First Grade!!!

Katelyn had her first full day of school today! Yesterday she went and met her teacher and had a little tour of the school. She is so excited and this morning said, "Mom, I have been waiting for this day forever! I can't believe I am finally in first grade!" She wasn't nervous at all and loved the idea of having lunch at school. Taylor was cute and kept hugging her and telling her she loved her. I am curious to see how she does with being at school all day. I think this is going to be a big year for her-she will grow so much! Her teacher is Mrs. Gonzalez and we hear she's great. Here's to an awesome year honey! We love you!

Happy 4th Birthday Taylor!!!

Taylor has been planning her Princess Birthday party for months now! She knew exactly what she wanted to do and how she wanted her party to go. She even told me what I needed to give the girls for party favors! She is such a party girl and loves to be a princess. Her plan of action:

"Every girl will come dressed up as a princess, and I will be Rapunzel! We will play party games, eat cake and have a dance party! Then I will open my presents and give the girls their princess stuff. We have to give them makeup, lipstick and jewelry! Oh, and Mom, make sure you make me an Ariel cake because she has red hair like me!" Ok Taylor, got it! Her party was a success and I think she was happy with how it turned out! The cake took forever and I will never make a face with frosting again! But at least she liked it! I love the age of 4! Those girls were so cute and we had a ball!

6 Months

Baby boy, I can't believe you are 6 months old!!! I love this age! You are so much fun and just love to smile and flirt with everyone. You are so happy and love to be in all of the action. You have been sitting up on your own for a couple of weeks now, and you love food! You always want to be eating solid foods, and I can't keep up with you! I am enjoying this stage and am worried about you becoming mobile. I think you are going to give me a run for my money! Your two bottom teeth are almost in-any day now! You have been a little grumpy because of this, and I can't wait for them to finally break through. You are still a good sleeper, and only wake up for an early morning feeding. We love you little man!!

Weight: 16.5 lbs (45%)

Height: 27 1/2 in (80th %)

Head: 42 cm (25th %)

Welcome to the world Eli!

Byron and Hayley had their baby boy, Elijah Boyd Kirkland on Monday Aug. 1st. He weighed a whopping 8lbs 6 oz and was 20 inches long-and he's a red head!! I feel so blessed to have been able to watch the birth. What a miracle birth is! We are so excited to have him in our family, and I am so excited to have boy cousins for Cameron!! Chad's sister also just had a boy last night!

What a difference 5 1/2 months makes!!!

Oceanside

This summer we rented a beach house with Chad's family in Oceanside. We were there for a week and had some good fun in the sun! The girls of course loved it and loved being with their cousins. From the second they woke up, til dinner time they were out on the sand...it's amazing how long kids can be entertained in that stuff! Katelyn was a pro at boogie boarding and got really good at it! Taylor just loved being in her own little world collecting hundreds of sand crabs. Cameron presented a little bit of a challenge since he hated the sun and sand, so I stayed in the house most of the time with him. Next time he will be the perfect age for this trip. We also headed to Sea World and the kids loved it. Marci and Julio came down for a day and it was so fun to see them there!

Sea World!

Cameron's first taste of strawberries and the only time he touched the sand!

Mini Chad!

I loved Taylor's hair at the beach! So curly and fun!

We went to see the temple and the Mormon Batallion exhibit in San Diego. Cameron loved being in the drivers seat!