Adeline at 11 Months

Baby Adeline is growing so darn fast!  Oh, but she's SO much fun.  Her personality continues to emerge and it's so delightful.  She's easily excited about things and teaches us all to find joy in the little things.  She's such a happy baby.

Here's what she's doing now.

• She's singing.  You know . . . that cute baby way of singing.  When music comes on or when we sing, she "tries" to sing along with us.  
• She's "bouncing" much more regularly and more consistently to music.  She's going to be such a good singer and dancer.  :)
• She's getting more proficient at walking while holding onto things.  She's even starting to walk while holding onto our hands.  We've also caught her balancing without holding onto something . . . but this doesn't last more than a second at a time.  Needless to say, she's well on her way towards walking independently.
• She's even more vocal now than she has been.  She will rarely sit in silence now days.  She's almost always babbling something fancy.
• This past month little Addie caught a sinus infection.  She only had a few really rough days before the antibiotics started working and then she returned to her happy and pleasant self.
• She can point or gesture to something to get what she needs.
• She is able to say "dada" and "mama" discriminately.
• She responds to one-step commands without gestures (I'll say "no touchies" and she'll take her hand off of whatever I've warned her about).
• She LOVES playing in the dishwasher.
• She wants whatever Evie has.  It's humorous to watch sometimes.  There can be 15 other toys around, but she usually wants what Evie has at that moment.  
• She still loves to play with Evie.  Evie can make her laugh hysterically . . . especially when playing peek-a-boo type games.  
• She's a pretty good eater.  She's eating more and more solids and tends to want to try EVERYTHING we are eating.  She still loves her bottles too. 
• She's a cautious child.  She's so careful when working with stairs/steps.  She's careful when she has to get herself out of sticky situations (like when she crawls into places that aren't as easy to crawl out of).  She just seems to be "aware" of dangerous situations and handles them with ease.
• She looks to me for approval as if saying, "Is it okay that I play with this toy?" or "Is this person really okay to smile at?" or "Is it okay if I eat this crumb off of the floor?"  And . . . a myriad of other situations.

She's seriously the cutest and we're all so blessed to have her sweet soul in our family.  We can never seem to get enough of her.   

Evie is 3 1/2

Our Evie doll is a whopping 3 1/2 years old.  She's amazing in all sorts of ways!  She's at such a fun age where we probably should be writing things down at least once a day of things she says or does.  She is full of personality and loaded with confidence.  She keeps us entertained, on our toes, and young-at-heart.

Here are a few highlights of Evie at 3 1/2.

