August

August was an exciting month. We were really trying to settle into a new routine with Abby and Juliet starting school. Our mornings are a lot more crazy now. I miss our lazy mornings. Saturday mornings are my favorite now! 

They love to bathe in mommy's tub. Its nice because they all fit in there better than their tub. We've started having Abby shower instead of bathe and its really nice. She is growing up so much! 

Our little Jane loves to be "pretty". She loves to accessorize. She loves daddy's ties. So cute!

Another picture from Saguaro lake. Such a fun night! We went and floated the Salt River with my family. We only took Abby and Jules and we had so much fun! It was a perfect evening. It wasn't too hot and the water was nice and cool. Seriously a blast. We want to do it every summer from her on out. 

Sunday morning snuggles with my girl. I love her. 

We had lunch one morning with Mema and Carson. Jane was having a great time sharing lemonade with Jules. 

We have been eaten alive by mosquitos this summer! Its so awful. Abby got some big ones on her feet and it was driving her crazy. She always wanted bandaids wrapped around her feet. I finally cut her off with bandaids. We were going through 10ish a day.  When I went to check on her that night she had wrapped toilet paper around her foot. So funny! 

We went to a dinner/silent auction for Hope Arising. We scored! We love our new smoker and fire pit! 

Before school started we went and played some indoor mini golf. It was so much fun! 

We went and saw a baseball game with everyone. That was really fun! 

They were "mermaids". 

My dad got her this 21 pilots shirt and she loves it! I love how she tucks it in and pulls her pants up around armpits. 

I love him. 

Juliet being "tired" to avoid doing chores. 

We got Abby new shoes! Abby hasn't ever grown fast. But all for of the sudden this summer her feet are growing and her height has jumped! So I finally got her some new shoes. Before we went into the store she said she told she wanted minnie shoes that light up. And guess what we found... the ugliest pair of shoes  minnie mouse light up shoes! This is one of those things where I need to let my kids be who they are and express themselves. As much as I want to buy the stylish shoes, these shoes make her feel like a million bucks. So its worth it. I sure love her! 

Juliet wakes up way too early every morning. Sometimes she will crawl into bed with us and go back to sleep. She is the sweetest, but it would be awesome if she would sleep in more! 

She is seriously the cutest though. Always a happy day with her. 

We played "august" madness in senior primary. Girls against boys. They got so into it. It was the best way to practice the primary program songs. I had so much fun with them. 

Pretty Jane baby! 

Teething Jane baby! Teething was kind of beast this month! 

I have loved my alone time with Jane while both girls are at school. She is seriously the sweetest. 

Juliet gets SOOOOO bored while Abby is at school and Jane is napping. I have got to figure something out. She follows me around so I started putting her to work. This day she cleaned all the bathrooms with me, helped me sweep, pick up and vacuum. It was awesome. She just talked my ear off the entire time. I love her and her super social personality.  

One morning it was beautiful outside! So I walked over to the park with the girls. Having a park so close that we can walk to it, is the best! In about a month we will be living at this park. I am so ready for nice weather. I love how well these three girls play together. Jane idolizes her big sisters. She wants to be just like them. And they are so good with her. They include her the best they can and are so affectionate with her. I hope they are always close and supportive of each other. 

Seriously she gets so bored while her sisters are gone or sleeping. She just passes out. She hasn't taken this many naps since she was 18 months old. 

Doing homework with this girl has been amazing. She is learning and growing so much. How did we get so lucky to have her?!

Teething was seriously rough. 

But we found some time to chill. 

I trimmed Jane's bangs. She can see! Her curly hair kills me. 

I was trying to get a picture of the back of her hair. She wasn't having it. 

Halee turned 11 and we went to her party to celebrate. These girls were ready to party. 

Abby has really wanted to do a sleepover. So one night we put a movie on in our room and snuggled up to watch it. The girls slept on the floor in our room that night. It was really fun. I love making those memories with our girls. Its getting more and more fun the older they get. 

Eating breakfast and watching disneyland videos. An annual tradition before our fall Disneyland trip. 

 We went to the American Girl Doll store with Halee and Mema. I got their dolls hair fixed up at the salon... and after we got home their hair was a mess again. They just love playing with them. So I'll wait to fix them up when the girls are older. It was a fun day with my mom and Halee! 

I got a cold/flu nasty thing one weekend. That was a bummer. Luckily my husband is the greatest husband ever and did everything to take care of me and the girls. I am so blessed. 

One morning we dropped Juliet off at preschool and went to Kneaders for breakfast. As you can tell Jane was thrilled to be out with mom and dad alone. She is such a doll!

Sometimes I feel like they are always under my feet. Everyone talking all at the same time. Asking me for something, asking me to watch something, and telling me lots of stories. Sometimes it wears me out! This particular day I was feeling very drained. I looked down and saw this scene. I realized it is going so fast and I need to enjoy their sweet little voices and their sweet personalities. I need to soak in these moments as much as possible. It really is so special! 

