Summer happenings...

It has been a busy, fun-filled summer. Here is a quick update on our summer happenings;

(*disclaimer :)  forever long post...there were WAY too many pictures to choose from)

Yellowstone/ Island Park - Sill Family Reunion

We had a BLAST! Laila and Jack both had their first tube rides behind the boat :)

 

Family kayak and canoe trip down the river! We even had a mamma and baby moose join us!

I was so nervous as this trip started out. Within the first 2-3 minutes, no joke, the entire family was out of sight beside our canoe and my parents. We had Laila throwing a fit, screaming her head off, and mom, dad, and Jack tipped their canoe. Both grandparents with soaked, with skinned elbows and knees, but with my mom's most graceful and talented efforts a DRY Jack. Good work Lala!!! and lucky, as I mentioned, we were not very far and the water was fairly shallow!  I was thinking to myself, oh boy! What have we gotten ourselves into!?!?!?!?!? This is going to be the longest adventure ever!!!!!  But things calmed down, and it was beautiful and so much fun! 

This was our family Sunday hike to the waterfalls.  BeaUtiful!!

 

A good chunk of the Sill family cousins! 

Now to the good, smelly stuff! :) It had been so long since I'd been to Yellowstone. I thought it was way cool to walk around and see the different hot pots/ geysers/ orange and blue and brown and white swimming pools. 

Loved this picture of Jack Jack!

 

 Laila and Ol' Faithful!

 

Floating the river! Honestly I could have down this all day! We took this picture when Chris and Melani (obviously) joined up with us! Earlier, however, both mom and dad floated the river with us along with Maija and Brielle!

This beautiful spot was right behind the cabin we stayed at. I wish we could have stayed longer. What a fun get-away!?!? 

Corbin and Carianne's Wedding

My little purple bug! Cameron made this dress, and a second for Laila's cute little cousin Aria. Cousin Alec had a matching bow tie! What a talented man I married!?!

The bride and groom! Congrats lovebirds! Best of luck on your happily ever after! Remember to visit and revisit and revisit and revisit that building you are standing in front of ! What a blessing!?

I love listening to this talented family"make" music. That evening Cameron sang with Corbin at the reception.

Little Cutie! 

Laila and dad with Great Grandma Lula!

Lara and I were laughing so hard watching these newbies dance with their little girls. Aria was not so sure about all of it and let everyone know.

Tangled! Well kind of. I thought it was the coolest thing! Awesome idea Carianne!

 

 

Hanging with the Garners

Cousin time! 

I know both of these men have played a great deal of influence in Cameron's, and I am sure Bronson's, life.

Ready for the FAIR! 

Laila - keeping herself entertained!

During our week in Salem, we snuck in a visit to Portland to see Auntie Ashleigh! I thought these pictures turned out darling! 

 

Another trip to Utah 

This made our fourth trip to Utah this summer, and our fifth long trip (Yellowstone being one of them). Laila has been such a trooper! She has become quite the little traveler and luckily has decide the car seat is not all bad. I remember when she was smaller when she really did not enjoy being strapped into it. I am so glad she worked that out or these could have been a lot more interesting! I do have to say though, boy we were glad this last long drive to have a baby that has started a solid diet. Never once did we have a blow out and never did we have a puddle of digested remnants in the carseat!  As my brother appropriately named little Queen poops-alot, we had some interesting road trips. Let's just say Laila has taken several "baths" in the bathrooms at multiple rest stops and gas stations between here and Utah! 

We did travel in style this time around. We all wanted to drive together in one car so we rented a van. Let's just say we all fit! Ha! It was so much fun! 

Miss Emily

I am so glad we were able to be there and show our support and love for Brandon and Michelle and their sweet family. I VERY much admire their dedication to the gospel, their family and those things they know to be true and good. I have always looked up to them from the very first time we met (almost 5 years ago). 

 

Grandma Bonnie, with Mamma Garner and her siblings. It was fun to visit and meet more of the Auger family.

Laila with Grandma Bonnie.                                

More cousin time! 

Happy 7 months !!!

