Rachel is 2 Months Old!

Today, Rachel turns two months old! She is the sweetest baby and we are loving having her in our family! Rachel has several nicknames; the boys most often call her Rach or Rachey Lou and Philip sometimes calls for Ray Ray. Lately she has started to sleep very well and usually goes to bed for the night between 10 and 11pm and then sleeps until between 4 and 6am! She is my best newborn sleeper yet and I have thanked God for that many times! I'm going a little bit crazy trying to keep up with all 4 kiddos, and I can't imagine what it would be like if she was a terrible sleeper like Levi or not so great sleeper like Joel and Nate. This morning she had her check up with the doctor and he confirmed what we already knew to be true, she's perfect (ha!).  Little girl is growing well, meeting her milestones and healthy in every way. We are blessed!

 

 
New Stats:
weight- 11 pounds, 11 ounces (60%)
length- 23.5 inches (85%)
head circumference- 39cm (75%)

New Skills:
Holds her head up very well
makes good eye contact
gives social smiles!!!
can push up during tummy time
grabs and holds onto things (my hair, shirt etc)
sits in the bumbo (she loves this)
coos responsively

Favorite things:
to be held upright
the ceiling fan or her butterfly mobile
eating and sleeping :)
Momma
bath time

Dislikes:
changing clothes
being left in a room alone
being too hot

Rachel is growing and changing at rapid pace! The first year of a baby's life is so amazing, exhausting and fun! I can't wait to watch her personality develop and to see her learn all she will this year. We love her so very much and are so proud and happy to call her ours.

Ranch Time!

Over the long weekend for the Labor Day holiday, we headed out to Pop and Moe's Ranch for a little R&R. The Wallaces and Reids were able to come as well, and we all had a nice time visiting and enjoying all the ranch has to offer. We didn't get very many pictures of the activities this time, maybe because I spent a lot of my time at the house, napping, rocking and feeding Rachel and I usually take most of the pictures. However, the kids went fishing, playing the sprinklers, went to a nearby larger lake and tubed, rode the horses, shot the pellet gun, ran around outside and played games on their tablets as well as card games. It was a lovely weekend filled with family, food and fun!

Poison Ivy!

Philip and the boys have been enjoying their new favorite past time of finding geocaches around our area (basically small hidden treasures in parks etc). You can look up locations online and join in the community of cache hunters. Well, a couple weeks ago the boys accidentally got into poison ivy! Unfortunately, Philip and Levi got pretty bad rashes, and somehow Joel avoided it. Philip's rash was mainly on his neck and chest (we think from carrying the boys on his shoulders) and poor Levi had is all over his face and arms! Because they were super sweaty when they were exposed the poison ran (and was wiped or rubbed) all over and made the rash extra widespread.

Thankfully, after a couple trips to the doctor and some oral steroids both Philip and Levi recovered very well and Levi only missed one day of school. Poor little guy was so embarrassed by his rash, but all of his classmates were so sweet any only showed concern. I was so proud of how well he managed with such an uncomfortable and itchy rash! My little boy is growing up!

Back to School!

A new year of school started (4 weeks ago!) and this year, Levi is in second grade and Joel is in Kindergarten! WOW! The boys are doing well and loving school so far. Levi told me all summer long that second grade is a big deal, and it turns out he was right! He is getting letter grades for the first time, has different teachers for math, science, history and language arts, and is taking more tests and quizzes. So far he has adjusted well and seems to enjoy school.

Joel is also adjusting well to a new school experience. He loves being a 'big kid' and loves his teacher and having recess with his buddy Chase. Joel has already learned a lot and is improving so much on his already great handwriting. I'm loving having both boys on the same schedule and having more of a routine to our days. We are looking forward to the rest of the year and loving life as a Bulldog family :)

special back to school breakfast, sausage rolls, fruit and eggs :)