August 2014

August came and went in a blur of late nights and early mornings with things like school, work, and taking care of a household falling in between.  Before school started, I decided that I needed to get out with the girls so that they could say that they did something fun over the summer.  Almost their entire summer revolved around a newborn and mom's recovery.  Which doesn't add up to a whole lot of fun.  So for the last 2 weeks of summer we...

Did more crafts

Had some tea parties

Went on some play dates at the park.  On our way home from one it was suddenly very quiet in the back seat.  Typically that means that the girls are being sneaky, so I looked back to see what was going on. This is what I saw and Addie said, "We're all holding hands, Mom!"

We spent lots of time snuggling the baby

And had a failed attempt at a 1 month photo shoot.  But hey, she still looks cute!  At one month she started going 5 and 6 hours between feedings at night.  By the end of this month she has been going between 7 and 8 hours.  She is still the sweetest and easiest baby by far and she has been making this transition to 3 kids way too easy on us!

I took all 3 girls for our first major outing to California's Great America.  It was quite honestly the perfect day.  The girls had a ton of fun and Tessly slept almost the entire time.  When she did need to eat, there just happened to be a show going on at that time so the girls didn't even notice.  It was a great way to end the summer.

Tessly even started smiling, laughing, and cooing this month.  You forget how these small moments can just totally make your day!

Then before we knew it, we were celebrating Back To School night.  We made our own pizzas for dinner, had cupcakes, and Devin gave the girls a blessing.

And the next day Addie was off to her first day of 1st grade.  She was ready and couldn't have been more excited.

 Her new class and teacher Mrs. Wardall

This little lady is going to have to put up with a lot being the 3rd sister

Without her best buddy around all day, we have had to find some things to keep Quincy entertained.  Riding the wiggle car around our complex has become one of her favorite things to do.  

And the extra alone time with baby sister has helped

The first weekend after school started we went to a festival to celebrate kids. Shaved ice and fire trucks make for a pretty great day.

And just like that August was gone and Labor Day was here.  We spent the day going to Mimi's for breakfast (a Payne family tradition)

Then "hiking" at Rancho San Antonio.  These are definitely not the Utah mountains/hikes we are used to

And then we ended the day with swimming and pizza with friends

July and August have been a roller coaster of emotions and schedules with all the changes that have been taking place.  We are hoping that things will begin to calm down or at least start to feel normal in the months to come.  And if not, we will do our best to enjoy the journey.