June 2023

July 09, 2023

June 2023

We went camping!! We got together with the Gillespie, Ashcroft, and Harper families, and camped in my favorite Forest Lakes area. I greatly underestimated the cool nightly weather, so I would get Wade out of his crib and put him in my sleeping bag. He would snuggle in between Gwen and I and it was so sweet. I loved seeing his little profile next to his big sis twin. Despite freezing at night, it was the very best! Fred also stayed in our tent. On the first night, he and I woke up to the gruff sounds of a bear. He wanted to bark, and I was telling him "Don't you dare, man!" Gwen woke up and needed to go to the bathroom and I told her she couldn't. I was so amazed that she accepted that and went to bed. In the morning I told her about hearing a bear and she was so glad we didn't go out. hahah! Jake borrowed a friends camper and he and Emily slept higher up and stayed nice and warm. I love tent camping, so we lovingly split up for the weekend! Each family was assigned a meal or two to take care of. The food was great, and the company was amazing.

Meredith and Tyler came and took us all to the lake for fishing and fun. The highlight of that was Mariah sitting in a little baby camp chair with a tray, strapped in and calm. She sat there for a few hours content as can be while Mer and Tyler helped people fishing and exploring. That baby Mariah is so stinking delightful.

Gwen and Emily are in the zone in the fresh air. From the second they exited the car, they just played and explored. I want so badly to have weekends like that every month because I see how rejuvenating it is for them!

Jake was cast in a bible type of movie and went to work as an actor for one day! He didn't have a speaking part, but he loved it. He kept saying "you know, I'm an actor now" in a sarcastic way and it never gets old! We got to go see him on set since the filming was nearby. He said they took 3-d scans of him so they could edit him into scenes that they wanted, and he is great at his facial expression practices.

The girls started and finished swim team. To avoid an hour in between their age group practices, we bumped Emily up to swim with the 7-8 year olds (based on the way they do it, she should have swum with the 5-6 year old children). This ended up being awesome for a lot of reasons. One, there was no hour break in between practice. Two, Emily would have no been challenged swimming with the 5-6 year olds because she is at the tail end of being 6. At each meet, Jake and I would watch the younger group go and knew Emily would have always gotten 1st or 2nd. She swam with the bigger kids and worked hard to keep up and she loved it! She is a naturally gifted athlete, even though she doesn't really love sports. Gwen had a great time, too. She flourished with the 9-10 year old group, and was in relays every week. She learned so much while swimming with MAC, and her dives into the pool were TOP NOTCH. Watching her swim sometimes makes me emotional because I know she loves it, and she is so happy and so good.

Wade's best friend, Milo, got blessed by his dad (Jordan!) and we were able to attend with their family.

Wade lost weight and we started him on formula and he loves it so much. Every time we get a bottle ready, he does a wiggly little dance and laughs! We love him!

Jake and I celebrated our 13 year wedding anniversary! We started dating in 2008, so being together for so long is so wild! We went for pedicures and dinner, and came home and listened to an audiobook. These Is My Words. Anyone who is reading this, stop what you're doing and rent, borrow, or buy this book. It is my favorite.

We also celebrated our favorite man with Father's Day! He got a cool tie from the girls, and a matching tie with Wade. He wanted to not cook, not clean, and get a nap in and we delivered! Jake is the best. He is such a great partner. He is always "on" and cooks, cleans, and cares for all of us so well and so individually. He communicates so openly and *mostly* always seeks to understand others. I like him so much!

The worst part of the month happened at the tail end, and moved into July, but I'll cover it now. Wade got sick for the first time. That's always expected when my babes stop breastfeeding. He had diarrhea and it gave him the worst booty rash I have ever seen. It extended from the top his bum all the way to the front. We couldn't wipe him without causing his raw skin to bleed in multiple places. He still has two long, open sores, but they are better than before. Jake gave him blessings, and we were up like he was a newborn. Any time he would fuss, we would immediately change him and reapply his bum cream. He couldn't go longer than an hour without pooping, so we just pushed through like zombies. Meredith helped us with showing how to put the cream on since she's dealt with bad rashes like this one, and I'm so thankful. We went through a full tube of cream in one day because we were layering it on so thick so any poo would just slip off his bum. It's still so sad. He was in so much pain. Poor baby.