Swim Lessons

Harper had her first set of swim lessons this summer.  It's two weeks Monday through Thursday for 30 minutes a day.  She basically is learning to like swimming.  They get used to putting their face underwater, jumping in, blowing bubbles, climbing in and out, etc.  They have learned a little about kicking, floating, and using their arms to go forward.  Her teacher is Ms. Dori and her assistant is Miss Ariel.  She loves both of them and had a ton of fun.  She wouldn't put her face in water the first day and Ms Dori ended up kind of making her.  They would play ring around the rosie and she would get a good hold on Harper and when they "all fell down" she would take her under.  She ended up getting ok with it fast, so that was good.  She still holds her head back as far as it will go, just in case she doesn't "have" to put it in the water.  But she is getting much more comfortable in the water.  She liked the other kids in her class, a few from St. Lukes.  Plus, Tessa was in the class next to hers and Julianne was in the big kid class across the pool.  It was nice to have Kelly to talk to each day while the kids swam.  Poor Paige was with us everyday.  Waterloo Pool is indoors and they didn't have the roof open for the first week.  It was about 20 degrees hotter inside, plus muggy and stagnant.  She was so hot each day her face would get bright red. A few times we let her go naked and stick her feet in the pool.  She was a trooper, especially since she was late eating  getting home for nap each day.  

On the last day of each week, they got to do something fun.  The first one, they got to go down the huge waterslide inflatable.  She went down the first time with no problems, but I guess she didn't like it because she would not go again.  It was a crazy slide.  Those little bodies slid down that thing 100 miles an hour and flew off every bump about 3-5 feet in the air.  I wasn't surprised she only went once. 

Weekend at home

Sometimes we have an entire weekend where we don't have anything to do.  It's not all the time, but it's nice.  We don't have to shower or get ready or rush off anywhere.  We just hang out and take our time.  One morning after Taylor had visited, we missed her so we took a family selfie and sent it to her early in the morning.  She was working at the HobLob that day.  I had gone running so I was nasty, but it always helps my day to start better if I can do it early.  Paige was waking up around 5-6 am for a couple of weeks.  She would eat and then go back to sleep until about 8am or so.  I would just stay up and go running when the sun came up and I got way more done in a day.  Harper also had some serious bedhead for awhile.  We weren't turning the A/C on yet because it wasn't super hot, but she would sweat while she slept and her hair would get all crazy.  I think she is going to have wavy hair like me when she grows up.

I'm not even sure what we did this day, but it was nice to just sit and relax.  Harper loves to take pictures on phones and she loves to make Cody take funny pictures with her.  Paige even got in on these this day.  These girls are so blessed and they don't even know how much yet.  We definitely hit the jack pot!

4 Months Big!

Paige is 4 months old!  She weighs 13 pounds 13 ounces and is 25 inches long.  That's only 50% for weight but 90% for height.  I just think that's crazy because even though she isn't huge, she has rolls for days.  So I thought her weight would be more.  But is definitely long and looks like she is getting big super fast!  Her eyes are getting to be a lighter blue and look just like Harper's.  Her hair has lightened some and thinned some, but it's still a light brown fuzz.  She has two rolls under her chin, rolls around her wrists and ankles, her toes won't fit in a straight line, and she has about 4 rolls on her upper thighs.  Girl has some solid legs.  But she really isn't fat.  It's weird.   

She is sleeping mostly through the night, or what doctors would call through the night.  She usually goes to bed between 8 and 9 and wakes up between 4 and 5 to eat.  One time isn't too bad!  Sadly, she also seems to wake up at midnight just to cry out but will go back to sleep.  Harper has also been having some bad nights and seems to be up around 2am sometimes.  On really bad nights, I get up at 12 with P, 2 with H, and 4 with P, and 6 with H.  It's not much sleep so I'm hoping it changes soon.  She drinks about 5 ounces in each bottle, about 3 hours apart.  She naps for about 30 minutes in the morning, 3-4 hours in the afternoon, and another 30 minutes in the evening.  It's not bad but I know the small naps aren't really enough for her.  Sadly, it's mostly my fault because I drag her to the gym each morning and she doesn't get as good of sleep as if she was in her own bed.  

