August

August was an exciting month for our family.  Alex started school and Mia started walking.  It is so fun to see them grow up.  We are sure lucky!  

I couldn't help but sneak a photo of Mia and Alex playing during Sacrament meeting.  

I recently got released from the Relief Society presidency and got called to the nursery.  I was especially excited about this calling because that meant Mia got to come with me to nursery and I no longer had to chase her around Sunday School.  After the first week, however, she was very exhausted and fell asleep in my arms when we got home.  I can't remember the last time she slept in my arms so I will take it! 

At the beginning of the month Alex finally started Kindergarten.  Brandon and I decided to start a first day of school donut tradition.  

Alex was very excited for school.  At one point he did tell me that he would miss me while he was gone though.  He loved going and had lots to tell me when he got home.  He was especially excited for recess and luckily they had it.  It was a great first day! 

Also, this month Alex had to get sealants on some of his teeth.  Because of how deep they needed to go, the dentist said he may need a shot to numb the teeth or he could just try and tough it out with the gas.  I told him I knew Alex would not want a shot (we had to physically pin him down for his last shot) so instead he just had to be tough.  The dentist was really surprised Alex was able to do it.  He is one tough kid!

Alex also started Soccer again.  He is playing on a team with his buddy Carter.  I had to laugh at their attempt to do jumping jacks at practice.  It was pretty cute. 

What Alex's room looks like after friends come over.  

In August we attempted a movie with Mia.  It was the first movie with all of us.  We saw Shawn the Sheep.  It was super cute and Mia was mesmerized for about 2/3rds of it and the rest of the time she crawled up and down the side aisle.

I bought a few new bows for Mia from my neighbor.  They are super cute so I was trying to get a picture of Mia in them to send to her.  Mia is not in to holding still ever, so I couldn't get a very good picture.  She looked cute though! 

Brandon kicked off his Birthday month celebrations at his Grandma's house.  Alex helped make him some delicious cupcakes.  

Alex only went to school for 9 days before it was already time to go off track.  The good thing about that was that it gave us a few more weeks to enjoy summer with our cousins.  One of the days we went to lunch downtown and visited the planetarium.  It was a lot of fun! 

Alex looking at home on Mars.

After the Planetarium we got to see where Aunt Jen works and check out the beautiful temple grounds.  We always visit them at Christmas time but it was fun to be there when all the flowers were in full bloom.  The only problem was that Alex got stung by a bee while walking near the flowers.

Mia enjoying lunch.  She seems to be a pickier eater than Alex is.  One day she will love something and then the next day won't try it.  She still loves baby food though.

This month the Hettingers hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner.  It was a lot of fun and I enjoy any time I can take embarrassing pictures of everyone.  Brandon turned out to be the murderer though.  I still can't believe he didn't even tell me.

Opening presents at Grandma Hettingers.

On one of the days Alex was off track we had a picnic at the park and played in the splash pad.  Every other time we have come during the summer Mia will barely go near the water so that day I didn't bother packing her swimsuit.  Of course that was the day she decided to dive right in and get completely drenched.  

Alex let her wear his shirt when we were done since her clothes were all wet.  

It was such a fun day at the park!

We even played a little tennis before heading home.

On another outing with the cousins we headed to the Lake at Daybreak.  We intended for the kids to just play in the sand.  Of course they ended up full on swimming.  

We even found a few ducks to feed.

Mia kept trying to drink the lake water so most of the time I had to hold her.  She is a crazy girl! 

Mia keeping it real in the back yard. 

The last day of the month we finally celebrated Brandon's birthday.  Alex was so excited to wake him up. 

I don't know what happened but her sad face is so cute. 

Brandon got a couple of video games for his birthday that Alex was especially excited about.  They had a good time playing.  I especially like the way Alex is sitting.

After seeing this I was reminded of this picture.  Things haven't changed too much.  

Another highlight of the month is that Mia started walking.  It just seemed that one day she decided she wanted to walk.  She wasn't very stable but kept doing it anyway.  Now she is a pro and only a few weeks later is practically running through the house.  We took a lot of video of her working on those first few steps.  We love her!