Naps

We spent all day at home today and I loved it. I got to cuddle with both of my boys and they both fell asleep in my arms! I got a little nap with them as well. It was heaven.

New Friends

Last night a neighbor contacted me to see how I was doing. I don't know her very well, but she is adorable! She has seven kids under 7 years of age and definitely seems like wonder woman to me! Today she asked if I needed anything from the grocery store, which I took her up on. I'm having a hard time fitting the grocery store errands into my schedule! Then she brought over delicious cookies, a gift for Luke, a coloring book for Ryder, and some groceries for me. It was so sweet!! I'm so excited to get to know her better.

Memorial Day

Brad and I both talked for a minute about how holidays like this make us miss being closer to family. We both grew up close to our extended families and memorial day always consisted of trips to the cemetery to see our ancestors, and barbecues with lots of cousins. Even though today didn't have any of those fun things it was still such a great day. It was nice to have an extended weekend with everyone home!
It was my night for family night and I chose going to Cafe Rio for dinner. Yum. We had a short lesson at home and played games. It was great!

Getaways

With a long holiday weekend and all the time I've been spending at home, I was feeling anxious to get out of the house. This morning we decided to head to Missoula for a little getaway as a family. I love being at home, but I feel even freer when we get out of the house. There are so many distractions for me at home, so much work I could be doing, and when we leave it's so much easier to just focus on having fun with my husband and kids. We spent a lot of time at the pool, ate out at a yummy restaurant, had dessert in bed, and enjoyed sleeping in. Luckily Luke didn't wake anyone up, beside me, in the middle of the night. It was a great little trip! And the drive was gorgeous!!

Bed Time Routines

Little Luke has been staying awake a little longer lately and I love seeing his beautiful eyes. He is such a sweet little boy!
When I put Ryder to bed tonight, Luke joined us. Ryder and I have our own little bedtime routine. He chooses a book that I read to him in the rocking chair. We sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, hum the batman theme song, hum the Star Wars theme song, and then sing Hush, Little Baby. Then Ryder turns the light off and jumps into bed. I lay down with him to ask him if he had a good day and to tell me what his favorite part was. Then we sing one more song, Go to sleep little baby. It's a lot to do just to put a little three year old to bed, but I love this time with him. It was even sweeter tonight to be holding Ryder on my lap in the rocking chair with his arms tight around Luke. He sang all the songs to Luke. And he didn't want Luke to leave. He kept asking if Luke could just sleep in bed with him. Of course my answer was no to which he would say, "Aww, but I love him!"

The Park, Housework, Kindergarten Graduation!

Yesterday ended up being a little bit of a hard day for me after George and Judy left. I pretty much sat on the couch the rest of the day and it left me feeling lazy and unfulfilled. I know I need to rest, but it's just my nature to need to work as well.
Luckily today was much better. My friend offered to take Ryder to the park in the morning, but I decided to join her and it was so nice to get out! I even made dinner for my family tonight for the first time since having Luke and it felt so good to do that! Normally house cleaning, cooking dinner, and laundry can be annoying, but I've found that not doing those things actually makes me feel worse. I'm grateful to have jobs and responsibilities around the house that make me feel like I'm contributing to someone in someway.
We also got out of the house today to see Tenley's Kindergarten graduation program! It was adorable! She is so cute and she did such a great job singing all of her songs. She made me cry, of course. I can't believe she's getting so big!

George and Judy

George and Judy left this morning. Ryder was pretty sad. He was having fun with Grandpa. They played PIG again on his basketball hoop. Grandpa was the big pig and Ryder won the gold medal! Lol. Ryder was excited.
Judy ironed eight of Brad's work shirts for me. I have been putting that job off and she was willing to do it for me. That was really nice and helpful! And it's probably the best they've ever been ironed!

Kade and Tenley have started bringing home a lot of their school work. I can't believe the year is almost over! I'm excited for summer time.

Outings

We've had little Luke now for one whole week! That went by really fast. I'm so grateful every day that I can finally hold him. Even though I'm tired from being up all night feeding him, I also have a lot more energy now that I'm not pregnant. It's so much easier to move around, to play with Ryder, and to put shoes on!
Ryder had such a fun morning being fully entertained by Grandpa. They played PIG on his basketball hoop downstairs, threw the frisbee around outside, and went for a walk to watch the construction workers.
After Brad got home from work we went for another little outing to show George and Judy Ryan Dam. There was hardly anyone there and it was a beautiful night again! The island at Ryan Dam is quickly becoming my favorite place in this city. Especially on a night like tonight. We saw a lot of wildlife out there as well; antelope, bunnies, beaver, deer, and even a bald eagle in a nest with it's babies. It was pretty neat!
Judy wanted to take us out for ice cream afterward and it was delicious! We drove home as the sun was setting. Spring time in Montana is pretty amazing! I'm glad we got outside tonight to enjoy it.

Ryder loves sitting by his buddy.

Afternoon Naps, Evening Walks

We had two office visits to get to for Ryder this morning.We had to go back to his doctor's office to check up on his weight. Luckily he's doing great and we shouldn't have to see them again until his two week check up. Then we headed back to the hospital to have his hearing checked again. Luckily that is all good as well! Hopefully we can stay home for the next week or so now!
Ryder had fun getting out of the house and playing with toys and seeing the fish. When we got home we ate lunch and then hung out on the couch so I could feed Luke. Luke and I ended up falling asleep and when I woke up I noticed that Ryder had also fallen asleep! I put both sleeping boys in their beds and got another 20 minute nap myself before the kids got home from school. It was a great afternoon! If they could all be like that I'd be set!
Brad's Dad and Judy showed up this evening to see little Luke. After dinner we took them for a walk to see Black Eagle Dam. It was a beautiful night and it was so rejuvenating to get out and enjoy nature.

Piano Recitals

Ryder stayed home from church with me and baby Luke. He wanted to cuddle him a lot and help me give him a bath. We rested some, but the kids had a piano recital right after church so I actually did get ready for the day and get out of the house. Nothing would keep me from seeing their first recital!
Kade didn't seem worried at all about playing in front of a lot of people, but Tenley definitely seemed a little nervous about it all. But they both did such an awesome job! They had their songs memorized and they played great. I was so proud of them! I think the recitals will help them both feel very comfortable with playing in front of other people. It will be so good for them.

Naps with newborns like this are the best ever!!