Life Lately

I can't believe we have less than 2 weeks until school starts! We've had such a great summer...although if I'm being completely honest, I'm ready for some routine. I don't like getting up super early and rushing around in the morning, but I think the big kids and I thrive better when we have a more structured routine with bedtime and activities during the day. But...before school starts again, let's see how the last few weeks have been!

Seriously? This girl learns to crawl and IMMEDIATELY begins pulling up.

On everything. Non-stop.

And she LOVES food. She hasn't turned down ANYTHING.

Trent had photos taken for his orthodontic records since we're getting his appliance next week. These pictures made me laugh.

P R I S S Y

Book club eats! Everyone always brings a dish to share, and it's always delish!

A closer look at what I made - 

peanut butter, whipped cream, pudding, crushed Oreos, and Reese's - want some?

We can NEVER get Drew to wear shorts, so I had to document when she wore a pair.

She went golfing with Brent! LOVE.

Blocking Paige from crawling into the shower.

She went from hating water with a passion to jumping in every chance she gets.

What I do with Paige when she wakes up early from a nap and the nanny and the big kids are off on an adventure - I just throw stuff on the floor, ha.

Trying on my birthday rain boots from my sister

You guys know I love breastfeeding. How sweet are this mommy and baby deer?

And no one is telling the mama to cover up. ;)

Trent just started a Ninja Zone class - gymnastics, karate, dance combined together.

He was moving too fast for me to get a good picture.

Drew also re-started gymnastics and I got them in classes at the SAME TIME! 

After a trip to the park, swimming, and gymnastics...

she fell asleep at 6:30 and slept until 8:00 the next morning!

We went to visit Kristen, Beau, and Rhett and this one skipped her nap.

She passed out on the way home!

We've got an upcoming little vacation planned to hopefully end summer on a high note! I hope you do too!

Long Lindemann Lake Weekend

Whew! We had a great vacation at the end of last week with my mom's side of the family at a rental house on Lake Whitney. We went up Thursday and came home Sunday. Normally, a lot of my cousins come, but this time it was just me and my sister {and our families} of the 12 grandkids, and 3 of my mom's 4 living siblings came. The house had 8 bedrooms, so we were able to spread out and it was great!

Before we get to the trip, I have to share how I started off my Thursday - with my first {and hopefully last} root canal! I had 2 cavities when I was 7 and then none until I was 30. But each time I stopped breastfeeding a child, I end up with a mouthful of problems. With Trent, I had a tooth literally crumble in my mouth plus 4 cavities, and with Drew, I had 4 cavities. So it turns out when you have a deep filling, over time it can cause nerve damage...who knew? One of those fillings {from Trent} was the culprit, and I was having major pain in half my mouth from Sunday onward.

Hey tooth #15, let's get you fixed up!

I love numbing shots that take away pain!

I don't love looking like I have bells palsy afterward though. {grin}

So we were able to load up Thursday about 4:30 {after Paige's marathon 3.5 hour nap} and head out. A quick stop at Starbucks and we met the rest of our family at a restaurant a few minutes from our rental house. {My mom rode with me, Brent stayed home to take care of some stuff around the house in preparation for some of HIS family coming this week!} We got our food to go because Paige was DONE, went to the house, put her down, and then the rest of the family arrived and the kids went WILD. The 5 big cousins were SO HAPPY to be together and they all, of course, wanted to sleep in Babs and Pops' room. #nope #theyweretooexcited

Trent was my bed partner Thursday night!

She slept SO good the whole trip, yay!

And got to try food! Bananas and avocados

Babs and her baby

We played so many games {which I LOVE}:

Uno, Skip-Bo, Spades, Spoons, Pie in the Face, Dominos

My mom and sister broke open the champagne at 9:00 AM on Friday!

Such a goober!

Trying to get some sun on my pasty white legs

Assemby line bathing {awesome tilework, no?}

Saturday it rained a lot so it was more card games and drinking

The house we stayed at wasn't ON the water and didn't have a pool {which I liked with little babies} but we were about 2 minutes away from the water.

YUM

I know with babyled weaning you can feed your kid anything,

but they probably didn't expect a playing card to be a snack!

OMG, the love between these 2 {and no idea how Drew got a black eye}

Washing dishes and dancing to Jay-Z

Sleeping sweetie

My Saturday night bed partner

Finally a picture of my parents with all of their grandchildren!

#theSwopesix

We stopped at the lake for the kids to swim one more time {they got to go for a few hours Saturday after the rain left} and wear them out even more

Drew found 'tuna fish' {or bait...whatever}

Paige trying to eat grass

Tired girls!

