First game

There are so many things that I'm excited to watch my kids experience in life. I have a running list in my head of things I want them to try like roasting marshmallows, miniature golf, school... It will take some brainstorming to get the list in full. We'll save that for another post. Lulu is just getting old enough to start crossing stuff off of that list. Last year was dance. This year is soccer. She was so excited to get a uniform and to meet her teammates. Not gonna lie, Ollie and I were pretty excited too! She played the entire 20 minute game in 120 (estimate) degree heat this past Saturday, after a 20 minute practice. It was her first game, and she did great. She did pick the ball up once with her hands, and she did get a little distracted a few times, but that's normal. I was so proud that she just kept running and playing the whole time with a smile on her face, even when I was about to die of heat sitting in the shade. Here are some pictures of her first big game:

Action shot

Still smiling

Hammer watching the game with Daddy

Little Buddy was so good! He slept most of the time, and then was just a happy boy

And then at the end of the game they did a little cheer for the Pink Panthers, the team that she played. Lulu's team is the Blue Butteflies. Go Butterflies! I'm excited to watch Lulu progress and have fun. I just hope it cools down a little for the next game.

Names

So I have made the other two kids scrapbook pages of what their names mean. I would post the pages here because they turned out really cute, but alas, I use nicknames and not real names on the blog.
To be fair, I wanted to make a page for Baby too, but when I looked up what his name means, I was a little disappointed. I hadn't looked up what any of my kids' names mean before we named them. That wasn't part of the process for considering baby names.
However, Lulu's means "Light" and Hammer's means "Name of God." Pretty cool if you ask me.
Baby's means "Twin."
Twin? That's not very cool.
"I'm not going to do one for Baby, that just seems kinda dumb," I told Ollie.
"You have to, the other two have one," he told me.
Then I realized something.
"Twin" actually is quite fitting for him!
That's the comment we still get the most from people when they see our littlest cutie. "Oh my, he looks just like his brother."
And so, whether they will like it or not as they grow older, they sort of are twins. I hope they will be best friend twins that always look out for each other. I hope they will make each other laugh, and make up easily after they fight. I hope they will both be good examples to each other. I hope they love each other as much as Hammer loves Baby right now.
And in case you're wondering, I did make him a scrapbook page with his name's meaning.

Sweet

Little T is such a sweet baby! I am just in love with him. I can't stop nuzzling those cheeks and sneaking kisses. He is smiling and cooing now, which almost melts my heart. I can't seem to catch a smile on the camera... yet. He rarely cries. He is so mellow. He is a great nurser now, and at his 2 month check up was 97% length and 84% weight. He loves his milk. His napping during the day is random. Sometimes he will nap for a few hours at a time in his crib, sometimes he is up most of the day just having little cat naps here and there. But he's always so pleasant no matter how much sleep he has had during the day! And the past 3 nights he has slept through the night. That's right kids. Through the night! He sleeps from about 9:00pm til 5:00am, then 5:30 til 8:30 am. I'm pretty excited about this, and I hope he keeps it up. Especially since I've been having dairy again and he's still sleeping well. And Lulu and Hammer still love him! Life is pretty good right now. Really good actually. Gotta go. It's baby kissing time again.

Garden

These are the first two tomatoes from our garden.
The FIRST TWO!
That is crazy, we are usually overflowing with tomatoes and zucchinis by now. We've had one little zuke. That's it.
The garden is about a month behind this year, and we're getting a little worried it won't be hot long enough for our melons to ripen. Sadness.
I guess it was because we had a whole month of rain when we first planted the garden back in June. We lost a few plants and the rest are still tiny.
Too much rain + way too little sun = Sad slow garden
But we live in a desert where we can't complain if our reservoirs have been filling up.
Our plants are starting to pick up the pace a little now. And our raspberries were very happy and plentiful, although they are gone now.
And the mountains are GREEN. I don't remember ever seeing green mountains in Utah in August. It's beautiful.

