.:Boise x2:.

Back in August, we headed up to Boise again to spend some time at Dani and Jefferson's. It was a much quicker trip than last time, made more difficult by the fact that Remi does not car to nap in the car anymore, but we still had a fun time. I wish Reece lived closer to ALL of her cousins!

The first day, we went to the Boise zoo. I really liked the zoo because you were really close to the animals, so it was easier for Reece to see them. It was also nice and shady which made it much more bearable as we were walking around. While we were there, this cage of monkeys was going crazy. Reece was loving it!

Reece and Andi by the elephant that sprayed water

Rem hanging out in the stroller....life of a baby

Carter, Reece and Andi having lunch

The other thing Reece couldn't get enough of was feeding the sheep and goats. That might have been the highlight of her trip!

Reece and Carter going down the slide together

We also spent some time in the backyard with the water table and the sprinklers. Reece didn't really get running through the sprinklers, but she did enjoy playing with the water table (or climbing on it as you can see from the pictures.) Josh had brought some water balloons up, so he and Jefferson were dads of the year and spent a long time filling them up for the kiddos, only to have the enormous supply depleted in about 15 minutes! Good dads!

We took a trip to the splash park one day, too. Reece was loving it! It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. While we were there, we stumbled upon some random kids fair type of thing, so we got a bunch of Otterpops and candy for the kids. Can't complain about that!

We even squoze (is that a word??) Rem into her swimsuit for our afternoon at the splash park. (That suit is 6-9 months, by the way. Healthy girl!)

I attempted to get a picture with both girls. As you can see, neither of them were interested.

We had a fun time, eating well and playing games. It's always great to get together with family!

.:Food:.

Maybe Rem is trying to tell us she's ready to start food...

And, just a cute picture of Reece because she's cute.

.:Nursery Tips:.

Anyone want to share tips on getting your kid to go to nursery without freaking out?

Reece is almost two and STILL struggles going.

She never went easily, but we could usually get her to stay if we either just told her we were leaving and would be back, or let her cry for a few minutes (usually until they started singing, and then she was great.)

But now, she just flips out and they end up bringing her to us.

I don't want her to get used to one of us being in there the whole time, but I also feel like she's starting to figure out that if she cries long and hard enough, she gets to leave. She's totally fine when we're in there; will play off by herself or with other kids. But I am not sure that sneaking out is the way to go, either.

Tips? Advice? HELP!

.:Remi - Five Months:.

Our little Rem turned five months old yesterday! I think I say it every month, but I can hardly believe it. It is just going by much too quickly! I want my baby to stay a baby! I've definitely enjoyed the baby stage much more this time around. Reece was a more difficult baby, and I let myself get too stressed out to enjoy her as a baby (sorry Reece!) Remi is just our little butterball of sweetness, and we just can't imagine our family without her.

Remi is a rolling fool! She still gets stuck on her tummy and gets angry, but I think she is starting to figure out that she can get herself back over. She is always rolling and arching her back to see what's going on around her.

Rem is still discovering her hands a lot. She's getting much better control of her hands and arms, and frequently grabs everything and anything. She's so curious about things. It's fun to see her develop this skill and do more things on purpose.

And big news in our house: she sleeps! Four months was the magic age (as it was for Reece) for Remi to start napping. She generally takes a good 2-2 1/2 hour nap in the morning, 1 1/2-2 hour nap in the afternoon, and 30-45 minute nap in the early evening. It is fabulous! We (by we I mean I) did some sleep training and got this gal to drop her 3:30 a.m. feeding. I still feed her around 11:00 p.m. each nite, but then she lasts until about 7:30 in the morning. It only took her 4-5 days to figure it out. Oddly enough, now that she's sleeping through the nite, I'm actually more tired than before. How does that work???

She still adores watching Reece, and is just so amused by any kid that's around her. She loves to smile and is starting to laugh a bit more; it's such a sweet sound.

We just love our happy little girl!

At five months, Remi likes:

- watching Reece

- eating

- smiling

- talking/cooing/gurgling

- laughing (sometimes!)

- sleeping (hallelujah!)