My little bug is 7 months!!! It goes so fast! It is incredible to watch her observe, explore, and interact with the world. Here are Laila's top 3's for 7 months;

Top 3 Cutest things she does...
1.Kisses. This is really new, like this week!  You give her a kiss on her cheek and she will return it (sometimes). She opens her mouth and goes straight for you cheek. And she'll just rest her head there. I always think of a leech actually, but its still rather sweet! I love it!
2.Okay, I  feel like maybe I write too much about this, and it would be FAR from cute for anyone older, like FAR FAR FAR! but when she has to, you know, poop...she gets so focused and finds something to stare at. And she just has to grunt. It takes so much concentration. Like I said only cute for a baby!
3. She talks and talks and talks! and thinks she's just the funniest thing! :)

Top 3 Least Cutest things she does...
1. Sometimes when I do my workout at home, she is on the floor by me. And every once in a while she will look up at me wiggle and jiggle and she will just start to giggle and giggle. I've got sweat dripping down my face and I can barely breath, and she thinks its funny! Ha! I am sure I look ridiculous and she wants to help me laugh about it! :)
2.  Gremlin Laila/ Purple minion mode/ way past bed time version of Laila
3.Pulling mom's hair!

Top 3 Funniest things she does...
1. She loves to play with her mouth. Sometimes she clicks her tongue, or  sucks her lips in to make sour-lips. It is really funny and entertaining to watch.
2. When she is tired she shakes her head side to side, and I mean really shakes. You would think she would start to get dizzy. Sometimes it even means banging her head against the hard high-chair of floor, doesn't phase her. She pauses for a second and decides its no big deal.
3. That girl has gas! All day and all night long!

Top 3 Favorite things
1. Mommy. She has started reaching for me! I love it I love it I love it! Sometimes when dad picks her up she will reach her arms out for me, sorry Cam! (inside I am loving it though, but I know the day will come when she just wants her daddy!)
2. Dance, and by dance, I mean bounce, wiggle, jiggle, shake, move. Sometimes with music, sometimes without. She hardly lets you hold her before she is wiggling and crawling out of your arms. She absolutely LOVES the jumper!
3. She loves eating small pieces of banana. And peaches too!

Top 3 Dislikes
1.Diaper changes - She didn't really mind before, but now she goes crazy some of the time.
2. Still not loving Peas! The other day I tired giving her broccoli. Her face was priceless!
3. Honestly...I can't come up with another one.....

Top 3 Accomplishments
1. So close to crawling. She gets on her hands and knees and just bounces. Like, "should I do it? Maybe yes, Maybe no....." She is also starting to army crawl around a little bit, just a bit. And very short distances. She is really good, though, at moving around the room. It just takes a lot of time, rolling this way and wiggling that way.
2. She is really good at getting from her tummy to sitting up and rolling around ....Whatever it takes to get off her stomach.
3. She's a good eater. She does amazing at keeping her hands up and out of the way and mouth open! You just have to keep up with her head! She looses focus FAST!

what's up?

 

We love to laugh!

Updates on the Garner clan

I am a little sad that we have done so much traveling these last couple of months, but only a little. (I think our bank account might be hurting about it more than I am !)  Because I love to travel. And I love to visit family even more.  But I think Seattle is such a fun city in the summer! We have been trying to take advantage of it when we're home. Movie nights at the park, blackberry picking, playing at the beach, swimming in the lake, exploring new parks, and of course visiting all the new baby animals at the zoo (they must have put something in the water there because recently they have had 4 different animals deliver!)

Here we are at Golden Gardens (a beach right of the sand). We packed a picnic and had a blast playing beach volleyball with a bunch of friends. 

Here are a couple pictures from our most recent Utah excursion. 

Proud Opa juggling both the kiddos. Boy do they love him!

Best looking babe out there! Even sporting a bright orange bow-tie!

Laila and her handsome daddy !

Cousins! 

I love love love this picture of Laila with Grandpa and Grandma Garner. 

Laila got a crack up with these streamers at Will's (Kaitlyn's cute boy) birthday party! So much fun to reunite with old friends! 

