Always, Always Smiling

My darling baby girl is always smiling. Always, always smiling. She is such a beautiful bright spot in our wonderful family, and after the last three months we can't imagine our lives without her! We are grateful every single day that she found her way to us. 

We absolutely love her and her big, brown, beautiful eyes!

Laird Park Playdate

Peter and Brooklyn are sure going to be sad when school starts for their cousins this week. I've never seen him have so much fun at the park before! It was so fun to have them down for the afternoon, and it was so great to have Grandma and Johnny stop by for our playdate at Laird Park. 

Peter and SJ are the best of friends. It is so fun to watch them play and chat together. I was up at SJ's house on Sunday night working on a project with her mom, and she told me that Peter was her best friend. It was the sweetest thing! I think SJ is probably one of Peter's best friends too: SJ, his Gaga (dad), and his Papa (Grandpa Dave). 

And I'm making a guess that Brooklyn and Emmy are going to be best friend too as they grow up. It's so fun that they are only three months apart!

Little Emmy is Ben's twin. She is a doll wi the most gorgeous blue eyes!

This kid (the little one) is a crack-up! The big one is kind of funny too, I guess.

I love how at-home and serene Jammin looks when he's chilling upside down. 

Sneaky girl in the making!

Cabin Fun

We love little weekends at the cabin! Last week we went up for just four or five hours on Saturday afternoon. The weekend before we went Friday after work until Saturday night. We love to see how excited Peter gets when he realizes where we're headed. "Tabin! Tabin! Moose!" My parents got each of the grandkids a special stuffed moose or bear to have as a buddy at the cabin. Peter's is a moose, and it is the first thing he asks for when we arrive at the cabin (he asks for "Andoo, Ben, SJ, Ammy" next).

These pictures are from two weekends ago. We went up on Friday after the Summit County Fair (our weird little family tradition). My parents joined us on Saturday late afternoon, and we all had dinner together. We're having so much fun getting to know the area a little better, but we still have so much exploring to do!

Miracles

I am crazy about these amazing kids and their darling (sometimes cheesy) grins.

This Girl Loves Her Daddy

 Brooklyn is crazy for her daddy. And I love it. 

We had a wonderful quick little trip to the cabin this weekend. It was a perfect little getaway. Scott and I read while Peter and Brooklyn napped throughout the afternoon. And when we were all awake, we wrestled in bean bags, made human slides, went on bike rides, played moose, and made Brooklyn laugh for the first official time (Scott did!). Best of all, I got it all on film! It is the most beautiful little sound. Brooklyn is so happy all the time, and we are so grateful to have this darling little babe in our home. Her giggles and grins are contagious. I don't know how we are so blessed to have the two most easy-going, sweet, content, and adorable kids on Earth. 

So, so grateful.

Blanket Buddies

Peter and Brooklyn are buddies. I love it. I hope it stays this way forever. 

It might not. I know.

Peter gets really excited any time I set up a little blanketed play area for Brooklyn, and he always wants to play near Brooklyn or read her stories. He knows where the Brooklyn-appropriate toys are in her room. And he does all the animal sounds for her as he reads. She loves the attention from her big brother and will smile at him while he jabbers on and on about whatever he wants her to see. I love their little morning play time before Brooklyn's nap. 

Brooklyn is getting so big and strong. I love seeing the changes happening, but I wish they wouldn't happen so fast! 

Pardon Peter's unfortunate haircut... hit and miss. 

Knock at the Door

I don't think there's ever been a knock at our door that wasn't intended for Peter or Brooklyn. These kids are lucky to be the recipients of so many loving visitors! Last night Peter was able to procure quite the audience for his nightly bike ride. 

Peter: having six adults gather to watch you scoot along on your bike isn't normal. Just normal for our awesome family. 

Brooklyn: your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents are fascinated by everything you do. Even when you're being burped post-bottle.

Peter and Brooklyn: You are loved.