Harper and Paige are still obsessed with each other.  Harper is so good with her, helps her with toys, paci, and entertains her.  She still loves to spend time with her, hold her, play with her.  She misses her when she naps all afternoon.  Paige loves to watch her play or talk or dance.  They really are going to be the best of friends!  

She loves to play on her playmat.  She likes to pull on the toys and suck on their feet.  Plus, they are pretty much stationary so she can't lose them like all her other toys.  Her hands are still not fully working, so she grabs at things and drops them almost immediately.  It's funny to watch her try to touch something, it takes her a few tries.  She is a huge hair grabber.  She loves to hold on to your hair, but it gets stuck between her fingers and she ends up pulling it out.  She stills hates tummy time, which is fine because we really don't make her do any.  She is on her tummy for sleeping and she is constantly arching her back and holding her head up when she is in her crib, so that is sufficient.  She can roll from her stomach to her back now, which she does when she doesn't want to sleep and wants to look at her mobile.  Other than that we just kind of hold her a lot.  It's just easier since we move from room to room a lot, plus she likes it and it's easy to hold Paige.  When you think it's your last baby, you don't really care about spoiling them.  

She talks all the time.  She is a big babbler.  Harper sits and talks to her for awhile and she just rambles back.  She is always gnawing on her hand.  She can shove her whole fist into her mouth.  And she drools worse than any baby I've ever met.  All of her clothes are soaked within the hour.  Either she is getting multiple teeth at once (which we sort of suspect) or she has no idea how to swallow.  She spits up, but it's definitely not as much now that she is on the prevacid.  Some days she doesn't swallow all of her medicine though and we have to give her extra.  That stuff is just granules so it gets everywhere.  She just spits everything out, medicine, paci, etc.  She is a little fickle. 

Happy 4 months Paige!  We absolutely adore you!

Tay's Graduation Party

Taylor had a graduation party the Saturday after she graduated.  We went down early to put Paige down for her afternoon nap and helped with the food and decorations.  Harper popped the popcorn and loved it.  I got to spend time with my sisters, including Michaela who was in town for a few days.      I helped with the food and decor.  They had balloons around the house with a picture of Taylor taped to the bottom to keep it from floating away.  As soon as Harper saw the balloons she excitedly grabbed all of them to play with and they got tangled up.  It took over 30 minutes to separate them.  Then, Grayson and Reese did the same thing when they got there.  I did not separate them a second time.  But it was funny to watch!  They had a popcorn bar and an italian soda bar as well as tons of food.  Plus they had a lot of Taylor's artwork on display.  That girl is so talented!

When sweet baby got up, she was in a great mood and she was so cute!  The McCool's came and we all just hung out and the kids played.  Taylor's friends came over and they all hung out and just talked.  They played headbandz, including the Friends edition and it was pretty funny to watch.  My dad had bets going on for which horses would win the Belmont Stakes that day.  A horse won the triple crown for the first time in 37 years that afternoon, so it was cool to watch.  I ended up winning (I picked the horses in order, because math is my jam).  Taylor and Carleigh's best friends from Arizona came in town to spend a week with them.  Kristy and Allie Lecompte were here and loved Harper and Paige.  They helped me take care of them all day. 

 

Happy Graduation Tay Tay!  We love you so much!  You always play so good with us.  You never get tired of reading stories or coloring or letting us play on your phone.  You take funny videos and lots of snapchats.  You always hold us and sing us to sleep and rub our backs.  We think you are the best!  Don't leave and go to Arkansas!  We will miss you so much!

Love, Harper and Paige

Towards the end of the afternoon, the kids headed outside. Grayson was pitching himself baseballs in the garage (that kid, talent I tell ya).  Cody bet me that he couldn't dunk, which he did (I'm guessing the basketball hoop is shorter than normal or something).  Good thing he forgot what he bet since I lost (I don't even remember).  We took family pictures and headed home.  It was a great day to celebrate Tay Tay!