Summer Bucket List #2

We have continued marking things off our Summer Bucket List this past month! We have had an awesome time being intentional with this family time we're blessed with!  Here are some fun memories we've made:

We made homemade lemonade!

I finally found the best recipe!

We made sidewalk chalk paint!

Had a cousin sleepover!

Played on our $4 slip 'n slide!

Great price for such great fun!

Caeden racing his friend Darby!

Caeden & Mommy racing!

And even Daddy had a turn!

Went to a NWA Naturals game!

Took Caeden to see "Turbo" - 

his first movie in a movie theater!

Caeden did great!  When we first walked in,

he was in awe.  He just looked around with his mouth open.

He then asked what the curtains were for.  He got up to to

to the bathroom a few times, halfway through the movie.

But other than that, he did great!

Played in the biggest mud puddle ever!

(This wasn't actually part of our bucket list,

but was too fun not to include!)

And played some board games!

And some other things we've done, but don't have pictures of:

Made popsicles, went on a family bike ride,

tried a new fudge recipe that Caeden picked out,

and made homemade ice cream!

Water Fun!

This summer, a new water park opened in Rogers, called the Rogers Aquatic Center.  We tried it out earlier this summer and LOVED. IT.  It was so great!  Honestly, it was very comparable to White Water (except for the lack of the wave pool) and is much cheaper than White Water!  I was too busy having fun with my kiddos so I didn't get a whole bunch of pictures, but these are the few I got!  Caeden had a blast, and Callie was pretty mellow just taking it all in!  We'll definitely be back this summer!

 Playing on the lily pads with Daddy!

Mommy & Callie

After a few hours, Callie was ready for a nap...

Caeden's First Sleepover!

As Reid and I made our "summer bucket list" back in May, we decided that we wanted Caeden to have his first sleepover this summer - and we wanted it to be with his cousin Emerson!  They are 19 months apart, but are definitely to the age where they love interacting and playing together now.  So we scheduled a sleepover, and the fun began!

We met Uncle Caleb halfway and picked Emerson up!  The whole way home, he and Caeden just had their own little conversation!  And Caeden kept telling him what all we were going to do.  As soon as we got home, we had some playtime outside!

Then it was time to roast hot dogs and s'mores on the fire pit!

After being outside so long, we decided we needed a BUBBLE bath!  These two had so much fun together!  It was so cute seeing them laugh, play, and be silly together!

After bath, we were all clean and in for the night!  They were so excited about sleeping in the living room - and had fun watching Daddy blow up the air mattress!

But the fun wasn't over yet!  We made cookies (slice-and-bake that is!) and settled down to watch Finding Nemo!

They stayed awake until the end of the movie, but within a few minutes, they were out!

The next morning we had a yummy "sticky bun" breakfast, played a little longer, and then took Emerson back to Mommy & Daddy!

We had so much fun and it just filled our hearts with joy to see these two sweet cousins love their time together.  At one point when we were making cookies, Caeden turned to Emerson and said, "Emerson, you know I just love you?"  I pray these two stay close forever!

Fourth of July 2013!

Caeden absolutely L.O.V.E.S. the fourth of July!!  But what boy doesn't?  This is the holiday that even my dad and husband show their "I'm still a boy at heart" side!  This was Callie's first Fourth of July and this was her last "first holiday."  We woke up that morning, and after Callie's morning nap we headed to New Life Ranch, where Reid's brother & his wife live.  We met Reid's parents and Gram out there and had a simple potluck lunch!

We then headed outside for Caeden's favorite part - the fireworks!  For the past week, he would ask every day if it was time to shoot fireworks.  And finally, we could say "Yes!!"  He was not afraid - he loved helping to shoot them, he loved trying to catch the parachutes, and his favorite part...running through the smoke bombs!  The loud popping noises did not bother Callie at all - she never even once jumped!  I attribute this to the fact that she lives with a noisy brother who is banging and yelling on an hourly basis!  She sat back with Mommy, Nonni, Aunt Jennifer and Great-Gram as we watched the boys have fun!  At one point, the guys were even trying to blow up an army guy!  But it never worked - regardless of the tactics they tried!

Another new thing - this year Caeden figured out how he could twist fireworks together, or stick the fuses into other fireworks' holes - making them go off at the same time.  This was truly his FAVORITE thing to do - all day he just kept combining various fireworks.  At one point in the day, someone asked Caeden what he wanted to be when he grew up, and to our surprise he answered, "A firework-maker!"

After Caeden had a nap, he got to go down to the creek and swim with Daddy & Uncle Rhett.  Again, us girls were just spectators.  And then we finished the day by having an old-fashioned BBQ dinner outside - with the campers!  We headed back home after dinner, and let Caeden shoot off a few more fireworks in our yard.  He just kept continuously asking to shoot more!

Trying to catch a parachute!

Mommy & Caeden running through the smoke bomb!

After bath, we watched a short movie together, and then Caeden sat in Mommy's lap outside while Daddy shot off some nighttime fireworks.  He sat very still, but honestly wasn't as impressed as I thought he would be.  I think he liked the daytime ones more...maybe because he got to participate more?  The next day, the question from Caeden's mouth was, "Do we get to do more fireworks today?"  No buddy, unfortunately we don't!  He's already looking forward to the Fourth of July next year!!

