Sept. Happenings and a Beach trip!

September was filled with extra activities! Starting at the beginning of the month Bentley began playing soccer. Now we go every Friday night to watch him play. He is quite the athlete and enjoys playing and we enjoy watching him play. Wyatt and Bailey usually cheer him on or run around trying to get on the field. He has even had most of his cousins and his grandma Curtis come watch him! When Chad and Jessica were down we also went to Bahama Bucks with them which is always fun and yummy!Bentley is also doing so well in school and is reading like a pro. I am so proud of him for the handwork he puts into learning and for getting all his homework and reading done. His teacher always has so many nice things to say about him and he always comes home with helper grams for being a good example. He has started making new friends and enjoys school. Another new happening with Bentley is that he has a tooth loose and is so excited to lose it any day. It is weird seeing your kids get older and change, but it is also rewarding and fun. Bailey also started attending dance classes every Wednesday morning. I love watching her because she is already so graceful and loves to learn new things. She has also learned so much at school and comes home singing new songs and performing the actions. I love when she opens up about what happened at school because she is so detailed and has the cutest face when telling me. Something she does that I always want to remember is that she points with just about every finger except her pointer finger. As her mom it is so cute to see. She holds up two or three fingers in the most complicated way but it seems right to her. She has such a cute personality and has really started communicating well with us. She still likes to use her imagination to play with her dolls and go camping on the floor of her bedroom. She makes quite the mess, but I am slowly learning that as long as she picks it up its ok. She has really started mimicking me lately and wants to be a little mommy. She is getting so excited for her little sister to come. She came up to me the other day and said "mom I can't wait until I am bigger and I can be a mommy like you and cook dinner." I thought that was funny. She loves to play with her brothers and tries to tag along with Bentley when he has friends over. He mostly includes her but sometimes she becomes the annoying little sister. Wyatt is still a silly, cute, cuddly, rough little boy. He loves to tease and gets a big smile on his face when he has succeeded in bothering someone. Just like his daddy:) He is talking really well now and also is starting to communicate better with us so that we understand him. He still has an adorable big smile and cute freckles across his nose. He loves to do anything his big brother and sister are doing. He does play pretty well by himself too though when they are gone to school. He loves motorcycles and wants one for his birthday! He also loves spiderman and superman and likes to dress up like them. Something cute he does is cuddle up to me if I am sitting down and loves to touch my belly and say baby. He also loves to say " I bigger" or "I'm a big boy". I told him he needs to be potty trained to be a big boy but still not having huge success there. Jon had his hand surgery and everything went pretty well. His hand has a huge scar across it and it is still really tough around the scar. He thinks his pinky finger will stay numb forever but is happy he doesn't have the shooting pain up his elbow anymore. The doctor said it was a benign tumor and shouldn't grow back but time will tell. I am still busy being a stay at home mom, running kids to and fro, being a visiting teacher, and laurel advisor. I do well most weeks, but struggle sometimes with feelings that I am not doing a great job! I really feel strongly about my biggest and best calling as a mother and know that it is important to create a stable home life for my whole family, but sometimes I am tempted that I should work as a Dental Hygienist more, and that I could help earn more income for our family. However, when I am working I feel like things fall apart at home and the kids get crazy when they are off schedule. I have come to know that I am most valuable in the home for now and I am striving every day to live up to this calling and value it in a world where stay at home moms are not valued as much as one who balances it all! I am blessed and lucky that I don't need to balance it all and I am grateful for Jon's hard work to provide for our family so that I can be at home with our children during this time in my life and theirs. Other happenings: My cousin Mckenna got married in the Gilbert temple and it was a beautiful sealing to attend. Their reception was also a blast with good food, company, and dancing. The kids loved the games and dancing that were provided and we stayed the whole time which is usually un heard of with three small children. She looked beautiful in her wedding dress and they are a gorgeous couple! I went to my cousin Jennifers baby shower for the little girl she is having a month before ours. At the beginning of the month I made delicious homemade jam with my mom. I love doing this with her. It rained a lot this month and we have loved the moisture, but not the mosquitos so much. I took Bailey, Wyatt, and my nephews Colby and Trey to open gym and they loved it! There was all the gym equipment, a parkour course, foam pit, rope ladders, and trampolines to play on. Jon and Bailey went on their first daddy daughter campout. I was a bit nervous sending them but Jon said all the little girls had so much fun and Bailey loved singing and dancing with the older girls that took her under their wings. He said they had a great time and had fun visiting with everyone. I took the boys on a date with me to Barro's pizza before Bentley's soccer game. He scored two goals and we all had fun watching a movie when we got home. The next day we attended the annual Down Syndrome Walk with my mom, Collin, and Heidi. It was so much fun as usual and the kids came home with fun carnival toys and treats! It was so humid and hot that we dumped water bottles on us to cool off. It didn't keep us from enjoying the event and celebrating Down Syndromes! Jon decided we should take a trip to the beach since it was still nice weather and we may not have the chance to go on a family trip for awhile once this baby girl comes! We headed to Newport the end of the month and it was a refreshing, fun trip for all! The kids still ask when we can get back to the beach because they love to look for sea life, swim in the waves, search for treasures, ride their scooters on the board walk, chase the seagulls, see the newport temple, and play in the sand! We saw a sting ray, dolphins, and two sea lions playing in the waves. We also ran into people on the board walk with all sorts of animals: a Yellow python, a beautiful parrot that Jon let sit on his shoulder and kiss him, tons of dogs, and an iguana. We ate good food, and played at the balboa arcade. We also went on the ferris wheel, and ate out on the pier at Ruby's. The kids loved the buffet breakfast at our hotel every morning and loved being able to pick from so many good things to eat and drink. They also loved the elevator "rides" and sleeping in the same room. Mom and dad didn't like sleeping in the same room so much but thats ok:) It was a trip to remember and we are glad we got away to spend some quality time together as a family creating memories! Bentley and Bailey had picture day at school and both looked so adorable. Wyatt also had me do his hair and take our own pictures at home. We made our first fall treat which was peanut butter cookies with white chocolate chips and a candy corn on top. They kids love helping and they were delicious. Pictures to follow....