Carson's First Day of  School . . .  Carson is officially in Kindergarten.  It feels like a long time coming, but he was so excited.  He only got up two times in the night before, but he swears that he was not thinking about school, he just couldn't sleep.  I think it was just like Christmas.

He insisted on doing some poses.  Notice the full extension of the toe.

Abby was so excited to bring him into her world.  She held his hand the whole time when they were waiting for the bus.

He was so glad that he saw so many friends right when he got to school.

He left in the morning a little nervous and excited, but when he got off the bus he looked like a seasoned pro.

He made me take pictures of day two and three.  Day two, because he was wearing his awesome Star Wars Lego shirt that he had been dying to wear, and day three because it was picture day at school and he wanted to prepare.

He is so big now and I can't believe it.  He loves to come home and do all of his homework (he thinks it is so cool that he actually has homework)  He was a little nervous about all of the changes, he even talked to Chad and I and asked us if we would come to college with him.  I told him that by the time he is in college, he is going to say," Mom go away". Then, he got tears in his eyes and he said, "Mom, I would never say that, Never!"  I thought it was so cute.  So, I promised him that if he wanted us to, then we would go to college with him.  I didn't have the heart to even mention a mission.  We will tackle that issue another time.  For now, I just love the fact that he is so grown up, but that he still loves us and he knows how much he needs us.  I just want him to stay like this forever, before he realizes all of our flaws.  If I could only freeze time.

Ok.  I am trying to stay more updated to avoid the super long posts:)  To start. . . . Abby finally got her ears pierced!  The "deciding to do it" part was definitely the worst.  It all came about after a conversation about all of the up coming things that we had planned as a family.  I mentioned that her baptism was coming up and we would get her a dress, and she would probably get her ears pierced (which was something we had always said we would do by the time she was eight).  I didn't even notice at first, but when she heard me say that, she immediately started crying. So, we spent the night talking about the whole thing and I reminded her that her Birthday isn't even until October.  After worrying about it so much, I told her we didn't have to do it by her birthday, and we could do it anytime she wanted.  I also mentioned how fun it would be to show her friends at school and be able to change her earings everyday.  Suddenly, she said, "Ok, then lets go tomorrow."  She still worried about it all night, but when she woke up she was excited and ready to go.  She really wanted to get it all taken care of before school.

This is before. . . .(sense the fake smile and the fear behind it.)

B

And the after . . . Smiles all around.  I was so proud of her, especially after seeing her freak out the night before.  She was super brave and she didn't even need me to hold her hand (mostly because my hand wouldn't fit under the death grip she had on the store's teddy bear.)

She has been so excited since she got them.  The whole first day she kept looking at herself in the mirror every chance she could.  She even carried a pocket mirror around with her when we would go places.  She has been diligent about cleaning them and she is literally counting down the days until she can change them into fun new ones (luckily Grandma made sure she will have plenty to choose from).


We have also been busy with some renovations to our house.  We painted Carson's room downstairs and moved him down with Abby to get ready for the baby.  Carson was so excited with the whole process.  He had some nervous moments, but once his room had all of his stuff in it, it was Home Sweet Home.

Basically, the only way I could get him excited was to promise him Lego pictures for his walls.

We also ran out of storage space, so we talked him into keeping our old chair from college in his room.  He thought it was dumb at first, but we told him Abby was jealous and his attitude changed fast.

So, we moved all of the baby stuff into his old room, and I am trying everything I can to make this whole baby thing feel more REAL.

Big 2nd Grader!!  Abby has been SO excited for school to start!  Excited isn't even a strong enough word.  She has had her first week of outfits all picked out and lined up in her closet.  Luckily, she still let me come to the school in the morning as long as I didn't embarrass her at the bus stop.

She also got a hair cut.

She is in a portable this year, which only added to the excitement.

 Today was school pictures and she wanted me to take a picture of her in case the ones from school didn't work out.

Carson went to meet his teacher today, but he doesn't start for another week.  I can't believe I will be sending two kids off in the mornings!  He is really excited too and he feels much better now that he has met his teacher and it was verified that she was really nice, so he has nothing to worry about.  He was also excited that he "got in" to kindergarten.  When we met with the teacher, she did a series of placement tests with him and he thinks he must have passed  because she told him she would see him next week.

Cooper is totally potty trained now, which is great, except he insists on doing it himself and standing like a "big boy" over his little potty or trying to stand on his tippy toes to reach the big potty.  If I don't  keep my eye on him, he will just go about the day and do his business when he pleases without even telling me.  The problem is that. . . his aim is terrible!  If you come to our house, you might want to steer clear of his bathroom for awhile until he masters the "man pee".

Summer Update. . . I recently took the kids to get some much needed pictures taken.  I couldn't stand looking at the pictures in my house of Cooper barely able to sit up, and with dark brown hair.  So here is how they turned out.  I am so excited to have new pictures around. . . .at least until the baby comes and we have to do it all again.

