Happy Birthday Annaliese!

Yesterday was Annaliese's third birthday! It is amazing how quickly these years have passed and she is constantly doing things that make me stop and think, "Wow, my baby is growing up!" We had a birthday party for her on Saturday evening and all day she was so excited for Elias to come over and to open all her presents!!

She was very exciting to see the growing piling of packages...Annaliese is definitely loved by all her relatives!

 Playing with some of her new puzzles!

 Birthday dinner...Annaliese requested tacos!

 Trying to figure out how old she is now!

 Selfie with Auntie Kim

 Annaliese has a sweet tooth just like her parents and is always asking for a cookie or ice cream for dessert. However it sounds more like 'dert' than 'dessert' so she got "Dirt Cake" for her birthday dessert! Complete with a few worms:) 

It was a family effort to blow out all the candles!

When Annaliese came into my room yesterday (her actual birthday) I told her Happy Birthday and she looked at me and said, "It's my birthday again! We're having another party?" I don't think she ever really understood that Saturday wasn't actually her birthday but she has finally figured out that she is 3 now! Tonight we opened up a few more presents that had arrived! My little princess is all set now...she has princess puzzles, princess stories, princess tiaras and dress-up clothes and princess stickers! A big thank you to everyone for your gifts! 

Annaliese loves to read!

Annaliese is very much into princesses these days! She dances around the house singing "Do you want to build a snowman," loves dressing up in her princess gowns and will watch you tube videos of princesses over and over! Grandma has been picking up library books about princesses as well!

Today we sat down to read this one together. I was so surprised when she read it to me...she has obviously read it more often than I realized!

8 Months!

This past Thursday marked Haleigh's 8 month birthday! I know I say the same thing every month, but the time seems to be going by so quickly!

Haleigh is growing so quickly and her personality is becoming more and more apparent. She is an easy-going kid who is willing to put up with a lot from her big sister! She is very expressive and makes all kinds of adorable facial expressions! 

Eating: Haleigh gets solid foods 2-3 times/day. I haven't done a great job at following the '3 day rule' or at introducing just one new item at a time. Thankfully, she has tolerated everything quite well! She eats bananas, applesauce, pumpkin, black beans, ground beef, green beans, avocado, butternut squash, and oatmeal. She has also enjoyed a butternut squash ginger soup, potato soup, and some sort of risotto that is absolutely delicious that have been adult and kid-friendly:) Needless to say, I am quick to puree foods that we are eating for Haleigh as well. Thus, she has also had foods seasoned with garlic, red pepper flakes, onion powder, paprika, cinnamon, and a variety of herbs! 
    She also takes a bottle 4 times/day with about 6 ozs of milk each time. The bottle is a combination of breast milk and formula, although in my lazier moments she does end up with just formula! Again, I am very fortunate that she will drink whatever is available! 
    Haleigh loves to eat! She gets so excited and her whole body shakes when she sees her bottle being prepared or food set in front of her. Her eyes get wide and her arms go straight out and she can't hardly wait for the first taste! 

Sleeping: Haleigh continues to sleep through the night, going to bed close to 7pm and sleeping until anywhere from 7:30-8:30 am. Her naps are still very irregular. Some days we get a 2 hr nap; at other times we are lucky to get 45 minutes. We usually attempt nap time mid morning, early afternoon, and then once more in the late afternoon. She sleeps in her crib, starting on her back and usually ending up on her stomach with one arm awkwardly out to her side. Her soft purple bunny is always near by! 

Clothes: Everything is 9 months now and I'm noticing that some of the 9 month pants look like they won't fit for long! She's got some impressive thighs:) 

Teeth: 2...still just the bottom 2 front teeth. The past several days I keep thinking that we will soon see another though. Her hands have constantly been in her mouth and she's had a runny nose...but last time I checked we still just had 2. 

Activities: Haleigh loves to play and be surrounded by her toys! She will sit contentedly for quite awhile if she has the right toys nearby. The barrels, snowballs, and blocks are current favorites. She also loves pulling hair, watching Annaliese do anything, playing with her tongue, and eating. There really aren't too many things that she doesn't like...like I said, she's a pretty easy going kiddo!

Checking out Auntie Kelsey's tongue!

Movement: There really is no need for Haleigh to start crawling...Annaliese takes care of that for her. It looks something like this: Haleigh is sitting contentedly, doing her own thing. Annaliese comes over, pushes Haleigh onto her back and rolls her over onto her stomach. She then proceeds to drag Haleigh by the arms to wherever it is that Annaliese thinks she needs to be. Upon arriving, Annaliese sets Haleigh down and excitedly proclaims, "She did it! She did it!" I'd try to video it, but I'm trying not to encourage such activities. I don't think it's too good for Haleigh's shoulders!

Trick or Treating... and other Halloween fun!

Auntie Kelsey, Uncle Ben and Mallory came up from Seattle for the weekend so we spent most of of the weekend doing family stuff together. Friday morning Auntie Kelsey and Mallory came over bright and early (think 7:15am) while Uncle Ben worked all day. We spent a fair amount of time just hanging out around the house letting the cousins play together.

 Haleigh and Mallory

We then headed over to Auntie Kim and Uncle Thane's house for dinner. Some of the Thane's family was also there which meant there were lots of kids to play with!

 Auntie Kelsey and Mallory

The kids table!

After dinner, we dressed the kiddos up in their costumes and headed outside for some trick-or-treating. Annaliese and Elias picked up on things quickly and as soon as they were given a piece of candy, they were quick to move on to the next house (or try to take another piece!)

 Haleigh the bumblebee

 Kisses from Grandpa!

 Mallory the cow and Haleigh the bumblebee

 Annaliese was super  excited to be Winnie the Pooh!

 Our attempt at a picture with the little kids...Mallory the cow, Annaliese as Winnie the Pooh, Haleigh the bumblebee, Elias the monkey and Josiah (Thane's sister's little boy) the penguin! 

Annaliese and Elias were pretty ready to get back home and check out their candy bags! 

Saturday morning, Auntie Kim and Elias came over to play. Grandma had given all of the grandkids matching outfits awhile back and we finally had the opportunity to get a few pictures together!