In Our Kitchen.

 We now have a baby sitting in a high chair snacking on cheerios and puffs, along with rice cereal and pears in our kitchen.

There's also a mamma learning how to make baby food for the first time. I'm learning a lot of new things from being in the sandbox. The baby food here is incredibly limited and what we do have is packed with sugar. So I'm brushing up my domestic skills. Boiling and heating veggies and fruits, pureeing them in the blender and filling ice cube trays with it to freeze in small portions for our little lady.

Another sight in our kitchen this week. A quick little moment captured of Lexie snuggling with her daddy.

 We've spent a lot of time in this part of the house lately.

Hugs, A

Dragons.

Owen. Sweet. Owen.

Sometimes even Dragons need a nap.

Where ever they happen to crash.

A few converstations with Owen lately...

• His favorite line these days, which we love, "You're the best... [insert- mom, dad, brother, grandma, sister...]"
• "When I grow up I'm going to marry two girls. But one at a time..."
• He drew me a picture of mom, dad, carter and owen. "This was when Lexie was in your tummy and I was still the baby."
• After discovering one morning that he decided to color all over his dresser with a red crayon the night before when he should have been sleeping, I confronted him. He then told me, "I wanted a red dresser not blue.
• Telling me about his friends on the way home from the commissary, "Mom I like Calvin a little, I like Louie a lot, and Henry a little more."

Hugs, A

Bathing Beauty and her haircut.

We brought back a new pool float. She loves it and chewing on the boys diving fish. A little bathing beauty content and happy to relax in the pool with the gang.

Just a few days before the above photo she had her first haircut. I took about an inch and a half of her little comb over. The rest of her hair is starting to grow in and I believe the section I took off was the last of her dark newborn hair. I was the one who cut it, Mike refused and instead took photos.

 Not that happy about the haircut.

 But I'm sure she loves being able to pull her headbands off now and not having three inches of hair in her eyes. The price of beauty my dear.

Hugs, A

Back at it.

 We've been back in the sandbox for over two weeks. The first week we dealt with jet lag. The second week we dealt with new routines with Carter now in school, Owen not yet in preschool, Mike back at work and me back to teaching Boot Camp twice a week.

 

SO now I officially feel like we are Back at It. Working at establishing solid routines for the kids. I've always felt like little ones do best when they know what is coming and what to expect. A solid routine provides this and makes for a happy Dille family with rested and happy (most of the time) kiddos.

 

This week as we sat around the kitchen table for lunch, with Lexie in her new high chair having snacks I finally felt like a mom of three kiddos. Before it was two boys and the baby. Now it all feels real, three kids. With that feeling also came the reassurance that we, Mike and I, can do this. Raise three kids. I want nothing more than for my kids to know they are loved and special. Another reminder that I personally need to slow down and see my kids for who they are. Stop and be with them, not directing them or shuffling through our days. Perhaps this was my ah-ha moment for the week.

 

Another routine I love, Sabbath day photos. This past week was pretty successful. I think the photo above needs to be printed and framed- in our house and the granparents. Just for fun here's another one of Lexie. Seriously, can't get enough of this little lady.

*I've been a blogging mama the last few days. Scroll down and catch up with us.

Hugs, A

First Day of School.

Carters first day of Kindergarten.

 I drove him in the first morning and dropped him off. Yes, we are in the sandbox you can see a mommy in an abaya taking her son to school behind Carter. The Saudi kiddos are able to attend K4 and Kindergarten at the international on camp school. After that they go to a different school.

 You can see all of the kindergartners lining up behind him and the canopy in the far back is the playground. The sun was in his eyes here, but he still stopped to smile for me.

 To celebrate his big day we asked him where he wanted to go to dinner. Big surprise, J. Rockets we went. This time we took the Bournes with us to celebrate their big kiddos too.

Carter, Henry and Avery.

Things are going well. Carter rides the bus to school and the bus picks him up and drops him off right here at the house. He loves the bus. He comes home for lunch each day and we're able to reconnect, freshen up and off he goes again.