• She loves to sing and dance.  She constantly asks to have dance parties.  We oblige, of course.  She'll tell us that the music is "making her bones move."  It's also VERY common to see her lip-sinking, while she pretends to hold a microphone, as she dances.  She loves her kid music, but she's starting to really like pop music too.  Some of her favorite songs include Geronimo (Shepperd), Fight Song (Rachel Platten), Shake It Off (Taylor Swift), What Makes You Beautiful (One Direction), Heartbeat Song (Kelly Clarkson), Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen), Celebration (Kool & The Gang), All about the Bass (Meghan Trainor), Happy (Pharrell Williams), and Sugar (Moroon 5).  
• She loves to pull funny faces.  Her favorite one right now is with crossed eyes (see picture below).
• She LOVES anything Halloween.  And . . . it's not just because we just had the holiday.  We're constantly talking about "spooky" things.  They really aren't that spooky, but she loves to talk about Halloween figures (mummies, zombies, witches, ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, etc.).
• While Halloween is over and we're still talking about it, she is already starting to transition to Christmas.  It probably helped that her Grandma Yvette gave her an Elf on the shelf (Thanks!  She loves it!) who has taken on the name Snowflake thanks to Evie.  We've already started the Christmas music in our house (her request, but I certainly didn't object) and she's soaking in all the songs.  It's amazing how fast this girl learns and can retain information.  
• We didn't enroll her in Preschool this year.  She is so bright and already knows all the things she would learn . . . . at least scholastically.  I think I've written this previously (because she's known most of this for a while now), but she knows all her ABC's by sight and sound, she knows her numbers by sight and sound, she can count to 20, she's even starting to ask me how to read words (so I'll sound it out for her).  We know there are more aspects to learn at preschool such as sharing, playing with kids, listening to a teacher and following instructions, etc.  However, we waited so long for our sweet Evie, that we just couldn't give her up for the time she would spend in preschool when she already knows so much.  Instead, we decided to spend our money doing something different that would still help to teach her the other skills she would possibly acquire and . . . 
• She started gymnastics and LOVES it.  This kid is a machine and is built so athletically.  She constantly amazes her teachers with what she can physically do at her age.  Besides learning how to do front rolls, swing on the bars, balance on a beam, do backbends, etc., she's also learning how to take turns, listen to a teacher, follow instructions, etc.  It's been fabulous!
• She loves playing with "friends."  I'll set play dates up for her and she is in heaven.
• It probably goes without saying, but she still loves the animals and the farm.  She loves to feed with her dad.  She loves to ride the horses even more than she has before.  She loves the kitty cats.  Most of all . . . she loves her baby chicks.  Even when they aren't babies anymore, she still calls them her baby chicks, chases them, catches them, and loves them to death. 
• She really does love her baby sister.  She is really good to her (with very few exceptions).  I love to watch her be sweet and loving to her sister.  She helps her out, loves to do things to make her laugh, and constantly wants to hold her.
• Speaking of her baby sister . . . Evie also just loves babies.  She recently got a new baby cousin and Evie talks about her constantly.  We're getting another baby cousin in January and Evie cannot wait for her to come!  Evie talks to this baby cousin through her aunt's belly.  She even gives her kisses (on her aunt's belly).  
• We play "Barbies" a lot.  It's probably one of her favorite things to play while we're in our play room.  She always instructs me on how we play.  I'm always the mommy Barbie, while she is the kid Barbies.  
• She is a natural-born leader.  She is usually the one telling everyone what to do (or what NOT to do).  She's like that with me and Beau, but she's also like that with other kids and adults.  Some may say she's bossy, but I like to say she's got killer leadership abilities.  :)
• She's way into anything Hello Kitty. . . . from underwear to toys.  
• She loves to wear princess shoes everywhere!  And, I usually let her.  It's pretty funny.
• She likes to tell boys/men that they are her "good buddy."  So, she will put her arm around Beau and say, "Dad, you're my good buddy."  She'll tell me, "Mom, you're my good big girl."  Sometimes she'll say, "Mom, you're my good mom."  It's pretty darn cute!
• She still loves to be held and wants to "snuggle/cuddle" every night with me or Beau at bedtime.  She's really hard to resist in such moments.
• She loves to do anything active.  She wants to exercise or run with me, she loves riding her bike or tricycle, she loves to run and play at the park, or really do anything active.  She's like the Energizer Bunny . . . her energy just keeps going and going and going.  
• She loves to play games.  Her brain is amazing at figuring out stuff so games are a fun challenge for her.
• She's way into emotions.  She'll say things like, "I'm mad now." or "I'm angry." or "I'm happy."  or "I'm so excited."  We talk through them all.  Depending on the emotion I will usually follow up one of her statements with, "Why are you mad/angry/happy/excited."  It's insightful and pretty darn cute.
• She still loves to do anything that allows her to be creative.  She's getting better at coloring and actually realizing that you're supposed to color within the lines.  She loves painting, using stamps,  play-dough, etc.
• She loves to talk with her dad about big bucks.  She was elated when Beau brought home his big buck from the latest rifle hunt.  She wanted to get a picture with it.  Nevermind that she was just in a t-shirt and underwear when he got home.  She wasn't about to take the time to put pants on before snapping that picture with the big buck.  She's so funny!
• She loves Band-Aids.  Evie will find any excuse to put one on.  She looks for the most minute scratches, and if she can't find one, she'll just make one up.  She currently has princess, Frozen, and Hello Kitty band-aids.  She loves them!
• She loves the snow.  She loves to run in it, make snow angels, make snowmen, and eat it.  
• She got her first haircut finally (in August).  And, it wasn't much.  She just had a couple locks of hair that where considerably longer than the rest of her hair, so I just trimmed those up to match the rest of her hair.  Speaking of her hair though, it's got the perfect amount of natural curl.  I think her hair is so pretty.
• As you can probably gather from all the other notes, Evie is both a tough, farm girl as well as a pretty princess.  She loves to put her boots on and work on the farm, but she also loves to wear her princess clothes and shoes and play Barbies.  She's a good mix of both worlds. 

