Leo 4 months

Leo is starting to babble a lot now. But he mostly says "da da." What the heck Leo, you are supposed to say "ma ma!" I mean, all those late night feedings, and not to mention how you took over my body for 9 months! Don't worry, I know he doesn't know what he is saying yet, so I will let it slide. He is giggling all of the time. He will just look people in the eye and get the biggest grin. He is seriuosly always smiling and laughing. He is super ticklish, we can really get him really going with the giggles! For some reason, you thought it was a good idea to stop taking a bottle. I was pretty good about giving you one, but then we went to Seattle, and I didn't take my pump, so I didn't give you a bottle for about a week, and all of a sudden you don't know how to drink from a bottle. Boo!!!You love your sisters and always watch what they are doing when they are around. They love you too... sometimes a little too much, we gotta watch that Isla! We love our Leo!

Poor Fella!

Dear Leo,

Sorry you have 3 older sisters. They really take advantage of you!

And sorry I don't do more to stop them, I can't help that I kind of love it! I can't wait to show your future wife!

Love, Mom

Love

Getting this picture was stressful!

And it wasn't because of the three year old, she was a champ, it was the 6 year old, she was a diva! Something happened and Brooklyn was upset. They tried for 15 minutes to get a decent smile from her while dozens of other dancers were waiting. And even today, before I picked up pictures, I was really frustrated with my kids and their behavior! Being a parent is HARD! But then I opened up the envelope and saw this picture. It made my heart melt. They are good kids, They all have very strong personalities and they fight and disobey all the time, but deep down, they are good. I love them and I don't want them to change. But seriously, with their dominant and independent personalities, one of the better run Wallstreet one day!

Tuscon open house

We headed 90 minutes south to Tucson to take a tour of the Tucson Mormon temple. It was such a beautiful place! We couldn't pose in front of the real temple because we would have died of heat exhaustion. It was 110 degrees! Families are Forever!

Fish

Avery and Brooklyn have always been water fans. I think Avery was the youngest kid to ever pass the swim test that the YMCA requires kids to take in order to jump off the diving board (she was 3). So we decided it was time to be on the swim team. I knew Avery would be all for it, but Brooklyn, even though she loves to swim, she hates waking up early. And swim practice started at 7 am every morning. Not to mention that he pool is pretty cold in June. So I will say, Brooklyn gave it a valiant effort in the beginning. She would wake up, get in the pool and swim for a little while. But then she would poop out, only lasting about 30 minutes. Avery was a little more motivated, but staying in the pool for the total hour and a half was tough!
It was finally time for the first swim meet. Brooklyn opted out (bless her heart). Avery did really well!  She even won a couple of races (is that what they are called?).My favorite part was to watch her use her strong body and push it at the end when you could tell it was hard, also, I liked the part where they let the parents jump in the pool for 7 minutes. Its bloody hot here. Yay for swim team!

Last day of school

Last day of 2nd grade and Kindergarten for these two. 

I asked Avery what her best accomplishment of 2nd grade was, she told me that it was that she didn't get sent to the principals office this year! Hopefully Brooklyn can achieve that goal next year (she may or may not have been sent twice this year).

I love the before and after pictures

I think Avery has changed the most, her baby face is leaving!

 She had the best year she has ever had, and I think its because of Mrs. Bradford. Mrs. B really built Avery's confidence!

And then of course, this little Kindergartener. She started out a little rocky, but by the end, she figured it out!

Mrs. Gardea is one of the best Kindergarten teachers. She was tough on Brooklyn, but also so loving! We will miss her a lot!

Yay for Summer!

(pray for me)

Ballers

Avery and Brooklyn are at that perfect age where they can both play on the same coach pitch t-ball team. Yeah for convenience and yeah for cuteness! It was really fun to watch. Avery was really into it this year. She liked playing infield and was starting to understand the game. In the beginning, she would field a ground ball, and just run it all the way to first. Then she realized that you throw the ball! She was a pretty good batter. Her goal was not to have to use the tee, and she mostly was able to hit off the coach. I love that she bats left handed! My softball heart loves to see that! Although I'm trying to just keep it cool and be the laid back parent who doesn't try to over-coach their kids... its kind of hard sometimes! Brooklyn was so fun to watch. She was the kid who had no clue what was going on! She would sort of just prance around the outfield. The coaches had to make sure she was running the bases correctly, or even running at all. Sometimes she would be on second base and her teammate would hit the ball, and she would just hang out there instead of run! She mostly had to hit off the tee, but every once in awhile, she would get a hit off the coach and it would be so exciting! My favorite was when they had her be the catcher. Cutest little gal ever! We had fun going and watching the games in the perfect weather!