School starts

Katie started school last Monday and she absolutely loves it. On the first day Jacob and I took her to school with the boys, so the whole family was there. On the second day she asked if only one of us could take her. On the third day we get to school and walk in the doors and she says to me "ok mom, you can go now". She didn't even want me to walk her into her class room like all the rest of the parents. She really has not had a problem leaving me. And she loves to wear he uniform.

Zach has not been so excited that she is in school. He is having a hard time with it. I think it was Wed. when he asked if Katie had to go to school again. He gets really bored. I think it is going to be a long year for him. He will start kindergarten next year so at least it is only one year. Yes, my kids are that close in age. What?

Happy Baby

Marshall has gotten to be so much fun in the last week or so. He is so happy most of the time and smiles a lot. He has started to make a slobbery spitting noise with his tongue and it makes all of us laugh every time. He is also fascinated with his toes and is always grabbing them.

I usually just take him in the shower with me because that is a lot easier but he does like to sit in the water in the sink for a bath. It always starts a giggle fit.

Blessing

Jacob gave Marshall his baby blessing today at church. It was really nice to have friends and family come. I should have taken at least one picture but it was so hot the whole time that I completely forgot. The A/C was out in the Chapel, then we all got together at the nearest park for lunch. It wasn't so bad in the shade, and we had plenty of cold water bottles. It is still the beginning of August in Tucson, AZ so I guess the extreme heat was to be expected. I knew it wasn't the best idea, but it was the only idea, seeing as our apartment is to small to accommodate for our super large family. It was a good time and I'm glad we got together even though it was really hot.

My domestic skills

This morning we woke up at 5:30 to go pick peaches in a "pick your own" orchard just north of Tucson. This place was so pretty. I think it was only two acres and this guy had a ton of trees. I wish I had taken a picture of it. I loved the way he planted his tomatoes on a fence line. If anyone knows me well then they know that I really like tomato plants. Well, I just like gardens in-general. Anyhow, when we got home I got right to work on the peaches and canned 14 pints. I still have a bunch of peaches left and so I will make jam on Monday. Hopefully it will set right and not just be thick syrup. Wish me luck.

I have also canned beans, chicken, zucchini relish, and grape jelly. It has been a productive summer. There is something about canning that is so satisfying.

Camping on Mt. Lemmon

Last Friday we loaded up the car to the breaking point to spend the weekend with some friends of ours on Mt. Lemmon. Jacob packed the car and between the camp stove, ice chest, chairs, and sleeping bags, there was no room to spare. Jacob and Marshall were the only ones that didn't have something surrounding their feet. I told Jacob that I wanted to drive on the way home and he just laughed at me.

I think we got there around 5:00 pm and right after we got the kids tent and the canopy that we put over the table up, it started to hail like crazy. Our friends took some pictures of the road on their way up and it looked like it had snowed. This is a piece of it in Jacob's ring just so you can see the size of the hail that was coming down hard on us in the middle of July. Crazy.

Soon after it stopped coming down, this fog showed up. Almost all the hail had melted by the time I got around to taking this picture.

The second day our kids were so tired and cranky. We told them to go lay in the tent and talk to each other and within 5 min the were out. I think they slept for about 2 hours and It gave us a good chunk of time to play cards with our friends.

They were much happier when they woke up and played really well together until it was time to eat. Cooking was nice and easy because we used Jacob's two burner camp stove. One of those big ones that uses a full size propane tank. It was really nice and was so glad that we had it. I highly recommend one.

The last night we had smores and the kids were SO happy to finally get one. We all only had one because they were way to sweet.

We had a fun time and I think we will make camping a yearly event. We were there two nights and we got super dirty and the laundry was ridiculous when we got back. I think it took me like 5 days to finally get the last load all folded and put away.

11 weeks

Marshall is now 11 weeks old and is finally starting to be fun and have some personality. He smiles a lot and doesn't really know what to do when I tickle him. I think it stresses him out. He just gets really grunty. I took him to his 2 month appointment about two weeks ago and he weighed in at 16 lbs and 26 inches. I like his fat roles and all of his creases.

He still isn't sleeping very well and I can't help but think that it is something I am doing wrong. He falls asleep for Jacob no problem, and then he stays asleep too. It takes me much longer to get him to stop being so squirmy. I hope his sleeping habits change for the better because I am so tired. Oh well, thats just how my life is right now I guess.

A normal day

I find myself sitting on the couch nursing a LOT. Then I usually get the laundry started but then it take two or three days to get it folded and pt away. The kitchen is rarely clean and there is always a dirty dish in the sink. We eat a lot of ham and cheese and pb&j for lunch. And quite often Zach is the only one that gets dressed before 2 pm.

On the flip side, Katie and Zach are best friends ( they still fight and get on each others nerves) and play so well together. They are so happy to see Jacob when he comes home from school or work and they are so happy with the simplest of things. My baby Marshall is not the best sleeper but he is starting to smile at me every time I talk to him.

Even though I get a little cranky and emotional about dumb things pretty frequently, my life is happy and good and very blessed.

Big Baby

Some of my friends were not able to see me at this point in my pregnancy. And those that did have told me a number of times that I need to put this pic on my blog. So for the sake of documenting here it is.

I was 2 days away from having Marshall in this picture. When I had him 2 days later he weighed 9 lbs 7 oz. and was 21 inches long. I know it's not like I was having twins but for a single baby my belly was pretty big. I love not being pregnant!

Sweet things children say

A sweet little conversation between Katie and her Daddy.

Katie: Hi Dad, how was work?

Jacob: Good, how was home?

Katie: Good, it's always wonderful.

It made me feel good that she would say that.