Dear Friends

This has been the summer of moving away for many of our dear neighbors and friends and as another family we love headed off on a new adventure today, all the emotions come flooding back for all those we are missing! We think about you often and miss you often (even you who have been gone for quite a while and you who are not really all that far away).

And to all of the dear friends who have made our lives so rich and sweet - close by, far away, past and present - thank you (if you are reading this blog, there is a good chance that this includes you)! Thank you for letting us learn from your strengths, for serving us in so many ways, for puting up with our weaknesses and for ALL of the fun fun times!

*and now I am done with rambling sentimental thoughts by Jen...sorry for the plethora of them lately! Back to pictures and kid stories and birthdays and school starting and fun events soon!

Evidence

Every single day, I feel like I am uncovering evidence that the nicer, more tactful, thoughtful, caring, optimistic, non-judgmental, organized, productive, listening, serving, fun and energetic version of me is still in here somewhere. This is very good news considering this version of me has been missing for almost a year and a half now (not surprisingly, about the same time I got pregnant with Brynn and we started building our garage) and I was beginning to think she might be gone for good!

So happy you are back, better version of myself, now can you just help me find the more patient version of me who didn't yell?

Feeling Glad

Some days are hard - really hard - for no reason at all. Some days, after my kids fall asleep, I just want to fall into bed and not wake up until they are grown up enough that I don't need to do everything (or almost everything) for them. But then then, there are the moments - that come quite frequently even though I often don't recognize them for what they are - when I just feel glad.

Today, right now, I am feeling glad.

Glad that I am married to the man I love. Glad that he still makes me laugh, that hanging out with him is the highlight of my life, and that I still get excited for him to get home at the end of the day. Glad that my name is "mommy". Glad that, even though it is hard work, I get to be here to witness my kids learning and growing every single day. Glad that I so frequently stop in awe and amazement of the strength, character and love that I see in my 3 sweet babies. Glad that I am also just "Jen" and that I finally realize that that role is just as important as wife or mommy. Glad that I have had a beautifully blessed life filled with fond memories, dear friends and family and so so so much love. Glad that I have time - right now - whether good, bad, or anything in between and I can choose what to make of it. Glad that I can look forward to tomorrow (and especially 21 months from now) with hope and excitement. Glad that I am able to serve...very very glad. Glad that I know what I know...and that there is so much more to learn...every single day.

Today I am glad, even though it has been a long day, I am glad. There is nothing extraordinary or earth-shattering about life right now, but it is sweet and wonderful and I want to always remember that it is the simple things in life that make me glad

Seven Months of Sweetness

I can't believe that my little Brynn is already 7 months old. Every time I turn around she has learned something new and looks more grown up and I wonder where my little baby girl has gone!
At her 6 month appointment (which was actually closer to 6 1/2 months) she was 17 lbs. 8 oz. (68 percentile) and 26.5 inches long (64 percentile). Those of you who held my other kids when they were little are probably asking, Really? Yes, really. If she didn't have those big beautiful blue eyes like Chloe I might wonder if she were actually switched at the hospital (anything is possible when you don't have your sharpie marker ready to mark your baby as it comes out - hehe - I am getting kind of excited for the new season of The Office). Just in case you don't remember...Morgan was 22 lbs. at his 6 month appointment, and Chloe was just under 21 lbs at her 4 month appointment. Apparently, my body has decided to make 2% milk instead of ice cream!

Brynn is just a little spark of light in our home. She has the sweetest giggle and the greatest belly laugh (which reminds me so much of Morgan at that age). She is so happy and easy going and loves to observe the world around her. All you have to do is smile at her and her whole face lights up and smiles a big giant grin back at you! She says “dada(dadadadada)” and I am pretty sure she has said mimicked some other words quite clearly, but since has only said them once I don’t think they count. She loves to play with her turtle book/toy, Chloe's My Little Ponies, her Jungle ball activity center, and my laptop keyboard. She could spend all day giggling back and forth with Morgan or laughing excitedly as Chloe puts on a dance performance for her. She doesn't hate her car seat nearly as much as she used to, and she will finally take a bottle every once in a while to give mommy a break.
Her 1st tooth broke through on Monday and she has been having all sorts of fun chewing stuff up ever since. She does a great job at picking up finger foods and feeding herself but she always wants to eat whatever I am eating. She grunts/screams for a bite of your food until you give it to her (just like Chloe used to do...I am sure my family will know what I am talking about if they think of Chloe's first Thanksgiving dinner.) She especially loves freeze-dried fruit, fresh fruit, cheerios, goldfish crackers, yogurt and potatoes. Her fuzzy head is actually growing some hair and I am getting my hopes up that I may be able to start putting bows in her hair by Christmas time (fingers crossed).
She is a fabulous sleeper and sleeps from about 8:30/9:00 pm to 7:00 am most nights and then goes back down for a long morning nap after breakfast and some playtime with Morgan and Chloe. She still sleeps on her tummy, and loves to suck her thumb. She will take a binki if you give her one, but she prefers her thumb. She has been sitting up for over a month now and is rocking back and forth on her hands and knees in preparation to take off crawling for real instead of just army crawling all over the place. Despite her good nature, she is starting to show some serious spunk and I am starting to get really worried about my capacity to handle 2 little girls with so much spunk!
I still don't feel "adjusted" to being a mother of 3. I never have enough hands, patience, time or sanity, but I can't imagine our family without Brynn. She is such a joy and a beautiful girl. She has such a great capacity to love, and I am in awe as I observe the amount of love she shows to each and every member of our family, despite her very young age. It is hard to imagine that a 7-month-old child can make so many individuals feel that they are the most loved and special person in the world, but she does. I love to see the relationship between Chloe and Brynn evolve and I know that they will not always get along, but they are going to be the best of friends like only sisters could be. Thanks for being a part of our family Miss Brynnie...we love you more and more every single day!!!

