Summer Fun!

Summer is here! It's official and even the Rexburg weather knows it! So, of course, we spent today doing very summery things.

First we went to story time at the Library. It's something I remember doing as a child and loving. Today's stories were all about construction because our library is working on an addition to the building. We sang songs about construction and even made our own construction hats. They looked less like construction hats and more like Napoleon or Peter Pan hats (depending on how you wore them). Atley wasn't much for the hat and he was a little concerned about the stamp on his hand, but he did get a bon bon (candy) at the end, so he was happy.

Next, after story time, we were off to the park for lunch. Rexburg has a pretty cool program where they give kids 1-18 free lunch. Atley doesn't always like what they're serving and often times it is the wrong temperature (hot foods are mostly too cold), but it's a great way for me to try new foods with him. Plus, who doesn't love a picnic in the park? Today he had a PB&J sandwich, chips, and milk. The lunch also included some carrots, celery, an orange, and a cookie, all of which he wasn't interested in.

Now is the really fun part of our day. We spent time playing in the splash park. It was probably the most fun for me because Atley was so happy (even when he was shivering) and because we took pictures!

Holly was our little Queen today. She pretty much just sat in the shade drinking a bottle. But, whatever makes her happy is OK with me!

So adorable!

At first, Atley was skeptical of the water. He wanted to play, I'm sure of that. I think he just wanted to be sure he had permission or something.

He began to warm up by playing in the puddles.

Then he got brave enough to touch it!

Then a little too brave--he and the water learned a little respect for each other (see video below).

Then he found a water spout that was just his size. Once the boundaries were established, they got along famously!

Atley sure loves the water. Ian and I have always called him a water baby. Holly on the other hand hates to even get in the bath. We're hoping she grows out of it so when she's a little bigger they can play together.

That's our summer day. We're excited for a lot more to follow! I hope you're all out making the most of the beautiful weather!

Art, Sitting, and Brotherly Love!

Ian and I were able to enjoy a date this week. We went up to the school and Ian taught me what he's been learning in his art class--WATERCOLOR! You remember in elementary school when they gave you the little watercolor palette and you went to town with those wiry bristled brushes that didn't do much in the way of art? Well, this was kind of similar, except the brushes were higher quality and my teacher seemed to have a lot more knowledge of watercolor than my elementary school art teacher (and much better looking, too!) Anyway, here are the pictures!

Ian was taking the pictures this time. I think he wanted proof that I can do art (with guidance of course!)

My beach scene (in case you couldn't tell).

This is what Ian is working on for class. It's a very detailed photo with A LOT of flowers!

Our setup.

This picture is a pastel drawing that Ian did earlier for class. Lots of shadows. Cool, huh?

In other news, Holly is learning to sit! She's come quite far in the past couple of days--enough to share for sure!

Atley and Holly really love each other. I know I've said that before, but it's always surprising to me how much Atley wants to be involved in what Holly is learning. Here's a couple videos to show you what I mean.


Atley loves to make Holly laugh and this was a pretty good example during Family Home Evening this week.
Also, what blog post about a baby is complete without a video of something adults find so cute in babies and super weird with Adults? Babies are so good at being cute...and weird. Don't try this at home!

Now that the long wait is over I'm prepared to deliver a report of what our family has been up to. Here goes...

My brother finally got married! We were so blessed to be able to attend the wedding in Washington D.C. The trip was tough (especially since we had to leave Ian behind), but it was well worth it! The wedding was beautiful and spending time with family was so great! Here are the pictures of our trip.

The kids spent time with their Aunts wandering the temple grounds during the sealing. It was nice to be in the temple and think about my children joining me there someday.

He might look disgusted, but he really loves his Mommy!

Holly got to snuggle with Grandma, Grandpa, and pretty much anyone else who wanted to hold her. She was very sweet and cute, so I'm sure it was hard for them to resist.

It was so great to have all my sisters together again.

Cousin Cadence loves Holly. He decided to show her how a real kid handles a bottle.

This is Holly with her new Aunt Martha.

Atley just wanted to be sure we had all the pictures we wanted. I think he's hooked on photography now because he won't leave our camera alone!

Our family has been enjoying the spring, though it's been really rainy which makes it hard to get out much. We love to be outside and play with the sidewalk chalk, go to the park, and take walks together. We had a visit last week from our family which was so much fun!

Here's a person-by-person update to break down all the wonderful things we've been doing!