Callie: 9 months!

As usual, I'm very late in making this blog post!  But a few weeks ago, Callie turned 9 months old!  My big girl!  So this post will record her ninth month - when she was 8 months old!!

EATING

Callie continued to eat well, and we continued introducing new foods to her.  Some of her favorites are: banana, apples, avacado, asparagus, squash, sweet potato, and yogurt!  She's not a big fan of broccoli, carrots, or any meat (but who would actually like pureed meat??).  She still eats four times a day and here are how her feedings look:

7:30am - baby food and small bottle (2-3 oz)

11/11:30am - baby food and bottle (4-5 oz)

3:00pm - larger bottle first (6-7 oz) and some puffs

6/6:30pm - Baby food and crackers

7pm  - last bottle at bedtime (4-5 oz)

She is still working at getting finger foods into her mouth.  She can pick them up and bring them to her mouth, but they stick to her fingers and she can't manipulate them to go inside yet! :)

Eating a graham cracker

while she's waiting for dinner!

SLEEPING

Her sleeping is still normal.  She goes to bed around 7:00pm, and sleeps ~12 hours at night.  She officially dropped her evening nap this month.  She started out the month only taking an evening nap sometimes, and ended the month not needing one anymore.  Her morning and afternoon nap range from 30min - 1 hr 15 min.  They're not super long, but they're decent and she always wakes up happy and playing, so I know she's well-rested!

This was right after she woke up one morning....love those sleepy eyes!

But I took this picture because this was her first bed head!!

(Notice the right side of the pic)

This means she has ENOUGH HAIR to get bed head!

PLAYING

Callie still loved playing in her stand-up toys like her Jumperoo and Exersaucer.  She also just plays great by herself!  She will play for a really long time by herself, in a content way.  She often reaches for toys and will fall on her belly.  She will stay there for a pretty long time, but when she's ready to get up, she can't quite get to sitting yet!  One of her favorite toys is her Fisher Price Vanity that she got for Christmas - she loves to interact with all the pieces and plays with it for a long time!  She still gets excited seeing her brother, but doesn't like it when he lays on top of her or rolls her around (understandably!) 

Sitting next to Caeden on the couch...

Caeden trying to give her kisses!

Watching the big kids play in the backyard

Reading time with Daddy - sweet pic!

Sibling love!

LANGUAGE

She started babbling at 6 months old, but it just keeps getting more & more developed.  She is saying lots of consonant sounds, and talks LOUDLY and a lot!  I guess she feels like she has to compete with Caeden! But when she first gets up, she will whisper-babble - it's so funny!  Like she knows its still time to be quiet!

SUMMER ACTIVITIES

We have stayed very busy this summer. We try to include Callie as much as possible in our fun times (camping, fourth of July, swimming, etc), but there are also times we leave her home with a baby sitter - like when we took Caeden to the movie theater and the Naturals game.  We just know that in those times, she will be happier at home, and we will enjoy the outing more!

Watching Caeden play in the sprinkler

 Playing with Mommy in the yard!

Swimming!

FOURTH OF JULY

Callie experienced her first Fourth of July holiday this month. She did great with the fireworks!  Of course she wore lots of red/white/blue outfits & bows all week!  She was awake when we did the daytime fireworks, and she never flinched!  I was really surprised!  Maybe she's just used to all the loud banging and noise her brother daily creates around the house....I don't know?  She got her toe nails painted for the first time (red & blue) and they matched mommy's!  AND I realized this was her last "first holiday" this year!  She's had so many firsts - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc.  And this was her last!  Kind of sad on the day I got her dressed!  But so thankful that we've gotten to experience all of these "first holidays" with her!

DOCTOR

Callie had her 9 month check-up mid-July.  Her growth stats are below.  Overall, she's doing great.  The doctor said she has great muscle tone and strong legs!  She was not crawling at this appointment, but the doctor was not concerned - she said she'll do it on her own schedule!  Otherwise, she was right on track with most things!  And no shots at this appointment - yay!

GROWTH STATS

Weight: 20 lbs 4 oz (75th percentile)

Length: 28.5 inches (80th percentile)

Clothes size: 9 months & a few 12 months

Shoe size:  size 1-2

Diaper size: started out in a size 3 and was in a 4 by the end of the month

MILESTONES

These are milestones Callie met when she was 8 months old:

• Dropped her evening nap
• Recognizes her name
• Plays peek-a-boo! (covers her face, and when we say "Where's Callie?" she uncovers it)
• From her tummy, will push onto her hands & knees for a few seconds, and then fall.
• Stands holding onto things (couch, activity table, fire place, etc).  She started doing this right at 9 months old!

Here's my sweet 9 month old girl at the end of the month! 

(This was our hardest photo shoot thus far - she was constantly pulling her sticker off!  It actually took two separate times for me to get her pictures!)  

As you can see in some of the snapshots I got, she is sooo close to crawling, and started LOVING to stand, holding onto things, right when she turned 9 months!