I know, I know...

it has been a long time since I have posted - again! I am pretty sure it is Facebook's fault. Or, maybe it is vacation's fault (I know, since when did the Tates take 3 vacations in one summer...oh, yeah, never!).

We just got back from a(nother) LOVELY trip to the beautiful Monterey, CA area. High 70s/Low 80s every day, 30 minutes from the beach, and fun times with wonderful friends! We stayed with our friends, the Banks, and brought all the chaos of 3 kids on vacation (and off their sleep routines) to their quiet house out in the country. We had so much fun relaxing, spending time together, and just enjoying life!

Happy Happy Family Vacation!Our wonderful walk along the coast in Monterey Bay!Hanging out at the most lovely home ever! Thanks Derek and Angie for letting us stay with you!Picking strawberries and raspberries at a super cute little pick your own produce farm.Morgan didn't want to look for a Monterey Bay Aquarium Family Photo...such is life!Fun times at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We bought a pass last time we were there (because it was cheaper to buy a pass than to go twice) so this time we knew what we wanted to see and spent the rest of the time in the play areas! So much fun!And, what would a vacation to California be without a trip to the beach! We lucked out with the most beautiful day ever for a beach trip! The kids (all of us, really) had so much fun playing in the sand and jumping over the waves. Seth, Derek and Angie did some body surfing. Chloe loved jumping the waves fearlessly and collecting seashells to bring home, Morgan really liked building things in the sand and watching the big kids play in the water, and playing in the water himself - as long as Mom was right there with him. Chloe made Angie and Porter join her for many MANY tea parties (basically a birthday party in the sand, with a colorful cake). Porter was a perfect little beach baby...so so cute...can't wait to set him up with Brynnie in 16 years! :) Brynn got suncreen on and then ate and slept, under the stroller shade the whole time...good thing we covered her with sunscreen so the sand could stick to her. And I had a blast playing in the waves with the kids and Seth! The beach is awesome!
We planned to drive the hour and a half to see Seth's sister Bethany, and her family, on Sunday and go to church with them. Their little baby boy decided he wanted to be there to meet us and was born at 1:30 am on Sunday. We were able to spend the day with the new big sister, Amelia and then go and visit baby Rion (like Orion without the O). The hospital wouldn't allow any kids under 12 to visit unless they were siblings, and they were pretty bummed out about it, so we had to stop back by and let them hold him on our drive back home on Tuesday. When Chloe held Rion, she looked at me and said "He is sleeping, Mom" and proceeded to sing very softly to him Rock a bye baby in the tree tops,
when the wind blows the cradle will rock...
A dream is a wish your heart makes,

when you're fast asleep.

All with the correct tune, of course. She is such a smart little cookie! A few hours later we had 3 kids doing this in the car...

So much fun...and we have been recovering ever since!

P.S.

Today is my Mom's birthday and even though we have wished her happy birthday a number of times today, this post is officially done on her birthday so she can count it as the cherry on top!

Love you mom/aka Grandma Becky! Hope your Birthday was all sorts of FUN! And know that no matter how many candles you acrue on your cake, Morgan and Chloe will always be happy to blow them out for you! :)

White Trash

Saturday was the long awaited day...the Summit County Demolition Derby. We (including the 3 kiddos) dressed up in our white trash outfits, got a bucket of KFC and headed up to Coalville, UT where we had a white trash tailgate picnic. We met up with our fellow derby-goer friends and headed up to our seats. The derby did not dissapoint...there was flying mud, serious mullets to observe, cars on fire, rodeo queens with fringe and sparkly cowboy hats riding around in pickup trucks, yummy snow cones, a horrid rendition of the national anthem, bobcat "zambones", and trucker hats being tossed into the crowds.

Sadly, we unintentionally fit the bill of "white trash family" better than anticipated. Chloe fell through the bleachers (we were about 6 rows up), Seth manuvered through the bleachers to get her, Morgan thought the crashing cars were hillarious, and Brynn cried the.whole.time. We would have enjoyed the derby, had we actually been able to watch it. Next year we are leaving the girls home...Morgan can come, but the girls are banished!

After Chloe fell through the bleachers, we decided to downsize our "load" and took the camera and such back to the car, but here are some glimpses into this year's white trash event.


When we pulled onto our street close to midnight, we were greeted by the most white trash moment of the day...a truck halfway in a trench from the road construction project. I especially enjoyed overhearing a grown man say, "Mom, I really couldn't see the hole...my headlights shine above the tops of the road barricades and there was nothing lighting the hole." If you live by me and have seen said hole...you should be laughing at this point. I'm not quite sure how you can miss a 3.5 foot deep hole the length of half a city block and surrounded by barricades and cation tape...

Laughing Out Loud

I started keeping a journal of the funny things the kids say and have come to realize that, while they say a lot of funny stuff, the stuff they do is what cracks me up the most!

Exhibit A:
Even though the dogs weren't allowed to come to the Ward Luau, the kids didn't want them to miss out on the fun of the Leis we made! (Don't worry, we are a still a one-dog household...Roxy was just over for the weekend). They wore them all day long!

Exhibit B:
I found Chloe reading books to herself on the back of the couch with the book upside down. When I pulled out the camera, Morgan decided to join in the fun.
Exhibit C:
Who needs fancy superhero costumes...Morgan is happy with pirate undies and footie jammies. The bandaids on the knee are the perfect touch for a superhero...don't you think?

Exhibit D:

Brynn needed a bath. Chloe helped. I took Brynn out to get dressed. Chloe fell into the bath...fully clothed. She wasn't very happy about that, but naturally, my reaction was, "Stay right there, Chloe...Seth, get the camera!"