Ian - Our husband/father has been hard at work in school this semester. We're expecting his mid-term grades soon and so far he's doing great! I don't want to brag or anything, but I married a smarty! Since our stake changed boundaries we're now in a new ward, which means new opportunities to serve. Ian was called as the "Proclaim the Gospel Committee Chair" in the Elder's Quorum. It's similar to what he was doing as the "Ward Mission Leader" in our previous ward so it was a pretty easy transition.
Since the spring semester is on, naturally so is Saturday Sports! Ian's participated in frisbee, flag football, softball, soccer. He loves getting a break to run around and play sports with his buddies. He's also been involved recently with our intramural softball team. He hurt his hand a little bit, but it's healing quickly and he'll be back to 100% real soon.
Me - I've been hard at work trying to hang some picutres and keep the house clean despite the efforts of an energetic toddler working against me and a sweet little girl trying to distract me. I've had a lot of help from Ian and Atley even tries to pull his own weight. He's always looking to help me with the dishes because the water is so fun to play in!
I've also been working on my new calling in the Stake Primary Presidency. So far it's been really great to learn about and be part of an organization that I haven't been involved in since before I was 12! Our Stake is mostly made up of nursery aged children (under 3), but I think that's even better because I can learn what I need so I can help another ward or stake where ever we move to.
Another project of mine has been making cute little fabric flowers for Holly to wear. As soon as I get one completely finished and ready to wear I'll post some pictures.
Also, our family has been getting into a health craze lately so the kids and I have been doing a lot more walking. I'm hoping it helps my energy go up and Atley's go down! We just throw Atley in the stroller and Holly in the carrier and take a walk to where ever my feet carry us! I had a physical assessment done and it looks like it's really starting to pay off. The next step is getting a nutrition plan and sticking to it so that the exercise really pays off!
Atley - Our little baby is gone. Atley has been growing by leaps and bounds! After we returned from Washington D.C. we moved Atley into a toddler bed! He loves his new bed so much and even though he can get out on his own, he's very obedient and stays in bed for nap and bed time.

Atley also visited the doctor for a check-up and some immunizations. He is now over 22lbs and 32in! See what I mean!? Once upon a time, he was only 6lbs 3oz and 19in! Wow!

A kind neighbor of ours volunteered to give Atley a haircut, too! I knew he needed it, but I was much too scared to do it myself so I was grateful for the help! They put a movie on for him, gave him a sucker, and trimmed all of his beautiful baby hair goodbye! Now he looks like a big kid!
Atley started nursery a few weeks back. He had a rough start because he missed his Mommy. Afterall, she is pretty cool! The more he attends primary the more I think he enjoys it. His teachers are so caring and they love welcoming him to nursery each week. I'm really grateful for the effort they put into teaching him.
One thing that really impresses me about Atley is his vocabulary. He may not be the fastest runner or the best climber (for which I'm grateful), but he does know a lot of words! Here's a list of some of my favorite things he says:

Kitty, Dog, Mama, Oiseau, Manger, Au revoir, Holly, Ball, Head, Hair, Toes, Foot, Eye, Mouth, Nose, Shoes, Chausettes, Fleur, Eat, Hungry, Hug, Kiss, Jesus, Temple, Chalk, Swing, Outside, Get up, Sleep, Night-night, Bed, Toys, Movie, Show, Hello, Bye-bye, Je t'aime, Miss you, car, keys, and SO MUCH MORE!

Here's the video of Atley interacting with his favorite new animal in the neighborhood.

Holly - This little preemie baby is growing but she's decided to remain a baby a little while longer than I expected. She's now 6 1/2 months old, but still only 11 1/2 lbs! The doctor tells us that she's growing well, but she's small, even for a preemie! She's quite long though compared to her weight (22 3/4in) so she's a skilly little baby. Also, she's a little bit behind developmentally (she's not sitting yet), but she's anxious to catch up. We expected it because of her prematurity so she's not really behind, but she's certainly not a typical 6 month old!

I certainly can't complain about her though. She's turned out to be a GREAT sleeper and prettier than I would've imagined. I love her little gummy smile and her girlish laugh. She's now sleeping in the crib that her Grandpa Sorensen made and she loves it! Much to my dismay she likes to roll onto her tummy and fall asleep. She's really good at rolling and loves to grab anything she can reach (including my hair). She's becoming more of a snuggler and she holds her own bottle like a pro!

Holly loves all the walking we've been doing. She gets to ride in the carrier or the stroller and see so many new things. She's usually rather quiet on our walks, but to me that just shows that she's taking it all in!

So, that is what has been happening around here. I hope each of you are able to find the joy in each day! If not, you might want to borrow my kids for a day to make finding the joy easier :)

Patience

Our computer is back and better than EVER! With our repairs, which were FREE (thanks to the extended warranty), we got an updated operating system! That might now mean a whole lot to those of you who aren't as nerdy as I am, but in simpler terms it means it'll be a lot longer before I feel like my computer is out of date!

Updates are coming, I promise. Things have been VERY busy around here and we definably want to share that with you, but as Elder Uchtdorf says "...without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace." (Ensign, May 2010) I'm just helping you all along your way to become patient and pleasing God! How thoughtful, right?

We Mourn the Loss...

You might be thinking to yourself right now 'Yes! Another Sorensen blog post...finally!' Well, don't get too excited. This isn't a happy post. I'm writing to let everyone know that our computer is currently out of commission. For no apparent reason our computer decided it was due for a crash. We'll be able to get it fixed, so have no fear, but not without a price. All of the information stored on our computer will be totally gone. Thankfully, because I've been keeping a blog we have many of the pictures online, but even so there are some that will be lost forever.

Now that I'm done sharing my sorrow, I must say, until we get our computer fixed, it's going to be a little while until we post again. I'm sure by then we'll have a lot to share. So though you must wait, there's a lot to wait for and it'll be worth it!