July

Corvallis Knights in the press box!

Philomath Frolic Parade

Jesse has mad cupcake frosting skills!

Sierra's party theme was "Lemonade Stand"

This child is afraid of noises but not going fast :)

Sierra's not afraid of the water but is afraid of the slide

First dental check.  Yep he's four.  Don't judge :)

It's July!  A crazy busy but beautiful month.  Sierra finished up her softball season which made for less hectic evenings.  But Jesse's softball goes into August.  Softball along with golf keep him busy on at least one weeknight and usually one weekend day.  

The kids got used to being together all day again and they have gotten along extremely well this month.  We continue to spend a majority of our days outside.  Sierra has a tree that she climbs up into and hangs random things from the branches and declares it her "tree house".  Jaxon loves to swing and ride his bike.  Both of the kids also spend a lot of time playing with Sugar.  Sugar will be 2 this fall but really has yet to grow out of her puppy stage.  She chews less things up but she digs, still wants to jump and lick, and does not like to stay home.  But she does love the kids and they spend a lot of time keeping each other busy.

Jesse won box tickets to a Corvallis Knights game early in the month and we had a blast!  There was food, some Knights swag, and a fun place to hang out.  The kids had a ball and it was so fun to see!  We left before the game was over because the kids were exhausted (we had done the Frolic Parade that morning).  

Jaxon's been sensitive to noise since he was tiny, so things like parades can really freak him out.  It's not constant noise, it's random loud high pitched noises that make him cry.  I told him once, "It's okay buddy, sounds can't hurt us."  His response was, "Yes they do!  They hurt our ears!"  We've learned to bring earplugs and if he knows we have them then we don't have any trouble.  Sometimes we can end up taking them out after a little bit and he'll do fine.  We went to the movie theater for the first time with him this month and brought the ear plugs because the sound in a theater sometimes bothers my ears.  We started with the plugs in but were able to take them out and he did great.  He was also able to sit through the whole movie without spontaneously combusting.  Yay for Finding Dory!

My baby girl turned seven this month.  Time sure is flying.  She's become much more independent this summer.  I'm hoping that means that 2nd grade will be a breeze.  We had a small family party on her actual birthday and then she had 3 friends from school come over to celebrate at our house the following weekend.  We invited several more girls but summers are busy and only 3 could come.  2 of her friends have sweet older sisters that we invited along as well for a total of 6 girls including Sierra.  It was a nice little party and the girls played outside and enjoyed the sunshine.  Jaxon had a great time following the girls around too.  

We've been trying to break Jaxon of the nap time habit this summer.  He's been taking forever to go to sleep at night and once school starts up I will need to pick Sierra up right in the middle of his normal nap time.  He usually isn't able to make it every day without one but is down to only taking one a couple of times a week.  I admit that I will miss naps.  It was an hour in the middle of the day where I made phone calls, paid bills, and did stuff on the computer like writing this blog (a reason I'm 4 months behind).  

We've enjoyed some pool time this summer.  Sierra is a little fish and while she has loved to swim and be in the water the last several years she would not put her face under.  That has all changed this year.  She's gotten great at holding her breath and she can swim for quite a while underwater.  Jaxon loves the water if it's warm but is like me and doesn't enjoy being cold.  If the water is cold he and I usually don't last long.  Sierra is a little energizer bunny in the water though, and doesn't mind if it's cool.  

I've been putting off taking Jaxon to the dentist because of his aversion to noise.  I've been afraid that he would panic when they tried to put the vacuum in his mouth.  But I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment.  He did awesome.  He was a little bit nervous when she came at him with the vacuum, but I held his hand and he stayed still and handled it just fine.  I was so proud and relieved!  And his teeth were perfect, so there!  ;)

June

Love this silly girl!

"Lavender" is as tame as a chicken can get.

 

June kind of revolves around baseball in our house.  Sierra has two games a week and Jesse has one game per week.  Sierra loves baseball and it's a sport that comes pretty naturally to her.  It's also something that she's practiced since she was little, so it's definitely not a foreign sport to her.  She's got a killer swing and this year has improved on her throwing and catching as well as learning more basics about the game itself.  Jaxon sits through every game counting down the days until he can play too.  Sierra's season only lasts a month but it definitely keeps us busy.  Jesse's games go on throughout the summer which means there is usually at least one night a week that I put the kids to bed on my own.  It makes for an extra long day.

The last few weeks of school are so busy it's a bit ridiculous.  There were field trips all over the place, field days, and any other possible outings that can be packed into June.  I wasn't able to go on all the field trips this year because if the trip falls on a day that my mom works, Jaxon would have to come too.  I was able to go on a trip to the library as well as a trip to a local farm.  The kids absolutely loved the farm trip.  They held baby chicks, full sized chickens, fed sheep, learned about llamas, wool spinning, etc.  It was one of the highlights of Sierra's whole year so I was glad that I was able to be there.

The first couple weeks of summer are always kind of rough.  The kids have to get used to be around each other ALL day long again.  There is generally lots of fighting and we all have to get used to a new routine.  Sierra also has to get used to a slower pace and not constant stimulation.  They kids still wake up at the same time (people keep telling me they will sleep in some day) around 6:30, we eat breakfast around 8, and spend most of the day outside.  We ride bikes, play/plant/eat in the garden, swing, make forts, and sometimes even have lunch outside.  We usually make 2 trips to town a week.  We may go to the library, a park, grocery shopping, or to visit my Grandma.  I love summer break but do have to remind myself that the fighting will resolve itself, and they will act like they love each other once again :)