Happy Father's Day!

It was a special Father's Day here with a new, sweet baby Lyla.  Ethan and Sydney sang to Doug during the last block of church meetings, so I was bummed to miss that!  It was so fun spending the day together celebrating dad.  

Time with dad is precious because Doug is preparing to defend his dissertation on the 24th--in just about 1 week!  We are excited that the day has finally arrived.  There have been plenty of "ups and downs" with "maybe you'll graduate", "you won't graduate in August", and "this isn't fair to me" messages from the chair of his committee.  We are celebrating every day with time together! 

Cousin time

We were lucky enough to have lots of cousins in town this week.  Doug's sister, Natalie, and her family was here for a visit and took Ethan and Sydney to Seven Peaks water park with them on Monday.  They had a blast!

While they were gone, I took Lyla for her 2-week check-up at Doctor Farley-Jones' office.  I feel like this appointment is a 'test' for me to see if I've 'done my job' and she's gained enough weight.  I was pretty nervous because I haven't woken her up to eat at night and she's going at least 4-6 hours at night. It was the moment of truth.  When we left the hospital, she weighed 5 lb 13 oz.  This appointment, she weighed 6 lbs 14 oz!!  She is a fantastic eater, sleeper, burper, and not super fussy.  We are so blessed to have her join our family and the calm spirit she brings to our home.

That evening, we had a BBQ at Tonya's house closeby and Lyla got to meet more cousins, aunts, and uncles.

Tuesday, we went to pick up Natalie and Shelly from my sister's house where they had stayed.  It was so fun to have them stay with us for the rest of the week.  We went straight over to Tiffany's house and walked up the street to swim in her neighborhood pool.

Ethan and Sydney absolutely love every minute they spend with them.  They wake up and ask where they are right away.  We stopped by Grandma Beckstrand's house Thursday and spent a little time there where Ethan was thrilled that grandma let him borrow one of her princess dresses.  It's going to be a long haul explaining the word "borrow" in that we need to return it!

Natalie and Shelly let me sneak in a nap Thursday afternoon with Lyla.  I love snuggling with her.  She is such a good baby.  She is starting to sleep longer between feedings at night.  Most nights this week she went longer than 6 hours between feedings at night.  This means I'm getting decent sleep.

They loved all the presents that were still coming for Lyla.  Ethan would wrap "presents" with the gift wrap over and over.  

They especially love that many gifts for Lyla are accompanied by gifts for them.  They aren't sure why they're getting presents, but they're loving it!

Happy 60th Grandpa

We put together a surprise party for my dad and almost all of our immediate family was there.  It was so fun to get together.  We gave him a new big screen TV and he was thrilled.  

Ethan was enthralled by a toy guitar and played it most of the evening.  I laughed when he showed me something on his finger the next morning and wasn't sure what it was...it was a blister from playing the guitar.  I love this boy.

Happy 60th dad!

And so it is written!

This morning is a special occasion in our house.  Doug stayed up until 4 am and FINISHED WRITING HIS DISSERTATION!  Yes, the entire thing is written.  All 197 pages.  This means that we can have a weekend where we can spend a few hours playing.  

We celebrated with a special breakfast that E&S and I made while Doug slept in.  We are all so excited.

Playing at home

We aren't going anywhere these days.  Adjusting to bringing three kids in three car seats (with 2 active toddlers) seems overwhelming.  I called my sister, Tiffany, Monday to see what she was doing and her kids came to hang out for a bit on the new swing set "Lyla" gave Ethan and Sydney so they could play while I fed her. There are no windows in sight from a camp chair in our fenced backyard, so I can sit outside and feed her while they play.  Win-win!  They came inside and watched a YouTube video of some pre-teen girls singing "What Makes you Beautiful".  They were so focused.

In other entertainment news, Ethan and Sydney discovered our magnet we bought when living in Hawaii of a ukulele.  They were thrilled that they could 'play' it.  I was laughing so hard inside and trying to contain it.

When they had to take turns with the magnet guitar, Ethan brought out the big guns with another toy guitar.

This swing set was a great idea!  Now if we can get the teeter-totter and glider assembled to add to it...

The twins think it's so fun to stick their fingers in Lyla's mouth and have her suck on them.  I have them wash their hands "with soap" and end up letting them do it.  This could be a big mistake.  Syd let Lyla' suck on her thumb as Syd still finds it pretty tasty.

I laughed when I found Lyla sleeping like this--she had rolled onto her tummy from her side and her face was smashed into her bean bag head support thing (NICU secret they use to help baby's feel like they're being held).  It was just cute.

Fun week

This is an exciting week in our house.  Doug has taken the entire week off of work but is feverishly working on completing his dissertation to make a deadline for August graduation.  It's been a up-and-down rollercoaster ride as we've heard that it is impossible for him to graduate and then within 24-hours, we're given hope that he can meet the requirements and graduate.  We've had a lot of help between grandma's and family members so I can get rest during the day and Ethan and Sydney can play.  

Grandma Marchant met Lyla on Tuesday and I told her that she's a baby whisperer.  She's so calm--even when Lyla is pretty fussy.

Her 'look' is ever-changing.  She is growing up so fast.  I can hardly believe it!

Grandma Beckstrand took this photo when she was over and Lyla was lying on our bean bag sofa.

I ordered two helmets the week I had Lyla for Ethan and Sydney.  They ride these plasma cars like maniacs, so I thought we should protect their brains from our flag pole, basketball hoop, or any other possible disasters.  They love them.

We just love to stare at "baby Lyla" all day long.

One. Week. Old.

Where did the week go?  Oh, I know--me sitting on the couch feeding a baby.  That's where.  :-)

My friend, Brooke Lamont of Brookie Photography, took these amazing photos of Lyla today.  She is such a sweet, beautiful baby.  It was a LOT of work to get her to hold still and cooperate.  Thanks again Brooke!