Of course Cooper kept being silly through the whole thing, so the photographer decided to seize the moment.

In other news, Abby is heartbroken that school is out, but she was excited to get her Distinguished Dolphin award at the end of the year.  She has been out of school for about 4 weeks and she asks me everyday how many more days until she goes back.  When she found out that some kids have already gone back she was really mad at me for picking the track that has to wait so long.

So far, the summer has been really fun.  We have spent a lot of time at Cowabunga Bay (a waterpark) where the kids and I have season passes.  We try to go at least once a week and they LOVE IT! Cooper is turning into quite a little fish.  He usually tries to jump right into the water before I am even ready.

We got all dressed up for the fourth of July (thanks Grandma) and lit fireworks with the Finnertys who were in town for the holiday.

We have also spent a lot of time at weddings this summer.  Sarah and Justin Finnerty finally made it official and had a beautiful wedding in Vegas (which was a bonus because we were also able to visit the "Other Grundy's")  Then Laurie Jo and Tyler were married and Joe and Megan were in town, so my family was able to take our first family picture in at least 12 years. 

Chad has picked up running as a hobby.  It all started when he and I signed up to run Ragnar (Wasatch Back) with some friends.  We ran the race at the end of June (pictures pending) and we lived through it, which is a miracle for me because I was worried about it from the beginning and then I became pregnant which made it a little crazy, but it all worked out and we had a great time, especially running with friends.  (In fact we already signed up for next year.)  Well, Chad decided he wants to keep running when he can so he signed up for the South Jordan Half Marathon and the kids and I woke up and went down to support him.  Abby was so excited to make a sign for him, so we had to be there when he crossed the finish line.

He did a really great job and surprised himself a little, so he is planning on running a full marathon in September.  The kids and I will continue to watch from the sidelines.

In baby news. .. .

IT'S A BOY!!

We found out that we will be having another boy.  I wanted a girl, mainly because I am just curious what she would look like, and I think I have a good idea of what our boys look like.  But, I am actually really excited.  I consider myself a good boy mom.  I love sports, and I'm educated in all thing superheros.  Not to mention that all of the dancing, outfits, bows and random crying kind of stresses me out, so I think it worked out for the best.  We are currently working on moving Carson to a new room and getting the baby's room all ready to go.  Right now we have decided to name him Cohen Bo Grundy (the Bo is for Borich), I love the name Cohen and it goes with the whole accidental C boy names we have going, but I think we are going to call him Bo.  I don't know, there is something I really like about it.  I just think there needs to be a Bo Grundy in the world.  Well, we still have time to change our minds but I am pretty sure that is what we have decided.  I am now about 20 weeks and I am officially showing, and I hate it.  Not so much because I care what I look like, but it is just in the way.  I feel like I have too much to do and bending over and sitting up are things that are required in my day, but I guess I will have to make it work. (at least its not twins:)

Back to summer fun . . . We had our annual Grundy family reunion and this year it was in Heber.  We had so much fun.  Stan rented a house in Park City and we stayed there for four nights.  Kaitlyn and Ethan were still in town, so the kids all had tons of fun.

 

Carson was sure he could see a lot of wild life in the mountains.

Cooper was just a crazy mess.  It is funny how by your third kid, you start to just think it is cute and you come home all filthy and wet.

 

Of course Cooper and Carson were very well entertained with the water guns.

 

We went swimming and the kid spent a lot of the time riding their scooters up and down the long driveway.

 We also had our own hot tub.

One of the funnest things was the Olympic Park where we went on the Alpine Slide and the Zip Line.

 

Abby did not want to do the zip line and I was not about to make her because it was a battle that I was not in the mood for (Carson on the other hand was dying to go,but his height held him back, which he should probably get used to)  But, by the time everyone else had gone, Abby decided that she wanted to give it a try.  She was so brave and I think it was because it was all her idea and nobody forced her into it.  She is so independent you know.

 

 

Another fun thing we did was the Park Silly fair.  They had cute little booths and music and of course food (which was my favorite, pregnant or not)

 

Carson was so excited because he found an "official" Indiana Jones hat.  Let's just say, there has not been many days when he goes without it.

One of my favorite things is the annual Grundy sleepout.  We are not huge campers (maybe someday), but every year we pitch a tent in our yard and sleep out with all the kids.  We made S'mores, played games and watch a movie. (Not really roughing it, but I do have girls camp and youth conference coming up, so we will see how I do.)

 

Yeah, I think I have a pretty good idea what our next boy will look like.

We woke up in the morning and went to the ward Bike Parade and Breakfast.

Cooper is officially potty trained!!!!!!!!!!  There is no more diapers at the Grundy's (for about 4-5 months).  It is so funny how at each milestone he seems to grow up instantly.  First binki, bottle, potty. . . . college?   I hate it!

Well, there is still a little more summer left (whether Abby likes it or not) So, we will try to enjoy it while we can.