Happy Birthday, Myrt!

Today is my grandma, Myrt's, 79th birthday. Yes, I call my grandma by her first name- I don't really know why, but I've done it all of my life. I don't really think of it as her name- to me, it's just another word for "Grandma." It's funny too because she doesn't even like her name, but she has let my sisters, brother, and I call her that for many, many years!

So Myrt, Grandma, Great-Grandma, I hope you have a great birthday! I love and admire you so much.

This is our four-generation picture from Mother's Day.

9 Months Old

Ashlyn is 9 months old today. It is crazy how time flies when you have kids. It's been a lot of fun over the past couple of months to see her and Rylee play with each other more. We still have to tell Rylee to be careful around her though- she wants to hold her and carry her all over, sit right on top of her, and cover her with blankets. But even though we still have to keep an eye on the both of them, they can entertain each other a lot more. Ashlyn is trying hard to stand by herself. She will pull herself up and let go for a second.


Here is a comparison of both of the girls at 9 months. (Lindsay, I hope you don't mind I stole your idea!) They are both wearing red and denim. Rylee had more hair (but Ashlyn's is growing!) and bigger feet. I tried those sandals on Ashlyn today just to see if they fit and they are still way big. Ashlyn has never worn shoes- she's not going to know what to do when she has to wear them! All of the ones I've tried on just fall off anyway. Ashlyn still doesn't fit into the shoes Rylee wore when she was 6 months. So Rylee definitely has my side of the family's feet! (Sorry guys- but you know it's true!)

Bath Time

Ashlyn loves taking a bath- she even tries to get in when it's not bath time and there's no water in the tub! It's actually helped Rylee like to take baths again to see Ashlyn so excited about it. And they both like to take baths together. Ashlyn pulls herself up to get in.

Rylee's Train

Rylee made a train with the stools and chairs for her toys. And as you can see, she likes to run around in just her panties!

Exercise Ball

Suckers

Ashlyn loves suckers. They are a sticky mess when she has one though. Matt gave her one that wasn't opened thinking she would just play with it , but it wasn't too long before she had taken off the wrapper and was eating that sucker. We quickly moved her to her high chair where the mess was a little more contained and it was a good thing she was wearing red while she was having a red sucker! She would probably eat the stick if we weren't paying attention- she loves suckers!

Chickens

Our neighbors have a bunch of chickens that run around in our yard during the day. Rylee likes to try to catch them. She hasn't caught one, but she has touched a couple. This picture isn't too clear (Matt took it from far away), but you can kind of see one of Rylee's new friends.

Round Three

I was the next lucky person in our family to get the flu bug. I was sick Monday night/Tuesday morning, so I didn't go to school Tuesday. I laid in bed most of the day. By 11:00 Tuesday night I was over it though. I didn't think I would ever get better, but it finally went away. Thank goodness. So I guess we're just waiting for Matt to get it- hopefully he doesn't.

Today is my niece, Macie's, birthday. She's 3. She's just a couple weeks older than Rylee- I can't believe they're 3! Happy birthday, Macie!

Brushing No Teeth

Ashlyn doesn't have any teeth yet,
but she likes to brush her gums.

She pulled herself up in the laundry basket.

Rylee wanted to "go for a ride" in the laundry basket,
so I pushed them around a bit.
Simple pleasures!

Ashlyn pulled herself up in her crib too-
I barely missed taking a picture of it though.
So this is actually after she did it.

Rylee doesn't like her picture taken as much as Ashlyn. So you probably have and will see more pictures of Ashlyn than Rylee. I was lucky to get that smile in the laundry basket, but I wanted Ashlyn to look too. So I took a few pictures waiting for her to look, but Rylee said, "Mommy, that's enough!" I guess I have to take what I can get!!

Round Two

Ashlyn caught whatever flu bug Rylee had the night before. We were up until 1:30 with her. It's weird because it's just at night and then they are fine in the morning. Ashlyn seems to be ok now. I hope it's over.

Pulling Herself Up

Ashlyn has been trying to pull herself up. She will crawl to me and grab my hands and stand up. She doesn't really want to walk once she's up, she just wants to stand. I was laying on the floor in Rylee's room with my feet on her bed and Ashlyn was playing by me. I looked over at her and she had pulled herself up with my legs and was standing. And she usually sticks out her tongue while doing it!

