of the "threenager" stage or we are just getting better at the signs and symptoms of a freakout.  We're all working together pretty well right now! SO looking forward to football season, Delaney's first Halloween, and Cinderella to come out on DVD.  Yeah, I said it.  Hope everyone had a fantastic summer and see you in October!