Here's to the next 13 years of school.

Hugs, A

six month cutie.

 Faces of our six month cutie.

(Shh, these are a little late to post and she'll be 7 months in just another week.)

 The Lexie tongue twist.

Then she ripped that sticker off and chewed on it... and we were done. That's a wrap of her photo shoot.

Stats as of August 20, 2012

Weight 17.3 lbs 70%

Height 27 inches 88%

Head 17 inches 76%

 

At six months she will roll from her tummy to her back. She's pretty content to just hang out and watch the action. She will scoot on her back, she pushes up in a mini bridge up onto the heels of her feet and propels herself ahead. She's learning to sit, but still looks more like a little tripod.
 She has one bottom tooth.  She loves to put everything in her mouth and is great at passing things from one hand to the other.

She thinks the funniest thing ever is her brothers and has a fantastic belly laugh only for them. She is happiest first thing in the morning and wakes up squealing and kicking her legs.

She has an opinion and will let you know if she doesn't like what you are doing. She'll holler at you if you walk by her and don't stop to say hello or pick her up.

She is loving her highchair. Eating Puffs, rice cereal and pears.

She's at a great stage right now. Mostly happy and not yet mobile enough to get into everything. Loving having her in our family.

Hugs, A

 

36 hours in Seattle.

While in the States for August Mike, Lexie and I planned a quick visit to see my sister, her awesome husband Brian and my adorable neice Emma. We were there for less than 48 hours. We hoped a plan Saturday morning, it's just an hour, and came back for bedtime Sunday. Just a quick weekend with out the boys, who stayed with the grandparents and were none the wiser "our parents are gone, what? We're having too much fun to notice"

On the Seattle agenda, Ferry Boat ride to one of the islands and The Public Market, hanging out with the family and a whole lot of Emma! We picked the best weekend ever, it was warm, blue skies, white puffy clouds and a cool breeze from the ocean. I would have moved there in a heartbeat if every day were like that. I loved the market and all of the bundles of fresh flowers for so cheap. I would always have a bouquet in my dining room if we lived here!

Mike and Brian at the market.

My baby loves to shop too!



Walking by the water.

Both girls were asleep in the stroller.

The top deck of the Ferry with Seattle in the background.

Lori, Me and Lexie on the Ferry.

Another great treat for our super quick visit was getting together with our good friends Jen and Brad who were home for repat as well in the Seattle area. It was nice to see them on the right side of the world and out of the sandbox. We walked through the market together and had a quick lunch. We were so blessed to see family and our sandbox family in the same weekend in such a fun city.



Thank you again to my sweet sister Lori for welcoming us and making us feel at home. She was gracious enough to arrange our hotel and then take the weekend off work to show us around. We loved our visit and our time with them. Already planning next years trip.

Hugs, A

 

Old Friends and New Hang Outs.

No trip back to Boise is complete without a few get together with good friends. We are lucky enough to meet up with some of Mikes old roommates from college, and I mean old school roommates from back when Ricks College was still Ricks, before BYU I days.

 Funny thing now is that when we go back I'm the one to organize, not Mike, the outings with all of the wives and kids. I love these girls even if we only get to hang out twice a year, man oh man, I look forward to the days when we will eventually move back there. (Yes I said it, no there are no plans to leave the sandbox anytime soon.)

 

The Perry, Tueller and Dille kids (plus Mike) and the pool one afternoon.

 Emily and Henry, Aubrey and Riley, Me and Lexie.

 Lexie, a little wind picked up that awesome comb over. Plus you can check out both Mikes, mine and Mike Tueller.

Another outing with the gang at Big Als a new bowling alley, play center and sports bar. So fun. If you are in the Eagle area, plan a date night and head over there. We were totally impressed.

Marie and her new little man Brandon and Lexie and I during dinner.

I don't even have a picture of the guys to post. Sorry honey.

 Lexie taking a snooze during our late night disco bowling.

