6 months ago....

Wow, Adam is now 6 months old. Time sure does go quickly. Here's the new list of things going on in Adam's world:

• 16 pounds 9 ounces - by far the biggest of my babies
• 28 inches - tall, tall, tall!
• hair is coming in - almost white it's so blond and so wispy it just sticks straight up
  
• crawls...although he really prefers to get somewhere where he can pull himself up to stand
• goes from crawling to a sitting position like a pro
  
• babbles/"talks" a lot - possibly channeling Katelyn
• totally dislikes vegetables - really, he gags if I do not mix it with rice cereal to mask the flavor - I'm going to blame Grandpa Partridge on that one ;)
• happy and smiley nearly all the time

Vegas Vacation

We spent a week in Nevada with my family for a visit before Katelyn started school. We had a great time. It has been a year since we moved to Arizona, and because of moving, settling, and a new baby, it has also been a year since we have visited Vegas. My Grandma Basta and my sister and her girls were also visiting, so we had so much fun seeing everyone! Time was spent at the pool, visiting, card games (I think I might have won one), back to school shopping, yummy food, and loads of cousins. We had all the good intentions of pulling out the camera, but in the end we did not. The only photo evidence of the trip was on the ride home. Chris (while driving I might add) took a picture of the progress on the sky bridge over Hoover Dam. It is simply amazing.

Happy 30 years Chris!!

On August 3rd, Chris entered a new decade of life. He made it to 30! We started the day at Krispie Kreme (really, where any good day should start...mmm....). Adam was really impressed and attempted to eat some donuts on his own. He saw, he grabbed quickly, and then it was taken away. Even though it was kind of his birthday party too (exactly 6 months old!), no donut for him today but he came away with a beautiful hat!The bulk of the day was spent swimming and lounging in the pool at his parent's house. It was so fun to have everyone there and enjoy everyone's company.
After cleaning up from the pool, we went back to Chris' parents house for a yummy BBQ, thanks to the grilling talents of Chris' dad and wonderful hosting skills of Chris' mom. There's never any doubt what cake he wants on his birthday; it's always a Texas Sheet Cake - the family recipe. I've had both good and bad experiences trying to make it just right over the years but today, by some birthday miracle I got it just perfect. Happy Birthday Chris! We love you!

Swim lessons

We spent 6 weeks of our summer (in 3 sessions of 2 weeks each) doing swim lessons for the girls. We coordinated with my sister in law so that they could take lessons the same time as their cousins and so that we could help each other watch the kids in and out of the pool. Adam and I survived the heat of not being able to get in the pool! The girls really loved it, and I loved that it took up their time and we could be busy. (No chance of hearing "mom, I'm bored!")

Katelyn spent the first 2 weeks in one class and did so well and completed all of the requirements that they moved her up for the next sessions. She can now swim 25 yards freestyle and backstroke without having to stop and hold on! She is also starting to work on her breast stoke and butterfly stroke (legs only). We are so proud of her.(Katelyn is making a funny face in this picture, but I realized it was the only swim lesson picture I had! Chris came their second to last day of class and took quite a bit of video.)

Megan also did an amazing job this summer. She enjoys playing in the water, but when asked at the beginning of the summer to "do a bob" and go under the water she wouldn't do it. By the end of the 3 sessions she was a lot more comfortable in the water and would go under when asked to do it. This is a big accomplishment for her. It's still not her favorite thing to do, but she is getting better. She will also do a back float and put her head level with her body instead of trying to keep it up out of the water, which is also another great achievement for her. Yea Megan!

Red, White, and Blue

We started off with the Annual Partridge Family Fourth of July Extravaganza. Chris and the kids and I left a day early so that I could visit my family in SLC and Chris spent the day actually working from the office. The kids and I had a lot of fun. We had breakfast with my Grandma McFarlane and had a really nice visit. Then we went to my Grandma Basta's for lunch with Missy and her kids. It was also a nice surprise to have my cousin Andy and her kids there. My grandma is brave! There were 9 kids in her condo age ranging from 5 months to 13 years old! Everyone had a great time. The rest of the vacation was spent enjoying having all the Partridge's together. Here's a list of some of the favorite memories of the weekend...

• The first annual PGB (Partridge Golfing Boys) Tournament, complete with hats, a "green jacket," and more. Brett and Stephanie's new home is right behind the Cedar Hills Golf Course. The kids' favorite part was going out on the balcony and guessing if we saw the "Big Boys" golfing.
• The block party at Ryan and Jennifer's that included a bounce house for the kids.
• The BBQ at Bicentennial Park. At least our 4th year at this park, it's perfect for the kids to just play and we can all fit in one place. And the best part is that no one has to clean up their house after we are done!
• The kids playing on the playground while the burgers and dogs cooked. There's a picture I love with Brock asleep in the swing!
• The amazing t-shirt quilt that Jennifer made for Scott and Cheryl out of all of our 4th of July t-shirts over the years.
  
• Relay games after eating! We played spoon relay, gunny sack race, egg toss, and a three legged race. Everyone was a winner!
• The kids went a saw the movie UP with the men while the women went little baby girl shopping with Jennifer.
  
• An awards ceremony which involved candy!
• Hyrum's 2nd birthday party - which started off with Stephanie's amazing homemade pizza.
• And of course....fireworks!
  

Here's a little montage of the fun holiday weekend!

All Caught Up

I think I finally did it. I finally caught up the blog. Of course it will be outdated in about a day, but at least I'm good right now! Make sure you scroll down and click on older posts to catch all of the things we have been up to in the Partridge household. WARNING: These posts are a little long!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the father's out there. We celebrated Father's Day all weekend. Saturday we went and got Chris his new best friend...the iPhone. He has been wanting a new phone for a while and settled on the iPhone. Then he has been waiting for the release of the new version of the iPhone...and finally, the day came. He loves it.

Then later that day, we had a BBQ/swim party at the Partridge house. The pool water is getting warmer, along with the temperatures here in AZ, and it was a perfect day.

Sunday, the girls and I made Chris breakfast in bed, which consisted of a donut, bacon, and a banana. Not so exciting, but with church in the morning, there really wasn't time for anything else. After church we put Adam in his "matching" shirt with Chris. They look so cute together!

That evening we went to Grandma and Grandpa Long's for Sunday dessert night like we do each week. The lucky part was this time we had a fabulous Texas sheet cake to celebrate the day. Mmmmm, is all I have to say.

I am so grateful for all the Fathers around me. From my Dad who gave me life and filled it with love, to my Father-in-law who I trust with my life to bring babies into this world, to my wonderful, amazing husband who is my life. He is always helpful, kind, and loving. I love you!