July!

July started off with a great big bang... literally! (I know- a super lame pun). We loved having the 4th of July off to hang out with friends and family. We started that morning at Eagle Island to enjoy the sunshine and HOT weather. Thatcher was less than enthused about the water this trip- he decided sleeping on mommy was a much better thing to do.  We spent most of the morning and early afternoon lounging in the sun and sand and enjoyed a fun picnic lunch.

Later that afternoon we met up with a family friend who was hosting their neighborhood block party (we were pretty jealous of their super fun neighbors!). We had a great pot luck dinner/BBQ with them.

To watch fireworks we found the best spot in the valley... Belly Acres (aka- Grandpa and Grandma Campbell lawn). We were a little worried about the noise level for Thatcher, so we decided to enjoy the fireworks all over the valley from the lawn. Grandpa's yard is south of the freeway almost to Nampa so we had a great view of all the big shows from downtown, Hawks stadium, the Meridian Speedway, and all the "private parties" as Grandpa called them. Thatcher fell asleep shortly after we settled into our lawn chair and hardly stirred when I buckled him into his car seat to head home.

(Avocado face- isn't he cute?)

(The "boys" playing on the floor before bed)

I saw these cool "mesh feeders" when one of my cousins was visiting a few summers ago and made a mental note to pick up a few one day.

Thatcher is getting rather interested in "regular" foods these days and pretty good with getting things into his mouth so I thought we would give it a try! I was cutting up some watermelon and he thought he needed to try some... At first he wasn't too sure about it (as evident from the picture), I think it was still pretty cold from being in the back of the fridge.

After a few more tries he decided it was yummy and loved that he could feed himself, as long as mommy kept putting more in :) He was a huge sticky mess when he was done, nothing that a bath wouldn't fix.

We made yet another trip out to Eagle Island with some friends from Aaron's work, we were trying to beat the heat. I am not a fan of the 100* weather we have been hosting lately. Our poor air conditioner at home can't even keep up most days!

This trip we borrowed one of our friend's little inflatable rafts to float around in. Thatcher thought it was pretty fun and liked looking around at all the people on the water. We tried to keep cool by dunking our hats in the water and splashing water into the raft.

(Lounging in the sun tent)

We have also made a few trips to a friends pool! (Thanks for inviting us Mark and Romy) The first time Thatcher wasn't too sure about the water, but he is starting to be more comfortable the more times we go. He was loving floating around, splashing, and kicking his little feet. Some times he would just lounge back with his little feet pulled up and crossed at the ankles (the camera wasn't waterproof enough to capture this but take my word for it- it was pretty darn cute).

(He was more interested in the dog instead of smiling for the camera)

(This is one of my favorite summer pictures! Isn't he so cute?)

Well, that's our summer so far... we still have a few adventures in the works and are looking forward to cooler temperatures, hopefully soon! Thatcher is growing so fast, it is amazing to look back at pictures from February, or even June and see how much he has changed and is quickly turning into such a sweet little boy! We are so blessed to be his parents.

5 Months

Happy five month birthday sweet boy! I love that he is getting more expressive and interactive. It's a good thing there wasn't someone taking pictures of Aaron and I trying to get Thatcher to smile and pay attention to the camera... These are a few of my favorites- thank goodness we have a digital camera when I uploaded all the pictures there were over 100! Whew! It easy to click away when the subject matter is this cute...

 

(he posed himself for this one- and we couldn't get him to crack a look other than this)

We sure love this sweet boy and watching him learn and grow and become a handsome little guy!

June

June was a crazy busy month, it started out quiet and ended in a whirlwind of fun things! June included Aaron's first father's day (somehow the pictures have vanished- sorry- hopefully I will be able to find them). We wanted to start a new tradition for Father's day by taking a pinwheel to Grandpa Campbell. It was a good walk and we enjoyed the quiet time and telling Thatcher about his Grandpa. We gave Aaron some pictures mounted on canvas for his desk at work. 

We also spent some time at Eagle Island. It was Thatcher's first trip and we hadn't been there in years! It was fun to soak up some sunshine and splash in the water. Thatcher didn't seem to mind the water too much. He just looked around and would reach out and touch the water. 

We also spent a few days in Stanley at Diabetes Camp. I was so glad Thatcher and I were able to go up for a few days and help out. He was a huge hit with staff and campers alike! We stayed the first night in a cabin with seven little girls and five women. I hardly slept because I was worried Thatcher would wake up and wake the girls up. He did great- he slept all night long and hardly stirred. The next morning we walked down to breakfast and he was snug in the moby wrap and just looked around at all the chaos of kids trying to serve themselves, count carbs, and take their insulin. We tried to stay on the perimeter and out of the way. Aaron and Grandma Campbell drove up later that morning to meet up with us and help watch some of the campers siblings while their parents were busy. Thank goodness for the moby wrap- it meant cozy naps and a great view of the mountains for the baby and I was still able to get things done.

(nap time in the cozy wrap)

(The beautiful Sawtooths- we didn't think to take a family pic until we were about ready to head out of town! On our next trip up we will be better about pictures!)

(Thatcher is a great traveler! He is usually falls asleep in his car seat before we can even get down the road too far. Hopefully he continues being such a great traveler.)

Our trip to Stanley was a success! I couldn't imagine skipping a summer of diabetes camp and I was glad I could share it with my son and husband.

Yum Yum Yum

Thatcher is growing like a weed, but the pediatrician thinks his progress has slowed down a bit (he just grew more inside than out apparently) so we decided to start trying to eat a few "solid" foods to help things add up a little more quickly. I wasn't sure how it was going to go but he so far LOVES green beans, peas, avocado mixed with bananas (he was NOT impressed with plain avocado), butternut squash, and peaches. I try to make as much of his food fresh and homemade as I can and so far he is loving what we have come up with. He is turning into such a big boy!

May

May is a big month in our family. My birthday, Aaron's birthday, Uncle Mike's birthday, and a few wedding anniversaries, plus Memorial Day. We try and celebrate each individual event but sometimes they get all bundled together.

For my birthday Aaron and Thatcher brought me flowers at work during lunch! I love when my two favorite people get to come visit me at lunch. :) It makes my day a so much better!

For Aaron's birthday we got him a bunch of balloons and taped different pictures of all the fun things we have done the past few years to the strings (thank you Pintrest for the idea). We also got him some of his favorite snacks. (Some how I didn't take a single picture so you will just have to imagine how awesome it was!) 

For Memorial Day we have a family tradition of visiting the different cemeteries where we have family members. We leave a few flowers, tidy up the headstones and share some of our favorite memories. It has been one of my favorite traditions! We live close enough to the cemetery where my dad, and great-grandparents Larsen and a few other family members are so we walked over and met up with my mom and Grandpa and Grandma Campbell. Thatcher was jabbering up a storm the whole time we were there! It was so fun to visit and think about all the blessings we have as an eternal family.