Lars was blessed in church the first week in June. We were lucky to have Dan and Melinda in town. My parents drove in the night before and my brother Curtis and his family surprised us that morning by driving down from St. George. The Thalmans came and that was our group.
Ryan meditated and thought some beforehand about what to include in the blessing. He blessed Lars to grow and develop wisdom and courage. To have grit, perseverance, and resilience to meet the challenges of life. He blessed him to have compassion and kindness, to treat others with dignity and respect. He was blessed to act on promptings, to have a strong attachment to his sisters and to be obedient to his mother :), and to go with the ebbs and flows of life. He also blessed him to be a link between generations and with his family history.
It was a beautiful blessing, punctuated only by my dad's very loud cell phone that RANG in the circle during the blessing! It was so loud and distracting that Ryan forgot to bless Lars to be ridiculously good-looking and extremely successful!
June and Brody
Aunt Jenn and Lars
Brody and Willa - only six months apart and both four-eyes
Beckham-man, - THE sweetest boy you will ever meet
Don't judge me by this photo - it's pre-make-up and also pre what I was going to be wearing that day, I think!
Rebecca had a girls weekend that had been planned long before the blessing. Luckily her flight arrived in the afternoon and she was still able to join us for dinner that day.
I just love his little face here. It's a good picture of both of them.
I went back and forth about what to dress him in. I definitely did not want to do one of those mini-white satin tuxes. Those are adult clothes, not baby clothes. I don't ever think they look very cute and usually they are just saggy around a tiny baby. I wanted something really babyish. There were some cute little knit outfits online, and Alyson sent me that cute blue and gray one that I posted a photo of earlier. It just seemed so hot in Las Vegas in June to put him in a knit outfit. In the end, I decided on this Aden & Anais cotton kimono. It was on Zappos, and Rebecca and Shannon had both got me other similar items for him to wear and I had LOVED them. The cotton is so lightweight and breathable, it felt summery to me. Plus, they just looks so sweet and innocent - perfect babywear in my opinion (and believe me, I've got opinions on what baby boys should wear!). We ordered this white one with the silver design for him and I loved it. I was worried the 3-6 month size would be too big, but he was already busting out of the 0-3 month size. I think it looked nice on him and I'm still trying and about to be failing at squeezing a few last wears out of it for him now. That's a hunka hunka baby!
Willa loves Fancy Nancy books and I've been so impressed at the little facts and especially "fancy" words that she has learned and retained from these books! She loves the book Fancy Nancy: Artist Extraordinaire and one time at one of my many doctor's appointments there was a Monet print in the room and she asked about it and when I said it was Monet she chirped "he liked to paint outside!" She decided she wanted to hold an art show just like Nancy. In fact, the art show was a goal for several months and seasons, but we could never get the timing just right. Finally everything fell into place. Lest anyone think she is too much of a genius, in the end she decided to copy the art from the book because she was having trouble producing her own art that fit all the categories.
She made a sign on her door "Welcome to the Art Show"
This sign says "Free" and she had colored small little scraps that you could take as a souvenir.
Imitation of Gustav Klimt
Another Degas Ballet Dancer
Monet Tulips in the Sunshine
Money Tulips with a cloud covering the sun
There was also a Jackson Pollock, but I guess I didn't get a picture of it. It was all just so adorable and cute and she was very sweet as she welcomed you to her gallery and showed you the various works of art. I think this would be a GREAT summertime activity for a mom who is just a little more put together than me. You could have an art camp week where you study different works of art and then try to imitate the style. Willa threw it all together by herself, but with a little direction you could really make an event of it! She wanted to have people over, so we invited the next door neighbor kids to walk through. And luckily, that night Brandon and Rebecca were coming for dinner so they had a chance to see the gallery too. Unfortunately, I drew the line at refreshments, so that's why she drew the little souvenir scraps of paper.
