Raspberries

We have been cheering BYU through the Sweet 16 basketball games. On Thursday night, after a close and exciting game BYU lost and as a result are now out of the tournament. Right after the game ended, Travis let out a loud, frustrated sound. As if in agreement, Allie stuck out her tongue and blew a loud, spitting raspberry. Hilarious!

Click on the titles for recent catch-up posts (or just scroll down this page for a while):

Finally

7 Months

Freeze Frame

Spring Break

Freeze Frame

I want to always remember these kissable cheeks.

Spring Break

The boys have been out of school this week for Spring Break. Grandma and Grandpa Guptill flew out from Montana for an exciting weekend with the kids. They arrived on my birthday and spent the first few days with Aunt Nicki and Uncle Lance in Vancouver. On Saturday, we drove out to spend the day with them. We went bowling at Big Al's where I played the game of my life. I was a one game wonder.

Justin played great. He got several strikes and spares. Way to go!



Tyler was awesome. He didn't even use the ramp!



Cousin, Brynlee, was adorable as usual.



And Allie loved Grandpa. Love those matching chins!



As is the tradition, we went to lunch at Olive Garden. Then after watching the BYU basketball game, our little family took on IKEA. That store is just too much fun. I am never done shopping and always have items on my wish list for the next trip. The "golden egg" this time was finding a plastic bag holder we can mount on the wall in the garage to hold the newspaper plastic bags we collect to recycle. I am beyond happy they will no longer be strewn all over the cement floor. Travis will totally laugh that I blogged about it. See, I told you I was excited about it!

Grandma and Grandpa came over to stay with us from Sunday through Tuesday evening when they left to drive back home to Montana. Lots of Wii, wrestling with Grandpa, a trip to the dollar store and dinosaurs. Before they left, we fit in another bowling and arcade afternoon. Come again soon!

7 Months

Has it been this long? I can't believe how quickly this time has flown by with Allie. She is growing so fast now and can do so much now.



Two days ago she started to wave. The first time at Grandma Guptill. (Who was visiting from Montana for the weekend.) I loved that!

She reaches out to me now when she wants me to pick her up from playing on the floor.



This weekend, she started to fuss once in a while when I leave the room. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but right now I feel loved.



Allie absolutely loves the silky tags on things and zeros in on them with her eagle eye. If she can't put them in her mouth, she'll squawk in protest.

She always is sticking out her tongue. She is getting very talented at blowing raspberries. Loud ones.



We finally moved her into her own room a couple of weeks ago and I think she loves it. She gets the biggest smile looking around her room. The boys come in to see her. Justin has been sneaking into her room while she is sleeping during the day to hide behind the rocking chair and play his iPhone games. The first time I sat down to rock her after she had woken up, I got quite the surprise when Justin stood up behind me. The funny thing is that now I know he might do the same thing again but it still startles me just the same.

Allie adores her "boys". They can do NO WRONG in her eyes. It really is quite adorable, but I sometimes wish she would cry or something when they accidentally squeeze her a little too tight or step on her finger as they hurry by. She has never cried at something they have done to her. Thank goodness they are both so kind and gentle practically 100% of the time.

Luck O' the Irish!

Tyler found a 3-leaf clover in our front yard and brought it to me. He thought he roped the moon for me! My good-luck charm! I loved it. Travis told him later...next time please pull the roots out with it! Ha ha!

I find it so funny that the plant we think brings us good luck on St. Patrick's Day is a weed the rest of the year. Well, I don't care. I still think they're cute! They bring a smile to my face every time I see them. Even if they are in our grass!

Finally

Tyler lost another tooth tonight! We were beginning to wonder if it was ever going to actually happen. I tell ya, this tooth was a toughie! After over two months of being loosey-goosey, Travis finally pulled it out. Just look at this adorable toothless grin. I love it!



Now Tyler can eat again. He was so excited about that.

Tonight, Allie had her first "sitting up" bath. She loved it. We were all crowded around the tub cheering her on.

Links

I've been a busy blogger this weekend.

Click on each title to view the new posts:

Welcome Home - Day 2

House Calls

Fun with Grandpa

First Day for Justin

Tyler's First Day

Are you kidding me?

We just gave the boys a quiz:

Me: Do you know what this is?

Justin and Tyler: No...what is it?

Me: Seriously? You don't know?

Justin and Tyler: No.

Me: Haven't you ever seen one before?

Justin: Well, I have once.

Me: It's called a cassette tape.

(Travis and I were cracking up!)

Me: Gosh...we are OLD!!!!

(I told Travis later that it made me feel like I was pulling out an old horse and buggy to show off. Times sure have changed!)

Snow Day!

What's better than a beautiful, sunny snow day?

I'd say one when school has been cancelled!

The boys have thoroughly enjoyed their surprise day off of school today. (When does it ever snow during the end of February in Oregon?) They had a heyday outside this morning with all the neighborhood kids. Came in for hot chocolate with marshmallows and some cartoons. Then off to get their hair cut with Dad and lunch at Subway. I just don't think it gets any better than that for one 8-year-old and one 5-year-old boy.

Now we're going to clean the house. I'm sure that will just be the icing on the cake for them...I know it will be for me!

6 Months

*Today I took Allie in for her 6 month well-baby check up.

Here are her stats:

Weight: 18 pounds
Length: 27" long

She is doing all the 6 month "things" on the doctor's milestone checklist:

Rolls over on her own.

Sits by herself (as of this past week).

Has two cute little teeth. (I should say two SHARP little teeth!)

The doctor gave her the "go ahead" to try some solid foods. Butternut squash will be her first to taste. We'll wait for tomorrow night when everyone will be home for dinner. Her brothers have been looking forward to watching her take that first taste for a long time now! So exciting!

Other cute things she likes to do:

Gets the hiccups often when she laughs at her brothers.

She found her feet and likes to suck on her big toes. This kid is so flexible!

It is getting tricky to talk on the phone while holding her. It all started one day last week when I put Travis on speaker phone. She absolutely LOVES that telephone now and won't stop grabbing at it.

She gasps with excitement and kicks her arms and legs in anticipation of seeing the boys as I carry her down the hall or downstairs.

*Tyler and I did a little photo shoot with Allie in the afternoon light. I'm having fun experimenting with my camera. I'm trying to learn the settings on my own right now. I'd like to take a beginning digital photography class at some point when I can leave Allie for a longer amount of time. In the meantime, does anybody know of a good online course I could take from home?








* Tonight we went to Justin's "Blue & Gold Banquet" for Cub Scouts. Travis was just called as the Cub Master. So, he and the previous Cub Master planned a "time travel" skit to introduce Travis to the boys in a fun way. Jared went into the time machine and Travis came out saying, "I feel 10 years younger!" Which he is. It was clever and funny. Then Travis led the program with awards, skits by the boys and games for everyone. I think he will have fun with this calling and Justin is thrilled to have Dad helping out with him Cub Scout activities.