Happy Father's Day Justin!

I am not exaggerating when I say Justin is the best Dad. Let me count some of the ways.

 Whenever a child wakes up in the middle of the night, Justin is the one who stays up with them, snuggling them, catching their vomit, taking temperatures, giving medicine and doing laundry.

 When  Justin gets home from work he gives the kids his full attention. He sits down with them, listens to them, talks to them, loves on them and plays with them.

He likes spending time with the kids. He is counting down the days to when he can take Josiah to work with him.

He will hold and rock an upset child even when his back and ankles are in excruciating pain.

 He takes the time to slow down and teach the kids, when the kids want to "help" him with something.

 He loves, he protects, he teaches, he disciplines, and he provides.

He is their Dad.

 Happy Father's Day Justin!

Jameson vs Teething

Poor little Jameson has started teething. It really seems to be hitting him hard. He is really gnawing on things, and is super irritable. He wants to be held all day, which is understandable. Anytime I put him down he will cry. I usually have carry him in the Ergo carrier, but when I really have to get stuff done and need use of my arms I will put him in a baby hiking carrier we got from a consignment store.  He is usually content in either one, which is wonderful. On Tuesday afternoon Jameson woke up with a fever. He had no other symptoms of being sick. The fever stayed around until early Thursday morning. I have to chalk the fever up to teething, even though "they" say teething doesn't cause fevers.  Also, nobody else got sick.

I am so glad we purchased this carrier!

The kids have been having lots of fun on their new playset this week. Last night I was outside grilling and I looked up to see Josiah at the top of the slide getting ready to go down it on his little tractor. I was able to stop him, but apparently Jada had already gone down the slide. She said she didn't get hurt and that she only got rocks in her eye.

This is what I saw the other day!



Notice how her water bottle is not tipping over.



I have no words.

They love swinging on this together.

One more of this little cutie.

Discovery Tanglewood Playset

Justin and his parents spent half of Saturday, and all day Sunday putting together a wonderful outdoor playset Justin's grandma, a.k.a Mimi, sent. The kids absolutely love it. First thing in the mornings they ask if they can go play on it. This morning Josiah looked out the window and says, "Yep, it's still there."
Here are some pictures from when we set it up.

Leveling out the ground.

Much easier this way.



It took us an hour or so just to organize the pieces. (At least it seemed like it took that long)

Finally, we can begin.

Helpin' Dad

Ready to play!

Making progress.

Looking good.

The super speedy slide!

Juliet is ready to swing! It's her favorite thing to do now.

The "Spotting Scope"

It really is a super speedy slide!

On the look out.

The rock wall. Juliet can climb up this; much to my surprise.

Relaxing having a "lemonade"

They are loving the slide.

The glider swing is a BIG hit with Jada and Josiah.

Mighty Machines

Josiah 11 weeks

Josiah turned five this year. I remember when he was born thinking, "He is all mine. I don't have to give him back to anybody." It was such an exciting experience. I loved holding and snuggling him which was a good thing, because he was a pretty colicky baby. When he was born I thought he was the cutest baby I had ever seen. He really was an adorable baby. Now he is growing into such a delightful little boy. He is such a big help, and he watches out for his little brother and sisters.

This year, when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he said that he wanted a Mighty Machine cake, and for dinner he wanted chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes and corn.

Justin and I made Josiah's cake together and Josiah loved it. Zane and Danner, two of Josiah's cousins, were able to come over for cake, ice cream, and present opening. His favorite present turned out to be a suction cup bow and arrow. It was super cute watching him open it.

Here are a few pictures of Josiah and some from last week.

Fitbit One

I recently purchased a Fitbit One, and can I just say, "I love it." What is a Fitbit One you ask? It is a wonderful little tool to keep you motivated to stay active. It keeps track of your steps, how many miles you have gone, calories burned, floors climbed, and it tracks your sleep. Also, if you have friends who have a Fitbit, you can see how many steps they are taking, and who is in the lead. If you are even a little bit competitive, this can be very motivating.
 It seems to be pretty accurate in terms of steps taken. You do have to take three steps in a row, before it will start tracking them. I'm sure the calories burned are not super accurate, but I don't feel like that is a huge deal. I really love the sleep tracker though. With the sleep tracker  I can see exactly when I am getting up to nurse Jameson, and for how long. It also has a food log, so you are able to see how many calories are going in vs. how many you are burning. You can view all this on Fitbits free app.
 Another thing I love is that Fitbit is partnered with Earndit. Earndit is a website that will give you points for completing certain goals. For instance, when you take 5000 steps you get 20 points. After you accumulate so many points, you can redeem a gift card to one of their participating stores. Fitbit is also partnered with Walgreens.  Walgreens has a program that gives you points for every mile you go. Again, once you have accumulated so many points you can redeem a gift card, in this case to Walgreens. Eventually your Fitbit is going to pay for itself. I definitely recommend it, as my entire family knows. Now you know why!

We're Goin' to the Zoo Zoo Zoo

We had to go to a city three hours away for a doctors appointment, which meant we had to stay there two nights. We decided to take the kids to the zoo while we were there. I would like to say they had a blast at the zoo and that we could have spent all day there, but that was not the case. Because we got in late and had to wake up early, nobody got enough sleep. Everybody was really tired. They did enjoy going to the zoo, but we skipped about half of it. The next day we took them to the aquarium, and that went over a lot better. We even got to go with one of my best friends and her cute little boy.

My tired girl.

Jameson slept the whole time.

I hope it's OK to let them climb on these.

Our little navigators!

Still looking tired.

She was a little cranky on zoo day.

My best friend and her cute little boy.

Looking at the sting rays.

Jellyfish!

Juliet's new favorite place is riding on Dad's back. She had the best time up in that backpack.

Climbing!

Ready to be home.

Entertaining baby brother.

The morning after we arrived home, yesterday morning, Jada developed a fever. Last night she woke up at midnight with a 104 degree fever, and upset stomach. So Justin stayed up with her all night. Hopefully she will feel better today, and nobody else will get sick.