We stayed up too late, ate too much junk, drank too much, and made some amazing memories!

Currently...Procrastinating at Its Finest

Current Book 
Echo in the Bone (Book 7 in the Outlander series)

Current Songs
All of Me by John Legend {obsessed after his Grammy performance}
Compass by Lady Antebellum

Current Drink 
Just finished a Chai I bought at the Target Starbucks...where I spent over $300 today. Eek.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure 
The Swedish Fish I bought on the same shopping trip

Current Outfit 
Jeans and an Old Navy t-shirt - I worked from home today, yay!


Current Celebrity Crush 

Jamie Fraser from Outlander!

Current Mood 
Over busy season...and we still have almost 2 months to-go!

Current Excitement
I guess Valentine's Day on Friday is exciting? B and I don't get too worked up about it, but we got the kids something small each, so I'm excited for them to open presents. And I got a cute scarf with hearts on it to wear. {grin}

Current Anticipation 
Jenna and I are teaching our first essential oils class next week. Anyone want to come?

Current Film 
Allison and I are hitting up Nebraska this weekend with homework to rent Dallas Buyers Club soon. Then I'll have 4 still to go before the Oscars, better get busy!

Current Picture 

Babyled weaning at its finest!

Grow Baby Grow {Drew} - 7 Months

Miss Drew has had a busy month for month 7. This is the month where it dawns on me that she is closer to a year than to the day she was born. Wow.

I am definitely seeing some of the babyness disappear and the toddler starting to appear. Drew is SO inquisitive and is starting to really try to get into everything. I am constantly scanning the room for Trent's toys to make sure there aren't any small pieces she could get in her mouth. Babyproofing is going to be so much more challenging this time!

Stats:
Weight: ~15 pounds
Clothes: still all 3-6 months, just now going up to 6-9 months in pajamas
Diapers: size 2 during the day, size 3 at night
Nicknames: Sugarfoot, Sister, Girlfriend seem to be what we use the most. I'm surprised she knows her name, but she does respond to it!

*Our biggest news this month is a tooth {bottom right} finally popped through! Monday, 7/29, is when I could finally feel it and by today you can barely see it. 

*I've already talked at length about BLW, but here's another fun pic. Just, you know, eating a banana!

*I'm starting to see some of the toddler attitude. She is fighting naps again - as soon as I lay her little {awake} self down...she is screaming. I leave the room anyway but always come back and as soon as she seems me she laughs and stops crying. Stinker.

*Pool time! First time in a real pool and loved it! I forgot her suit {which is so annoying because she has so many cute ones}, so she white-trashed it in her diaper.

*We still nurse on demand. My supply is amazing, so I am actually able to pump more than she drinks at school, so our freezer supply is just growing. Looking into some donation options but trying to not go overboard since I want breast milk for 2 years for her.

*Lots of changes in Drew's gross motor skills this month. All of the sudden she gets on all 4s and rocks. Crawling is in our very near future!

*Drew also sits up really good. And can transition to her tummy pretty good. I can leave her on the floor and not worry about a total tump over. This is probably one of my favorite stages, I love when babies can sit up and NOT move. {grin}

*We have survived 1 month at daycare. She is doing okay. Most days her naps aren't good but every so often we get a good nap. I really like her teachers so that helps. 

*Babs {my mom} put her to bed one night. First successful put down in 4 months (by someone other than me of course). Drew LOVES her Babs.

*Girlfriend is starting to make some consonant sounds. 'Da' and 'ga' being what I notice the most. 

*Naps 3x day most days...sometimes just twice but usually only if she slept really late.

*Bedtime is 7:00-7:30. Drew usually wakes up around 7:00 but could be as early as 6:30, and last Sunday I had to wake her up at 9:30 to go to church!

*Along with sitting unassisted, we are in the regular bathtub and have retired all our baby tubs. She has fallen face first in the water a time or two, but I'm right there to scoop her up. She loves splashing the water.

*I love this pic from her first time trying solids. Where she doesn't really know what to do with the banana.

*This is probably Drew's favorite toy right now. From Trent's {and Drew's...baptism in a few weeks!!} godparents for Trent, but we recycle here. 

I heard something on the radio the other day that a study showed that men became softer {more generous, etc} after having daughters. I don't see how that can just apply to men. This little girl has turned B and me both into mush. She is the sweetest little girl and every smile brings us so much joy. I just can't put into words how much I love being her mama.