Miscellaneous

My plan with this blog is to print out each year as a book, so I like to document the different things we have been doing. I missed some of the stuff I wanted to put on before Lincoln was born so I thought I would add it now.

The week after we got back from vacation, we had some really nice weather, so Andrew decided to take Jackson camping. The next morning, Lissy, Ellie and I met them out at the ranch to take some pictures out there that Andrew has been wanting for awhile. We hope to use some of them to decorate his new office. While Lissy was taking the real pictures, I took some pictures of her and the kids.

Ellie has been obsessed with her leotard lately. She always wants to put it on in the morning. There are even fancier ones at my parents-she still hasn't quite figured out how to put it on her,

Molly headed off to kamp for a couple weeks, so the kids colored her some pictures. The I wrote a letter for each of them. They would tell me what to write and that is exactly what I wrote. They were pretty entertaining letters. Molly said they almost made her cry when she read them because it was like they were really talking to her. They were very excited to put them in an envelope and mail them off.

Other stuff we did before Lincoln was born was Jackson and Andrew went fishing one night with our friend Brian and his son, Tony. Once they found the right pond, the caught a lot of fish and had a good time. Ellie wanted to go too, but I convinced her to stay with me and have a girls night-painting nails, ice cream, and a bubble bath. We also went on walks with my mom on the loop over at the schools a couple of mornings in hopes that it would get labor started. We went on Thursday and Friday and on Friday we let the kids play at one of the playgrounds. It was for the elementary school and most of the equipment was about climbing and balancing. They both had a lot of fun, but a lot of it was too big for Ellie. By Friday night I was feeling pretty sore and just overall achy, so I thought it would be good to take a break from the walks for a day. But we couldn't end the night without a dip in the pool. Jackson has now started jumping into the pool. It all started when we had Tony and Abby over to swim last week and Tony would jump in, so Jackson decided it was time for him to do it. And that was the last picture on my camera before Lincoln came the next morning. This a actually a picture Andrew took with his phone of the sky the morning we headed to the hospital. The kids have adjusted well so far to having a baby in the house. Andrew was able to spend more time at home and would make sure to take them outside and play with them while I took care of Lincoln. Here are some more pictures Andrew took with his phone. Ellie has a funny sense of style lately, including wanting to wear this hat. Here is Jackson playing in the sprinklers that Andrew has set up around the yard-he thinks he may have cut the grass too short last time and it was burning up. So he has spent a lot of time watering it. Here are a few pictures from the couple of days after Lincoln was born including my mom getting some time with her newest grandson.

I don't know what it is about baby toys, but it seems like they tire of them quickly. But now the older kids find them fascinating. Bella loved being in this bouncy seat.

Here is Lincoln getting his first bath-he wasn't a big fan.And here is Mr. Lincoln himself and the pretty flowers we got from my parents.

And one last one of what I think will be a typical day in our house now- Ellie showing me her new talent of somersaults with Lincoln hanging out nearby.

On Thursday and Friday, Jackson and Ellie went with my parents down to Branson to pick up Molly from Kanakuk. I think Molly was very excited to see them and they had a good time hanging out with Grandma and Papa. They got to check out K-Kountry, the camp for the younger kids, go to Dick's 5 &10 and get a toy, eat at Big Cedar, and hang out with Molly at kamp. On the other side, after a few rough nights with Lincoln, it was good for me to have some down time during the day while the kids were gone. So in the end, I think it worked out for everyone-thanks Grandma and Papa!