Only Child

One baby really is a piece of cake! Seriously. Nathan and I were fortunate to experience life with only one baby the end of June. After Aunt Laurie and Grandma Pam were in Illinois for a few days, they bravely drove Evan and Jaden back with them to South Dakota! The boys spent a week playing 'farmer' and were spoiled at Grandpa and Grandma's house! We will have to ask Grandma Pam for a guest post to get the details of their week!

Only in South Dakota.......

I was told this equated to a third or fourth outfit change of the day!

Buddies.

Evan could play in the sand pile for hours.

Meanwhile....back at our ranch in Illinois......Kylie was also being spoiled:) 

Shhhh. Don't tell her brothers!

One of the biggest difference with only one baby, well, there are many, but I would say time. 

Bedtime - quick and easy. 

The time it takes to get ready to go somewhere-very little. 

Loading and unloading the car-seriously, easy-peasy. 

Maybe it's the difference of toddlers versus baby, but regardless, I seemed to have lots of time the week with Kylie. If you are Fitbit friends with me, you saw that there was one particular week I had 160K steps. Yup-it was this week. Now don't get me wrong. I wouldn't exchange Evan and Jaden for more time. But it is an amazing difference. 

 A big change for Kylie was with the ability to roll over.....which led to discontinuing swaddling as this is how I began to find her in the morning.

I started with just swaddling her torso and leaving her arms out. She would almost immediately flip. I am happy to report that after two days, I completely stopped swaddling and she transitioned just fine. She loves to sleep on her tummy and cuddles right up to the crib edge to sleep.

Week of Fun with Seven Crazy Kiddos!

Nathan's family friend, James, and his family came to visit on their way to a wedding. Evan and Jaden had so much fun following the big kids around all week. Unfortunately with the rainy summer, it undoubtedly rained half of the time they were here. 
Within 30 minutes of their arrival, we had 6 very muddy yet very happy children! Who knew that by rolling down a hill a day after a week of rain you could be covered in mud?! 

 We did find plenty of time between rain to swim!!

 And everyone needed their picture taken with Kylie! :)

The girls also got to pick out Kylie's clothes and dress her every day:) 

The boys' first sleep over!

Best Buds!

Wild and Crazy Fun at the Zoo!

Thanks to a generous birthday gift, we have enjoyed our family zoo pass this year. The boys love to walk around and visit all of the animals- in their particular order! Grandma Pam introduced the boys to the carousel, so that becomes part of our routine most days. And let's not forget the veggie snacks half way through the zoo tour as well. 
The boys have double the fun when Tucker and Lainey come along!

Finding the swimming turtles. 

 Best Buds!

 Yes. A cockroach!! 

 Boys and bugs. A way of life I guess. 

Miller Park splash park!

BFF's Kylie and Lainey!

May 2015

As a follow-up to the last post about Kylie’s baptism, here is a picture of Kylie’s baptismal gown made by Grandma Pam! This picture doesn’t do the dress justice, as there is so much detail with lace from both Grandma Linda and Grandma Pam’s wedding veils. Also, Kylie’s headband is made from the wedding veil lace and a button in the center from Grandpa Chris’ dress shirts. 

The month of May marked the start of summer for us! The semester ended and the boys started their summer school at ISU while Kylie started everyday (half days) at daycare. As for me, I started fitting in some early morning running - it feels great to get into a routine, but I also end up drinking coffee a lot more (and I'm still exhausted in the evenings!) Some highlights from May:

 The boys are LOVING playing outside. Jaden cannot get enough of the bubble machine, and Evan works on re-landscaping our backyard- moving rocks from one area to the other. Where is he when there is real work to be done?!

I spent a delightful morning with these adorable ladies and their mommies! Say hi to: 

Lainey- 4 weeks; Aria- 5 weeks; Kylie- 12 weeks; Cora- 19 weeks 

This is going to be one fun youth group to lead in 14 years!

Kylie started smiling this month! It makes those mid-night feedings all worth it!

Cousin Elliot came to visit the end of May. The boys had a blast swimming and playing. We had planned to visit Chicago on Saturday, but because of the cold rain we opted for a day at the Children's Museum - complete with an indoor picnic lunch.  

 It is amazing to watch the boys grow, learn and get so excited for the little things in life; and to watch Kylie become more alert and interactive. However, after a long day, it is equally as amazing to watch these little ones sleep:)