HAPPY HALLOWEEN from...

Optimus Prime

Super Girl

and a Little Baby Horse.

Already?

Ashley is 6 months old now and I am having a hard time believing it has already been six months.

• She is sitting up and playing with toys.
• Just starting to like baby cereal mixed w/fruit.
• Loves drinking out of a sippy cup with some help.
• Still not sleeping through the night. (Lately she has been waking up screaming during the night. I think it is a combination of teething and her tummy hurting. She is having a hard time transitioning to solid foods.)
• Loves when we do Patty Cake, Patty Cake with her.
• Is a momma's girl and whines for me when she sees me in the room.
• Is now aware of strangers.
• Loves to hear herself make noises and can get quite loud when she is laying on her back.
  
• She is the best baby to take on errands and loves just looking around at everything.

• She weighs 17 lbs. 4 oz.
• She is 26.5 inches tall.
• She is my smallest baby and she still isn't very small. :) My other two were off the charts in weight and height as babies and still are off the charts.

• She loves to stick her tongue out. Here are several examples...
  

We love this baby girl and are so grateful she is part of our family!

Let's Pretend...

this picture was taken on the first day of preschool instead of the sixth day of preschool. I did manage to take a quick one on the first day of school, but it didn't turn out like I wanted. So this is what we got on the sixth day after he had already gone to preschool. :)

Hallelujah! Mom is finally done taking pictures.

Favorites and Not So Favorites

Some favorites...

• my baby's sweet laugh
• that my 2 year old will pretty much eat whatever I make for dinner
• how much my 4 year old loves preschool
• the funny things my 2 year old says
• my husband taking Friday off and then spending the day working in the yard and watching the kids (he really is the BEST)
• after my 4 year old made his baby sister laugh, he said, "I love being a big brother."
• girls night out
• lunch w/my sister in law for her birthday
• the way my baby cuddles under my chin right before I lay her in bed
• homemade oreo cookies (not good to have around when trying to lose weight, but they are a favorite still)
  

Some not so favorites...

• my 4 year old scowling through most of the primary program on Sunday
• my 2 year old's ear piercing scream (it happens when she's mad and when she is having fun and playing w/her brother)
• that my baby is growing up so fast
  
• that my 4 year old complains about everything I make for dinner
  

Labor Day

We finally did something fun on a holiday instead of doing yard work or house work. We went up to Mt. Charleston and had so much fun. The weather was so beautiful, 70 degrees! We had a way too expensive lunch at the lodge and then went on a little walk. (We will definitely bring our own lunch next time.)

Luke wanted to climb a mountain. They made it about a third of the way and then Luke was done. I think they had more fun walking back to the van and seeing some lizards running around.

This is just to show that I do sometimes have my picture taken with my children.

To Shop or Not to Shop with My Kids

I think after my experience at the grocery store this week I would like to opt not to shop with my 3 kids. (Now I know many of you take 3 or more kids to the store, but for some reason I have a hard time w/MY 3, well one in particular.)

The play by play of my grocery shopping experience. Sorry, this could be long.

• We are out the door and in the van by 9:30am. (We are starting off great because I rarely have everyone ready and out the door this early.)
• The diaper bag is loaded with fruit snacks, pretzels, water, and all the other necessary items.
• We go to Smith's because I can put the two older kids in the car part of the cart and the baby in her car seat on the cart. (There is also two seats in the front part of the cart which can come in handy and will play a major part in this particular shopping experience.)
• Everyone is happy, we get the green car, we give it a good wipe down with the handy cleaning wipes they have available.
• The older kids are ready to drive, so I thought. I put some nectarines in a bag and Katelyn is already wanting out of the car. (The nectarines are at the very front of the store, she did not even last 2 minutes in the car.)
• I quickly pull out the fruit snacks and tell her she can have some if she sits in the cart up front with Ashley. She is happy with that idea. (Phew, we avoided a major melt down.)
• Now we are in the meat section. Katelyn ate those fruit snacks way too fast and is already wanting out of the cart. (It has only been about 3 minutes since I put her in the seat.) She was starting to get frustrated and the whining and crying started.
• I decided to let her out for a minute and told her if she did not stay by me she would have to get back in the cart.
• To my surprise she stayed with me while shopping down one aisle of food. But the next aisle was not good. She decided she wanted to take food off the shelves and stack the food. When I told her to stop she ran to the florist area and started pulling flowers off the stems. AAAAAH! (okay, now I am starting to sweat because I am pushing the enormous car cart and trying to stop Katelyn from destroying the store)
• On a positive note, Luke and Ashley were being very good. Thank goodness!
• I finally capture the flower thief and tell her she has to get back in the cart by Ashley.
• She was not wanting that and the screaming began. She is not shy when it comes to screaming and she is so strong. I am trying to lift her into the seat and get her to bend her legs to go through the holes. She is fighting me, but I finally win. (now I am not only sweating, but my back is hurting from wrestling her)
• This is probably when I should have just left the cart and loaded everyone back in the van and headed home. But we needed milk and I only had a few more things to get so I endured and everyone else in the store had to endure also.
  
• She screamed and kept telling me she wanted to get down. Major tears!
• I tried giving her the pretzels or any other treats I could find, but that wasn't going to stop her. I tried to make her my helper by having her hold the coupons and grocery list. That lasted about 10 seconds and then I ended up picking them up off the floor.
• We got those last few items as fast as I could push that humongous cart.
• It is finally time to pay for the groceries and she decides to reach for all the goodies that are at the checkout stand. No matter how I put the cart she could still reach them. I put the groceries on the belt as fast as I could and then picked up all the candy bars off the floor.
• The cashier distracted Katelyn for a few minutes and gave her some stickers. (I know, she got stickers for all that misbehavior.) I was just wishing I had packed some magic stickers in the diaper bag because they made her day and she was happy as could be sitting in the cart. You would have never known what a "fun" experience we just had throughout the store.

I bet you are all wondering if I kept my cool throughout this experience. Yes and No! I will leave that to your imaginations.
I think I may start waiting to do my shopping after Kevin gets home from work. But if I do decide to brave the grocery store again with all 3 and you see me there, I'm sorry. I thought I should apologize in advance. :)

4 months and 24 months

Ashley turned 4 months old on the 3rd of August.
4 month stats...
Weight: 15lbs. 6oz.
Height: 25 inches

She is doing really well with tummy time.

She is starting to teethe(sp?) and loves to chomp on her fingers.

She is grabbing her toes now.


Katelyn turned 2 on August 8th.
2 year old stats...
Weight:32 lbs
Height:361/2 inches
(The doctor said she is the size of a 3 year old/almost 4 year old. We have tall kids!)

Katelyn's expression when she saw her birthday balloons on the table right after waking up in the morning.

My attempt at a HI-5 cake. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES this TV show so it was only appropriate that she got a HI-5 cake. She was pretty excited about it.

Enjoying a cookie before church. It was the only way I could get her to stand still for a minute so I could take a picture. Luckily she did not get any chocolate on her white shirt. I think that may be a first. Turning 2 made her more careful while eating. :)