Beau and I are so honored to be Evie's parents.  We feel blessed in every way.  

Snow Canyon Half Marathon and Half Mile

My brother and I trained for another half marathon.  We thought it would be fun to take a weekend trip to St. George and run the Snow Canyon Half.  

I personally was jazzed about this run because I feel like I didn't really get to train well for my half marathon in June.  Now that sweet Baby Addie is sleeping through the night I was able to get better training milage and much more consistently.  

I also asked Evie if she wanted to run a race too.  She totally did so I signed her up for the Half Mile kids run.  A half mile is kind of a ways to run when you're only three-years-old, but Evie is a go-getter and she's super athletic so I knew she could do it.  

We both practiced.  I did a lot of my miles on the treadmill.  I took Evie to the high school track to practice her half mile.  

We both ran our races and conquered them!

We both got our medals and were thrilled!  

We had a HUGE cheering section too!  

Beau and Adeline were there.  I ran the entire race with my brother, Tyler.  So, obviously he was there.  His family (wife and three kiddos) was there too.  My mom and dad made the trip down to cheer us all on.  Evie's birth grandma and birth aunt were there.  Amber, Beau's sister, also ran the half marathon so she was there.  And, Beau's mom and dad made the trip down to support us all.  My uncle Kelly was there too . . . helping with the race.  It was such a fun family affair.

We are blessed to have such healthy bodies to complete something so physical.  We're even more blessed to be loved by so many! 

Beau's Big Buck

Beau did some great hunting this season!  He most recently participated in the Utah Rifle Hunt and had some success.

Beau's Big 4-Point

He got a pretty darn nice 4-point.

Beau and his Big Buck

And, quite honestly, he actually had WAY more fun doing the camping, riding his horses, and spending time with his brother Chance.

Chance with the riding team.

Beau sure loves the outdoors and he loved taking this well-deserved break from work.  Way to go Beau!

Halloween Treats AND Tricks

This year we found lots of treats AND an awful trick.

The festivities started a little early.  We have an annual Halloween party with Beau's family every year. It's one of the parties we all look forward to.  And, as usual, we had a great time.  It was held mid-October this year.

We dressed up as a bottle of Ketchup, a Police Officer, a Lady Bug, and a Kitty Cat.

And, here is a group picture of everyone!  The costumes are pretty awesome.  We had a huge Toy Story clan, Peter Pan/Wendy/Tinker Bell combo, a scarecrow, and a runner.

And, to follow tradition, we followed all of this fun up with some delicious food and family games.

As Halloween finally approached I knew that pumpkin carving would be on the agenda this year.  Evie has been WAY into pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns for years now.  I mean, she seriously hasn't stopped talking about Halloween stuff since LAST year.  She's a riot.    So, now that she's old enough I decided to bite the bullet and make jack-o-lanterns with her.  We grew pumpkins this year, so we went out to the garden to pick the perfect pumpkins.  When we got in the house I told Evie she could choose the faces.  We jumped on the computer to look for patterns and as we started looking through them she wanted NOTHING to do with the ones that looked cute and happy.  We MUST have scary/spooky ones.  So . . . she chose her favorite 2 and off we went.