Towards the end of June I also had my back scratch test for allergies. It was a tricky test because they apply the strips on a Monday, then you return both Wednesday and Friday to read the results. And did I mention that you can't get your back wet the entire time? Yuck, especially with all this heat!! The doctor attached more than 70 allergens to my back. They outlined everything with pen in case things rubbed or got distorted. I debated posting this photo, but the process was so interesting to me, so here it is. As you can see, I've still got a lot of baby weight to lose.
So each rectangular area was a white strip that had allergens on it. They taped these to my back on Monday and I wore them on there until I went in on Wednesday. They removed the strips and read any early results. Then they sent me home to see if any new reactions started with the strips off. Then I went back on Friday for the final read. I'd heard it was a very itchy test. It was mildly itchy, but not too bad for me. The positive sites were definitely itchy, so if you were allergic to lots of stuff it would probably be pretty uncomfortable.
And guess what, we had a lucky winner!!! I'm VERY allergic to Benzocaine! On Wednesday, that site was already bubbling and blistery.
Benzocaine is a topical anesthetic. The doctor started reading a list of items it is in (stuff like Orajel or Hemorrhoid cream). I started getting excited because I remembered the spray they gave me in the hospital but I couldn't remember the name. I texted Ryan and he replied that it was Dermoplast. I gave the doctor the name of it, and turns out that Dermoplast is 20% Benzocaine!!! Answers!!! It was so thrilling and exciting to know what caused the reaction! And now I can know what to avoid in the future. I almost skipped down the hallway after the appointment. I was so happy. The doctor was really happy too. I had two other good reactions and two other trace reactions to the items. There is a scale to measure. So the Benzocaine caused the most severe reaction and got a certain number, the others were less. The weird thing is that two weeks later I was in Utah swimming and had an itch on my back. When I was changing, I looked in the mirror, thinking it was a mosquito bite, and it was a very clear little square! So I called the Dermatologist's office and emailed in the pictures. I was still in Utah, but we made an appointment for me to come back in when I got home. I was mainly worried that it was a totally new reaction.
When I went back, they checked the photo and the site with all the photos they took of my back. They determined it wasn't a new reaction, but rather one of the "trace" reactions had developed into something more. Apparently there can be delayed reactions and the doctor said this was the longest delay he had ever seen.
The doctor gave me a printout of everything I tested positive for and a list of common items that these things exist in. I can also go on a certain website and type in one of the substances to get a complete list. It was all just fascinating to me! Isn't modern medicine wonderful! Now I can continue to live without wondering if I'm allergic to every little thing.
School started again this week, so I guess it's time to catch up posting about our fun summer. We actually had a short summer this year because the school district wants to be on a schedule where the kids finish the term before Christmas break. That means they need to start in mid-August. Next year, we'll also get out early, in May, I think. But it made this summer about two weeks shorter than normal as they adjusted.
In June we swam a LOT. It was very hot. If I remember correctly, Vegas had its longest consecutive run of 110 degree days or higher since the 1960s or something. Hot, hot, hot. Honestly, I didn't mind it so much. We ran any necessary errands in the morning and then just swam. Once or twice I thought it might be fun to go somewhere in the afternoon and I almost always regretted it. You get so overheated just going in and out of the car in that heat! But if we got our stuff done in the morning and hung out at home during the worst of it, then it seemed okay. I also have to say that our house is a good 5+ degrees cooler than the rest of Las Vegas. It's a little up on the hill and feels not nearly as hot sometimes.
After experiencing our first full summer in Las Vegas with our own pool I can definitely say that having a pool is the best thing EVER!!! People who say they don't want a pool are crazy, in my humble opinion. We really didn't get the cabin fever we've gotten other years because we could always go out in the pool. On really hot days, I would think back how in the old house we would have just been cooped up the whole day. But here, the girls still might get two, three, four hours of active play in the water. I love having a pool so much!! To be fair, our house is a lot bigger too, which definitely helped us from getting cabin fever as bad too.
