Lainey Shae

Here are a few pictures of our little Lainey. Poor third child, I didn't even take her out of her wet onesie for the pictures, but at least you can see how she is growing and changing! Her smile is contagious. She will smile at anyone who pays attention to her. And if Hallie and Maggie are in front of her, she is completely entertained. She is getting more and more content as the days go on and has even slept throught the night the last few nights! It feels like she has always been a part of our family and we love her so much!

Waukee Homecoming Parade

What a fun day! The girls got to be in the Homecoming Parade with their dance studio. It was so much fun. It made me a little nostalgic for High School days (a little). It was just fun to see the town pride and all of the high school kids and the band, ect. etc! The girls thought it was the coolest thing ever! We took Hallie and Maggie and their friends Ella, Mailee and Brooklyn to the parade, too. The plan was for Hallie, Ella and Brooklyn (the dancers) to ride on the flatbed and Maggie and Mailee to ride in the stroller that I would push. It turned out that Maggie and Mailee got to ride, too and they were so excited. They felt like such big kids. So all five girls just fit right in, chanting, "Waukee Warriors" and throwing handfuls of candy to the crowd. I tried to coach them on spacing out the throwing of candy, throwing a piece to each kid, but they didn't get it. And sadly enough, they were out of candy a mere 10 minutes into the parade! They didn't care. They had a blast. It was fun to watch them. What sweeties!

It got a little crazy after the parade. Poor Aaron had to run the parade route backwards to get he car, and I stayed at the park with the 6 girls! Yes, 6 girls! It was great until one decided she had to go potty! THen they all had to go potty and the craziness began! We trotted around the park, looking for restroom that was open. All of them were locked. So finally Aaron got back and we threw them into the car and drove across the street to the library., I sent them out, one by one, to Aaron as they finshed going potty and somehow they all ended up at storytime! I wouldn't have cared, except that it was 7:45 andnone of them had had dinner! Not to mention Lainey was poopy and SMELLY! So we finally talked them all into leaving before the last story and we ran through MCDonalds for some chicken nuggets and fries! It was a fun night. I think Aaron and I fell a little more in love as we relived the high school fun! There was something romantic about walking that parade route together (with six little girls!)

Lainey's Blessing

I am finally ready to post a few pictures from Lainey's Blessing. It was a beautiful blessing and made me so grateful to be a member of the LDS church. I can't imagine my life without the gospel. I am so grateful for the blessing that I have in my three perfect daughters. They are everything to me. I LOVE being their mommy. Though the laundry piles are overwhelmingly high, the dishes are only sometimes done and the "to do" list is nowhere to be found, the joy that I feel everyday from my children is overwelming. I fear that I have lost a little in the stress of things and have been reminded lately to cherish these precious, fleeting moments with my babies. It truly is a gift and one that I will no longer take for granted. I realized that this is my last year to have all of my girls home with me everyday. I will never have that again. I vow to treasure it. I need to spend more time playing with my girls, letting them help me cook dinner and clean the house. Sometimes it makes for more work, but the sense of joy that we both feel from that kind of time is worth it. I am thankful for my blessings, my family, my health, and the opportunities that I have had and have now in my life. I just needed to express my gratitude. Thanks for indulging me!

UPDATE CITY!

I have been a little busy for the past few weeks and have not been great at blogging. You may think that since I haven't written much, we haven't been up to much, but we have been doing all kinds of things. We have had tons of company and we have been playing a lot! I decided to do an update tonight since everyone is asleep and I can actually think. I know that when Lainey wakes up and wants to be fed 5 minutes after I fall asleep I am going to be sorry that I stayed up, but right now it feels ok! We had Lainey blessed in church last week and so my family was here for that. We had so much fun together. I have written about things and posted pictures all the way back to July when Aaron's family was here, too. Sorry for them all coming at once, but I have to do it when I can. I haven't downloaded the pictures from Lainey's blessing yet, so those are coming, but the rest should be here! I will start with the girls first day of school! They started school on Wednesday and they love it! I was a little worried that Maggie would cry, b/c she has been having some separation issues lately, but I convinced her to stay and she had such a great time! She came running out when I picked her up and was yelling, "It was fun, school is fun!". She told me that she painted and sang songs and played ring around the rosies. She had a blast! Hallie loved it as usual. She was so happy to be in a class with all of her friends. She came running out and told me that she and her friends, "saved a butterfly that was dead". (Figure that one out, will ya?) Anyway, she had to take me over to the flower where they set a butterfly that was no longer flying. She later told me that he was not dead anymore! Anyway, they loved school and I am so glad. Have fun catching up on our lives!

Apple Orchard

Since my family was here, we decided to go out to Center Grove Apple Orchard again and have a little taste of Iowa. It was fun. The girls remember the three little pigs houses from last year and the old school house. They haven't stopped talking about those houses since last year, so they were pumped when we told them we were going to go back. We did the corn maze and had to find hidden objects in the corn. It was really fun. Iowa really is beautiful. I love all of the farming and orchards and open land.

Big Creek and Saylorville Lake

Who knew that Iowa had such a fun lake? We didn't until today! My family came in town for Lainey's blessing and we went to Big Creek at Saylorville Lake and had a blast! My sister surprised me by cominginto town! I went to pick up my dad from the airport and right after I hugged him, he said, I have a surprise for you . . . and Emily came walking out the doors. I was sooooo excited! I have so missed my sister, so I was so happy. So we decided to go to Big Creek and we had so much fun! We rented a boat for an hour and went for a fun ride around the lake. The girls loved it. It felt so great to be on the water and to be outside. What a treat!

Lainey Update

Oh, poor Lainey is suffering from 3rd child syndrome already. I have barely taken any pictures of her. If I remember to put all three kid in the car, I am doing good, forget remembering the camera. OR if I do remember to bring it, I don't have a free hand to get it out, so I am doing my best! She is a sweet baby and is changing so much already. She smiles and coos and we all love her so much! Her sisters take good care of her and love to watch every move she makes!