We started carving and I had Evie pull out the "guts" of the pumpkins while I scraped them down.  She was NOT a fan of the slime.  Not one bit.  She lasted for about 2 handfuls and then passed that job right back to me.  LOL.  Once we started carving, Evie was thrilled.  And, then she fell asleep right in her chair with her head down on the countertop.  I had to keep carving because I didn't know how much time I would have until Addie would wake up from her nap, so I got both pumpkins carved before both babies awoke.

But, when they awoke, they were both thrilled.  Evie loved her pumpkins and she especially loved that they looked like Draculas.  They passed the "spooky" test.  We had to light them right away to see them glow.

Then, the day before Halloween was filled with all sorts of fun.  It started out with a Halloween lunch at daddy's work.  Everyone in Beau's office dresses up, so it was fun to see all of the costumes.  And, of course the girls LOVED getting to spend some extra time with their daddy.  I did too.

After lunch, we went to pick up cousin HaLee for the afternoon.  She went with us to Aunt Amber's work to trick-or-treat.  They had SO much fun and loaded up on SO much candy.  I think they really loved the trick-or-treating part, but they loved playing with Amber in her office even more.  What a fun treat!

After that, we hurried home to eat dinner and then we went to our neighborhood trunk-or-treat.  This involved trick-or-treating as well as a dance party.  It was way fun.  Adel and dad handed out the candy.

I took HaLee and Evie around to all the "trunks" to trick-or-treat.

Then, it was home to get some much needed rest, because we had parties and trick-or-treating to go to the next day.  After all, the next day was actually Halloween!

And . . . that's where the BIG trick comes in.  Evie caught a stomach bug and "spit up" in her bed around 4am.  She called it "spit up," but it was full-on throw up.  It was everywhere and it was disgusting and awfully sad.

And, like flies, we all started dropping.  Daddy was sick within a few hours of that.  I managed to last until the late evening (thankfully, because I don't know who would have taken care of the girls if both Beau and I were down-and-out at the same time).

It really was a mean Halloween trick that hit our house.  Addie had been sick a few days before, so I think she started it.  I just didn't really know she was that sick until it started hitting the rest of us (those poor little babies can't really tell you how sick they truly are).  So, needless to say, we missed our annual Halloween parties at the grandparents homes.  Major bummer!

But, today we are all feeling good, eating without wanting to puke, and we've found our smiles again.  So, I dressed my babies back up to get some good/decent Halloween pics of each of them.  They are sooooo darn cute!

Here's our darling little kitty cat.  The costume fits her well because her favorite animal around our house is indeed our black barn cat.  Man, you just want to grab her off your screen and squeeze her, don't you!?

And, here's our lovely lady bug.  She is charming in every way imaginable.  I hope you all had a fun and safe and sick-free Halloween weekend!

Baby Adel is 10 Months Old

Yep!  It's true!  My sweet little Adeline is a whopping 10 months old.  What in the world!?  Time goes WAY too fast sometimes.

She has become so busy, busy, busy!  She can really move around so she's exploring everything she can possibly explore.  I know a lot of moms hate this stage because of all the messes these little babies make, but I actually really love it for that reason.  I don't mind that the toys get strung all about the house, or that the DVD's are pulled off the shelf 12 times a day, or that she has to go through 27 books before she finds one that interests her.  You get the idea.  And, by all of this you can probably gather that my house is rarely organized (I do try to keep it clean…..wiped down, vacuumed, etc).   But, I wouldn't have it any other day.  There are days I look at the mess and think, "I should clean this place up."  But, usually I look at the mess and smile and think, "I'm so lucky to have these girls that make these messes."

And, while Adeline goes about her busy business, she is usually as pleasant as can be.  She's happy to explore, to crawl and climb.  She LOVES to follow her sister around and usually wants whatever Evie has.  I suppose that's natural for siblings, right?

