.new week.

A new week is starting, and it will inevitably hold a mix of the good and bad that life has to offer.  To start the week off right though, I woke with the sun (5:30 to be exact), fed the baby, and ran for the first time in months.  It felt good...really good.  Not only because it wasn't deathly hot yet, but also just being outside and seeing the beauty of the world and breathing the fresh air.  I've been pretty good doing my indoor regimen, but I needed a change of pace.  I think I'll throw in a few long runs a week just to keep things interesting.  I was also happy to see this...

Slow as a snail I swear, but we will get there...eventually.  That leaves 6 pounds to go before I'm at pre-pregnancy weight of 137.  Of course I would like to keep going and shoot for 130-125, but that is a long ways off for sure.  Right now, I'll just do what I can do and knock down those pounds one by one.

Other things that have required my attention...

I have decided to watch another little dude to make a little extra for the family.  My dear friend Carla, has the sweetest little boy, and he has adapted to our crazy house almost seamlessly.  With little Mr. we are pretty much home bound for a good portion of the week, but we still manage to get out and enjoy the summer with friends, and I'm learning how to juggle life with another little baby around.  Everyone has to wait at some point of the day, but eventually everyone gets what they need.

Besides babies and early mornings, we are getting ready for the summer of weddings.  We have 4 weddings within 2 months, two of which are our brothers.  We will be traveling to Florida in about two weeks to see Roy's brother get hitched.  If it wasn't Florida in August I would be excited, but as it is, I think I might want to die from all the heat...wish me luck.

.summer tolerant.

I'm not much of a summer girl...never have been really.  The heat is draining, I tolerate water, and much like my father, I have no business being out in the sun with my pasty Irish skin.  Despite my dislike for the warmest of seasons, the're are parts of it that I really enjoy.  I love summer nights with it's relief from the summer heat, and the smell of fresh cut grass.  I love the longer days when the daylight misleads you into thinking it's still quite early, when in fact it's nearly 10.  But most of all, I LOVE the summer storms that roll in in the afternoons and put on a show of lightning and thunder with the sweet smell of wet earth.  The Summer holidays also give one self a chance to forget the stifling heat, and just enjoy the atmosphere of festivities around you.
We spent our 4th catering to a 2 year old boy...and we loved every minute of it...almost.  This year I knew we had to hit up the parade so that Finn could take in the spectacle of the fire trucks and the floats.  I like a good parade as much as the next person, but Roy could absolutely care less if he ever went to one (I married an introvert...what are ya going to do?).  Luckily we live within walking distance of one, so we made our way to sit out in the hot sun and watch a very lack luster parade.  Not going to lie here,  the West Jordan Parade was pretty lame.  This is the part of the day that I could have passed on.  The beginning had all the glory with 2 fire trucks, and several police motorcycles which made Finn one happy boy, but it all went down hill after that.  A lot of thug cars with no specific purpose or sponsor...like they just got caught in the parade traffic, no patriotic music, no candy (that's why I go to parades anyways), and about 10 minutes between each thing.  So as much as Finn enjoyed what we stayed to watch, I don't think we will be doing THAT parade next year.

seeing something in the distance

"Firetrucks!!"

Lilly and Finn holding hands and watching together.

Oooohing at the one float that we saw...it had a plane on it.

daddy's face is the perfect handle.

As you can gather we left early, and beat the crowds home.  After a light lunch and a nice long nap for both children and parents, it was off to grandma's house for a BBQ, slip 'n slide, and fireworks.  When we got to my parents house, Roy helped cut down the dead Russian Olive tree that has hosted the tree house and zip line pad for the last several years.  It was determined that it had to go after my brother Sean announced he was getting married this fall.  One more wedding for the Sullivan backyard!  So after Emory and Lucas took their last runs down the zip line, the tree came down.  After the work, we were free to enjoy the shade of the backyard indulging in yummy summer salads and brisket while the cousins played in the water.

Finn and cousin Abner getting their pool filled.

the logical purpose of the slide is to race cars down it.

I just like this picture of Finn playing in the hose a lot

Meg being perfectly content in the shade

Dad and son getting ready for fireworks.

Every year we end up doing a neighborhood fireworks haul, where everyone just brings their fireworks and food to share, and we just sit back and enjoy the show.  Between the popsicles, doughnuts, cookies, and the hundreds of fireworks, this year was pretty stellar.  Finn wasn't too fond of the loud noises, but as long as I held him, he seemed to be ok with it all.  It was a happy 4th indeed!

