Another 2 months have flown by

So much for keeping up with the blogging. :-) A lot has happened since I last blogged, as you can imagine with a baby. Part of my problem is Instagram! I post many, many pictures there and then I feel like I have blogged, but I haven't. So, here is the last 2 months in a long, picture filled post!

 Bryce graduated from kindergarten! He was given the Super Reader Award. We loved his teacher, Mrs. Sharp and feel lucky that all 3 kids started their schooling with her. It has been a huge blessing.

 We have been able to go swimming at a friend's pool. I would swim every day if I could. :-)

 Last day of school for these 2 also. They are great with Caden.

 Emily loved her teacher, Mrs. Beecher this year. I am glad to see the kids happy with school.

 Bryce and Spencer- good buddies, even with the height difference. :-)

 We put our first house on the market and had an offer within 24 hours. Listed and closed within 3 weeks. This was bittersweet to say goodbye, but so glad it happened quickly. There were some hiccups along the way, but overall a very smooth process.

 May, June and July saw a lot of baseball! It was great to see Dallin's team grow together. I still enjoy watching Dallin play, even if I am nervous watching him pitch.

 Caden had many surrogate moms to help keep him happy during the baseball games.

 We have been on some local adventures this summer. This is the Portland Rose test garden. It was beautiful. I hadn't been there since Dallin was a baby.

 Emily is rarely seen without Caden on her hip. :-) She is a good little mommy's helper. She even takes him in the morning so Jeff can sleep a little more while I run.

 Emily was in a Missoula play again this year. She made a very cute Hula Chameleon. :-)

 The kids went to a day camp for the first time this year. I had heard wonderful things about it. We visited the camp on family day, and I was surprised that the favorite part for all 3 of them was the animals.

 There is a beautiful lake for canoeing, swimming, kayaking and just enjoying. 7 hours outside was good for them, although I think it was a little tough on Bryce who had only had half day kindergarten. :-)

 Emily on the big swing. I was hoping for a ride on this swing, but they only had time for the kids. :-)

 Bryce on the big swing. He has no fear, I tell you!

 Dallin, Connie, Jared and Camryn all ended up in the same group, and even had 3 more friends in their group. They had a blast!

 I was sad to see Emily's softball season end. She really started getting the hang of it and had some really great hits. Her only habit to break was that she would throw the bat.

 Crystal was here for Mother's Day weekend and we loved it! She spent a lot of time with the kids. We went to Horning's Hideout and I also made her run a race with me. Those pictures are on Instagram, so I will try to add them.

 Caden is growing big quickly. I am trying to learn more techniques with the camera so I can take better pics of him. It is going by way too fast. I know that is cliche but it is true.

 Emily and I took part in a Heart Walk for the American Heart Association, in honor of a little girl, Zoe, who passed away when she was 4 months old. Emily always felt close to this sweet baby and wanted to do something in her honor. She raised $100 for the cause and did the walk with me. It was a proud mom moment. I love that little girl!

 We visited the Portland Aquarium and the favorite part was the pool where they could touch sharks and stingrays. Pretty amazing.

 Wendy and I are next door neighbors and our boys are 3 months apart. I am so excited to have a little buddy for Caden to grow up with!

Caden is learning to bat at toys. He smiles and giggles and loves to make us laugh. He has been a joy to have around the home and I am so glad he is in our family.

4th of July will be our next post!

Catching up on life

I recently printed my blog in a hard cover book that covers years 2007-2011. A big 5 year span! Let's just say I was feeling a little mommy guilt for Bryce noticing that none of our family books had his picture, (I was only caught up through 2005,) I LOVE the result and the kids have been reading through it. It reminded me that blogging is my way of recording our little history. So, I am going  to keep doing it. :-)

So, here are some of the things we have done since Caden was born!

 Dad is remembering how to play video games while holding the baby. This is his bonding!

 I have told people they are welcome to come visit, and I have loved having visitors to hold the baby and keep me company.

 My tulips bloomed! Oh, how I love seeing them. The weather has been unusually warm for this time of year.

 Jeff took a week off work to help me with the baby. But, mostly he was in charge of keeping Bryce entertained! They got to enjoy the nice weather.

 Another good friend coming to visit!

 I try to keep my mornings slow because I know the evening gets busy with the kids' sports and activities. Unfortunately, as much as I try to avoid, much of Caden's infancy will be spent in this car seat.

 Jeff hardly gets a chance to hold Caden, since he is always held by me or one of the kids. He went with me to Caden's 2 week(9 day) check up and had some great interaction. It was very sweet.

 At his 9 day appointment, Caden had gained 5 oz since he left the hospital, not even up to birth weight. I thought he was going to be a slow grower like my others.

 I was playing around with our nice camera and tried to get some good pics of Caden. I am glad I did this while he was still little.

 Sister Dahle takes her turn with the baby. She brought us a meal and kept coming for piano lessons.

 The kids love their little brother!

 Baseball season has begun. Dallin is in a higher division this year so I am a little more nervous watching him. 

 Caden in the hospital shirt his siblings have all worn. He is much meatier!

 Emily decided to play softball this year. It has been great to see her participate in the sport I grew up loving. She has found she really enjoys pitching and 3rd base.

 Bryce is almost done with kindergarten. What a fun kid he is. I am glad he is still with me half the day.

 At his performance for the parents he really shined in the dancing

 Megan, Bryce and Spencer. 

 Dallin is a great big brother!

 Our first family trip. A little crazy but we went to Great Wolf Lodge when Caden turned 1 month. This is the reward for our family finishing the Book of Mormon. The kids were tall enough to go on some slides by thermselves. Jeff went on many with them. I did a few, but was more sore than I realized I would be so I did a lot of watching and relaxing!

 It is fun with friends. Catherine kept trying to wake Caden up so she could hold him.

 Emily was in heaven because she could go on every slide. She needed an adult for the biggest one so she asked everyone!

 Our good friends, the Christensens. 

 This is how Caden was most of the time. The warm, humid air kept him sleeping!

 DAllin had a good time with his buddies. I couldnt even find him most of the time!

 Bryce actually loved the little kid section the most, even though he was excited to be tall enough for most of the slides!

 This will be a fun tradition! So glad we braved it!

 Dallin's science fair project is to figure out which of his pitches is the fastest. We borrowed a radar gun and took some stays. He still has to tally the results!

 Emily is in heaven with her baby brother! She is amazing with him.

 Bryce in the music program. He was definitely the most animated kindergartner,

 Emily in the music program. She is a natural on stage. They did the bunny hop and she ended the song right in front of us!

 I love this girl!

I am realizing that many of my pictures are from my Ipod so I dont have them here. I will add more pictures of Caden. He started out slow, but now he is huge! I will write about Mother's Day Weekend next.