Summer Lovin'...

After getting back from Alabama and after our visitors left, it was back to reality. Reality wasn't all too bad. :) When Jackson was born I kept on thinking that I just wanted to fast forward the first three months of sleepless nights and long long days. But looking back now, now that he is over three months, I guess it wasn't that bad! We did have a third roommate for those months, as most of the time he slept in his bouncer in our bedroom:

{Luckily he was a cute room mate!} :)

{of course, peeing in the bath. I forget how every boy does this at every bath time!:)}

My little mommy helper:

Lots of late nights/early mornings with this little guy. Sometimes all he wanted was to lay like this over my legs and he would calm right down and go to sleep!

Lots of feet tickling by these two! They knew that when I was holding Jackson my reaction time was a little slow, so they wold attack! :)

Early morning snuggle sessions:

{I loved having a summer baby. It was the perfect time to have him. We had all summer to just relax and not have to rush in the mornings and to enjoy this little bundle of love!}

Sunday afternoon games:

We went to Target one morning and the lights were totally out. They had a generator running so they could open one check out line, and a few lights on at the front, so they still let us shop and they gave all the kids glow in the dark bracelets. Kinda fun and crazy!

Every now and then she discovers the joys of makeup. And since most of the time, she's my little tom boy, I let it fly.

{This was her outfit of choice this summer, by the way...short booty shorts, and long sleeved shirts}

The way I find him sleeping sometimes just cracks me up!

Movies in the park with friends! So fun!!! Dance party before the movie:

Taylor wishes she was the 5th McLuskie sister! :) I love these girls!

There is nothing better than a summer evening on the lake in Spokane! We went out to the Henderson's houseboat one night and had some delicious salmon and crab. It was the perfect evening!

Did a little fishing:

Did a lot of eating and having fun:

Did a little star gazing:

This guy is my cute captain:

Henderson's, McDonald's and my dad & Kathryn:

It's always fun with that crowd!! :)

Tuck & Taylor took swim lessons! Tucker did awesome and is my little fish. Taylor was a little thrown off by the fact that she couldn't wear her floats. The first two days of lessons, she clung onto the side of the pool like this and screamed! (even though she could touch!) :) It was wonderful! I was tempted to just not take her back, but Coach Rhonda is so awesome, she puts up with it just enough to justify her feelings, but is firm enough that she made her go outside of her comfort zone and by the third day she was happy and swimming and loving it. Here she is clutching on to the side for dear life:

Here were all the kids in her class. She keeps on telling me that she doesn't want to do swim lessons again because she always wants to wear her floats, but I think I will torture her next year again! :) Tucker was awesome and started mastering his strokes and started to learn how to dive properly! He was doing flips and somersaults and having tea parties on the bottom of the pool, all the things I loved to do as a kid!

Ohhh. Emmm. Geeee! I discovered the BEST ice-cream ever invented. I was both elated and so bummed that I discovered this. Elated because it is heaven in a carton and bummed because it is my caloric intake for the whole day! It was a long day, I was at the grocery store. Ben was, I think, out camping with the young men.  I saw this Ben & Jerry's and had to try it. I ate the whole thing in one sitting! all 1000 calories! I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since! About 7 cartons later (and counting)...It's bad. It's really baaaad! I'm in love!

Of course, we were still able to enjoy my favorite part of summer. Just being outside and eating deliciously fresh food and having BBQ's.

One lazy evening, eating dinner on the driveway in our swimming suits!

A lunch meat, cheese and cracker platter. Awesome.

Our vine had these really beautiful purple flowers bloom on it this summer. I really want to get some more of those vines to possibly cover the pergola more.

Kebobs on the grill! Yes please!

And when our lunch plates look like this, you know it's a good summer!

Dancing in the sprinklers:

{They had it in the grass, then it kind of snaked onto the driveway, and they saw that it formed a river in the curb, so that is where they kept it and made things to float down the river!}

Also, dance and singing parties inside. Listening to Kidz Bop with their head phones.

