Summer Happenings

We have had a FUN and BUSY summer! I can't believe in a couple of days it will be August.

Ella started smiling and like her sisters, her smile melts my heart. She also had her 2 month check-up which meant she had to get shots. YUCK! At 2 months Ella is still sleeping from about 11:30 to 7- which is nice for me. She still spends a lot of time sleeping, but is awake quiet a bit too. She is starting to coo and talk. She loves her sisters and they are good little helpers. She is a very sweet little thing- she hardly ever cries unless she has a bubble in her tummy
Her stats at 2 months:
Weight: 11.56 lbs. 70%
Height: 22.75 in 65%
Head: 15 in 29%

Sean came home one day with a tent and him and Brooklyn and Gracie have had several camp-outs in our yard. They all sleep surprisingly good out in the tent.

My cousin Kim had her baby Nora a month before Ella. We wanted to get a picture of them together while she was here- we had settle with them sleeping in their carseats.

This picture was a MAJOR feat! We got together with cousins one day at Willow Park and had a blast. It is always fun to spend time with family!
Lacey, Averie, Rylee, Brooklyn, Ella, Gracie, Carson, Hallie, Claudia, Eli, Kjeaton, Vinnie, Alivia, Carley, Daxton, Garrett, Nat, Abby, Kristen, Lolin, Nora (me, my mom, and Kim were taking pictures)

Brooklyn and Grace took a session of swimming from Gin's swimming. They did GREAT and loved it (most days). Gin and her helpers are awesome. She doesn't let parents stay and is a no nonsense lady- which I liked. She doesn't care if the kids don't want to get in or get their face in the water- they do it! And learn to swim the right way. We won't be taking swim lessons anywhere else. The last day was parents day- Sean, my mom, and I watched them and I was amazed at what they had learned in the week- they both jumped off the diving board for the last thing. I will admit that my mommy pride was bursting this day!

Me and the gals enjoyed the Newton town celebration. The kiddos enjoyed the parade, got their faces painted, ate snow cones, played in the water, and cheered for uncle Brett in the volleyball tournament. We had a great day!

After the Newton celebration, we had our own little celebration. Sean cooked a yummy meal on the grill and had gotten some fireworks. We did them and topped the night off by going to Mendon to watch the fireworks.

Relay for Life

We came down from Bear Lake to participate in my family's 9th the Relay for Life. We had kinda a traumatic morning the day of the relay. Brooklyn was holding Ella and dropped her on her head. She landed on a metal bar on a chair Gracie has. She had a big goose egg and a bruise so I called our pediatrician and they said we should probably just take her to the ER. She ended up having a CT Scan to rule out a fracture and make sure there wasn't any bleeding going on. Everything came back fine- it was super scarey will not go down as one of the better days in my mothering. After the hospital we were finally able to make it and we had a BLAST!! Our team was able to raise over $5000 and the whole event rasied over $86,000! THANKS so much to everyone that donated and helped out our team!

We had the folks from Studio 21 bring the photobooth and had a blast with that!

Bear Lake & The 4th of July

We always go up to Bear Lake over the 4th of July. We were able to spend a week up there and as always had a blast! There were people coming and going all week and we drove down on the 3rd to bless Ella in our Ward and drove back up. I absolutely LOVE Bear Lake!! I have so many fond memories of Bear Lake and I am so excited that my gals are able to start to get their own memories of fun times at the Cabin- they love it and keep asking when we are going back. Paula's family was up there with us and are so good to help with my kids. Paula spent a lot of time holding Ella for me and it was nice to be able to have some one-on-one with Brooklyn and Gracie. I feel like since Ella was born they get put off a lot. When Sean was up we were able to go go-carting, get a shaved ice, and go swimming. My little family is so blessed to have so many people that love us and are willing to help us- I couldn't have done it without all the help I got!

We enjoyed swimming, mini-golf, and the beach at Ideal Beach. My cousin's Lori and Camille are always at Ideal Beach the same week and we have fun spending time with them and their kids. My gals LOVE their kids. Brooklyn is especially taken with Elisha- and she is such a good sport to tote Brooklyn along with her.

We spent the majority of the day outside playing- my mom bought the fun squirters and the kids had a blast playing with them. I wish I would've gotten a picture when she lined them up and told them the rules of playing in the water- I don't think the teacher in her will ever be gone. If they didn't obey the rules they had to come in the cabin for a time-out. The kids (for the most part) took the rules very seriously and there was plenty of tattling when someone wasn't obeying the rules.



The kiddos didn't have an adequate pool so when my uncle Ric went down for the Cruise-In, he bought a pool and brought back up. They had a BLAST in it!



My mom also bought some water balloons for the kiddos. Gracie didn't want anything to do with them and Brooklyn and Garrett loved them and loved filling them up by themselves.







Ella was a champ on her first outing to the cabin and loved being held by anyone who would hold her.

One day we heard a commotion outside and looked to see almost every rule being broken- Ric, Brooklyn, and Garrett were having a great water fight.

Nat and I braved it and took the 4 kiddos to the beach. They loved digging in the sand.

We were even able to get a pretty descent picture of all 5 of the kids.

My 4th of July cuties!

We did some fireworks before the firework show on the lake and the kids had so much fun! Garrett and Brooklyn loved the sparklers- Gracie, ever the cautious one, like them but not too close. Notice the picture of my dad holding the sparkler and her trying to get as far away as possible!

Ella's Blessing

Dear Ella-

On Sunday July 3rd, you were blessed at our church by daddy. You were given the name Ella Sue. Daddy gave you a very special blessing. You looked so beautiful in your white dress and were an angel all day! You had lots of people there to support you. All of your aunts and uncles were there except uncle David was home in North Carolina. Ella you are a very special little girl! Your have the sweetest little spirit and bring so much joy and happiness into our home. Your older sisters love you so much and you are quite fond of them already. You light up when you see them or hear their voices. Mommy and daddy love you so much. You have a very special name. Ella was the name of my great grandma Petersen. I have so many great memories of her. She lived in the cutest little house in Newton- I loved to explore that house with aunt Nat and uncle Brett. I loved to go and visit her. Every so often after my piano lessons, I would go visit her. She would always request that I go into the parlor and play a song on her beautiful upright piano. She was a tiny lady with a lot of spunk- she lived to be 102. Sue is the name of my mom, your grandma and it is also my middle name. I have always loved having Sue as my middle name and I hope you do to! You had quite the crowd standing in your circle as you were blessed- so you will know who was there- daddy, Bishop Todd Brown, grandpa Pops, grandma Maynard, great grandpa Harris, uncle Brian, uncle Derk, uncle Brett, uncle Karl, uncle Keith, uncle Brent, Ric, Matt, my uncle Ron, my uncle Kevin, my cousin Grayson, and daddy's friend David. After the blessing, we had a dinner at the bowery in Wellsville. It was a VERY hot day- 104 degrees. We were staying up at Bear Lake and drove down for your blessing and then drove back up after the dinner. Ella, I love you so much!

Love- Mommy

Ella- 6 Week Photos

I can't believe that 2 weeks have come and gone since I got Ella's 6 week pictures taken. We have a good friend, Dani, that took the pictures for us. Ella was being a little stinker, but Dani was so patient. Thanks Dani we love them! (here are a few of my favs)

Next up- the 4th at Bear Lake, The Relay, and the gals swim lessons.