July 4th, 2014

I love the 4th of July (said every American ever). But really-its such a fun holiday with traditions, fireworks, BBQ's, parades and a whole lotta family fun. This year Phil was in charge of the scout/youth breakfast for our ward. It was a big task and he was up before the sun working hard. My parents came over with my grandma to support Phil and enjoy breakfast.

(I think Jayne was confused that we were up and out of bed so early...she usually likes to sleep until about 10!)

Still all smiles though!

After breakfast/cleanup we headed out for some fun on the boat. It was a perfect tubing day and we've figured out how to get some awesome air on the tube! I didn't snap any pics because we were too busy having fun! We headed back from the lake for a BBQ at my parents. Nothing like a traditional BBQ on the 4th!

I made our shirts, my skirt and Jayne's headband. Jayne's dress is from my mom. Phil tells me we're the typical patriotic American family who dress up in stars and stripes. Yesir we are! 

Koda partied with the family too!

Me and my girl :)

After eating we headed to the park to set up our spot for the fireworks in Pleasant Grove. We love just hanging out as a family, waiting for it to get dark so the fireworks can begin.

Jayne really loved the glow sticks! She did not let them go! 

By the time it was finally getting dark, Jayne was relaxed and a bit sleepy. So was Phil after a long week/early morning prepping for the breakfast.

When fireworks started, Jayne was mesmerized and watched intently in my lap for a long time. Then I laid her down on the blanket and she put herself to sleep...while the fireworks were still going. The fireworks were awesome! I just love fireworks and this show never disappoints!

By the end, we were all tuckered out and ready to head home. (she's still clinging to her glow stick!)

That wrapped up another Independence Day for the Bennallacks.

First Swim (Seven Peaks)

A couple weeks ago we went to Seven Peaks with Jayne. It was her first time swimming and she loved it. Its so fun to see her explore new things. She splashed us, went down water slides and just sat and tried to catch the water from a spout for a while!  Can't wait for more summer fun at Seven Peaks-we plan on going all the time with our little water bug!

Jayne - 9 months

 Little Miss J is not looking so little anymore! Its hard to believe that she's 9 months old. She's spent more time in this world now than she did in my tummy...time flies!

Jayne's 9 month stats

• Certainly has her own little personality showing more and more every day. She's a clever little girl!
• Learning signs for milk, more, all done, eat/food. She's successfully signed milk and all done. Its so cute to see. We're still working on the others.
• Definitely recognizes the words "milk" and "cracker". If we say milk, she'll usually make the sign and it better be coming soon! Cracker always puts a grin on her face. She loves to munch on her crackers.
• Cut a new tooth on the top middle-and the other one is on its way. Its cute to see her take little bites of her crackers with her little chompers.
• Plays with Koda. He'll let her grab his ears, face, paws, tail-you name it. We put her on the ground and she often beelines it for Koda. They're best friends.
• Went swimming for the first time. She loved it- until she got a little chilly, or we tried to put a life jacket on her. The life jackets squeeze her cheeks haha! We also took her on  some kiddie water slides and even one bigger one. She enjoyed both and gave us smiles at the end.
• Getting the hang of the crawling motion. Instead of just pulling with her arms and pushing on her toes, her legs actually move by bring her knees up, alternating sides. Let's just say she's QUICK! We love watching her go!
• Mimicks sounds we make. Its a game and she'll blow after we blow, do a goofy laugh when we laugh and cough when we cough.
• Took her first ride on the boat. She napped for the first bit and then blew raspberries and enjoyed the rest of the ride. 
• Loves walks and "chills" in the stroller-meaning she always puts her feet up on the cup holder bar in front of her. We joke that she's just really good at taking it easy!
• Talking a lot! She babbles including dada and mama but we don't think she's associated it with anyone at all.

Chub-bay life jacket cheeks!

Happy 9 months cute baby girl!

Jayne - 8 months

Time flies when you're having fun...and Miss J is full of fun! This month-birthday is extra special as its my first Mother's Day. I am grateful each day for the opportunity I have to be a mother.

I'm loving this stage of life for Jayne because her little personality is so apparent and she's learning to do so many new things. Its really amazing to think of all that babies learn/do in the beginning of their little lives.

Jayne's 8 month stats

• Shakes her head (like she's saying no). Sometimes while dancing, other times, for fun. She doesn't know that it means no. She also dances like crazy-she even dances to the hymns at church. And when I say like crazy, I mean .crazy. Sometimes we joke that she looks "special"...you'll see in the video. :)
• Army crawls and rolls everywhere. She'll chug along, grunt and groan, pause for a break and then keep heading on her way...that's in the video too.
• Loves being out and about-anywhere there are people to watch she's a happy girl.
• We often find her in odd sleeping positions these days when we check the camera-or when we go to get her from naps/in the morning. She likes the top corner of her crib, or even is flipped completely around.

 

And here's the video of bath time fun, army crawling and lots of dancing...may be a bit boring for those not emotionally attached to Jayne :)

(got Phil's singing in your head yet? Jayne dances to that song, especially for Phil. Its the theme song to this show, one of Jayne's favorites!)

Happy 8 months Jayne!

Skiing 2014

We were lucky enough to get up on the slopes a couple times this season. We ski-ed at both Brighton and Alta this year and loved both of them. It is so beautiful up in the mountains! We'd get off the lifts, catch some amazing views and then race to the bottom.

Love me some time with my man!

Skiing in Utah is amazing. Just a short drive and we're on top of the world.

We even got to ski some powder this year. Love me some Utah powder!

Until next season!

Easter 2014

Easter was so much fun this year! I've decided that kids make holidays 10 times better...just like everybody told me :) 

We started off the weekend with an easter egg hunt on Saturday morning. 

The hunt was divided into age groups and also limited the group sizes which was perfect. No crazy crowds or older kids trampling the younger ones.

Here's Jayne checking out the loot, planning her route...

...more like dad planning the route! He was the designated "helper" for Jayne. When they said "GO!" he made a dash over to a certain candy he'd eyed on our way in.

Then, in his words, he "suppressed his competitive-ness, sat Jayne down and simply gathered the eggs around us".  

We still got some pretty good loot so Jayne (and dad) left happy!

Later that day we went on a bike ride down the river trail and had a picnic in the park.

We loved being together outside and enjoying the beautiful weather. We love Spring!

Then Easter morning we woke up to some special goodies

Then we got ready and then headed off to church and a fun day with my

 family.

I loved spending this time of year with my new little family. Easter is a great time for remembering what is most important in life and guys, family is where its at.

Happy Easter!