Lainey at 7 (overdue!)

Sweet, sweet Lainey!

Lainey is such a dear girl.

She is truly a big blessing to me!

She is a wonderful helper, kind, self motivated, honest, and responsible.

I'm really so thankful for her.  She's grown and matured a lot this year.

She had a wonderful first grade teacher last year and really enjoys school.

She reads well and over the summer has discovered the joy of chapter books!

She loves babies as much as I do and will fight me to hold any baby 

we get a chance to spend time with! 

She has many baby dolls and really loves them.

I bought her a weighted, lifelike doll for her birthday (6 lbs).

She carries her everywhere.

She takes a baby doll to every soccer session she dragged to (there are MANY) 

and often brings her back carrier or a carseat for her dolls.

I love seeing her be a little girl.

She's such a sweet, mature helper but still a little girl.

I'm glad to see her sense of pretend mature and develop.

She started piano lessons this year and is a natural.

She LOVES piano and never once have I had to remind her to practice.

She hates playing soccer (ha!) and sticks to climate controlled, non-running sports.

She loves both swimming and gymnastics.

She participated on our local swim team this summer and does about 1 hour 

of gymnastics a week, most of the year.

She is 49.5 inches tall and 53 pounds

She is STRONG and muscular!

She loves watching my crossfit classes and has a huge 

desire to be as strong as possible.

I must say, I'm quite proud to have my dear daughter watching me 

lift weights and fight for a healthy body.

She is much stronger than I am and can whip out pull-ups and 

do a legless rope climb with very little effort. :)

Lainey is a true blessing to me!

I am very thankful for her and hope she always knows how deeply she is loved!

Grandparent Camp

This is the first summer I haven't been back to Wisconsin since moving out east 9 years ago.  I really enjoy going home in the summer, but this year, our trip to KS/NE took place of that.   Mom and Dad pitched the idea of having Erik and Lainey come out on their own.  This meant they had to fly on their own!  Luckily, they love to fly and that idea didn't phase them at all.

They had a great week with Mom and Dad.  Here are a few photos from their week of fishing, go-carting, painting, swimming, baking, etc.  They had a wonderful time and weren't homesick at all!

The little boys and I had a nice time at home too.  It was fun to let Carson 'be in charge" for a little bit.  He is a homebody, so didn't want to anything too big.  He is just happy to stay home and play (my sweet boy!).  We went bowling, went out to eat, went to the pool, played at a local beach. 

It was a great week for all of us, I'm thankful for my kids loving grandparents! (Grandma Sandy too!)