I don't know if I've mentioned it on the blog, but our ward has a couple of extremely wealthy families in it. The Relief Society held a little swim day at one of the houses to mark the beginning of summer. This one pool was incredible.
These pictures are out of order - but let's not forget that June's preschool had a little water party for the very last day of school. She really liked Ms. Braun and Ms. T, I think she will like her new preschool even more. Three days a week with five other little girls. She starts in two weeks.
At the beginning June, Willa had another piano recital. She got another trophy for passing her Musicianship Level 2 exams - both written and playing. She had to identify and play more major and minor scales and pentascales. The written portion was quite tricky, especially for a six year old! And she got a second trophy for using her talent to serve (she played the opening prelude for Primary one week), and they also get a medal at each recital. These are all very precious items to her.
Rebecca had a birthday and we got to celebrate at Dan and Melinda's new house! They bought a house around the corner from us. And while they aren't technically "moving" they are enjoying time at the second home now and then and we enjoy having them close.
Love this picture of Brandon and Lars.
One of the extremely hot afternoons I dragged the girls out and shouldn't have. We wanted to try out a new Shaved Ice place and decided to stop by the library too. It was too much. Then the Shaved Ice was very good, but not kid friendly - meaning the coconut flavor actually had bits of coconut in it. So then, to make up for that disappointment and because it was so hot, we threw that away and got an ice cream cone there, but Willa also didn't like that flavor... It was a hot and disappointing afternoon despite the smiles.
I was counting down the days until school was out. Willa loved, loved, loved kindergarten this year once she adjusted to the long day. I loved it for her, but was more than ready to have some lazy mornings and to not have to pack her a lunch each day. One of the last days as we were throwing a lunch together at the last minute, I believe I just packed her one of those little packages of powder donuts for her main item in the lunch box, ha ha.
Mrs. Chevalier was a first year teacher, but she was really excellent. It was widely known that her kindergarten class was the best behaved. The room mom was telling me she thought it was because Mrs. Chevalier was very good about having strict boundaries and way more organized than the other teachers. Since I wasn't able to be in the classroom very much (you can't bring other children with you when you volunteer) I really don't know. But what I did know of her, I really liked. She kept everyone updated with Class Dojo and we had little interactions at pick-up every day. I felt like she really loved the kids and they could feel it.
For the kindergarten ceremony, the classes first met in the gym and sang a few songs all together. Willa was very into the actions and loved being up there. Then, they divided up and went back to their own classrooms with the parents. It was extremely crowded, but also fun to just have our own little kindergarten class together. They sang "We're All In This Together" and it was freaking adorable. You could tell they had worked on it for a long time and all the kids had the lyrics and actions down pat. Actually, a few weeks earlier in piano, her teacher was letting her choose a fun song and Willa picked that one. I wondered how she even knew what that song was, but it was because they had been practicing it for a long time as a surprise. She looked so cute and adorable and she was so excited to sing it. But now, whenever I bring it up she says she's embarrassed. I wanted to show her the video clip to show her how much I loved it and she started crying and telling me to turn it off! I guess the shyness is still there underneath her big kindergarten self. So tender! But, since she doesn't read this blog or know it exists, I figured that I might post it here for everyone to see. It really is soooo cute.
The teacher then handed out awards. Willa got something for finishing all her sight words this year. And she got the "You Could Teach This Class" award. I don't know if I should interpret that as she's bossy, or just really smart, ha ha. She's very concerned about following the rules and wanting others to follow the rules! But she has told me that sometimes when the teacher is busy, she'll have Willa test the other kids on their sight words.
Kinder graduation was actually the second to last day of school. Here's some pictures from the last day. They got to have free dress, so that was exciting!
These are the ladies who help with drop off in the morning. They are so nice and were so excited to see Lars after he was born!
Willa really wanted to have a pool party, so I emailed all the parents in the class and said that we'd love to host a very low-key and informal party on the last day of school. I said that siblings were welcome, but that it couldn't be a drop-off party. Each kid needed to have a parent or guardian with them because I didn't want anyone to drown! We have about ten kids from the class plus all their siblings. It was a lot of fun! I provided watermelon and chips and everyone else brought lots more food to share. It was a perfect way to end the school year.
