7 months old--basically

I've decided one way to describe Lydia is by saying she is QUIRKY. Is that nice to say about your child? She just continues to make me laugh at all the "different" things that she does. She has a courtesy laugh that she does, but when she does it she runs out of breath, and then chokes on her laugh.
Her newest stage is dancing! Karmin was the exact same age when she started dancing. She rolled over once this month, and another time she fell over from her stomach to her back. She has no teeth--the latest of all my kids to get any. She doesn't really say any "ma's" or "da's". I guess she is just content to sit and be entertained. Which is fine by me because Karmin started walking at 9 months and that was kind of hard. I just think she is adorable and can't imagine our family without her.
These pictures: The first one of Karmin and Lydia is Lydia's first official night at the table with us. She was so excited. The second one is Lydia. She LOVES putting this ring in her mouth and just leaving it there. I think I surprised her in this picture!

Ahhhh

I had a headache the other day and was just "resting my eyes" on the couch. When I opened my eyes again this is what I saw that Trevor had made for me:

Isn't that so sweet? Who said that being a mom was a thankless job?

Pretty in Pink (or purple, or sparkles)

Karmin has never let me paint her nails. I'm not big on painting my finger nails, but my toes usually don't go bare. I have tried to paint Karmin's nails before, but she always let me get about 3 toes into it and then she would react like I had put some cream on her toes that made them itch. After a couple of times of this happening, I stopped trying. Then all of the sudden one day last week out of the clear blue, she decided she wanted her nails painted (squeal with delight!). I was so excited! She has had fun getting her nails painted, having Lydia's nails painted, and deciding that she needs a new color to don 10 minutes before we need to leave somewhere. I don't mind--I relish that I am finally getting able to do it.

Ready, Aim, Fire

I really wanted to title this "Muzzle Control, Muzzle Control!!" since that is all I think about now, but thought that was a bit much since I didn't even know what a muzzle was until last week. (And we are not talking about the device that goes over an animal's mouth here.)

We have a problem with coyotes at our house. They like to go after our sweet dog Lady. I have seen them on the way to the bus stop--in the middle of the day. And the final straw for Grant was when they came up to our door during the middle of the night and then took after Lady right in front of him. Grant decided it was time to take care of the problem~if you know what I mean. And the next day at church he found out that there was going to be a hunter's safety course taught soon. What timing! So Grant signed Ben and himself up for the class.

Now, usually I feel that I tend to be a supportive wife. However, I pretty much failed miserably last week. I was totally fine with Grant taking the class, but it was hard for me to accept Ben taking it--he's my baby (and he has school, scouts, etc etc). I didn't really think that he was ready to be handling a gun. But they took the week long class. Ben spent his extra time during the day studying rather than playing. He proved to me that he was ready--as long as there is a lot of supervision (: They took a written test Friday night (they both passed) and then they had a field test on Saturday where they had to show how to handle (watch the muzzle--which by the way is the end of the gun where the bullet comes out) and shoot a gun. Ben has a big ol' bruise on his shoulder from shooting one of the guns, but they both passed. It was a proud moment for Grant. He was so excited for Ben, and it was something that Grant has wanted to do for his whole life.

So, in retrospect it was probably much more valuable for Ben to learn all about a gun and how to use it rather than letting his curiosity get the better of him. He won't be hunting any time soon, but target practice has been happening a lot lately. I will let Trev take the class when he is the same age, and maybe I'll take it with him that time (maybe--maybe). Although I think the most I will ever "hunt" are flies and setting mouse traps around the house. Grant on the other hand is ready to get those coyotes.

Grrrrr....

So my little princess (or the youngest princess I should say) is now 6 months old. Holy cow--time goes by faster and faster.
Her new talent is growling. She used to giggle...remember way back then? Well now she growls--albeit a happy growl. She was sick for the last half of December and gave me quite a fright because she kept waking up during the middle of the night. But now that she is feeling better, she is back to sleeping through the night again (Hooray!). She has no desire to roll over, play on her tummy, or do anything else that would constitute playing on her own. She likes to be held (which I love, so this could be my fault) or sitting upright playing with her brothers and sister. She is still Trevor and Karmin's biggest source of contention; however, I think they would find anything to fight over.
Ben decided that Lydia needed a nickname, and he decided it should be Oatmeal (we find it nearly impossible to call the members in our family by their proper names), so here is a video of our little "Oatmeal" growling:

Baptism

There were no other kids who turned 8 the same month as Ben in our stake, so we got to do a family baptism. I had to plan stake baptisms for a calling once, and it was not my favorite thing I have ever done. Planning your own baptism wasn't much more fun than that. Luckily, family pitched in and we got a lot of help. We are so proud of Ben for his decision to get baptized.

Blessings...

In July, Lydia received her baby blessing. We were able to do it at home while Nana was here, and while my Grammy Harriet was in town as well. Gretchen was also able to come up. We are so lucky to have such supportive families. The blessing went really well. Lydia wore the same dress that Gretchen, Karmin, and I all wore when we were babies. I'm glad that Grant holds the Priesthood and that our kids are able to receive these blessings.