August

Well, the vacations are over, and so is summer.  I always get nostalgic when summer comes to an end, even though I'm not going back to school, or sending kids off to school (yet).  I will miss the heat, and the water, the long days, and the overall happiness and freedom summer affords.  It means that winter is around the corner, and I just really don't like that idea at all.
But, here is what we did with our last few weeks of love and joy and summertime.
Park time, walking Chloe(Gwen insists on holding the leash), and soaking up the last few days at the pool

Gwen went to nursery for the first time!  I can't believe she's already 18 months old.  She did great.  A little hesitant at first, but she warmed up and when I went to get her, she told me "No" She wanted to keep playing with toys.

Dan and I celebrated 7 magical years together!! We went to Brio at City Creek, and it was delicious.  I can't believe how fast the time has gone by.  It feels like we just got married, but at the same time, like we've been together forever.

We've enjoyed playing with cousins, eating all sorts of food, riding bikes, and swinging by herself for the first time.  She thought she was so big!

Gwen got her first haircut!! She doesn't have much hair, especially on the sides, so her long locks in the back were giving her a pretty good mullet, which naturally, needed to go.  So I busted out the scissors and after a few snips, she had a cute little bob going on.

 Gwen is getting to be a master at feeding herself, and now won't let me help her at all.  It's really nice, and kind of annoying at the same time, because it takes about twice as long and makes about 3 times as much mess.  But, she's getting the hang of it, and it's fun watching her learn to be more independent.  I got her this bubble blower, and she loves it.  Every day she asks if we can go outside and do bubbles.  She is a really good talker.  The other day, I gave her a chocolate snack in the car (what was I thinking?!) and turned around to see it smeared all over her face.  Shoulda seen that one comin'...

 We got together with my friend Nicole and her baby girl Mia at the new Provo Rec Center.  That place is crazy!  It's super nice and I am a little jealous that we don't live closer.  I was impressed.  We had a blast, and Gwen (despite the pictures) did have fun playing with Mia, as long as she didn't touch her. ;)  We took Gwen shopping, and she picked out some things that she liked and would hold them up to herself and say, "Cute" and then she wouldn't let it go.  It was pretty funny to watch.  She already knows how to shop.  This could be bad for our bank account!  And lastly, we were at IKEA, and she saw these little owl puppets.  She is obsessed with owls, and HAD to have one.  So we got it for her, and she snuggled it all the way home.  She still loves it and carries it around with her almost everywhere.  Its really cute.

She's been really fun lately.  She finally likes to play, and is getting a pretty good imagination.  She still likes to play with me, and doesn't really do it too much on her own, but is is so interactive.  She is still our little sass, and the other day at dinner, I was trying to give her a bite of something, and she looked at me and said, "no mom, not want it."  Um, I don't think she is big enough to talk to me like that.  Seriously.  But I couldn't help but laugh, and now, she says it all the time, trying to get a reaction out of me.  She is goofy and weird, and we love her to pieces!