18 Months

Belle turned 18 months old last week.  This age is so much fun. She is a little ball of excitement and playfulness.  She threw a royal tantrum at her check-up.  She clearly remembers her 12 month shots and doesn't want anything to do with the doctors or nurses.  It was hilarious.  As they were trying to weigh her she was throwing herself all over the place, but as soon as they walked out the door she let me weigh her.  18 pounds.....such a petite little thing. She wears 12 month clothes and size 3 shoes.  She doubled her teeth this month from 3 to 6.  She has two bottom teeth, one top front tooth and the top side tooth beside the front one, and her two top molars.  The other top front tooth and the one to the side of it are about to break through any day.

 Her absolute favorite thing is to read, with music, dancing and singing falling close behind.

 This is my favorite way to do her hair.

 I am so happy to have this ray of sunshine in my life.  She is almost always happy and easy to take places. Poppi took her to nursery for the first hour on Mother's Day and left her alone for the second hour.  She did great! I was shocked and pleasantly surprised.

Why are Mr. Potato Head glasses always so funny?

Graduation

Ready for Graduation! 

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

Bond getting hooded, to the right is his dissertation chair.  She has been incredibly helpful and supportive. 

Bond DID NOT want to walk for his graduation, he doesn't like to be in the spotlight and thinks the whole ordeal is overly pretentious, but luckily his mom and I were able to persuade him otherwise.  Neither of us walked for our undergrad degrees and this is a major accomplishment.  He has worked his tail off the past 8 years, going to school, working, serving in time demanding church callings, and taking care of us. 

Bond with his family.

Bear and Pops.

Bond with his little bros.

Bond and his Mom.

Celebration dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant. (I am sooo gonna miss this place when we are gone.)

My parents were kind enough to watch Belle during the ceremonies so we had to get a family picture with her the next day after church. 



Soccer

 Bug is playing YMCA Rec Soccer this year.  He really enjoys organized sports.  On the way to his game last week he said, "Soccer is one of my favorite sports."  Oh, that warms my heart! It is so much fun to watch him learn and play.  He is a defender by nature, so he tends to hang between the mass of kids going after the ball and the goal the other team is trying to score in.   But he has still managed to score a couple of goals this season.  He is doing WAY better in the crying department.  The past two years he played he would totally lose it when the other team scored or won.  He is visibly upset when this happens, but you can see him self-talking his emotions to remain in control.

 

Intensely guarding an opponent for a throw in.

 Going for the ball.

 Half-time pep talk from the coach.

Homeowners!

After months of searching and HOURS on the computer, we finally got close enough to our moving date to make a house hunting trip.  After a stressful and exciting trip, we got news tonight that our offer has been accepted and we are the thrilled new owners of our first home. Eeeek!

 

It sits on 16 acres and has been owned by the same family for the last 25 years.  They ran it as a strawberry farm.  The owner has been widowed for several years, so the property has not been kept up.  It will take some work to get some of the fields re-cleared and ready for farming, but Bond and my Dad are just itching to get at it.

 

The inside is also going to require work. The owner seems to have been a meticulous house cleaner, so things are all in excellent condition, just outdated. There is lots of wallpaper to strip, like this white iridescent striped living room and part of the kitchen.

 But there has also been an addition put on the house more recently which I really like.

 I think I am most excited about the loft that we are going to use for our home school room.

We are feeling very blessed and excited, but we are going to enjoy our last few months in Nebraska. We love it here. 

 

Getting Ready for Summer

Bear, Belle and I went swimming while Bug was in HS gym. 

He was busy conquering his fears on the rockwall.

 

Bear's Preschool Program

Bear was so excited to sing for us at his Preschool Program.  He was all smiles and a great little singer with his classmates.

 Belle waiting for the performance to start. 

 Singing in the back with Daddy.

 Hugs from Daddy afterward.

 Enjoying donuts after the program with Gigi.

17 months

Belle hit some MAJOR milestones during her 16th month of life.  First of all, her first top tooth FINALLY decided to come through (that makes a grand total of three whole teeth).  As a result, she is done nursing. And last but definitely not least, she is consistently sleeping through the night.  Wow, I wasn't sure if any of those things were actually going to happen, but they did! Huzzah! 

She has become quite the handful as of late.  I admire all of you who so gracefully handle parenthood with more than three kids.  Time for a nap...