Abby is 10 Months old...

10 Months old...seems like I just barely posted that she was 9 months old.

Abby had her well baby check up and she weight 20 lbs 1.5 oz and measured at 27.9 inches tall.  That puts her in the 60th percentile.  She is definitely smaller than all the boys were.  They were all in the 90th percentil or above.

We love her new pediatrician, Dr. Bosworth.  He said that Abby was "medically boring" .  That is ALWAYS good news, I was very happy to hear that!  I then informed him that we had 2 other little ones that weren't quite so boring.

Abby is a mouth full of teeth coming in.  She has had her front 2 bottom teeth for a while but now her front 2 top teeth broke thru the gums on the 13th and then I just noticed the other day that she has a couple more on the top getting ready to break thru.  She is ready to walk, she can take about 4-5 steps on her own without holding on to anything and then falls down.  She loves to go outside, as soon as the boys open the sliding glass door to the backyard, she is quick to crawl as fast as she can to get out the door before we can get it closed.  She just loves to hang out on the back deck.  She likes to chase Sebastian around, which cracks him up!

She is such a good good baby!  She is so quiet and calm, very content.  She laughs and plays.  When she finds something on the floor that she shouldn't have (small wrapper, tiny toy, etc.) she looks at us and then hands us whatever it is that she found.  She loves to dance, whenever any kind of music comes on she just starts dancing....SO CUTE!

Fun times at Lagoon!

We purchased season passes to Lagoon Amusement Park and we have definitely gotten our money's worth!  I love Lagoon, I grew up going to Lagoon.  It was very normal to me to be able to go to an amusement park only 20 min away from home.  In Alaska we would have the fair every year and of course they are very good about setting up little carnivals throughout the year (yes, even in the freezing winter) but it just isn't the same as an amusement park!  The kids are having a blast and LOVE the rides!  Sebastian was a little unsure at first but now they love it!  The 6 of us go, Abby just hangs out in her stroller and is the best little baby, Gabe & Sebastian go crazy in the kiddie land running from ride to ride, then they will take a little break and relax in their stroller while Vinnie, Austin, and I take turns on the big rides.  This last weekend Grandma was able to join us which just added to the party and fun!

GRANDMA!!!

They love the Puff roller coaster.  First I took Sebastian by himself, then I took Gabe and then Gabe and Sebastian rode together and I sat behind them.

I remember riding Bulgy the Whale when I was little.  Sebastian wouldn't go on this the first few trips to Lagoon but he went this time, several times and loved it every time!

We have had so much fun and plan on going as much as we can before the season ends, which is next month....

Austin gives it a go at Football...

Austin has always wanted to play football but the timing just never worked out since we lived in Alaska and he was here in Utah for 1/2 the summer. Well, now that we live in Utah, GAME ON!
He was really excited for the day to come for his first practice.



Well the first practice went well. Austin was told that they had an "official" weigh in on August 21st. In this age group you need to weigh less than 100 pounds otherwise you are called and "X Man" and you are only allowed to play in certain positions and you get a big "X" sticker to put on your helmet. Austin did not want to be an X man but he weighed 104 lbs. So for the next couple of weeks, I woke him up early in the morning and we went running. We cut all sweets and soda from his diet. (During these 2 weeks he was craving a mint oreo shake so bad, but I wouldn't give in)

They had their first practice with pads just a few days after the first practice. Here is Austin learning how to be a lineman and push thru the line...

Well, after a couple weeks of running every morning, Austin decided that he just wasn't going to lose the weight in time for the official weigh in. He decided that he liked being a lineman and he was big enough to do so. He weighed in at 101 lbs and was given to big "X" stickers for his helmet. He is now proud of them.

They had their first game on Aug 28th. It was a pre-season game. The team all had fun, just frustrated that they didn't win this game. Regular season begins Sept 4th. He will have a game every Saturday morning for the next 2 months. The team has had practice Mon-Fri from 6-8. The kids are exhausted and can't wait til regular season starts because their practices will drop down to Mon-Wed-Fri.

Go Grizzlies!!!!

Abby is 9 months old...

20.4 lbs & 27 inches tall

SLOW DOWN!!!  Look at her, she is already standing, in fact she is almost walking!  Where is the time going and why is it going so fast???

Abby is such a cutie!  She is such a good baby and is very happy natured.  She loves to play with her brothers and is always trying to go outside with them.  She gives kisses, waves bye bye, says Mama & Dada.  It is amazing to watch her play with toys and try to figure them out. 

We got her ears pierced a couple of weeks before she turned 9 months.  She didn't even cry.  I held her on my lap with her facing outward and the lady drew the dots on her ears as to where she was going to pierce them (that was the most difficult part) and then a few minutes later she said "okay, we're done".  I didn't believe her at first because Abby didn't even fuss.

The Fountains at Gateway

There is an outdoor mall here called Gateway, it has an area that consists of dozens of water jets that squirt various sized streams with elaborately timed precision, sometimes choreographed to music, and the kids have no idea which jet the water is going to come out of next.  A friend of ours called us and said that she was taking her kids there to play and invited us to go along.  Gabe was a little unsure about the whole thing but of course, Sebastian was all for it!  Austin has been there before but it has been a while.  He was excited to show it to his brothers.

And Abby just did her thing and watched them play..

Days Of 47 - Celebrating Utah!

For those of you who don't know what the Days Of 47 are:  July 24th is a Utah State Holiday, "Pioneer Day".  In 1847 Brigham Young, along with other pioneers entered the Great Salt Lake Valley and began new life.  Each year this Holiday is greatly celebrated, it seems to be even bigger than the 4th of July here.  I remember doing all of the fun activities as a kid and I am so happy to be back home and be able to give my kids those same memories.  Funny thing, when Austin and I moved to Alaska and the 24th of July came around, it seemed so weird to me that it was just a normal day in the state of Alaska.  My whole life the 24th of July was a normal, regular holiday and all of the sudden it didn't exist.  So it is good to have this holiday back!

At the beginning of the week they had a Float Preview where we could go and walk around and look at all of the floats and vote for our favorites.  Based on the kids reaction to the floats we decided that they would enjoy the parade on Saturday morning.  We were lucky enough to have some friends come in town that camped out on the street along the parade route and reserve plenty of room for all of us.  We woke up early and were all out the door by 7:45 am on our way to the parade.  We had a great spot, right up front on the road...

They loved the parade, especially Sebastian!  He layed on his belly on the road (on a blanket, of course) right with his face behind the green line which we were to stay behind.  Even when the motorcycles drove by and did their turns and tricks, he didn't even flinch!  I think his favorite part of the parade was when the Marching Bands would go by.  Here you can see in every picture he is intently watching everything go by....

It was really hot, so we all enjoyed a ice cold popsicle, including Abby...

After the parade we went back home for a little relaxing before getting ready for our Grill out.  Our cousins Chandler & Noah, and my Mom came over to spend the night.   Heide, Elisabeth, and Lillie (long time family friends) came over for dinner and fireworks.  It began with a water balloon fight....

 

Once it was dark enough, we were ready for some fireworks...

Austin lit his very first firework, he was a little nervous so he stretched his entire body out so he could be as far away from it as possible!

Another great day!