6 months!

Can you believe it?! Little bug's 6 months old already! Time flies when you're having fun! This is such a fun age! She is so much more interactive. And you can see little bits and pieces of her personality coming out, which I don't know if that makes me more nervous than excited. :) I think she is going to have A LOT of it! 

Here are Laila's top 3 for 6 months;

Top 3 Cutest things she does...
1. After a GOOD nap, she'll give a little shout out or start talking, calling for someone to come rescue her. When you come into the room, her face just lights up and she gets the biggest grin. Like, "I have been waiting my WHOLE life for you. You're my favorite person in the whole world! And I am so happy you are here. " Same reason people own dogs. :) Ya that's right CAMERON....people love coming home to a dog that just thinks they are the best person in the whole world, well....some people. And ya, I guess I just compared my daughter to owning a dog.
2. Late night giggles! She gets slap happy! Anything makes her laugh! and laugh and laugh. My favorite sound in the whole world!!!
3. Snuggles! Rare, but those oh-so-precious moments are maybe beginning to surface. 

Top 3 Least Cutest things she does...
1. On the other side of tired, she turns into Gremlin Laila, aka purple minion. Holy moly. Seriously. She'll punch in the face, then the nose, dig into your neck, jump off your lap, pull out your hair, punch in the nose again and pull out some more hair. Its uncontrollable sometimes. Yikes!
2. Ya...we're going to have to put blowouts on here again. I kid you not, traveling with this little bug this summer has been an adventure. Poop everywhere sometimes. 
3. She thinks its the funniest thing to spit her tongue while her mouth is full of mashed up carrots, or peas or potatoes. Pretty soon we're all sporting speckled outfits! 

Top 3 Funniest things she does...
1.  She's become a contortionist. Nap time now means, as we are trying to get her used to sleeping flat (her reflux has calmed down, A LOT, as far as laying down flat on her back goes. However, on that note....the reason for this abrupt switch is Laila has figured out how to undo the velcro from her made-up rocket ship wedge and I found her upside down, on the wedge, with her face smashed up against the crib. The worst part? She was already throwing a fit pre-disaster so I was letting her cry it out. Who knows how long she was screaming in desperate need of a mother's rescue. FAIL. I didn't want to put her down for the rest of the day. I felt so bad.) Anyway....Nap time now means fit all your limbs through the bars of the crib at the same time, at different places, on your back or on your tummy, doesn't matter...ready GO. 
2. Laughs to herself. She'll be playing on the floor with her toys, in her bumbo, on her tummy, or sometimes with no toys at all and she will crack up and then talk to herself. Its a hoot!
3. Still gotta love checking herself out in the mirror! "Ya gurl!" But my new favorite is her in her jumper ! See below...

Top 3 Favorite things
1. Her Jumper - It hangs from the door frame and she sits in it and bounces. I honestly think she could stay in there forever. Sometimes she'll camp in there for an hour or so...while I am showering, or doing things around the house. LOVE IT! and so does she! She is a crack up to watch. Its perfect for her. Ever since she was tiny, she loved to bounce. 
2. Dance. I don't know if she has made the correlation yet, but I like to think so. When you turn music on she sits and bounces on her butt. Too cute!
3. Her zebra. She loves her zebra! When you hand it to her when she goes down for bed or for her naps, she reaches for it with the biggest grin and gives it the sweetest hug. 


Top 3 Dislikes
1. Getting dressed...still! You would think you would learn to get used to that when its an everyday x10 kind of thing. 
2. When you take away her toy. She is really good at throwing a fit! Already!?!? AHHH!
3. Peas! Ya, not a fan. 

Top 3 Accomplishments
1. Rolling over! Yay! and finally! Now the trick is getting her to hold still.
2. Starting solids!
3. Sleeping all the way through the night. She had been doing it earlier, but with a pretty early wake time (5:00 am or so just for an early morning feeding and then back to sleep...) Now she goes almost a full 12 hours! Woo hoo! 

Here are a few of the pictures from Laila's 6-month "photo-shoot". There were too many cute ones to pick from! Love her!