Your Blessing

Dear Baby, Daddy blessed you on Sunday in our ward. Almost all of your family was there to support us. We were just missing two of your uncles who were not in Utah. It was the perfect day. You looked so cute in your formal Mexican shirt, and you were so sweet during the whole meeting. You didn't cry once. In fact you smiled a lot, often I think it was at people that I couldn't see. I was really touched to see the men in our family encircle you. They are all such good men, who would do anything for you. And the women in our family- they are crazy about you. As are your siblings. What a great family to be born into, if I may say so. Daddy gave you such a sweet blessing. You have a lot ahead of you, and some times that is scary for parents to think about. This world is not fair, or always safe. Stay close to the truth of the gospel like the rest of your family has so far and as Daddy blessed you to do. It will keep you safe and happy. And know that we are doing the best we can as your parents. I know you will make good choices and make us proud. You are a strong, sweet, handsome, loving, and oh so loved little man. Love, Mom ---Pictures of the brunch we had in our yard after the meeting:

The one we all fussed over

My cute little family

Baby

Daddy and his Baby

4 Generations

Both of Baby's Grandmas

Aww

My little love bug

Hammer just loves him. Really.

The 3 kids. Lulu had a hard time holding him today. And she had already eaten cherries, as evidenced by her face. Lulu and Hammer were ready to eat and play with cousins

My parents

Grandpa and his name-sake. Baby's middle name is my Dad's name

There are only 3 girls on Ollie's side. Lulu, Ky, and Anya. 1 per family so far, except for Uncle John. His kids are still waiting in heaven. There must be 1 girl there too, but only 1.

Baby's cousin Dylan holds him

All of my siblings with my parents

Here's the whole family together again!

Ollie and his momma

Brunch: Fruit, Bagels, Muffins, Juice, Dip and Chips Nana, Ollie, and my brother get their food Ollie's sisters and our brother in law. Sorry I still caught you chewing Dave. It was quite hot and sunny, even at 11 in the morning. We tried to stay in our little patch of shade in the backyard. Hammer and his only cousin on my side check each other out

3 of Baby's cousins: Jason, Logan, and Mckay

My cute Grandpa

Lulu and Anya and Mark enjoying the brunch

Some videos

Here are some videos I took the other day of my little ones.
First Lulu singing beautifuly:

then Hammer showing his ABC skills, with a little help from Lulu. Notice he purposely says P at the wrong time and thinks he's so funny. Same thing with "meek" at the end. This little boy likes to make people laugh, although when you're two your jokes make you laugh more than anyone else:

and lastly, the littlest Buddy showing his new smiles. My favorite is the one-sided smile as he's falling asleep:

2 outings

1st outing
LIBERTY PARK

We fed the ducks in the pond on the South side of the park. The babies were cute!

The kids had a great time. Lulu especially liked it because she thought the point of the feeding was to peg the ducks with the bread. She'd laugh and laugh when she'd hit one on the head or tail.

Hammer walked down a little bit to check out the other ducks.

It was a very hot and humid day. Here are my 3 kiddos relaxing in the shade with the Grandparents.
After feeding the ducks we checked out the fun toys on the North side of the park. Too bad we didn't know there was a splash pad there. It looked so inviting. After playing and enduring the heat for a little bit, Grandpa treated us to slurpees on the way back home to Great Grandma's.

Aunt Jen came along too, and she particularly enjoyed the baby time.

2nd Outing
THE OGDEN DINOSAUR PARK

Ollie has always loved dinosaurs, so I was glad my parents took us on a Saturday so he could come too. He had never been before!

Hammer was in awe with the first skeleton you see as you enter the indoor museum part of the park.
Lulu was a little worried about the Wooly Rhino and the dinos that roar and move.

I thought it was cool to have all the trees and trails to walk through. It was like going on a mini hike!

Here is Lulu, actually really worried about the T-Rex behind her.

Hammer wasn't scared of the big guys, even when Daddy offered him up to the T-Rex.

The toys were a big hit with the kids, of course.

They also were able to dig for dino bones in the sand. Well not so much digging as it is brushing the sand away. It was pretty fun to discover the bones!

Thanks Mom and Dad for the two fun outings!