Monday, December 14, 2015

Lainey is 4!

Lainey turned 4 on August 12th!  This age and birthday was so fun because she had a very real awareness of birthdays, gifts and what a special thing it was - way more than last year.  We counted down the days and built up lots of excitement.  I love celebrating my kids!
I love morning Lainey - crazy hair and all.


This doll wasn't something she asked for but she was so excited that she had blonde hair and brown eyes, just like her!


I took Wyatt to pick out some birthday gifts just for his big sis and he did a great job.  He knew all of the girlie things she would love!  He was so proud to give her her presents.

Auntie Em sent some outfits and accessories for her new doll which were a huge hit!
We did a family morning trip to Ledges State Park to walk the creeks.

And her birthday lunch of choice, Hickory Park!




We got cleaned up, played with some of her new toys and got ready to head downtown for the State Fair parade!  



What could be better than a parade on your birthday with your bestie!?

L requested a giant birthday cookie instead of cake this year and it turned out great.  

Birthday posts to reflect on 0, 1, 2 and 3...

Lainey is a true blessing in every sense of the word.  I cannot imagine our family without her as the leader of our little pack.  She is considerate and gives so much grace.  She is the absolute sweetest big sister and a wonderful helper.  She is so bright and loves to learn.  I can't wait to see what life with a 4 year old has in store for us!




Summer part dos

Well it's about time I posted a few catch up posts.  I loaded these pics into the posts awhile ago but never got around to writing much for the rest of the summer, Lainey's bday, the fall or Wyatt's birthday.  I figured with Tiegan's birthday just a few days away and Christmas next week I better get moving and get this thing caught up by the end of the year!

Summer 2015 treated us well.  Life with 3 kids got a little more manageable and Tiegan was the easiest go with the flow baby which helped a ton.
After a morning playing at the park or swimming at the pool or splash park, many drives home ended like this.

We went to a wedding in August - Jed accompanied Lainey as his date and I met them at the reception after nap time with the littles.


Wyatt loves a wedding -- mostly for the cupcakes or cake.

Kiddos and the guys cuttin loose on the dance floor.

This picture cracks me up.  Everyone is looking, but not everyone is smiling.  But they were all dressed so cute for church I had to at least try.

Lainey has not always allowed us the easiest bedtime routine (ahem, requests of us singing Christmas carols on repeat, every stuffed animal and doll in JUST the right spot, etc) but as of late it's gotten a lot easier.  I never necessarily enjoyed that hard season and hoped and prayed it would indeed be just a season.  And now she barely needs tucked in but one night in particular the week of her birthday she asked me to lay with her and scratch her back.  It was easy to comply with such sweetness.


Tiegan didn't struggle with stranger danger until about 10 months so all summer she would pretty easily go to anyone, let anyone touch her or talk to her, etc.  We love our chiropractor Dr. Ann and love seeing her for our monthly visits.

With Lainey loving the sweet summer splash park days most of all, Tiegan came in a close second.  

We took a trip to Minnesota right after Lainey's birthday in August.

"Enjoyed" a suuuuuuper hot morning at the Como Zoo.

T didn't seem to mind the heat.

We took in the seal show while we were there!

Naps typically go real well at Ma and Papa's house!


Ma went above and beyond grabbing some party decor to celebrate our big girl along with the other lovely August birthday gal, my Grandma Carey.


Sweet August birthday girlies!

The last morning there we hopped over to Farmington to the Dakota County Fair!

Lainey talked Papa into letting her do a pony ride.

Wyatt was in heaven among all those tractors!

Ice cream "lunch" at the general store!

More splash park fun!  Lainey and my friend Allison's daughter Gwen would literally swim and play all day if it weren't for those pesky afternoon naps their moms insist on!

We did a lap around Gray's Lake one evening.

Lainey rode her little heart out around the whole lake!

Summer in all of it's splendor requires lots of baths!  Not sure how much longer I'll fit 3 in that tub but I'm gonna keep trying!