life updated + a quick marlee photo

My heads spinning. It’s been spinning for weeks. I keep promising myself that things are going to slow down, but so far, no such luck. Life keeps happening, activities keep popping up, and my head keeps spinning. As is life, I guess.

Summer is officially over, and with that I feel that I’ve come full circle. This time last year I was in the early stages of pregnancy: the puking, the nausea, the exhaustion. But I {we} made it through, somehow. And now – with sweet baby Marlee – life couldn’t be dreamier. The change in weather and the signs of fall make me reminiscent though – and truthfully, the memories are nightmarish. I’m not entirely sure how we all survived. But we did, and in the end, that’s all that matters.

Jami came to my part of Idaho today and Kate, Jami and I did lunch. We ate at Papa Kelsey’s just like we had done on June 11^th, which turned out to be my very last day of pregnancy. It was also the day, over lunch at Papa Kelsey’s, that Kate announced her pregnancy. She’s {finally} showing and although baby Maycie still has a few more months before she makes her appearance she is already very much a part of our family. We all {her little cousins included} think about her and pray for her daily. That little girl is loved!

On Monday the kids, Kate and I made a quick trip to that little town in Idaho where my parents {and Jami and Zeb} reside. Marieski and Mom had a piano recital {ha … makes me laugh} so we loaded up after school and went to watch Aunt Marie and Grandma perform. Katie and I only got the giggles once. But really, who’s to blame us? It was absolutely hilarious to see my mom sitting in the piano recital line up next to chair after chair of much {much} younger piano performers. My favorite part was when the gal sitting next to mom wrapped her arm around mom’s shoulder to try to comfort mom’s nerves. Marie played “The Rose” and did awesome and mom played “Somewhere over the Rainbow” and did awesome as well. Especially considering that at her last piano recital she forgot her glasses when she went up to perform and then got the giggles mid performance. I laugh out loud every time I think about it. The funniest part was when she told me on the phone that Karma {her piano teacher} gave her a “royal cussin’ in front of all the other kids” for laughing during her big performance. My mom’s a hoot, you guys.

Brynlee’s turned into a reading fool and her and first grade are meshing well. Earlier today I saw a picture of her on her first day of Kindergarten and I couldn’t believe how much she had grown. She looks so much older now. She’s lost eight teeth to date and her splattering of freckles are growing with her. The other day she got Marlee ready for the day {changing diaper, included} all by herself and on Sunday during Primary she read a scripture at the microphone without any help.

Jace is still the sweetest guy around. Honestly, that kid kills me with his kindness. He’s a giver. Even at four, he is always certain to put others needs before his own. I’ve been trying to learn from him, and although most times I fall short I am really hoping to someday be less like me and more like him. The highlight of his weeks was watching Grandpa rope a cow. He bought some Superhero books with his birthday money from Grandma Marilyn and they are his newest prized possession. Spencer reads them to him nightly, I usually read them once during the day, and he flips though them numerous times in between. We’ve been working on his “homework” lately: practicing his fine moter skills, mainly. I can’t believe how quickly he took to preschool, all that worry and heartburn were for not. I love that kid. And, I just realized that I never posted pictures from his 4 year old birthday bash. Mental note: do that soon.

Marlee’s a vocal little thing, cooing and rambling and as of late, giggling. My favorite. Her voice is so deep and raspy. Just like Brynlee’s and Jace’s were. So far she’s hated bathtime, crying through every single minute of it. But yesterday she took a bath with Brynlee and didn’t fuss once. Brynlee was so proud of her big sister calming ability and informed me that Marlee just felt safer when her big sister had her. Jace calls Marlee his ‘cute little thing’ and hates it as much as Marlee does when I use the bulb syringe to clean out her nose. One of my favorite parts of the day is after Brynlee and Jace are in bed for the night, all our activities and running around are done, the dishwasher’s running and all the toys have been returned to their homes and I collapse on the couch with Marlee Bug snuggled perfectly against my chest, each of our breaths starting and ending in unison. I’m trying to take it all in, because I know - from experience - how fast it goes.