Here's what Addie is up to now:

• She's finally starting to like books a little better.  She'll actually sit through an entire board book (so long as it's not too long).  At this point, that's about all I can get her to do, but I'm happy to see her start enjoying the "reading" world a little more.
• She has another tooth on bottom.  So, she now has 4 teeth on top and 4 on bottom.
• Thanks to those teeth, I haven't hesitated to start feeding her table food.  She is SOOOO sick of pureed baby foods . . . to the point that she'd rather go hungry some days than gag down another serving of it.  So, I started cutting up chicken, giving her brown rice, and chopped up veggies. She's a HUGE fan.  We've started trying her on all sorts of stuff and she likes most of the stuff we give her.  She still loves to follow every meal up with a bottle.
• She's babbling much more now.  She loves making the sounds all day long.
• She's ditched the "army crawl" and just crawls on her hands and knees.  
• She is much more confident and sure when she pulls herself up to a standing position while holding onto stuff.  She isn't even wobbly as she walks along furniture and she's figured out how to gently get herself down to the floor.  She goes everywhere I tell you!
• She definitely understands "no" (but doesn't always obey it).
• She started using a sippy cup.  She prefers the straw ones.  She can also drink out of a normal straw (it just sometimes comes up too fast and scares her).
• She caught some strain of the flu.  While she was a little more whiney and clingy than usual, I still wasn't sure what was going on with her because she was still pretty pleasant and happy overall.  It wasn't until Evie got it (and then Beau and I got it) that I connected all the dots.  I mean, how can I complain too loudly when I have a baby with the flu that is still relatively pleasant?
• And, as annoying as it is, Addie even got her flu shot this past month (do those things REALLY ever work!?).  She was a champ when she got it.  She cried for about 5 seconds and was over it.  (I won't mention how long her older sister cried.  Ok . . . for minutes!  But, it was super cute because Evie got her shot first.  Then, when the nurse was about to give it to Addie, Evie looked at Addie and told her it was going to poke really bad . . . as if telling Addie to run for her life.   Then Evie yelled at the nurse to not poke her baby Adel.  Evie was TOTALLY watching out for her little sister. I love watching exchanges like this.)
• She loves to go through the animal sounds.  She cannot make them, but she sure recognizes them.  She gets most excited for dog and cat.  Although, duck and anything that roars is starting to become more amusing to her.  
• She LOVES to snuggle up to her blankets.  If her blankets aren't available or handy, she'll sometimes find other things.  I've caught her laying on the floor with a dish towel, Evie's blanket, pillows, or anything else soft.  She's such a little cuddle bug.
• Addie is busy and into everything.  She is curious and wants to explore anything she can possibly explore.  She's into the toys, the books, the DVD's, the shoe bins, the dishwasher, the diaper bag, the garbage (ugh!), and she's even tried to stick her hands in the toilet.  This girl is seriously into everything.  Busy, busy, busy!

We just love having this sweet pea in our home and family.  She's a dream come true in every way.  

Cornbelly's Tradition With Four

Well, we took our annual trip to Cornbelly's.  This year it was FOUR of us, instead of three of us.  I just love my little family!

Cornbelly's seems to get bigger and better every year.  There was more for us to see and do . . . more than we could get to in three hours of time (who would of thought we would need more time, let alone the girls would last longer than three hours!?).

We had lots of fun doing the traditional stuff . . . riding the cow train, going down the giant slides, going on wagon rides through the corn fields, jumping on trampolines, playing in the corn pit, etc.  This year we got to watch a dog show where the dogs did tricks while catching frisbees as well as jumped into a pool of water.  The girls loved that part.  We also got to see a firework show.  This is one of my favorite family traditions!

Baby Addie with her daddy.  So cute!

The girls . . . on our wagon ride through the corn fields. 

Evie got to watch the dog show from her daddy's shoulders.  Lucky girl!

Mommy and Evie playing together in the corn pit.

The awesome firework show.