"Look, I'm standing!" (What movie is that from?)

Little Mozart

Posing for Daddy

Worst Night

I had the worst night last night. I was so exhausted- all I wanted to do was sleep. But Rylee and Ashlyn weren't going to let that happen. Ashlyn woke up five times during the night and Rylee threw up three times. Rylee threw up all over her bed, so I had to do laundry at 2:00- and that was just the first time she threw up. So I slept with Rylee in her bed with just a blanket. It was a long night and I didn't get much sleep. Rylee is not the best person to sleep with- Hailey and Erin know what a crazy sleeper she is. She has a queen-size bed, but she isn't very good at sharing! So I'm glad it's morning and we can forget about last night and start a brand new day.

Boring

Well our lives are getting a little more boring as you can see by my lack of posts. I don't even have any pictures to post. I know- I can't believe it either! I haven't taken any pictures since Sunday. My camera is probably collecting dust. It hasn't had such a long break since Rylee was born! I've been pretty busy taking care of my three children. Matt can't do much, so I do it all. So when I get home from school I have to do my chores. And I've been exhausted. Rylee has been a good helper though. It's crazy how long a short week can be- this 4-day week is taking forever. I hope I have pictures to post soon. Or at least something exciting to write about.

The Girls

Here we are ready for church. I decided to take some pictures of myself with the girls. I used the timer so I wasn't sure how they would turn out, but I think they turned out ok.

Eye Doctor

I went to Salt Lake yesterday for my eye doctor appointment. It was at 9:20 so I woke up at 4:45. I didn't want to wake up the girls, but fortunately they woke up on their own. Normally they would have just gone back to bed, but I kept them up to get them in the car. But then they slept in the car. My mom came with us too. My mom got a good workout chasing Rylee to the "alligator" (elevator) and all over the doctor's office. The doctor gave me a shot in my eye in February and it helped, so he did it again yesterday. These are the glasses I have to wear after because they dilate my eyes and it's so bright. Rylee wanted some too. We were out of the doctor around 12:30 so we decided to do a little shopping and eat at Maddox before going home. We also got yummy peaches and corn in Brigham City. I go to the doctor again in November- hopefully the shot and drops work and I don't have to have surgery- keep your fingers crossed.

The Fair

We went to the fair today. It was the first day, so it wasn't busy and we went early, so it wasn't hot. We spent a lot of time at the petting zoo. Rylee said she wanted to feed the animals, so Matt bought some food. But Rylee was a little scared of the goats if they got too close. She finally warmed up to the rabbits though. One of the goats licked Ashlyn's finger, which she didn't like too much. I guess my kids like animals like I do- in cages or behind fences and not too close! We saw the usual animals and ate the usual food. Nothing too exciting, but it was fun anyway. I wasn't sure if Matt would make it, but he lasted a couple of hours. The hard part was walking to and from the car. It was a long walk!

School has Begun!

3 days down- only 177 to go! No, I'm not really going to count down- at least not until we see how this year is really going to go. You can't really tell until about the second month or so. But these first few days have gone pretty good- I have a good bunch of kids. We have been busy, busy, busy. We usually have back-to-school night the second Thursday of school, but due to some conflict, it was moved up to the first Thursday. I usually do an art project to hang up in the hall, make "All About Me" books (bound and all), and take their pictures and get them up in the classroom. Not to mention the power point presentation and handouts we have to have ready for the parents. Too much for the first 4 days!! But it's going pretty well. I have an eye doctor's appointment Friday in Salt Lake, so I only have to go 4 days and then I get 4 days off because of Labor Day- so that's nice! Matt's been home- I think he's getting pretty bored during the day. The neighbors lent him some old Spiderman and Hulk cartoons on DVD- Rylee has been into them too. It's going to be a long couple of months for him. And he can't do much of anything (no lifting, pushing, or pulling), so it will be long for me too! Here are some pictures- just because. Rylee likes to "feed" Ashlyn pretend food. And Ashlyn loves to go along with it. She just wishes it were the real thing!