August Insta Catch Up

Yes, it's almost mid September and I'm just now getting to this post.

We've had a roller coaster of a life the last few weeks.

If you follow me on Insta or have me on Facebook... you know that our precious niece was born at 24 weeks, and only lived for 22 days.  I will do an entire post about her (hopefully soon) but emotionally I'm just not ready.  Some pictures will be missing from this Insta catch up too because I want to save them for her post.

And as usual these uploaded all out of order... one of these days I'll have the time to upload them a few at a time so they stay in order (keep dreaming right?)

The girls got these glasses in their goodie bags at Cypress's birthday party.  They looked like little hipsters in them.  We were on our way to dinner with Cypress and fam for her birthday and they wore the glasses the whole time! 

With Lydia starting school and we were out school supply shopping with Natalia we let her pick out her own backpack (rather than making her use one of our many others) she was so excited to be getting something for school since she didn't need supplies.  She wanted a Minnie back pack and Target came through with "the most perfect Minnie back pack ever, it's exactly what I always wanted"  she has been so super excited to start preschool! 

I got this adorable Pluto at Kohls on sale after Christmas.  I just thought he was so cute and  since I was getting something for each of the girls I wanted to get something for Quinton.  He didn't care for it much at first, but then a few weeks ago he all the sudden became very attached to it.  And it's so cute.  I love it!!

Yet another one of our early mornings with little brother.  I wish he would sleep past 6am.... and I'm dreading what that will mean when it's fall back.  But at the same time he's so darn cute and I just love his personality right now.  

Charlie let Quinton have a sip of his protein drink one morning, and he was hooked!  It was hilarious the faces he was making trying to get at that drink for more. 

Just relaxing on Grandpa Steve's patio after dinner one night.  

We keep this board in our room and fill it out from time to time with messages for each other.  One night my mama left me a message.  ;)  Think she loves me? 

Natalia playing with the chalk on the patio.  Charlie thought she looked like an extra for braveheart. 

A particularly early morning, after a particularly rough night, and a late bed time... but he's cute so we forgive him. 

At Cypress's birthday party at Tumble Time.  The girls had a blast, and so did Quinton. 

Quinton trying to help me make cookies.  He was so fun, and seriously was catching onto the concept of scooping and dumping into the mixer.  It was tough trying to help him and keep him on the tower, but it was fun to do it together.  

Grandma Gladys taught him to blow on the feathers that come out of the pillows and it's hilarious!  As soon as he sees one his little cheeks puff out. 

Cypress hanging out with us while mommy and daddy where at the NICU.  These two have bonded a lot now that Natalia is in school all day and I love watching their imaginations at work.  

We try to walk Natalia to school often (lately I feel like she chooses the car too much though) one time we walked Quinton fell asleep in the stroller on the way home... so I kept walking until we reached the park behind our house.  Lydia got to play for a while and then he woke up and the swung together.  It was a great morning. 

This is from the same day he was helping me make cookies.  After we had scooped the dough on the cookie sheets he started to completely melt down.  He REALLY wanted those cookies and he didn't care that they were rough balls of dough at that point. 

I was vacuuming the toy room and Quinton pulled out the toy vacuum totally unprompted and started vacuuming with me. It was seriously so stinking cute. 

I was doing laundry and ran to my room to get hangers from our closet to hang up clothes from the dryer.  Came back to this mess!  This boy.  So I grabbed a grocery bag and showed him what I wanted him to do, and he totally started to pick it up.  

Quinton likes to put blankets on his head and walk around.  Right up until he runs into something he doesn't see and bonks his noggin.  So I get the snuggles after.  

My little sister from the sorority Lacey went to Disneyland and brought back this fancy cup for me.  WOO!  I LOVE IT.  I've been pretty good with my water consumption because of it too.  =) 

We took the kids to the fair to see the animals.  They loved the rabbits and the pony rides. 

Some new awesome blue and orange shoes for Quinton.

A couple of days later we went back to the fair with my mom and my brother's family to ride rides.  It was HOT and gross, but the kids had a blast.  

After the fair trip to see the animals, Cypress came home with us so that Steph/John could go to the NICU.  We stopped at Dairy Queen for a cool down treat.  

Lydia "the blue tastes like the sky!"

Quinton zonked out while we strolled around the animals at the fair.  

The topic of Halloween costumes comes up a couple of times a month it seems leading up to Halloween.  I haven't really forced the issue because I know that the minute Lydia opens her brand new Elsa dress (Disney had them on sale! and her other one is really worn out) she is going to want to be Elsa for Halloween.  Then one night I can't remember how but it was brought up that Natalia should be Anna, Lydia could be Elsa, and Quinton could be Olaf.  I loved that idea!  The next day, as if it was meant to be, a mom posted this Olaf costume on one of the Facebook groups I'm a part of for $5!!  So cute!  So now they've got to stick with this idea! Natalia says she wants to be Anna with the pink cape, not Anna with the coronation dress (which of course is the one she has) so I found the other dress on ebay for $12 and then Steph found Anna boots on sale (I was going to try and make some with duck tape so perfect!).  Now Lydia still thinks she's wearing her old Elsa dress and I'm even more excited for her to see her new one!

Quinton LOVES markers.  He finds them all the time and then proceeds to draw on EVERYTHING.  I hide them, then the girls want them and leave them out and he again finds them and draws on EVERYTHING.  It's beyond frustrating.  However when I need to distract him for a few minutes (like to eat my own lunch) I'll give him a few in his highchair and some paper and let him go to town.  

I finally got caught up and finished Quinton's 1st birthday book and Natalia's 6th birthday book on Picaboo and then they came and then we had to pull out all of them for the kids to look through.  It's a fun thing to do since I don't do photo albums or print many pictures.  

Making a baby blanket for Bodhi.  We went to the fabric store to pick out fabrics to make some projects for her.  Natalia was convinced we needed to make her a blanket and she picked out these fabrics all on her own.  She kept calling the Peacocks "peahawks" it was adorable.  Bodhi got to use this blanket with her mama on their last day of Kangaroo care before she passed.  =(  

Doing the Barnyard Boogie at Music and Movement at the Boise Library.  Another Cypress play date while mommy and daddy went to the NICU.  (side note: I was honored that Cypress asked for me when she couldn't be with her mommy and was more than happy to watch her for them, it was nice to be able to do something for them since there wasn't anything I could do medically or I don't even know... just felt stuck and useless except for this) 

After music and movement we went in the library to pick out new books and dvds for the car.  We ran into some friends who had found a praying mantis on the window and the girls were fascinated by it!

Clearing some space on the Ipad and came across a bunch of pictures of these two adorable kiddos.  Lydia gets frustrated with Quinton easily and gets upset when he tries to play with her toys.  But Natalia adores her baby brother and would do anything for him.  They have a pretty special relationship. 

We convinced Natalia to let us take of her training wheels and at least try to ride without them!  She still needs lots of practice but we were so proud that she at least tried.  She really has outgrown this bike and could use a new one, but I don't want to get her the "Big girl two wheel bike" until I know she can ride it.  

Leaving for school on picture day.  I just had to get a picture of how adorable she is and that amazing dress.  My aunt sent it to her for her birthday.  Her smile and eyes here are way better than the school picture even (and I can say that because it took me so long to do the update we got the school pictures back!)

WOOO!  And done.

Up next.  Hopefully Bodhi's post, Lydia the preschooler post, and maybe a general update and randoms of the kids, Quinton turned 18 months in there and I feel like I should do something besides insta updates... and then of course there should be a September insta update.  =)