Blessed!

I have to say... I am so proud of our little family and how far we have come. I thank God for my wonderful life, my two healthy, beautiful little boys and the relationship I have with my parents. Really... who could ask for anything more! I am SO BLESSED!

Kisses From Daddy

Sunday Brunch

On Sunday we met up in Ketchum for brunch and we sat outside in the beautiful sunshine. I think it was the last Summer weekend of the year, so Jack (and my parents) picked the perfect time to come! Lucy was such a good girl. For as young as she is I would expect her to be really jealous of all the shifted attention, but not really! She loves Jack & Sammy and just wanted to help and play. Look at her feed the baby with her mommy... adorable!

SO LITTLE! Jack is exactly 1 week old here, and this would have been my due date. I'm sure glad I'm not pregnant anymore:)

I am DEFINATLY framing this picture! I wish I lived closer to my family:( I love spending time with them!

Sam was pretty fussy at brunch, so Pop took Sam for a walk and bought him some toy cars!

LUCY!

After brunch we took a walk around Ketchum and came across this toy store. Lucy found a hula hoop and put on the most amazing hula hoop demonstration that I have ever seen. Me & Brandon were so impressed. You should see this little girl twirl this hoop... WHILE posing for a picture! It was amazing! And she's so cute in her pink shirt and her skinny jeans with pink sparkles in them:)

It was so nice to finally see Lucy-Lue again. She is really growing up to be such a sweet and polite little lady!

At our house, Lucy loved to play with Sammy's baby toys. My dad pointed out that these are toys she would never play with at home, but they were new to her, so she enjoyed them. Ya know, it's pretty cool that my parents have a little kid- they totally relate with my little kids, and they all play together. Sam just LOVED playing with Lucy, and visa-versa. He would scream and run in a circle when she came though the door.

Lucy enjoyed putting the bunny ears on the bus, connecting all the toys, and making a caravan to parade around the house. I guess you had to be there, but it was super cute!

Chasing in The Willow Huts

There is this really cool art instalment in Ketchum. It's these three huts made of willow branches that are temporarily built in an empty lot. They smell great, by the way.

We had fun running around and playing in them. Sammy and Lucy were chasing eachother:)

Wonderful, Wonderful, WONDERFUL Visit!

All around, we had such a great visit. I love seeing my family more and more every time. It is super hard living so far away from them, but we are so lucky that they can come visit us like they do. They totally spoil us too!

I love watching my parents with MY kids. It's amazing! Like I said, I am truly blessed.. actually, we all are. I look forward to many more happy visits and wonderful memories with my family. We love you Gigi & Pop & little Lucy-Lue! THANK YOU!

One Week Later...

What a difference a week makes. The night before I went into labor with Jack it was just me and Sammy watching the BSU game, but now just 6 days later, I have my new baby Jack in my arms! It has been a whirlwind of a week. So wonderful!

On September 26th...

On September 26th, 2010 Jack Charles Bates was born in Ketchum, Idaho at 7:36 Am.

It was a crazy scene. I had arrived at the hospital (screaming my head off) only 20 minutes earlier. Since I was already dilated to a seven there was no time for any pain killers. Luckily, he was smaller than Sammy, and I am proud to say that I managed to get him out in 3 or 4 good pushes. We couldn't believe it! It all happened SO FAST! We are lucky we even made it to the hospital!

Okay, so I know this picture is a little graphic, but I love it! There he is... he arrived so fast, I don't think any of us knew what hit us!

Here we are... I am so proud! He is so beautiful!

He looks different than Sam did. He has dark hair- kind of like me or maybe my dad. When Sam was born he had red hair and looked so much like Brandon. Not this one though! It's incredible! I can't believe I did it!

Precious Boy

Precious Boy

Sam was right outside the room the whole time. He played on the computer at the nurses station. He had no idea his baby brother was coming into the world:)

Look at our little peanut!

The Bates Family Came to Meet Jack

Grammy, Poppy, Auntie Shelly, & Cousins Piper, Gage, & Ramsey all drove from Meridian just to meet baby Jack! It was fun!

Sammy meets Jack

Sammy jumped up on the bed to meet his new brother. He's not too thrilled with him yet.

Our first family picture:)

Proud Daddy!

Go Boise State!

The night before I wet into Labor we watched Boise State beat Oregon... GO BOISE!

Just some pics from last night

"Sammy, say cheese"

Look at that face... SO FUNNY! He looks like a little monster!

Sammy's First Day of School

My little boy is really growing up, and if it weren't that I was about to have another baby, I would cry! I can't believe how big he's getting! I think I was more excited and nervous for his first day at preschool than he was. We got him new shoes and he picked out a Sponge Bob lunch box. He looked like such a little man.

When I dropped him off, I thought he would cry, but my little boy is so independent, he just ran into his classroom like he owned the place. I love it!

This school has truely been a God-send for us. Sam will be going Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning. Brandon will drop him off on his way to work, so that Sam isn't stuck in the house all day with me and a new baby... bored out of his mind! This will be really good for him:)

So today was the second day of school, and when I arrived to pick him up, I found him crying and calling for "Mama." While I know that is sad, a part of me was a little relieved to know my baby still needs me a little bit;)

Summer... is it over!!! ???

I can't get over the strange weather we have here in Idaho. On September 3rd, I woke up to find that FROST had damaged much of my garden. Yes, that's right... FROST IN SEPTEMBER!!! I'm just not used to this! What a short growing season! But, I have noticed that the chill of fall has already started to creep in around here. We've had a few days that were in the 50s and some nights in the 30s... ALREADY!

So, I picked these vegis from my garden so we could have what is probably one of our last summer dinners. Hopefully all my green tomatoes will still turn red.

Happy Wagon Days!

On Saturday we went to the Wagon Days Parade and had a great time! First we went to the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, then we went to the Children's Carnival and Sam rode some rides. Finally we went to the parade, (but I could only stay for the first half). It was a lot of fun:)

Children's Carnival In Ketchum

Sammy LOVED the rides at the Wagon Days Festival. He couldn't get enough of the train.

Bike Ride With Mommy

Last Friday I walked with Sammy on his push-bike up to Chevron and let him pick out an ice cream. He had a blast. Maybe I shouldn't have let him wear his new outfit that Gigi sent... oops... but I managed to get the stains out:)

Sam's First Art Project

We made this special picture for my Dad's birthday last week. Sammy had so much fun making it, but the best part was my dad really loved it:) Sammy loves his Pop!

Visit to Grammy & Poppy's House

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Boise to visit with Brandon's family...

Sam just LOVES to see his cousins. They are so sweet to him! Piper was so helpful and good to him and little Gagey had a shadow everywhere he went. It was so cute:)

Trip To The Boise Fair

Weeeee!

Oink

Sammy loved seeing all the different animals!

So precious!!! Look... even little Ramsey is smiling!

Moooo Cow!

I think Sam really enjoyed seeing the cows. It's funny... I thought he would really like the rides at the fair, but really, it's the little things. He was so cute: he leaned down and gave the cow a kiss!

(little) Mooo Cow!

Smooch Moo Cow!