Bonnie girl- 5 months old

Bonnie went on an adventure this month- she went to southern California with me as I taught classes and trained my doTERRA team members there. We enjoyed our "girls" trip and quality time quite a lot- I even took her to Newport Beach one evening to see the sunset. Kate and her family were there, too, and we loved seeing them, but we also had a lot of alone time together. It was a nice little recharge for mama. 

We also had fun time with our cousins this month and supported Grandma and Grandpa as my dad had brain surgery twice. 

Plenty of room... right?

Girls trip to California for mom's work!

Pure love

Her other best friend, Daddy

My snuggly, wiggly kids

Meeting of the Fab Four baby cousins- Bonnie's the last one so she's not quite sitting up yet...

Happy girl in her "office"

When we pulled the Exersaucer out of storage, the boys thought it was pretty fun, too

A rare moment- she fell asleep in my arms after I nursed her and then I was able to transfer her into her car seat without her waking up. This was at a doTERRA leader brunch. Delicious baby and food. :)

Bonnie had a poopie diaper blowout at the History Museum and of course, I didn't have any other clothes for her. So she was a nakey baby for the whole outing in her diaper and blanket. She didn't mind. :)

Where to begin? That round, soft cheek, that sleepy, relaxed hand, the cosy sleeper jammies- I adore co-sleeping with my babies. 

Bonnie Bright Eyes

So happy with Daddy- and looking kind of Thornton-ish

Bonnie Rose- 4 months old

How did we get so lucky to have such a delightful child? She is our little gem. We love her so.

Her mellow personality is just what we needed.  She is quite attached to me- she goes almost everywhere with me. And she's so easygoing that I happily bring her along! I've taken her to two movies and she slept the whole time through both (in my arms and nursing, but I'll take it! I never did that with Charlie or George). She's also attended doTERRA convention and a weekend doTERRA training, and I'm planning two upcoming trips to California with her along as well.

Because she's almost always with me, I haven't been able to teach her to take a bottle or a pacifier. Which is only a problem when I absolutely have to leave her- like for the recent Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. She did alright while I was gone, but it stressed me out to leave her. She's almost getting too old to be flexible and sleep anywhere, so I anticipate being more home bound for the next few months (except for my doTERRA commitments). I honestly don't mind it- it's a short season of life and I'm so grateful to have her.

She's laughing and smiling at the boys and us so much now. She's so cute and chubby and we all get a big kick out of trying to make her laugh or smile. The boys will sing her songs and play peek a boo and fake sneeze to get that laugh!

She's almost rolled over a couple of times. She doesn't get a lot of chance to practice except in her bed or on my bed. She's hardly ever on the floor just hanging out. Our house has too much hardwood and too many kids. :) I remember that with George, too, but he got it eventually. Charlie rolled over at 3 months- maybe because we lived at my parents and there was carpeting? Who knows?

She loves her hands and sucking on her fingers, fist and occasionally her thumb. It isn't super consistent in a way that makes me think she'll be a thumb sucker for sure. (Although my primary care doctor saw her calm herself down in her car seat with her hands and commented that she was good at self soothing.) It could go either way. I'll take it or leave it- there's definitely pros and cons to both. :)

Her hair is starting to grow in a little bit, although she still has an impressive bald patch on the back of her head. I think I'll miss it when it's gone because it's such a cute, newborn thing about her.

She loves to reach for toys and is getting better about holding onto them. She tries to get her feet in her mouth but isn't quite strong enough yet. She's changing and growing so much every day! It's going too fast!!

I've been sharing these photos of Bonnie's many Christmas outfits on Instagram and my friend Andrea came up with the hashtag #deckthatbonnie . So I've had even more fun dressing her up in her holiday finest to show her off. 

Proof of the finger sucking

The only acceptable version of "Santa Baby"

4 months old! 

Bonnie 3 months old

Dislikes a poopie diaper, when mom blows her nose loudly, pacifiers, bottles, the car driving slowly.

Likes smiling at faces, cooing, her hands, her silly brothers, nursing, sleeping next to mom.

She is our sweet girl, burping machine, BonBon, Baby Sister, Rosie, buddy girl, Sis. 

Charlie and George love her a lot. George especially. He checks on her every hour, cries when I take her somewhere away from him, hugs her, kisses her, and brings her toys. If she's crying, Charlie tells me, "Milk her, Mom!" George will run to me and say, "Help her, Baby Sister!"

This past month she was given a blessing, got her immunizations, went to Mommy and Me yoga, took a bottle one time (there's hope!), had a few stints away from mom and did great, was a rainbow for Halloween, and charmed people wherever she went! 

