MOLLY TURNS 1!

Miss Molly turned 1 on Thursday!  It's so hard to believe.  The years feels like it blinked right by yet there were days that seemed like they were lasting a year alone.  I am a bit sad that she is not such a baby anymore however I think I'm more happy that she is becoming more independant.  Mostly because it has been hard with my babies being only 18 months apart.

So for Molly's birthday we loaded up and went to the zoo.  Ella got to bring along her cousin Kailey and we invited my friend Misty with her 2 kids.  We had a great time and I was all pumped to take pictures of her birthday day and I snapped my first picture at the zoo only to find I had forgot my memory card at home.  I am bummed.  After the zoo we went to the park and played and had a picnic.  It was a fun day.

That evening we had her open a few presents from her family and then she got to go on a dinner date with mom and dad while the other girls stayed with grandma.  We went to Stockman's with Dustin's work group and figured we'd take Molly with us since it was her birthday.  She was a wiggle worm all night, but I was glad she was with us.

Here is 1 lousy picture I took at the zoo using my cell phone. 

So tonight we had the party!! We invited family and some friends over and ate hamburgers, hot dogs and salads and played some games.

Molly did a little balancing act for us on the table.  Here is evidence she is starting to climb.

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Molly,

Happy Birthday to you!

She loved her first cake and almost ate half of it by herself.

She wanted to share with mom and dad.

I set up little game booths around the back yard for the kids to play.  

Game #1  Freckle Frenzy

Each partner had 30 seconds to get as many freckles on their team mate as possible.  (The freckles were hole punch circles in a cup of water)  Super cute girls.

Game #2  Bean Bag Toss

Game #3  Ring Toss

Game #4  Dress Up Photo Booth

We had lots of fun dressing everybody up and taking pictures.   I think the boys even enjoyed it. 

Game #5  Balloon Pop

This crazy dart went straight into the balloon and got stuck without even popping it.

It was a fun evening.  I know Molly didn't even know what was going on, but we love her and are happy to have a summer birthday to celebrate.  We also went all out because "Host a Party" is on our bucket list.

So here are some things I need to remember about Molly's 1st year:

*She weighs about 23.5 lbs

*She says dada, mama, Ella, ta ta ta (cha cha cha), nigh nigh (night night), thanks 

*We call her Molls, Mollzie, Molly

*Makes elephant sound and dog sound

*Takes 10-15 steps before she decides to sit down or fall down

*Has 4 teeth - front 2 on top and bottom

*Is a SUPER eater.  She will eat almost anything and demands to eat.  She will grunt and whine when she is in her high chair until food is in front of her.

*She goes to bed and nap all by herself.  I lay her in the crib and she is out.

*She loves quiet instrumental music.  She goes to sleep to a Romance CD every night and loves it.

*Generally sleeps about 11-12 hours.  She comes to my bed about 6am and

snuggles with me, which I'm ok with.

*She will hum like she is singing, especially when you sing.

*She is a super great baby.  She is almost always content as long as she is fed, changed and not tired. 

*She is still a mamas girl, but a lot less since I stopped nursing her about 3 weeks ago.

*Reaches for her daddy as soon as he's home.  She is happy to see him.

We absolutley love this baby.  She is such a joy to have in our family.  She has such a cute little personality and is just fun.  She has beautiful blue eyes and we just love her cute bald head.  i can't get her to keep a bow on for anything so we just dress her in cute pink clothes.  Honestly we are so blessed.

Cress Creek Trail

A few weekends ago we took a little hike up to the Cress Creek Trail by Heise.  Dustin doesn't consider it a hike because half of it is paved, but it's uphill so come on.. it's a hike!  We called and invited his brothers and their families so they came with us and we had a fun time.

Once again I packed my camera and had no memory card.  BUMMER!   But Kara came to the rescue and snapped a few for us.

Ella and her cousin Ian.

Both of my girls wanted to wear a skirt so we let them.  Tennis shoes, pink skirt and red and white polka dot shirt.  Perfect for hiking wouldn't you say??  :)  I love this little family of mine!  They make me so happy.  I couldn't dream up a better life.

Summer is so fun!

Each week we have been pretty faithful about going to the park.  We  pretty much stick to Iona park since it's so close, but it still gets us out and having fun.  Ella learned how to do the monkey bars this summer and it's been fun watching her go back and forth on them.

Each week we go with my friend Misty and her little kids Eeva and Mason.  We even made it to story time a few weeks.  It's mostly fun for Ella.

Then.. almost every night I make the kids wash up in the tub.  It was a special occasion this week so we got to have lots of bubbles.

They love the tub.  Molly thinks she has to eat the bubbles so the girls get such a

kick out of watching her.

Hands down this is my favorite summer since we've moved home to Idaho Falls.  The first summer Dustin just started his job so he didn't get to take any time off and the last 2 I have been pregnant so this summer has been such an eventful, fun summer.  I will be sad to see it end.  We still have a month though and have at least 15 things left to cross off our bucket list so we better get playing.