August is one of my least favorite months to be honest. I'm so happy when it is over! But now we are one month closer to the holiday season! Let the fun begin! 

Starting School!

This has been an exciting month! Abby started kindergarten and Juliet started Preschool. This month has been a whirlwind of emotions. Its been so hard, so rewarding, its been exhausting, its been exciting! I put Abby in full day kindergarten. I know that I had reasons for choosing this when I signed her up in the summer. With preschool, Jane still napping and Abby's constant need to be entertained I knew all day kindergarten was the way to go. Its been so strange having her gone all day. She is with other people more than me. She tells me a lot of what happened at school, but I'm not there with her to see everything that happens and that is hard for me. Its always been me and her. Attached at the hip! And now she is experiencing all these new things! Its awesome! 

The first day of school was incredibly emotional for me. I think it was more what it all represented more so than the fact that I wouldn't have Abby at home that day. Our lives will never be the same. We have school aged children now. We live for breaks. I can't take all my kids to the library, splash pad, park, zoo. If we do those things, we do them without Abby. And thats hard for me. I like it when we are all together. 

One thing that has been nice is that when we are together it is more special. And Abby is blossoming and that is very special to watch. 

We had Abby's back to school night where we got to go meet her teacher. She is a very sweet lady, about mine and Kyle's ages which is so weird! I about started bawling 10 times while we were there. Seeing her little desk and watching her talk to her teacher for the first time. I adore my Abby and I was so nervous for school to start. I have been nervous for the struggles. Because I knew there would be struggles. She hasn't ever gone to school before. We never did a formal preschool. I haven't been the best at homeschooling so I was afraid she would be a little behind. She can be so shy, she can have HUGE meltdowns at the drop of a hat, she is so incredibly sensitive. My momma heart was so full of worries I couldn't hardly sleep for weeks. Dramatic I know, but this is my baby! How can I send her off unprepared. I felt like I had failed her. But school was coming and she was off. 

She walked right up to her class that first day and didn't even look back. I bawled the rest of the day. But the first week went great! She loves her teacher! Then she got sick on Thursday and missed Thursday and Friday. She was so sad and asked to go back to school all through the weekend. Then the next week started and it was a nightmare. She would cry and scream and did not want to go to school. Her teacher called us to talk about how we can get her to participate in class better. She refused to listen or do what anyone else was doing. She was miserable. I was miserable. It was awful. I am so grateful that we sent her to ALA. They have been incredible. They have helped her stay at school. Her teacher has been in constant communication with us, updated us on how she is doing and helping us come up with a plan to help her succeed. Now at the end of August she is doing great. She is a little behind and her teacher has suggested putting her in some after school tutoring. This school is extra intense though. Had we sent her anywhere else I think she would be just fine. She has already learned so much! Its been amazing doing homework with her. She is such a smart girl she is going to be blowing everyone away in no time! She has been making friends and working hard. We still have a lot of work to do to help her keep her emotions under control. But I'm still working on that.... so its a work in progress for all of us. Its been hard for me as her mom. I just want to fix it. But I need to let her learn and grow and fight some of her own battles. My natural instinct is to protect and fix. 

I'm very excited/anxious for the rest of the school year. Its going to be a learning and growing experience for all of us. 

These pictures are from back to school night. She was in heaven. It was fantastic! Kyle and I took her out for ice cream after. It was awesome. 

First day of school! Look at the beautiful girl. She was nervous, but she was so brave. I asked her recently what does it mean to be brave. She said "it means never give up". So true Abby! We are going to learn that this year. 

This is from when I picked her up from school. She was so happy and excited! It was so fun to hear her talk all about it. One thing about all day kindergarten is that it doesn't wear her out. She is not tired after school. At all. I mean the kid hasn't napped regularly since she was   a year and half old. 

She will only wear skirts to school. It cracks me up. 

And then finally after weeks of asking and talking about it, our sweet Juliet started preschool! She has been in heaven. She loves everything about it. When we picked her up after her first day we asked her how it went and she said "we did amazing things!" Her attitude is incredible. Our sweet Juliet is something so special. Always a smile, always a hug and kiss whenever you need it most. We are so blessed to have her. She loves her teacher, she loves her friends. The hardest thing is telling her that she doesn't have preschool on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She cries and cries. She wants to go every day, all day. We could send her to all day kindergarten right now and she would be more than fine. Ha ha! She misses Abby like crazy. She asks me all day if we can go pick her up. Juliet has never played by herself. She has always had Abby! Jane takes really long naps and Juliet is sooooooo bored. I'm really trying to be creative about how to entertain her! I love her so much. 

I can't believe I have a kid in elementary school! It all happened too fast. I'm not ready for everyone to grow up. Lets just stay little and at home with mommy forever! 

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