.6.

*I've had a lot of catch up to do since being out of town including little miss turning half a year old*

It's true Miss M...you're half a year old...a whole 6 months since you came into our little world.  Daddy mentioned last night, that you were the perfect size (meaning you're at such a fun age).  You interact and smile so much, but your world is still so small that it doesn't overwhelm us yet.  There are lots of days when your brother just plain wears us out because he's so busy and defiant.  But you, well you're as sweet and as easy as they come.
At 6 months, you have mastered the roll, and have been rolling every which way for weeks now.  I no longer swaddle you at night, and you have figured out how to sleep in whatever position you end up in.    As far as sleep, you are still pretty amazing.  You go down around 7 and sleep until about 4 and then eat, and back to sleep until about 7:30.  We have some nights where you'll sleep the whole night until 7, and others when you'll wake up around 2 to eat, but overall, you are wonderful!
Eating is another matter.  Whatever the reason, you don't really like baby food all that much, and forget about taking a bottle or sippy cup.  I have discovered that you would much rather eat the food on mommy and daddy's plate then mushed peas or green beans.  Your favorites so far are watermelon, and bread and gravy.  You absolutely refused peas and broccoli...go figure.  We will see what other foods we can manage to get you to try
Our next big milestone to master is sitting, and you're doing pretty good.  You still need to have something behind you just in case, but you are getting there.
Happy 6 months beautiful girl, we LOVE you!

Rolling and drooling...two things you do really well.

Falling asleep wherever you're at.

You started out in the middle of the blanket and rolled your way towards the kitchen.

Eating on your terms...no baby food for you.

.new game.

On our trip we discovered our little Meg had a new game she liked to play.  We were laughing pretty hard at her cute new way of interacting with us.  Take a look!


IMG 1615 from beth on Vimeo.

.reunion-ing.

We are back from our first trip of the summer, and I'm happy to say that a good time was had by all...even Roy who hates driving for any amount of time.  We left Thursday morning bright and early, and made our way to our half way point- a local swimming hole in Moab.  We had a nice lunch under the willows along the river and enjoyed the cool water in the extreme heat.

Meg loves watermelon

We spent our first night in Cortez, and played long and hard in the swimming pool because it was melt your face hot.  The only damper on the whole day was sleeping in the same room with a two year old...shoot me now!

The next day was spent roaming around the Anasazi ruins in  Mesa Verde.  It was Roy's first time seeing them, and I was excited to go back after 12 years.  Roy wanted to take both the kids on both guided tours that we took.  That meant a packer for the 2 year old on back and the Bjorn for the hefty 6 month old...no small feat, especially in the 100+ degree weather.

One of my favorite things about Finn on this trip is that he insisted on always having his hat on.  We started calling him the European tourist.  He usually put it on himself, which left his eyes almost completely hooded.  He would have to tilt his head WAY back just to see anything.

The Hoffman's four...the children are well covered by their hats.

Meg's sly smile

climbing out of cliff palace

looking back at cliff palace

Finn and Roy exploring the kiva's

completely wiped out from the long day in the sun

 I was dying without hauling around an additional 75lbs.  The second tour was at balcony house, and my fear of heights became pretty strong at some parts.  I was extremely happy that we had decided to leave Meg with grandma at several points, and glad that Roy had full responsibility of the crazy 2 year old.  It was a nice day, but extremely long and hot with little dudes.  They slept almost the entire way to our final destination of Pagosa Springs.
We stayed at a nice place that had tons of room for little Finn to run and be a boy with his cousins.  We enjoyed our family time and catching up with everyone.

Finn trying to get a good swing in at Sully's 5th birthday pinata...it's kind of hard to see with that hat over his eyes.

I love those baby blues!

the giant Jenga game that became a spectator sport.

Saturday we decided to have a picnic lunch at some nearby falls, however, we were surprised by a sudden down pour and had to quickly duck into cars and under back hatches.

The rain was a pleasant relief from the hot temps, and the rest of the night was spent just relaxing in the hot tubs, and a yummy dinner with family.
Sunday we had the longest day of travel...coming all eight hours back in one go.  There were a few episodes of crying and frustration with Finn, but overall the kids did really well.
It was a good trip, but it felt oh so good to sleep in our own beds.