The Latest and Greatest

It has been a monumental summer here in Minnesota.  The excitement just never ends. The kids have been hitting their developmental milestones left and right! I will do my best to catch you all up on the latest.....

Bradley has been growing and developing before our eyes into a handsome and very talented little man.  We like to joke that he is 4 going on 9! Just in the past few months he has learned to ride his bike, count to 100, count backwards from 40, spell and wright his first and last name, tie his shoes, and the basics of reading.  He has always amazed us with his vocabulary, but lately it has grown to really impress us.  He is making me nervous that any day now he is going use a word that I have to ask him "what's they mean?!" Riding his bike is definitely Bradley's new passion.  We made a trip up to Minneapolis to ride a path that ran along the Mississippi River last month.  It was beautiful! Us girls, on roller blades and stroller, got smoked within the first two minutes of course; Brad and his dad on the other hand rode 16 miles straight!! The craziest part...... he didn't even fall asleep on the 40 min drive home?!?! This past month we were blessed with the opportunity to spend a little more time with him than normal.  Sam drove all the way out to Rexburg and back over a short weekend to get him.  We are so grateful for the opportunity to have him here.  He has been having a blast riding his bike in the heat wave and "blowing our minds" (a Bradley favorite quote) with his amazing ability to learn.

The drive to Jackson to pick up Brad

The drive back to Minnesota.

They always see the coolest things when they road trip together.

Brad so happy to be back with his sister.

Maddie so excited that her brother is back!

Practicing writing his name.

Riding his awesome bike....with flames.

Maddie has been busy hitting a number of milestones as well.  We took her in for her 4 month check up at the beginning of the month and our little Chunk-ster weighed in at 16.5 lbs!! She is in the 90% in both the weight and height categories.  We are so grateful that she is so healthy and has been given the most pinch-able thighs ever!! She has started rolling front to back very regularly and is working hard on getting back to her front.  She has decided that sitting rocks and will chat your ear off until she gets the help she needs to be upright.  Her vocabulary has grown so much in the last few weeks as well!! Mostly in her tones and screams but every once in a while she'll babble at a non-ear-shattering level. Smiling and laughing has been the most fun, but extremely hard to catch on tape.  Her adventure into solid foods has been a lot of fun as well.  She is defiantly her mother's daughter so far with her LOVE of veggies.  We'll just  have to see if she holds onto that when she discovers chocolate and baked goods though. I think the biggest one for both her and I, has been moving into her own room.  She has officially graduated from her pack and play and moved on to her crib.  She has done amazingly well, which I think has had a lot to do with her big brother sharing a room with her.  They are great friends and she absolutely ADORES him.  Now..... the teething battle begins!! I apologize ahead of time to those spending the next few weeks with us.  She is very vocal about her discomfort and everyone gets to hear about it.  Luckily we will be with some seasoned pros during this time, and learn some tricks for easing the pain. 

Brad fixing Sissies hair for her.

Love <3 the new do.

Pretty stoked about her new chair.

Still likes the old seat too.

Sam and I have been keeping busy as well.  Although most of our time is spent entertaining the kids, we have found a few moments that we can spend doing something for ourselves. Bradley's new love of riding his bike has ignited an old flame in Sam.  One of his favorite past times has been brought back to life.  With his new "29er," Sam has returned to mountain biking.  The entire time that we have lived in Minnesota, we had no idea about the trails that they have here.  They sound amazing, I have never actually seen them myself, but Sam absolutely loves them.  There have been a few crashes, cuts, and bruises, but it has been a great outlet for Sam and a great form of exercise. I have not had much of an opportunity to get out and do anything crazy like mountain biking with Maddie attached to my hip.....yet.  I have spent most of my down time (Maddie's nap or bedtime) working on family history.  I don't have a clue about anything in my background, so it has been a lot of fun so far.  I think the most notable thing I have discovered so far is that I am a direct descendant of Shadrach Roundy. He joined the church after meeting Joseph Smith in New Your and traveled with him all the way to Nauvoo where he acted as chief of police and a bodyguard to J.S. He was the second oldest  person in Brigham Young's company when they arrived in Salt Lake and acted as the Bishop of the 16th ward!  So incredibly fascinating, I absolutely LOVE doing this! I am just scratching the surface so far, but I am so excited to dive further in and learn about each individual. We are leaving for Idaho tomorrow and I cannot wait to see our family and visit the Rexburg Temple!!