Baby Stuff

I've spent the past 5 weeks falling in love with my sweet baby boy. It's so wonderful to have a newborn in the house again. Since the time Nathan was born almost 5 years ago, manufacturers have come up with some fun new baby things. Here are my 2 favorites:

I've used this cover for privacy and modesty while nursing. I'd never pay their ridiculous price - I had a coupon code for a free one, but you seamstresses could probably make your own easily.

We believe there are many benefits to swaddling a newborn baby. We swaddled our other kids with regular baby blankets so when I found these special swaddle blankets I was excited. I love the design and how they fasten easily with Velcro (although the ripping Velcro is a little noisy at 3am). Tyler loves it too, see?

Little House on the Prairie

In April we moved from the heart of Grangeville to a house just outside the city limits. Here are a few things we like about our new place:

Top 10 Things About This House on Highway 95:

1. Lots of trees all around the house give us plenty of shade to keep cool on hot summer days.

2. These Tiger Swallowtail butterflies play in our yard every day.

3. There is so much space for our large family inside. We're not tripping over each other and there's always a place to find peace and quiet. (My room has a door... with a lock!)

4. An entire wall of built-in shelves for our books and movies

5. Trash, water, sewer bill is included in the rent.

6. The water tastes good! Not since I lived in my childhood home have I liked the water enough to drink it without some kind of filter.

7. We have great neighbors. Our landlords live next door and are so very nice. Here are Rio and Jack riding one of their horses in our front yard:

8. The dishwasher is so quiet I barely know it's running.

9. Main level laundry. I love not hauling laundry baskets up and down stairs.

10. The fabulous yard. There are fields to explore, trees to climb and a great view of the mountains.

There are a few things we aren't crazy about - like the old house smell and the fact that there's carpet in every room (even the kitchen and bathroom), but we're very happy here and blessed that we found such a nice place that's just right for our family right now.

And the Winner Is...

NATHAN!

Our city library has a great summer reading program. They have a weekly prize drawing for kids who read books each week, there's a craft session and story time once a week, and if a child reads 12 total books his name is put into an end of the program drawing. Nathan (and 3 other lucky kids) won a new bike! The timing couldn't have been more perfect since his little toddler bike is too small now. He absolutely loves his new "Dinosaur Bike"!

Our Baby Tyler

Here's some pictures of our new little guy:
1st day home from the hospital - 7/17

1st bath - 7/23

Blessing day - 7/31

A tired boy after a big, big day!

Musician

On June 1st I had my annual spring piano recital. I was very happy to include a new student this year - Jack! He started taking piano lessons in January and has been excited about developing his new talent. He played Halloween Night and The Bunny With No Name at the recital and performed beautifully. Including my own 3 children, I teach 10 students and enjoy watching their musical talent grow.

Great Year, Great Teachers

The 2010-2011 school year was great. We are so pleased with how well the kids have adjusted to living in a small town. While sometimes it feels like opportunities are limited, there are advantages too - like the smaller class sizes that offer more one on one education between teachers and students. Here is Jack on the last day of school with his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Wassmuth:

Mr. Stefani was Rio's 2nd grade teacher this year.

And Mrs. Allen taught Harrison's combined 3rd/4th grade class.

Catching Up With Rio

In April our family moved from our small house in town to a larger house with a great yard just outside of town. We love our new place, but we've had problems getting an internet connection set up so I've got some catching up to do. Rio turned 8 years old on April 7th and was baptized on the 9th. It was so great to have some visitors come to Grangeville to share her special day with us.

Rio has continued her sewing lessons and is modeling a new skirt she made. So cute!

She also had a dance recital and did a great job. What a beautiful, talented girl we have!