There is never enough time to play with these awesome bunch of friends.

Hugs, A

The Slide.

*Coming soon.

Our time in Idaho.

 Any trip back to Idaho includes a lot of time with cousins. This trip was no different and boy was it fun.

Landon 5, Carter 5, Brooklyn 2.5, Owen 3 and Jarom 3.

The new round of Dille cousins. Zade and Lyla 7 mo., Lexie 6 mo. and the newest little guy from Mike's sister Shala, Cody 3 mo. Can't even imagine how much fun it will be to chase all four of these little ones around on Sunday nights after dinner. 

Carter and Landon. These two get along so well and LOVE playing together. Pretty much cousin BFF's.

 Sneaking chips. Owen, Jarom and Brooklyn.

 Three of the new cousins. Lexie with her twin cousins, Lyla and Zade. (Yes, both of our brothers had twins this year. It's been a baby boom on both sides of our families.)

 Playing football outside with the boys. Jarom, Landon, Owen, Luke, Carter and Aj.

 Uncle Paul came over one night to take grandchildren photos. Those will deserve their own posts. The Dille grand kids pretty much doubled this year.

The dads sitting on the side line during the photo shoot. Mike, Brian McDonald and Bryan Dille.

One afternoon while in Idaho we had a picnic with grandma and pappa in the backyard. Carter was talking about having a picnic for over a week with a real picnic basket. He was thrilled to help pack the basket. 

The last few photos from the night before we left.
With Uncle Paul and Aunt Brenda. We were lucky to spend a lot of time this trip with them. We even managed an afternoon at the water park together while grandma watched Lexie. Paul and Mike were able to manage a few mornings a week at Cross fit and Brenda was sweet enough to spend her time off work hanging out with the kids and I.  

 Mike's parents and our gang.

 Grandma Dille and Lexie.

Just a few other photos from our time at the Dilles. Here are the boys watching a show in their grandparents room. Each morning they would sneak upstairs and usually wake them up. They were awesome to get them breakfast and turn on a show in the morning and let Mike and I get another hour or so of sleep. 

 Mamma and Lexie practicing sitting.

 Just a cute one of Mike in the living room.

So the run down of our time in Idaho.
Evenings running around the backyard with kids.
Dinners sitting around the table with Mikes siblings and their spouses which is some of our favorite times.
An afternoon spent at Roaring Springs- already making plans for next year.
Mornings at the Rec. Center and at Cross fit.
Sonic Happy Hour runs.
BBQ and Mexican Dinners Eating Out.
A pool night with all of the cousins.
A shopping and dinner sister in law date night- which was one of my highlights!
A Farmers Market Visit.
Dentist visits to Dr. Uncle Bryan and everyone came out cavity free.
A lot of shopping and Target trips.

In that time we also snuck down to Utah for three days. We stopped in Logan, our old USU stomping ground to visit the LDS temple there. Lucky for us we knew a college student there who was willing to meet us at the hotel suite and watch the kids so we could make it to the temple. We also managed a dinner date afterwards at our favorite Mexican joint from college.
From there we headed south. Stopped by the New LDS Brigham City Temple. The kids were all asleep in the car so we pulled over, hopped out of the car and took a few snapshots. It's a beautiful temple and a great addition to the city.  

  

Another reason we headed to Utah was to visit our friend the Bournes before they moved to the Sandbox with us. They were gracious enough to let us put a few bikes and Christmas presents in their shipment.
This also gave the kids a bit of time to get to know each other, hoping it would ease the transition for their kiddos to such a different place. Perhaps it was even good for Johns parents to meet us and realize that even though they will be in the Middle East they will still have good US friends. ( Yes, I did just give my family a little pat on the back.) 
From Utah we headed back up North to spend our last three days in Idaho surrounded by family. Saying goodbye was even harder this time. We don't have plans to return until next summer and I guess knowing it would be such a long stretch 10-11 months made it even harder to leave.
Missing all of them already.

Hugs, A