Dragon Dancers
The week previous to graduation, Willa had her dance recital at the school. They have a dance group called Dragon Dancers and it was a free after school activity that she REALLY wanted to do. It was almost the entire Winter/Spring semester on Thursday afternoons. She stayed after school for it and I picked her up at 4:30. It was a LONG day for her and by the end, she was ready to be done. I think Thursday was generally a tiring day, she complained about it a lot and said they had a lot of specials that day. But, when it came time for the performance she was a star and loved it so much that she is begging to do it again in the fall. We'll see about that, I just don't like having her gone so long. It was very cute (well, what we could see was cute, it was extremely crowded and we were in the back) and the theme was Candyland. She was a Lollipop. She really loved her make up and the purple lipstick!
We love our darling girl. I can't believe kindergarten is over. It feels like a magic phase of childhood is gone. I also can't believe that first grade starts in two week!!
Lars was two months old on June 8th. That morning, I realized he was wearing the same outfit as in the one month photo, so I hurried to take a picture for comparison. Then later that day, I wanted to take another photo of him post-bath because he's just so much cuter after I've washed his hair.
He is still such a good and sweet baby. He will lay under his play yard and just smile at the blinking lights and kick his legs. Sometimes he's under there quite a while when I'm making dinner or trying to get the girls ready for something, poor baby. He loves to smile and talk and will hold your eyes quite a while smiling and cooing. Baby cooing is just about the sweetest thing ever, it just melts my heart every time.
He's starting to love his sissies - not so much when they want to hold him, but more when they lean over his bouncy chair or carseat and try to smile and talk to them. It's so nice having Willa be a little older, though! This past week he really wanted to be held at one point but I just couldn't, so I sat Willa down and had her hold him while I ran around like a crazy person doing whatever needed to be done. I've tried baby-wearing him sometimes with mixed results. He really doesn't like his face held in with the wrap, but he's not quite ready to be front facing yet. If I tie it tightly, he gets mad, if I loosen it, then he feels a little unstable and gets mad. I might need to watch some Youtube videos to bring me up to speed on this all. The other reason I'm not huge into it is because it always puts babies to sleep - and if they are going to sleep, I'd rather they do it off of me so I can have a little space. I'm definitely in favor of baby-wearing whenever going out somewhere with a stroller would be super annoying. Ryan's also picked up a ton of slack in the kitchen as far as cleaning up at night and unloading the dishwasher in the morning, so that's helped a lot too.
I thought he was so big at two months, but looking back at this photo he was so much smaller than he is now! You can see how much he's grown into this outfit from one month to two months, though.
And again, this little onesie looks loose on him here and I feel like he's busting out of it now! He's really still small - I think I'm just used to my girls staying REALLY small, so he seems like a much bigger baby.
I couldn't resist these photos. I'd just fed him one morning and he pooped all the way through and up his back so I stripped off all his clothes and wrap him quickly in a blanket. When I set him down in the bouncy chair is was full of huge smiles! I guess getting his morning BM out really put him in a good mood, ha ha :).
At his two month check up, he was 21 inches long and 13 lbs 2 oz. He was the 75th percentile for weight and head size and the 25th for height. If you remember, he was in the 90's at his one month visit. What changed? A human error in the office! When I was looking at his growth chart, I noticed they had marked him as a Female. I pointed it out to the doctor this time and they fixed it in the system. So he'd be in the 90th percentile if he was a girl, but just the 75th if he was a boy.
His baby acne has pretty much cleared up, and I've been putting Aquafor on a few spots of baby eczema on his face and it's clearing up too. June and Willa were infants in Houston's climate so it's new for me having a baby in this dry air. The doctor also pointed out a few common chafing spots for "big boys" and their rolls, ha ha.