Cabin Cousins

We are having so much fun with our new family cabin. Mom and Dad, thank you so much for this beautiful gift to our family. We love it already, and we are so excited for all the fun times to come. You two know how to make time with family so special and memorable. We love you!

Peter and Brooklyn have had some fun and special moments with their cousins at the cabin. We cannot express how grateful we are to live close to family. It is such a blessing. The time our kids spend with their aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents (and even great-grandparents, great-aunts, and great-uncles) constitutes some wonderful family experiences. The comfort and familiarity our kids have with their cousins, especially, makes us so happy! Peter gets so excited to see them or skype with them. He recites their names frequently throughout the day. And I can tell that Brooklyn is already starting to form a special bond with these cute kids who love her so much and take such wonderful care of her. 

Just a quick shot of beautiful Brooklyn. We can never have too many!

Andrew is our oldest cousin. He is so protective of Peter and Brooklyn. He loves to spend time with both of them. I am always impressed at how willing Andrew is to hang out with Peter, who is six and a half years younger than he is. He is our number one helper and baby sitter. He has held Brooklyn and fed her bottles. He always is aware of Peter, whether there is something nearby for him to put in his mouth or whether he's trying to make it down the stairs. When Peter was in their home while I recovered in the hospital, Andrew was Peter's special buddy, watching out for him and by his side all the time. He understands how special Brooklyn is and how she came to our family in a miraculous way. He is sensitive and smart. We are so grateful for him. 

Ben "Jammin" Brother. He is a pretty cool kid. Pretty much as cool as they come. Ben is a crack-up! Between the facial expressions and the unpredictable, un-filtered thoughts that pool from his ever-sprinting brain, he is always making us laugh. He is Peter's special buddy. I am always impressed at how long they can play together, even though Peter is so little. Ben has so much patience with him, and is always so excited to see him. Ben calls Peter, "Peter Weter." I've heard him call Brooklyn "Brookie Wookie" and "Sweetie Pie." He is a brave and tough, but very sweet kid. We love him so much.

We love Sarajane. She and Peter love to play together and usually hold hands whenever we are on a walk, hike, or the zoo. They have gotten to be such good little buddies lately, and it's so fun to see. Sarajane is creative, sweet, and determined. We have so much fun hearing what is going to next come out of her mouth. I can tell that she and Peter will be buddies all throughout their lives, and I'm sure SJ will take good care of her first baby girl cousin on her mom's side. I can picture a lot of fun times to come! SJ is already so sweet to Brooklyn. I loved watching her softly play with Brooklyn's tiny baby toes. We love her!

 Cute Emmy is just three months older than Brooklyn (The picture below is first thing in the morning, a little shell-shocked!). I am especially grateful for the timing of these two cute girls in our family. They are going to have so much fun throughout the years being so close in age! For now, their moms have fun dressing them in matching outfits. Emmy is so smiley and happy. I can't wait to see her cute little disposition as she gets older. When Emmy was born, Peter went around calling every baby "Emmy (He pronounces it 'Ah-mee')." The baby elephant and giraffe at the zoo were also "Baby Emmy Eh-phant" and "Baby Emmy Fraffe."

These cute kids make our life even brighter and happier. Scott and I both love to spend time with them and hear all of their creative stories and game ideas. We are so happy that our kids have had so much fun with their cousins. We are excited for the fun times ahead!

Scott is the most amazing dad. I just returned from a weekend at Youth Conference for church. I couldn't believe that I had nothing to put back together upon my return. He held it together! (Admittedly, with the help of my mom the first two days. THANK YOU BOTH!). I am so grateful for Scott. I thought I loved him as much as I could, and then he became the father of my kids. It's a whole new level of admiration that brings me to tears and happy grins often throughout the weeks. Peter is is dad's biggest fan. And Brooklyn saves her very best smiles for her daddy. No one gets her smiling (and, as of yesterday, LAUGHING!) like he does. I love him. 

We love the cousins. And the cabin. But the cousins at the cabin is best. 

Thank you Mom and Dad. 

Just... for everything.

I love this.