I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag.....

Celebrating her first 4th of July. She just happened to have her hand over her heart when I was snapping pictures. I love this one. It looks so patriotic.

 She was all decked out in red, white, and blue!

 Daddy bought her some red sparklers for her first fireworks. Of course we had to do it before dark because she went to bed at 8:00pm. Next year she can see all the pretty colors.

As for her brother and sisters, they went to Cascade Lake with family and spent the day swimming, and riding jet skis!

Brian and Madison Steed

Nadia and Kaylee Morton

Allie

Lily Morton and Nadia

 Grandma Ruth Arnett and Caitlyn

 Brian and Madison Steed

Nadia

Allie

All State Football Game

Brian got invited to play in the all-state football game for Team Treasure Valley. This year it was held in Twin Falls, Idaho. He got to stay in a dorm at a college with his buddies. They did all sorts of fun activities during the evening, and practiced in durring day. There were several kids from his middle school team there and he got to know a few other kids from the area.

 The game didn't go as well as they hoped. They were destroyed 35-6. Brian did catch an interception at the end which led to the teams only touchdown, and redeemed his fumble on the first kick return he received in the beginning of the game. Sometimes, I guess, you have to lose a few to make yourself better. Overall, it was a good experience for him.

Olivia's First Camping Trip

Unsure if this was a good idea or not, we took Olivia on her first camping trip to Horsethief Reservoir. I was so worried about bug bites, sunburns, and keeping her warm at night. Someone told me that kids are like wild animals, and will adapt. It turns out, they were right. Olivia did great. I think she even liked it!

With our teenagers involved in sports, jobs, and going so many different directions these days, this was probably our one and only time we would be able to camp this entire summer all together.

Sometime in the middle of the night, the heater ran out of propane. Worried Olivia wouldn't be warm enough, I put her in bed with me. Worried that I would smother her with the heavy sleeping bag, I didn't get much sleep after that. She is just waking up, and looking a bit confused as to wear she is. It seems I need to quit worrying so much!

We bought a mosquito net which worked great. She was able to play and not have the bugs biting her.

Nap time inside the pop up trailer. 

3 of my 4 sweet girls getting ready to have lunch.

Like father, like daughter? I know now where she gets her tongue "thing." Daddy loves carrying her around in the front pack, and she loves the ride.

Sitting around the morning campfire with Tio Johnny, and Allie.

She's not afraid of no snake! Johnny brought up fake snakes, and bugs to scare us.

All the comforts of home. 

 Johnny brought this awesome hammock. The kids loved it!

 Allie caught a butterfly.

 They had fun in the boat and the "clown."

 Songs about "eggs" around the campfire kept everyone laughing, thanks to Johnny.

Even Anakin and I went for a ride in the boat.

Olivia Is 5 Months Old!

So I decided to try something that I saw another mom do with her baby. Each month she had pictures taken of him on a clothes line with a special outfit for the month and the month on his belly. It was pretty cute.  These turned out alright, but definitely not the professional style I was hoping for. I guess if you want professional, you pay big bucks. I will stay with my free pictures for most months!

 The one above doesn't really look like she is hanging, and neither do the ones below, but that was the idea. I really wanted to do them in the grass outside, but the color kept washing out and I didn't know how to fix it.

 I love her smile here. She's been doing this funny thing with her tongue and I managed to capture this goofy smile. 

 It was past bed time and she had done really well. She decided she was done and rolled over, so I figured she had had enough.  She is the boss, after all.

She Likes Her Peas, Oh Yeah!

Olivia ate home made sweet peas today for the first time. She enjoyed them.  She made a much bigger mess than she usually does when she eats her rice cereal, but she did great!

She couldn't wait for another bite. Look at that wide open mouth!

Mmmmm, yummy sweet peas!

I cooked acorn squash, sweet potatoes, yams, and peas, pureed them, then placed them in ice cube trays and froze them. Now we have individually portioned "veggie pops." All we have to do is heat up a "pop" and enjoy. Very easy and very healthy.

The Fifth Month

This month there were a lot of exciting and new moments. Olivia learned to roll over from her back to her tummy, she started playing in her saucer, and jump up, tried food for the first time and went to the zoo. It's been such a fun month.

Her first roll over on May 27, 2012 was worthy of a fun video with dramatic music!

 When we first put her in her saucer she could barely touch the ground and we had to put a blanket behind her. She loves playing in here now and by the end of the month can touch flat footed, and no longer needs a back support.  She loves the little thing her right hand is on. It's her favorite thing on there. Later in the month, she found her voice. She was squealing with delight for a straight 20 minutes waking up the kids, and mommy. She carried on for the entire day!

 So sleeping this month also changed. I finally went to the pediatrician because she started waking up every 3 hours at night. The doctore told me to buy earplugs, turn of the baby monitor and just let her cry. She assured me that nothing could happen to her and that it would only take a week, and she would figure it out. The first night I was so sleep deprived that I slept through most of her crying.  She finally got to where she would sleep through the first wake up time at midnight and only woke up around 3 am. She would cry for a couple hours at a time. It's been very difficult, but I haven't been super diligent in leaving her alone. Sometimes I feel so bad for her, I go in and give her a binky, or roll her back to her tummy (she hasn't figured that out yet). Sometimes I just get up and feed her so she can sleep a few more hours, or so I can sleep a few more hours. This next month we will work harder at getting rid of that 3 am wake up.

 Olivia tried rice cereal for the first time this month. We made it a little runny, most of it just came right out. We tried again a week later, and it went much better.

Nadia taught her how to spit, so Olivia tried it while eating her rice cereal one day. It was pretty funny. She didn't eat any of it. It all just came spitting out at me.

We went to Zoo Boise this month with the Edgerly Family (Brian's boss' family) and had a good time. Of course Olivia didn't realize all the zoo has to offer, so I look forward to taking her again when she will be really excited about it.

 I entered this bath time picture in a Disney Moments photo contest. She got around 86 votes!

 She loves hanging out with her Brother Brian,

 and snuggling with her sister Nadia,

 and dancing with her sister, Caitlyn,

and hugging her sister, Allie.

 Olivia and mommy had matching toesies for Flag Day

 Daddy dressed her in BSU gear for church on Father's Day.

 I love taking pictures of her. She is so beautiful. She was just playing with her toys one day and was so into it. You can see the concentration on her face.

 She fell asleep in her swing and looked so peaceful.