Welcome to the Gun Show

Check these guns out ladies!

Drake has been changing and chunking out so much lately: it is hard to keep up with current pictures of him. He is turning his head to look at the blinds. Drake loves to look at blinds and curtains. I think it must be the contrast in light.





Lincoln also wanted to be included in this photo shoot. He just woke up from a nap, so his hair is awesome!

Water Adventures

I need to backtrack a little bit. We had a fun July 4th weekend up in Hickory: some friends from church have an annual 4th of July party at their house on the lake. A nasty storm came through, so I was worried Lincoln wouldn't get to play in the water. Eventually, the weather cleared and he and Dave made it in the lake. They jumped on the trampoline and got to ride in Jeremy's boat. I still am hearing about the boat! I guess he got to beep the horn twice and help drive the boat, so he was in heaven. It wasn't pretty when the boat ride ended.






I am so used to being busy, it made me sad to look at my blank calendar for the month of July. When mom mentioned she was thinking about going to New Jersey to visit relatives, I jumped at the chance for a roadtrip: I know I am absolutely insane! Mom and I packed up the boys early Saturday morning and started out for the 10 hour car drive. I was shocked at how well both boys did! Drake maybe cried for 20 minutes the entire way, and Lincoln was entertained by the ipad and dvd player. We stopped at Roadside America, a model train exhibit we used to visit when I was a kid. Of course Lincoln loved it! We got inside the room with all the trains, and he just kept repeating, "WOW."



We had so many water adventures up in New Jersey. My grandma and uncle both live in lake communities, and we swam everyday. Lincoln is getting more brave in the water, especially when he is wearing his spider man life jacket. Link had lots of attention from my cousins Abby, Violet and Graham.





He also got to play in the water with Mercy: she is the daughter of my mom's great friend Heather.





Uncle Barrys tend to be really cool uncles. Lincoln got to play with my Uncle Barry, and he even got to do some fishing.





Drake didn't get to enjoy the water. He spent lots of time with my Aunt Cheryl (she even got him to take a bottle) and lots of time in the shade.





We have been having such a great summer, even though I am super sleep deprived. I am excited about more water adventures that we have planned for this summer!

4 Weeks

Drake turned 4 weeks old yesterday. I feel like I am in a constant fog, because Drake likes to eat WAY more than he likes to sleep! You can tell by the double chin that he has now. Last week, he rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time. He loves to look at Lincoln and his mobile on his swing. I think I have his tummy problems figured out: I just won't be able to eat dairy for a while! After talking to my SIL, Amy, and our friends Chris and Marie, we decided to buy Drake a monitor that has a motion sensor. This lets us put Drake on his tummy to sleep, without the worry of SIDS. An alarm sounds after 5 seconds if there is no motion from the baby.

Here is a picture of Lincoln at 4 weeks for comparison. There are some similarities, but Drake's face has really changed. I can't figure out who he looks like.

Lincoln has been saying some hilarious things lately. Dad bought him this matchbox car that changes colors in the water. When the water was gone from the bowl he ran and told me, "Mooom, there's no water left. Are you kidding me? There's no water."

He is very curious about how I feed Drake. He says, "Drake is eating your tummy." He picks up my nursing pads and says, "That's for your tummy." It was really awkward when he kept staring at me using the pump. He was fascinated by it!

When he slammed his finger in the folding door, he asked Dave, "Dad, why did you bite my finger." He loves to tell on Dave after he gets in trouble. For example, "Mooom, Dad took my trains away, cause I frowed (throwed) them."

Right now he is dancing to the theme song of Cailou. He is shaking his pants and saying, "Mom, my pants are dancing."

I love my boys!

Engaged

My little brother has found his perfect match! He will marry Chelsea this September in Salt Lake City. I am so excited to have another sister!

They are so darling. Both play ukulele, and that's what they did for their first date...walked around downtown Salt Lake singing and playing the ukulele.

Hard to say Goodbye

The time finally came...we had to say goodbye to Grandma and Papa today. We got used to having Grandma around, even my mom is going through Mama Shinsel withdrawals! Before they left, they took Lincoln on some adventures.

On Friday, they traveled up the mountains to Tweetsie Railroad.

The next day, they went to the local airport museum. Lincoln was so excited to show Papa the shark airplane.

They wouldn't have had to go anywhere, Lincoln was having a blast just being on Papa's "Bus." He would go out there and watch movies, play with his cars, and eat snacks. When he got hungry, he would say, "I'm hungry for Papa's bus." That means the food is yummier than what is in my mom's house!

Today Dave gave Drake a blessing in church. It was a very sweet blessing, and I'm glad his dad and my dad were able to be a part of it by being in the circle. We don't baptize babies in our church: worthy priesthood holders give them a blessing of health, knowledge, whatever the spirit prompts them to say.

Speaking of Drake, he had his first bath last week, and he HATED it.

I don't ever know what to expect from him at night. Sometimes he can be up for 2 hours at a time. What I do know is that he sleeps better in bed with me. I prop him up on his boppy pillow, so he can see me. It is amazing that I couldn't even sleep in the same room with Lincoln, but I can sleep through all of Drake's baby squeaks and grunts.

His cheeks are starting to fill out more. He will look so different the next time we get to see Grandma and Papa again!