Tucker read on the back of his Kidz Bop CD that he could apply to be a Kidz Bop and sing on their CD's. He was so excited about that and was sure that it was going to be him! All he had to do was submit a 60 second video of him singing a kidz bop song. Since he already knew the Miley Cyrus song, Party in the USA, he decided that would be the song he would use for his entry. The above photos are of him practicing. So, we recorded him singing. Then we went on line and realized that you had to be 8 years old or something, so we never ended up submitting it. But here is the video for your viewing pleasure. After we recorded this, but before he found out he couldn't do it, he warned me, 'Mom, just so you know if I get it, I probably won't be home a lot, you know the Kidz Bop kids tour a lot!' Thanks for the heads up, bud! :)

Yeah, I think he might need just a bit more practice! :)

I thought our summer was going to be pretty low key, in the house all day. And, while it was low key, we still were able to enjoy lots of fun adventures and activities! It was a great summer! I am mourning the return of cold weather and the dreaded schedule! :)

Visiting friends...

We also had lots of good friends visit this summer!

It was so much fun having the Robisch's here for two whole months! It was just like the good ol' days with play dates and dinners and lunches. I can't believe these kids are getting so big!!!

It seems like just yesterday these two were this size! This was at their first play date and Tucker just leaned over and fell asleep on Carly! :) 

Since they never come home anymore, and when they do it is just Cherie and the kids, it was a treat this time to see Jason! It's always a treat to see Jason! :) He loves babies so much and Ben forced Jackson on him. I felt bad for poor little Jacks! I think I have a picture exactly like this of Tucker at that age with Jason denying him, too! :) I couldn't find it though! :)

My best friend from High-School came in town! She lives too far away and doesn't come back enough either! Luckily I am good friends with her sister, so I am able to keep up with her in that way. Still, it is always a treat when she comes in town! I love me some Jessy, she'll always be my girl! :)

Me, her and Meg met up to go swimming at Emily's house, and I couldn't believe that all of these kids are ours! It seems like just yesterday we were eating cereal on the floor in my parents kitchen until the wee hours of the morning, dying our hair, making out on the trampoline with boys, and getting in car accidents and tickets like crazy! :) ha ha!

Cassidy & Keyton were in town and we met up with Cherie and the kids for some Fro yo! Nothing better on a summer day!

The Enloes also came in to town. They stayed out at the lake most of the time, so we had to go out there to see them, but we were AOK with that! :)

These two have been best friends since birth, and it breaks my heart that they are no longer together in Spokane! Carter is one of my favorite little guys! Here they are in their matching shorts that Shar and I got them in Hawaii last year!

Along with this guy, Garret! These boys are the cutest! I'm glad that they seem to pick up where they left off when they get together! I'm sure it won't always be like that!

The two Jackson's:

We went to the Mobius Science Center with the whole Wagstaff family one night. Since we are kind of like part of the extended family, they invited us to this family event. My kids have asked me before if Carter, Olivia, Hayden and Jackson are their cousins. :) I always say, Kind-of! :)

Making paper airplanes with Hayden:

Cute little Harper and Taylor. Eric & Shar's niece. These two are just a few weeks apart. 

Jackson and Eric playing a mind game:

We had the whole place to ourselves for the night, so it was fun not having to share any of the fun activities, and getting to stay and play as long as we wanted! Thanks Wagstaff's!

I'm sad that good friends have to leave us! All of these wonderful friends have been more like family to us, and we miss them like they are! Life isn't the same without any of them in Spokane, but we are lucky that they all have reasons to come back to visit! :)

Jackson...