- sucking on her hands/fingers

- grabbing things

- feeling things

- being sung to

- baths

- splashing her feet/legs in the bath

- light up seahorse

- rolling

- bumbo chair

- going for walks

- being kissed/tickled on her neck

At five months, Remi doesn't like:

- binky (don't even try to give it to her, she won't take it!)

- bottles (she's been struggling taking them the last few times)

- being hungry

- being cold

- taking naps in the car seat

- getting stuck on her tummy for too long

Remi is just too much fun and we love our beautiful babe!

PS: She still has the most delicious thighs ever.

.:Thanksgiving Point:.

Back in July, we headed down to Thanksgiving Point with some of our friends: Sarah (Dawson) and Stacy (Cade and Addy). There was a fun ship that had a nice puddle of water all around it, and water shooting out of it. I didn't take the advice of my friends and bring a swimsuit for Reece, so after awhile she turned into that kid who is going around in her shirt and diaper. Next time we'll definitely heed the recommendation!

Reece with her buddy Cade (they are about 5 weeks apart in age!)

Cade, Reece, Dawson, and Addy all in a row

All of the kiddos, including my sweet diaper baring girl!

After playing in the water for awhile, we walked around the gardens. They have all sorts of fun displays for the kids to play on. Reece loved going through the tunnel out of the bear cave. These pictures are from this little house. As you can tell from her flushed cheeks, it was a super hot day!

We ended the outing with a stop for an ice cream cone, which always seems like the perfect ending to any day!

.:Sunriver:.

On to the last leg of our Oregon trip!

Our family always goes to this resort town in Central Oregon every year called Sunriver. It's the long awaited trip of every summer, and it just keeps getting more crazy and fun with our growing families!

We stayed in the same house that we had last year. It is a great house with lots of room for all of the little kids that are running around!

Sunriver always has lots of bike riding. We always bike down to the Lodge to get drinks and chat. It's a great mid-point to the ride. This year, there were a few of us with newer babies that had to drive down there to meet up with everyone. I'm sure we'll run into the same problem again next year! Reece loved riding in the bike carrier behind Josh. She thought she was pretty cool with her helmet and sunglasses. Sadly, we didn't get a picture of her in the carrier. Don't know how that happened!

One day we went to the High Desert Museum. I don't think that I've ever been there, and it was so neat! They have displays that document some of Oregon's history, which I could have spent a lot more time reading about. They also had lots of live exhibits of animals.

Remi and I taking a break.

There were tons of little chipmunks running around. You aren't supposed to feed them, but of course, we did. We obviously weren't the first! These little guys were so tame, they would take food right out of your hand - even out of a little kid's hand! Reece had fun feeding them and even got to pet one.

There is always the trip to Goody's for ice cream cones. Somehow, Reece ended up with mine.

Thanks for sharing MY ice cream with me, Reece.

One day we went to the park to let the kids run around. Reece suckered Josh into spending most of their time at the swings.

These are the three newest cousins: Jay, Hudson, and Remi

Remi taking a little snooze, ever the lady. (Look at those delicious thighs!)

We spent a little bit of time in the little village, checking out the shops and walking around. Reece is pretty cool standing in the double stroller.

And of course, there were lots of fun times at the pool. There are a couple of water slides at the pool, and Reece loved going down those! She would ride with Josh or I down the big one, and then there was a smaller one she could go down herself and Josh would catch her at the end.

My mom made these darling cover ups for all of the little ladies.

Ready for the pool!

We also had a really fun game nite of Minute to Win It. It's a great way to get everyone doing funny things and looking like an idiot in the process - sounds perfect for our family!

There was the Nut Stacker.... (Yes, that is a handlebar mustache that Ben is sporting.)

Ball Balancing....

Rubber Band Shooter....

and Face Your Cookie. Face Your Cookie was by far the funniest - sorry Mom and Dani for posting these pictures of you, but they are too good not to share! You had a cookie placed on your forehead, and you had to use your face to get it down and into your mouth without using your hands. Sooooo funny!

Josh and I ended up winning the game nite! No thanks to me, of course! :)

Thrown into the mix was an FHE, lots of delicious meals, a girl's nite out to see the movie Knight and Day (so cute and funny!), a little crafting, and lots of laughing and good times. It always goes by way too quickly, and I think we are all looking forward to next year already!

.:Cool Girls:.

Doesn't get much cooler than this.