Raspberries at Grandma & Pa Braithwaites

One thing we LOVE about this time of the year is when Grandma Carol calls and says, "The raspberries are on and the birds are eating them."  We load up and go pick.  Ella insists that she use one of grandma's cups rather than take our own.  It makes the experience that much better I guess. 

So the girls go in and out of rows and eat and eat and eat and come out with an empty cup asking me to dump mine in theirs so they can keep eating.  Of course I do it. 

It makes for a super fun trip to grandma and grandpa Braithwaite's house.

Molly couldn't get enough and I couldn't keep up so we gave her a pea.  She didn't care if it had a pod on it she ate it.

And then I tried to get a picture of all 3 of them and fed them raspberries to keep them still for a picture.. she ate the raspberries and then started on rock.  You can see Alissa is a bit concerned.  I think this ties in perfectly with my recent post on if my kids will survive if I have any more. :)

Lincoln Stake Garden

Our wise stake president arranged for a large area of land which will eventually be used for a new church house to be used as a stake garden this summer.  Each ward takes turns weeding it and the food is used to benefit families that are in need of assistance.  I think it's a brilliant idea.  The families receiving assistance are especially encouraged to serve at the garden.

So it was our ward's turn to weed again this week and Dustin we were humbled by the sight of so many ward members who came out to help.  Each one of them as you could image had a big smile on their face and were having a great time visiting with each other as they pulled weeds and made the garden beautiful.

Ella with friends Macie Chugg and Emma Gooch

The Relief Society president, Sister Orr rented a few snow cone machines and she and some other sisters served snow cones to all who came out.  It was a wonderful evening and made me so appreciate the leadership in our ward and stake and the amazing ward family we have.

My Tree

This is my tree.  I've wanted a fruit tree for a long time and this year for mother's day I got to pick one out.  I chose bartlett pear because my kids all eat them so well.

Even if the fruits only get this big this summer, I know they will produce great things in future summers.  It makes me so happy to think about it.

I really, really love my tree.

Braithwaite Reunion

Dustin's family is so good about having a Hillard Braithwaite (Dustin's grandpa) family reunion every year.  This year was a little different reunion because it was a reunion for the descendents of his 4 great grandparents Rowland and Hannah Askew Braithwaite.  It was held in Manti, Utah with over 450 people there.  All of his siblings except his sister were able to make it with their families.  We stayed 3 nights together in college dorms.  It was a great time!

The ride was super long with 3 tired kids.  We left about 6:30pm and finally arrived around 1:30am.  We got desperate for ideas on how to make the kids not scream so here's Dustin doing his penny trick.

My girls had so much fun playing with their cousins.  We had 4 apartments with 3 rooms each full of our immediate family so the kids went in and out of rooms and up and down stairs all day.

Friday was temple day at the reunion.  There were Braithwaite family names provided to everybody able and willing to go to the temple that day.  Dustin and I arranged to go do sealings.  It was really awesome to be in the sealing room with 11 Braithwaite family members, sealing many siblings to their parents.  What an awesome day for the family, desceased and living.

After the temple we had a little picnic lunch with Dustin's brother Alan and his family.  Alissa took a much needed nap on the grass outside.

Ella and Noah

Then we headed back over to the temple to let the kids see it close up and roll down the big hill.  On our way in we passed Dustin's parents leaving so we caught a quick picture of them.

Noah, Andrew & Ella

Aunt Pam & Molly

The family gathered for a catered dinner that evening and had a Power Point presentation on the family.  After it was over we headed to the Manti Aquatic Center and did some free swimming.  It was free and freezing because it was 8-9:30pm.   We had fun but ended up with 2 chattering babies and lots of mosquito bites.

Ella & Jason

Saturday we got up and headed to the Manti Tabernacle for a program with stories, singing, etc.  They had a display of family heirlooms set up which was neat to look at.  Then we headed to the park to play some games.  My 2 babies fell asleep on the way over and I was super tired from the kids waking up in the night so I sent Dustin and Ella out to play and took a nap with the kids.

Here are the pictures of the games.  I wish I hadn't been so tired, they look fun.  They played "Minute to Win It" games.  The reactions of the people watching make me really wish I had been there. :)

Dustin and his 2 brothers Alan & Brian - shaking balls out of the kleenex box strapped on their bum

Alan & Dustin balancing 6 stacked dice on a stick in their mouth

Dustin with his brother Devin

Dustin's parents and brothers

All the sister in laws with our mother in law Carol.  I love these guys!

Alissa, Amy and Molly

Lydia, Ella, Alissa, Amy, Sariah, Alanah, Molly

Later in the evening I got to go take Alan & Pam's pictures at the temple and made my girls sit still for one too.

Sunday we headed home.  We left about 12noon and made it home about 9pm.  We made a stop at the Golden Spike near Bringham City.  They closed at 5 so we got there just in time to see the train going to be parked.  Oh well, it was still fun to see and learn about this railroad.