Summer Birthdays!

Things are moving along.  Boston is 2 months old and about 16 lbs now.  He looks huge compared to the 20 other babies in our ward.  I exaggerate not, there are literally 20 babies at least in our ward.  We averaged 5 babies a month from January to July but lost a few to moves.  The mothers' room at church is crowded.

I have been able to get back into exercise somewhat.  I was running but have been busy with the garden and getting our house in order.  I didn't do spring cleaning because frankly, I just survived the spring being pregnant, teaching math, and Joy School... now everywhere I turn needs attention.  The kids are great about playing and entertaining themselves and Boston is still a great baby so I have the time I need.

Whitney had her 5th birthday.  It was pretty sad because we spent all morning getting ready for a party we had planned for the afternoon but no one came!.  We only invited 4 little girls Whitney's age because we were having a princess party.  One little girl got chicken pox so we knew she wouldn't be coming but we didn't find out the other three couldn't make it until about 20 minutes after they were supposed to be at our house.  It didn't seem to phase Whitney but I struggled to hold back the tears.  Instead, I tried my best to make it a fun party for just me and my cute girls.  Daddy came home soon after so from then on it was a piece of cake!  We went bowling and ate dinner and played games and opened presents.  We got Whitney a scooter and she is already a pro, riding it everywhere we will let her go.

We are super proud of Whitney.  She is smart, nice and sweet.  The most impressive thing is the way she learns.  She memorizes songs and names quickly and knows things that surprise us cause we can't figure out who taught her all that stuff.  She loves to dance and sing, especially for an audience and she likes to challenge herself.  She decides she wants to do something and she keeps trying until it is done.  The other day, I had her help me pick up apricots off the ground and for every 20 apricots, she got a nickel and she earned 5 because that was her goal.  Nothing I could say persuaded her to do more than that but she also made sure that every bucket had a few extra just to get the job done right.  She is super observant and has a great memory so we don't get away with much with her around.

I mentioned that Haylee also had her birthday but didn't really take the time to write anything about her.  I don't know if my girls could be more different.  They look so different and act so different.  It is amazing to me that they are sisters.  Haylee is quite shy.  I used to say that she was my quiet girl but she is not quiet anymore.  She performs but hesitates and usually only of her own free will.  She is even harder to persuade than Whitney.  Haylee is totally happy on her own.  She sometimes disappears and I don't hear from her because she is just entertaining herself.  She is super cuddly and when she is tired, she doesn't fight it.  She just comes and lays down by one of us and crashes.  She is so sweet and talks in the prettiest sing-song voice.  She comforts other kids when they are hurt and makes sure to say, "thank you for this yummy food, mommy" which about melts my heart.  She is smart but not in a showy way.  She will just surprise us by doing things that we didn't know she could do without seeking attention.

They are both such fabulous girls.  One thing that I learned while teaching Joy School is to point out that people and things are different and that doesn't make them better or worse and we use that a lot around here.  I know my girls will compare themselves to each other but I hope that more often they can appreciate their differences and see the advantages of being unique.

Who knows about Boston.  He has skin and hair color in-between the girls coloring and is so huge and content.  I am pumped to discover his personality and see these kids grow up although with Whitney going into Kindergarten and Boston skipping the infant stage, I kind of wish it would all slow down a little.