Quick 5

The hot winds of August are swirling around outside and visions of clear, crisp autumn are dancing in my head.

1.  Last week as the Quick 5 was posting, my sister was giving birth to her baby boy.  I talked to her on Thursday afternoon and all was well.  She called me on Friday morning as I was in line to check out at the grocery store. (I know, rude of me to be on the phone, right?  I totally shouldn't have answered and I am so glad I did.)  She said, "Guess what?"  And I said, "You're in labor!"  And she said, "YOU didn't get my message, did you?"  And I said, "YOU HAD THE BABY?"  And the check-out girl nodded in understanding and completed my transaction while I was on the phone.  I was so shocked to hear that baby Oliver James was already born and cleaned up at that point.  It had been only about 18 hours since I had talked to Jamie. 

2.  On Tuesday my mom, the girls and I trekked down to Colorado Springs to meet the little man.  We had actually been planning to go have a play date with Naomi then anyway, so we turned it into a meet Oliver party.  I don't think the girls were impressed, but I was.  I've never held a baby that tiny.  (Oliver was 6 lbs, 8oz...both of my girls were 8 lbs at birth.)  He's just a little peanut that is so sweet and so easy to hold.  It was so good to go see him.

Alaina meeting Oliver with Grammy

He was so alert!

 3.  Alaina has found a new way to torture her daddy.  She's always singing something, but the other day at dinner she sang, "Baby, Baby, Baby Oh!  Thought you'd always be mine, mine."  Her daddy stopped eating and asked her why she was singing Justin Bieber.  He told her he might cry, so now she takes every opportunity she can to sing Justin "Beaver" and ask Daddy if he's going to cry.  For the record, we do not listen to Justin Bieber in our house.  I don't even know if that is truly how the song goes, but I've sung it before because mommies are always singing every song they can think of with the word "baby" in it to their babies.  This one popped in the mix one day, and for some reason Alaina remembered.

4.  On Wednesday we went camping.  We go up every year when the Gilletts go camping to have dinner and smores.  Then we go home and sleep in our own beds.  (Spare me the lecture of "It's Not Camping."  Don't be a hater just because we live in such a place that allows us to go have dinner in the mountains and still make it home to sleep in comfort.)  It is becoming one of my favorite summer traditions, so I hope they keep inviting us. 

One of the cuter things in life: two three-year-olds playing together.

They were making "soup."

Joya watching Macy dig in the dirt

Joya was so good.  She had a great time, even though she got carsick on the way up.

Two three-year-olds eating smores

Our friends the Singletons went up too.  This is their youngest Josh.

 5.  And finally, a shout-out to my little sister Carolyn, whose birthday is tomorrow.  She's creeping up on 30 by turning 27.  I'm not sure how they celebrate in Canada, but hopefully it involves either a pinata or a rousing rendition of "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow."

Hope you enjoy these last days of summer!