Soccer disasters- fall 2014

Somehow, I thought it would be a good idea to sign the boys up for soccer. There were a couple of problems with this plan.
1- I had a newborn
2- they were on separate teams and both teams played twice a week, each on a different weeknight and then back to back on Saturday
3- John was often still at work when I had to take them to their games
4- They both didn't really want to play that much. George spent most of the game running away from the field chasing his friend, Sam Plumb, or doing somersaults, or sneaking the end-of-game treats early. Charlie wanted to explore the nearby river or climb the baseball bleachers.

It was a rough time. But we did have some laughs, at George's games especially because many of our friends had signed up as well (ironically, many of them with newborns, too. What were we thinking???) And Charlie did have some good moments on his team and I got to practice my skills of being his mom advocate without crossing the line to helicopter mom. I exchanged many, many emails with his coach (who bless his heart, is a volunteer parent after all!)

Cutest little soccer socks selfie by George

See that kid in the maroon jersey? Yup, that's George and that's Phil Plumb running after him. 

Can't help but admire that amazing rainbow, though?

We were a little damp at this point from the rain, but Bonnie conked out anyway.  

Three of the four new babes and new mamas- Jessica and Daniel, Whitney and Nathan, and me and Bonnie (all born just a few months apart). Not pictured, our fearless coach, Starr who ALSO had a newborn. What?!

George is 3!

We love this sweet Georgie boy. On his actual birthday, we were still in the throes of Charlie's first week of kindergarten and all the emotions and logistics involved with that. So I was grateful that he's still young enough to be oblivious to the calendar. We celebrated the next day with doughnuts and a candle and later in the weekend with our families. George got just what any 3-year-old would want- a chance to sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out his candles over and over. (The only catch was that only he was allowed to sing.)

Since his birthday, he takes great pride in showing me how tall or strong or fast he is because, as he says, "I free-year-old!" 

A Day with Grandpa in the Canyon

While I was at the doTERRA convention, Grandpa Rick helped John with the boys. He decided an outing up Millcreek Canyon was the perfect activity for some busy boys on a hot day. And I think he was right. They loved it and spent the whole time jumping from rocks, playing in the stream and gathering rocks and sticks. I love being so close to the mountains. I love these adventurous boys. I love my father-in-law's love of nature and willingness to spend quality time with his grandchildren instilling that love as well. 

Little Johnny T

Baby Bonnie, three weeks old

This is a dreamy, happy, cuddly, sweet baby. She has brought a peaceful joy into our home. We all love "Baby Sister" quite a lot.

-Everyone still calls her Baby Sister or Sister almost all the time. John and I call her Bonnie and Rosie (and Sweet Girl and Peanut). George likes to tell everyone her name is Bonnie. If you ask Charlie what her name is, he says with an impish grin, "Elsa" (from the extremely popular Disney movie Frozen.)

-She's given a couple of purposeful smiles already and I can't wait until that smile comes to stay! It's such a joy when babies start smiling at you! I'm pretty sure she has dimples, which is my personal favorite.

-She sleeps so SO well. I hope it sticks around when she's outgrown this sleepy newborn phase. At night, she usually sleeps from 10 pm to 7 am, nursing once or twice during the night. She likes to suck on her hands and we are experimenting with different levels of swaddling to help her sleep the best (one arm out? just one hand out? both hands in, but loosely swaddled? tightly swaddled? You'd think I'd have figured this out by my third kid, but no.)

-We have been a LOT of places, considering she's just a newborn. Part of it is that my recovery has gone so well and I have felt physically great! Part of it is that it's the last few days of summer and we want to be out and having fun! And a huge part of it is that the kids and I do much better when we get out of the house. I'm trying to be really careful of germs and people and also not overtire myself, but it's a hard balance to strike.

-She has already had two mild fevers (99 degrees). It makes me so sad! But such is the life with two older brothers. The first week of her life, Charlie had strep and a fever of 103!

-People comment on all her dark hair, how big and healthy she is, her elusive dimples, and how she looks like her brothers!

-She's pretty good with the pacifier and we are working on the bottle. I'm determined that she will be my one that gets it!

Baby boom

Bonnie- 9 days, Theo- 9 weeks, Grant- 11 weeks, Scarlett- 4 months

Baby's first pool day!

We are lucky enough to have a group of friends that meets regularly for playgroup. This summer, one of the friends is living in her in-laws' home while they serve on a mission for their church. This home has a gorgeous pool that they are generously sharing with us! It's been so fun to have a non-crowded place to swim all summer, especially while I was so pregnant!

When Bonnie was one week old we went swimming. I recruited lots of help to make it happen and rolled in like Kanye West with a giant entourage- our babysitter, Abby, her little sister, Libby, my niece, Lily, and my Mom all came along to lend a hand. It was so relaxing and fun- I wish I had that many helpers every day!

(sun)bathing beauty

Mae, Libby, Charlie, Lily

Hot tub pals- George, Sam and James

This was also our last outing with Lily before she moved to Baltimore! So bittersweet. 

The pregnant playgroup mamas have all delivered except for Jess- hang in there!