*Hanging with the big boys*

A couple weeks ago Brett's boss Jason called to tell me that the Nanny that watched their boys wasn't going to be able to watch them any longer. He asked if I would be interested in watching them on Mondays and Fridays since they go to pre-school Tues-Thursday. I told him that it would work out great and it would give Summer a chance to interact with children more her age.

I started going over there a week ago, and they are just the coolest boys ever. And not to mention they just eat Summer up :) She loves them too and is constantly laughing at them all day. I know she can't wait to get down and chase after them and I can tell that she is learning so much from them already.

Ethan just recently got a new motorcycle. It is so awesome!! I can't believe how well he can ride it also. Here he is showing me how it works :

"True Love" :)

Here is Summer laughing at the boys dancing for her, they love to entertain her so that they can hear her laugh.

Ethan being silly!I went upstairs to put Summer down for a nap, and when I returned Ethan was sitting in her carseat watching tv. He is so silly :)

Cannon and Ethan hanging out with Summer girl!! They love her so much.

Ethan (5), is especially interested in learning how to take care of baby Summer. I have taught him how to change her diaper, how to hold her and be gentle, and how to feed her a bottle. He does a great job with her and he is very proud that he now knows how to take care of her. Here he is giving her lots of kisses :)

Summer thinks that he is so much fun too, everytime he is near her she starts squealing and reaching out to touch him.

Cannon (3), is soo great with her as well. He has nicknamed her "baby December" - I think it's too funny!! Cannon is more interested in playing with "December". He likes to tickle her, make silly faces, and get up and dance for her. And of course Summer thinks he is hilarious. After playing hard, Cannon likes to curl up and watch cartoons with her. He is already asking me several times a day if Summer can come to his Spiderman birthday party, which is in July. I keep telling him of course! She'll definitely be chasing after him by then!

I am so glad that the boys are so well behaved and good with Summer. They have the best manners, and I think that they are good "teachers" for Summer while she is already growing up so fast... we're looking foward to it warming up a bit more so that we can go out on fun trips together!!

Miss Chatter box :)

For the past two weeks Brett has been working ALOT. Most nights he hasn't gotten home until 8 or 9, so he hasn't been able to spend much time with Summer since she goes to bed at 7:30. This Saturday he didn't have to work so he was able to spend the whole day with us!!! I have been telling him that Summer is a huge talker now and she keeps me entertained all day long - but he didn't understand until he had the whole day to witness it!!!

She babbled her daddy's head off this weekend :) Brett looked at me and said, "Does she ever stop?? I'm getting a slight headache and she hasn't stopped talking for hours now." I looked at him and said, "Ohh you just wait!!! No she doesn't stop talking as long as she is awake and you just wait until she is saying real words!!" Boy is he in for it :)

But I think it is great that Summer is so vocal. I can already tell that she is going to be a very fast learner and there will never be a dull moment around this house any longer!! Here is Summer getting ready for bed after a fun filled day with her daddy :

And here she is still babbling away while getting ready for bed Saturday night, she wanted to tell everyone "Goodnight!!"

Playtime at the Park

Today Aunt Kara and Uncle Shane were out of school for an inservice day, so they decided to come over and play!! It was such a beautiful day out and the first time in weeks that it was fairly warm, so we decided to get out of the house. We went for a walk around the neighborhood, and then decided to walk over to the playground that is right down from our house.

Kara and Shane had a blast playing hard and burning off all of that energy!


Summer enjoyed watching them act goofy, here she is laughing at them. I know she'll be happy when she can get down and chase after them as well :)



This was Summer's first time going to the playground, so I wanted to take her down the slide for her first time!! I know there will be plenty more trips down this slide in our future.

"Weee!!! I did it :) "

Me and my girl relaxing while the kids play.


Since Summer couldn't get down and play with the big kids, she found other ways to have fun. Here she is playing with her puppy dog.

Then we went down to the creek by our house. Here are Kara and Shane throwing rocks into the water :

Summer and I found a big rock to sit on in the creek so that we could watch the kids playing. It was so beautiful down there. We'll have to go back and bring our bathing suits when it gets warmer out :)

After playing hard, we walked back home to eat some lunch. It was still so beautiful out that I didn't want to waste it by staying inside all day. Kara and Shane decided to play a game of hide and go seek outside, they just weren't allowed to leave our cul-de-sac. Summer girl and I sat on the porch and played with the dogs while they were doing that.

Summer is infatuated by dogs right now. She LOVES them and cannot stop giggling when they're around. I know she would love it if she could chase after our dogs, because everytime they are near she reaches her hand out to touch them, and then when they give her kisses on the hand she starts laughing even more. She even loves watching cartoons that have dogs in them. Pluto is her very favorite, she starts squealing when he comes on tv - it's hilarious to watch!

