RAH, RAH, RAH!

Sydney got to do a cheer day camp at a nearby high school. I was unsure if she would participate but to my pleasant surprise, she walked right in. When I came to pick her up, she was smiling, sweaty, and having a blast. She insisted on wearing her sparkly cheer outfit that her grandparents got her for dress-up. Perhaps that's why she was so excited to be there, clearly she felt fabulous!

Summer abundance

We planted a garden this year and it has been fun to eat fresh veggies from our own garden (instead of mooching it all from Norm & Ele). I think everyone with a garden should plant a zucchini because it makes you feel successful. You can over water, under water, neglect to weed, and you still get more zucchini than you know what to do with! My family is getting very sick of all the zucchini recipes I have been making for dinner. They never complain about the zucchini bread or zucchini cookies though.

I realize they are not yummy when they get this big. We forgot to pick for a couple of days and when we did, there was a ginormous one. We left it for a couple of weeks to see how big it would get.

We also discovered pizza on the grill this summer. It is the best way to do homemade pizza, if you ask me. Many thanks to Julie for the yummy pizza dough recipe. We have tried it twice with different varieties of toppings and it has secured it's spot as a regular on the Hamilton Family Menu.

All He Wants For Christmas. . .

Is his two front teeth.
Actually he's already begging for a PSP thanks to Uncle Josh.

Finally

Last Night. . .
The weather was warm, the water was flat, and I skied!!!
Today. . .
Totally sore body. It was well worth it.
The best part. . .
Garth told me I looked like I hadn't missed a beat and that I was in "solid mid-season form." To a ski junkie, that is a wonderful compliment!

A Reminder From Derek

Take time to smell the roses.

Derek had his 18 month check-up yesterday and it just reminded me that these kids grow up WAY too fast. Before Olivia was born, I felt like he was still a baby and now he is expected to be the big brother. Truthfully, he is still a baby, and a harder one than Olivia. He is in that frustrating stage of knowing what he wants and not being able to tell me. He is in to everything and would much rather open cupboards full of "no-no's" than play with a toy. He is cutting 4 molars and cries more than my other three kids combined. However, I feel compelled to enjoy and eat up all of his moments because I know they will be gone so quickly. I want to remember him as a little boy and not have a void of Derek memories because I was so busy with the baby. I'm not sure how to do it, but I want so badly to live in the moment and enjoy each of my kids.

Mother Nature is cruel

I went to the doctor yesterday for my 6 week check-up and got the official go-ahead for starting to do things again. The thing I was most looking forward to was waterskiing so naturally the weather for the past two days has been unusually cool with thunder, lightning and rain. So this morning I decided to go to the gym (the #2 thing I have missed) and it was closed due to a broken water pipe or something. Bummer.

One Month

Well, we have made it a whole month. We are actually doing really well. . .not too sleep deprived, no major jealousy issues, healthy and happy.
Olivia is a very good baby. In the first two weeks of her life, she slept through the night more often than she didn't. Unfortunately, she also wasn't gaining weight and was still below her birth weight. So when she started waking up to eat in the middle of the night, I felt obligated to indulge her. Luckily she only gets up once and goes right back to sleep.

Olivia had her first boat ride when she was just 8 days old. She was clearly not entertained by the whole experience. She has since been on almost a dozen rides and spends most of the time doing this (and occasionally eats).We had a big boating/BBQ get-together at our park for 4th of July. We ended up with over 50 people ranging in age from 9 days (Olivia) to 80-something (Garth's grandparents). The girls sported 4th of July dresses and this is the only picture I got. Yes, I realize Sydney looks a bit like a street-walker, but doing make-up was one of her favorite activities to do with cousin Kenzie.
We blessed Olivia this month as well. We decided kind of last minute to do it this soon because both my brother's were here for Jordan's wedding open house. Garth did a wonderful job as usual and it was really nice to have my dad and brothers get to participate. Olivia wore a beautiful dress that Grandma Sharon had bought for Sydney when she was born. Again, no good pictures. Garth's mom took this one real quick outside the church. Maybe I'll put her in it again and take some more.