OK, so this is going to be a little long, but Jackson is so dang cute, I just can't help but snap picture after picture of him! We had photo shoots almost every day for the first week we were home from Alabama. The photo shoots stopped, but my camera is still always at hand to snap a quick pic! :) I, of course, haven't really edited them like I do for my clients. I always think I am going to, but then when it comes down to working on my own pictures or sleeping, then the sleep always trumps! :) But here they are as is:

He is such a sweet sweet boy. Seriously, I don't think he could get any more sweet. He is calm and happy and content.

This was my favorite little newborn outfit of his, so I had to get a picture of him in it before he grew out of it, and I didn't realize I had the white balance off, so it's not the greatest. By the time I realized, he had outgrown it!

He already has such a cute little personality and you can tell already by his facial expressions just exactly how he is feeling! :)

He is just a little man and I love it! :) Looking back at these pictures right now makes me realize how much he has really grown since then! He is such a chunk! :)

But seriously, I love this little man so much! I always think to myself, I don't think that there is a way I could love a baby more than I love this little man. I do remember thinking that same exact thing when Taylor was a baby and also when Tucker was a baby--but I think that this is with Jackson. I just couldn't love another baby after him! :)  I just want to eat him up!

And he loves me too, I must say. He is a mama's boy and I am loving every minute of it!

I call him my boyfriend and the kids think that that is pretty funny!

I knew that I would have to get a good shot that was announcement worthy. I'm not much of a baby photographer, I've learned that it is a lot harder than it looks! Luckily you can make a picture good as long as the light is good. So, we just made sure there was a lot of natural light and of course, he was just chill staring at me wondering what the heck I was doing! :)

I did edit one picture for his announcement...

Then, he finally started to have enough...

I love when their little eyes go crossed! :)

Then this little tutu'd lady came in and interrupted our session...and we were done!

Here is his birth announcement that I made:

I had this vision of getting a cute photo of him mixed in with all of the stuffed animals in his basket! :) It's on the list of photos I still need to edit! One day!

The reality of our summer was this:

Me with my greasy hair pulled back in a ponytail, hanging out with the kids while they played and I held Jackson.

Early morning cuddle/nap sessions in our bed...

Staring at me talking to him:

And finally getting some more consistent smiles:

He always thinks I'm a little crazy at first:

Then he loves me:

And, of course, I have some good helpers:

I hopped in the shower one morning and these two were both awake in my bed, and by the time I got out, they were both like this. Lying the exact same way:

Oh man, I love this child. I might need to go wake him up right this second to smooch on those cheeks!

I seriously can't put him down for two seconds before he his mobbed by this love fest:

He's already accompanied me on a few photo shoots:

Taking a nap with Papa. Yes, they were both asleep! :)

So, when I was in Alabama he woke up every two hours to eat. Totally normal for a 2 week old, I wasn't concerned. I was putting him in a onesie to sleep every night because it is so hot down there. I didn't even bother with the footed sleepers, they would be way too hot. My sister in law told me that when she had my nephew a few years ago, also a June baby, she thought the same thing. Then one day she tried a sleeper because it was like the only thing she had clean or something, and he slept through the night that very night! So, of course, we rushed right out and got Jackson a sleeper. That very night he slept 4 hours! We called it the magical sleeper! It was divine! So this boy has given me four hours of sleep in a row since he was 2 weeks old. He's such a sweetie! :) Anyway, he is already giving me 9-6. He started that at about 2 months. It is so great being able to put all three of them to sleep at the same time and having some me time before bed. I really have to have a few hours to myself at night before I go to bed. It helps me stay mentally stable! :) We are so happy he is ours!

And he loves playing with his daddy.

Doing the choo-choo train:

'seriously guys, is this supposed to entertain me???'Ok, maybe I went overboard with the morning pictures from my bed in the months of July & August. But I swear, every morning he got cuter and cuter! :)

And then, just recently, he discovered his hands. And it just might be the cutest thing I've ever seen!

It just happened to be the same day that College Football started--it was a really exciting day in the Pyper home! :)

Jackson had a pretty exciting summer! And we sure do love our little man!