I put Summer in her little seat so that she could be down closer to the dogs and she had a blast watching them. I never got a picture of her touching our dogs because they ran off everytime, but here she is playing outside with them :

Having so much fun!!

What a happy girl :)

*Baby it's cold outside*

This past week hasn't been very eventful. It has been WAY too cold to go out and do much, so for the most part Summer and I have been playing around the house all week and trying to stay warm :)

Even when staying indoors we still know how to have a good time! Here is my Summer girl playing away :



Summer has recently learned how to make new noises with her mouth. Her favorite is to blow on her bottom lip and make "pooting" noises. It is so funny to hear a little baby do this and I can't help but laugh!! She thinks it's funny too because she'll start laughing afterwards and then continue on "pooting" away. I have recorded her doing this several times, but it sounds so un-lady like that I decided not to put them up. Here are a couple pictures of Summer being silly and making new sounds :

She surely is a unique individual and can entertain herself for hours. Since I was an only child for 10 years, I was exactly the same way - so we know where she gets it from!!


Summer and I did have to get out a few times to take care of my grandparents and to pick Aunt Kara up from school, so I made sure that she was extra bundled up for the occasion. Aunt Victoria lended us this carseat cover to use this winter and it is AWESOME. It is made out of thick fleece and corduroy and wraps around the entire carseat. After putting Summer in, I can zip it up and pull down the flap over her head and it completely keeps the cold air out!

"I all warm and cozy now, let's hit the road!!!"

Summer has also become a little piggy recently! She knew right away how to eat from a spoon, so there wasn't much to get used to with that. We have always let Summer sit with us while we are eating and she has always watched us intently as we do so, so I think she was just waiting for us to finally offer her some :)

After eating plain cereal for a week, we have now started introducing stage 1 fruits and vegetables into her cereal to get her used to different textures and flavors. Right now Summer is not a big fan of vegetables. We will keep trying and I hope she will learn to love them eventually...I'll keep everyone updated on how that goes!!

However, she is a huge fan of fruits - bananas in particular!! She literally sucks the whole bowl down within minutes. When I take the spoon away from her to get more she fusses, but as soon as she sees the spoon full of bananas coming towards her she starts to squeal and giggle with delight! It is too funny.

I took this video of Summer and her daddy last night after eating a big bowl of cereal and bananas, she was one happy girl! Here they are playing and giggling :

Happy 4 month birthday!!!

Yesterday was Summer's 4 month birthday!!! She is growing up way to fast, I wish the months would just slow down a little! Here is Summer on her birthday playing with Buddy. Buddy always wants to be wherever she is and here he was wanting up onto her exersaucer so he could play :)

Buddy trying to give Summer kisses, and she is so mesmerized by him. Sometimes I

wish I knew what she was thinking...it would probably be something like "What is this hairy thing that follows me everywhere and is always trying to lick me?!" Now that Summer is 4 months, it is time to start getting her used to eating with a spoon. Last night we gave her a teaspoon of rice cereal and mixed it with her formula in a bowl to see how she liked it. She did good job for her first try!! I don't think she liked the texture of it very much, but ate almost all that I made for her!! It was messy to say the least, but what can you expect in learning something new?!

Here is Summer before her first bowl of cereal (note how clean!) :

"What messy fun mom!! Can we do this again?!"

I thought she did a great job with her first "solid meal". Once the whole cereal thing is mastered, then it's on to fruits and vegetables!!

After getting a full belly, we went into Summer's play room to watch tv and play on her mat. I think Summer was a little too full because 5 minutes later she was passed out asleep :

Today Summer had to go to the doctor for her 4 month check up and to get shots. Here she is in the baby waiting room. She was having a good time playing while waiting for it to be her turn.

Dr. Mills came in to check her all over and see how much she has grown. She now weighs 13 1/2 pounds and is 25 1/2 inches long!!! She has gained 7 pounds and grown 6 inches since she was born just 4 months ago, that's crazy! Dr. Mills said that she is looking super healthy and growing like a weed. After she left it was time to get ready for Summer to get her shots. Here she is all bright-eyed and laughing while we were waiting for the nurse :

Poor thing had no idea what was about to happen :(


Summer ended up doing GREAT for her shots, she didn't even cry!! I was all nervous and worried for nothing. She fell asleep in the car on the way home, and here she is after she woke up from her nap. She was as happy as can be :)

She really loves her feet now that she found them and is constantly trying to put them in her mouth.

Summer is still doing great with sleeping through the night. She loves taking a bath right before bed and I think that helps ease her to sleep and also to keep her asleep through the night. She goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up at 7:30 the next morning. She takes two naps during the day also - a short nap in the morning from 8:30 to 9:30, and a longer nap in the afternoon from 2-4.

She now eats between 6-7 ounces of formula every 4 hours with a big bottle of 8-9 ounces at night.

Here she is winding down in her crib before her afternoon nap.