Ruby's last week of school

I can't believe our little lady is a kindergarten graduate!  It LITERALLY feels like yesterday that I was sobbing outside her classroom door-- big and pregnant-- in a disbelief that she was starting school.

 She was lucky to have such a sweet, nurturing, creative teacher.  We love Mrs. Bell!  (And bonus, she's our neighbor).  Ruby learned a ton this year.  Every year I feel like kindergarten gets more academic.  It didn't seem to phase her at all, though.  She rose to the challenge and is especially proud of her reading skills.

During the last week of school her class put on a cute little program.  They sang all the songs they learned through out the year, had a fun slide show, and got their "diplomas."

Then on her final day of school they had field day games-- which were so much fun that she talked about them non-stop for about a week.

After a busy summer she'll start the French Immersion Program and be at school ALL DAY LONG.  What are we going to do with ourselves?

The Dirty Dash

When Brandon and I were purchasing our tickets for France we realized that I'd have to miss the Dirty Dash.  I couldn't do it las year because I was pregnant.  The thought of missing another year made me beyond sad.  I've been looking forward to doing it again since I first did it back in September of 2013, so I scrambled to organize a group of friends and family members for the June run.  My girlfriend Breanne and her husband Mike got on board, as well as Brandon, my father-in-law, brother-in-law (Chris), sister-in-law (Brooke), and her boyfriend Graham.

before...

after

We had the greatest time getting dirty.  So much slipping, so much goo, and so much laughing.

Ruby even got in on the action.  She participated in the final 1 mile of our race (the piglet plunge).  She said it was fun, but when I ran into her and took her for a very long ride on the slip and slide she was singing a different tune. lol

Levi's 8 Month Update

Tiny is growing up so quickly!  Our little man is soooooo smiley-- even with a binky in his mouth.  He loves to feel his only little tooth with his tongue.  So, if he sticks his tongue out at you don't take it personally-- he's just checking out that tooth.  And don't take it personally if he cries when Mama hands him off to you either.  He's going through a "Mama's boy stage."

first family bike ride-- a little unsure of everything

He loves to splash about in the tub and pool.  He is crawling and worming all over the place.  Honestly, we expected it a few months ago, but he didn't officially start to do the true crawl until a few days ago.

brothers in their matching swim suits

He has finally settled into a good nap schedule.  After breakfast and play time he sleeps for about an hour in the morning before we go to the gym.  After the gym and lunch he takes a second longer nap (usually about 2 hours), and sometimes he takes a catnap just before dinner.

Food is more about texture and experimentation than nutritional value.  He tolerates most pureed fruits and vegetables, but he insists on feeding himself.  He likes cereal puffs, yogurt melts, and rice cookies.  He LOVES watermelon.  Good thing we have a clean up dog, because a lot of this food ends up on the floor after just a few trial bites.

He still loves his binky and shredding paper.  His big brother and sister are on a non-stop mission to make him the happiest brother in the world.  We sure are lucky that he's a part of our mix now.

Summer Swimming

It's summer, so if you need us you can find us at the pool.

This year we signed Ruby up for the Fish Market Pre-Comp Swim Team.  She practices every Monday-Thursday for 45 minutes each day.  Over the course of the summer she'll have 3 meets.  She is one of the younger, smaller kids on the team; so I think it's quite a challenge for her.  But, I've noticed her getting stronger and improving in the short time she's been doing it.  Plus, she constantly talks about how much she loves it and how fun it is, so I think it's going to be a real good thing.  Of course, Daddy is super proud!

Wyatt is doing swim school at the Draper Pool.  His little girlfriend Juliet is in his class-- and good thing, too; because I think it prevents a lot of "I don't want to go drama."  He loves to swim and is actually pretty good.  I mean, how many 4 year olds do you know that can swim freestyle?  But, he would really prefer to spend all day diving for rings and frolicking instead of practicing drills with his teacher. lol

And Moo-Moo (Levi) just loves to splash around.  After Ruby's Wednesday practices all 4 of us hang out the pool, play for a bit, and eat lunch on the pool deck.