July

Evangeline has this thing about loud noises...so we found a great solution that she LOVES. I wasn't sure how the fourth of July was going to go but she was able to enjoy the fireworks in style.

I am not exaggerating when I say this: EVERY time we lay her down for nap or bedtime she asks "No rain? No thunder?" She remembers the one time it thundered when she was sleeping and now she asks every time if it's going to do it again. It's been months.

Thanks to our neighbors we had a little firework show. It wasn't hot so we were able to get in a campfire as well. It was the last get-together with my grandmother before she went back to Florida.

We have spent a lot of time with the neighbor boys this summer. Here they were helping our neighbor pick up all his limbs after watching it get cut down.

AJ and I went to a wedding. We didn't manage to get a picture of us together but we did of this beautiful house where it all took place. This couple had the idea of donating money to a non-profit on behalf of their guests instead of giving out favors. BRILLIANT.

Every day Ari comes home from swim lessons and he teaches Evangeline in our little pool everything he learned.

She calls this her "swim soup". The glasses were a must.

We have officially been potty training for the past several weeks. Overall it's going great! We probably would have been done with it months ago if I had my act together or was motivated to add something else in to the mix! *Sigh* But sometimes I have to prepare myself mentally for parenting this child because I never know what she is going to do on her own or what is going to be a battle. She is our passionate, opinionated child. Love her.

4 months

Selah has become so vocal these last few weeks. Evangeline takes note that she is "screaming" but I reassure her that they are happy noises. Selah loves to squeal and wants to make sure we all know she is there.

AJ and I were looking back at the other two when they hit 4 months because everyone asks us who she favors. I think she is a good mix right now...which I guess equates to her looking like her own person :) The only thing exact on all three are there noses. It's crazy how similar they look though.

Selah's hair is starting to grow in blonde now. She is growing by the rolls but still weighs in the 55% at 14 lbs.

Ari and Evangeline continue to interact with her all the time. Ari plays the role as entertainer and is always doing silly things to make her laugh. Evangeline takes on the role as mommy and is constantly aware as to what Selah is doing or things she might need.

I've never had a baby that seemed so fascinated with their tongue. She will stay entertained for a while just blowing bubbles while she has her tongue sticking out.  It makes for quite a mess because she will end up with a completely soaked top. I've never had a baby that drools (even when teething) but it looks like that has changed. I see bibs in my near future.

She has been trying to sit up whenever she is laid in the bouncer or on the floor so I think there will be an exercauser in our near future as well.

 Selah continues to be so happy and bubbly (no pun intended). It's amazing how after our 3rd child we are still in awe of everything she does. Even though we like to see how similar she is to her siblings, we know she is uniquely made. She is precious to us and we are enjoying every second of it.

cherries, a concert, and turtle OH MY!

Our neighbors have let us pick their cherry trees the past few years. 

Ari was a big help in picking...but Evangeline just wanted to eat them, or squish them, or throw them in the pond.

AJ and I got last minute tickets to a concert through his bank. I was having flashbacks to the last concert we attended 3 months ago when I was in labor. This time we were able enjoy the music instead of timing contractions every 5-8 minutes.

We had a random visitor in our yard this week. The turtle must have been on a mission with how fast he was cruising. Ari made sure to keep a safe distance.

We caught Ari sleep walking one night before we went to bed. He made his way down the stairs and after several minutes of trying to get him to talk to me he said he was going to swing.  It seems that Evangeline has been broken of her random sleep-crashing habits for a few months...so lets hope Ari isn't starting a new trend with this!

There is never a dull moment when you have kids...even if they are supposed to be sleeping.

Father's Day and such

We've stayed busy these last few weeks with (ongoing) projects around the house, having sleepovers with friends, a wedding, and spending quality time as a family.

We've been spending lots of time outside too . This summer has seemed more mild than the last few years so we have not been forced to come inside because of the heat.

We went to a strawberry festival with some friends..and when we left they were all asking where the strawberries were. I guess I should have explained that we were there to enjoy all the free activities and not necessarily there for the strawberries. :)

However we have enjoyed some strawberries from our garden and from a friends garden. The kids were eating them faster than we could pick them.

Here we attempted to get a Hillebrand picture of the kids and grand-kids for Father's Day. I count it a success when we can capture one without someone crying and all happen to be looking in the same direction.

Evangeline really enjoyed some ice on a humid day. A friend gave me a good idea to make ice cubes with popsicle sticks in them. I'm sure my kids would love that! For those of you who have never been to our house, we consider ice a luxury around here.

The kids love to picnic at the park and Father's Day was no exception.

AJ loves to spend every waking minute with the kids when he is home from work. He takes them to the park, to go fishing, play sports outside, or just for walks. He is the best dad because he makes them a priority.

Ari and Evangeline have their days when they just irritate each other. Then there are days when I find them snuggling together and giggling over something silly like chapstick.

Selah is all smiles these days. She is easily entertained and will gladly tell you she is excited by her squeals. She gives the best laughs when I tickle her.

She wants to be up all the time now. If I put her in the bouncer then she will strain her neck to sit up.

Her hair is starting to come in light just like the other two kids did. It will be interesting to see if hers is straight like Ari's or if it will have some curl like Evangeline's. 

end of May

May is always so busy, but yet so fun. In fact, it was so busy that is why this post is a few weeks late!  Selah and I visited this new little man. I've known his mommy since 4th grade and now we are having kids of our own. Time goes by so fast!

Every year we have a cookout with all my cousins. The kids play so hard that they don't have time to nap. That is unless you are Evangeline...she will always find time for that no matter where she is.

Then we had a fun time hanging with some friends.

Evangeline has no problem getting dirty when she eats. She has been walking around ever since asking for "strawberry cake".

AJ took us to Patachou on his day off and then to the zoo. I could hear bits and pieces of Evangeline talking in the back and she was saying things like "thank you", "obey", "Jesus", "Amen". When I turned around she had her hands folded and her head bowed. Melt. My. Heart.

She really gets in to singing songs and doing hand motions and always requests Veggie Tales to be playing while we are riding in the car...which is then followed by Ari saying that he is all "veggied out".

For some reason we have never visited the gardens or the butterfly exhibit at the zoo in all the times we have been there, so this time we planned to go there first so we didn't run out of time.

Ari liked to play tour guide and was escorting us around.

I don't have any clue why...but the "race a cheetah" is always a big hit. 

This time Evangeline wanted to do it...but when it was her turn she just got up there and started to cry! Thankfully we knew the people behind us and she was able to have her random meltdown without us feeling too badly for holding up the line.

Apparently we hit her breaking point at the cheetah exhibit because it didn't take long for her to fall asleep on the way home.

We love doing picnics at the park. We don't have to rush them home to get the kids fed and I don't have to cook!