September

September has been busy with getting into the school routine! Annaliese goes to school all day M/W/F and half days on T/TH. Haleigh goes half days on T/TH. I work every other weekend, so when I'm not working, we try to be intentional about getting out and doing something fun as a family. 

As far as school goes, Annaliese loves kindergarten! It has been amazing to see how much Spanish she has learned and is able to use since school started! She also loves to write, is always 'doing homework' and has recently started asking us simple math questions! 

Annaliese and Keziah at their table

Sylvia, Annaliese, Keziah and Zachariah eating popsicles after the jog-a-thon

All worn out...she ran 10 laps!

Elias' class also participated in the jog-a-thon

School project...the studied bees (las abejas)

Apparently there were quite a few bees on the playground which prompted this lesson!

Recently we were driving somewhere and Annaliese was writing on her magnetic board in the car. We had the following conversation:

Annaliese "How do you spell 'uh'"

Me: "I'm sorry, I don't understand your question."

Annaliese: "How do you spell 'uh'?

Me: "Are you writing something? What are you trying to say?"

Annaliese: "I"m writing Lydia's name. I don't know what comes after D. You know, Ly-D-uh" 

It is so fun to see her curious about how to spell things, to sound out letters, and to love writing! She also loves to sing so she will frequently make up songs about just about anything!

Haleigh took a little while to warm up to the idea of school. She started crying as soon as we would approach the classroom. I had to take her home one day because she just never stopped crying, but we have made significant improvements since then and last week she actually walked into her room and sat in her chair without crying at all! Hopefully this trend continues.

Outside of school, we have been able to have a decent amount of fun. We recently switched churches and started attending Christ the King Downtown. It's still a part of CTK, which we have to attend since Kyle works there, but this location is a lot smaller and so far seems to be a better fit for us. They had a Block Party a few weeks ago and we thought it would be fun to attend. They had live music, cornhole, face-painting, free popsicles, a food truck, a bounce house, fun balloons and a photo booth!

They both caught a fish!

A unicorn with wings

And then there are the random pictures I've taken from around the house:

(There wasn't anything out there...)

Annaliese and her friend Nora

Annaliese and McKinley at McKinley's birthday party

Painting!

Bedtime story

Playing around with water and flour!

These two...hiding behind the table eating a sucker together!

Haleigh...3 1/2 yrs old!

Haleigh is officially 3 1/2 years old and sometimes she seems so grown up and other times I have to remind myself that she is only three and a half! She has an amazing smile, loves to laugh, gives great hugs, and is usually pretty easy going and willing to help. She is definitely not a risk-taker and is very hesitant to try anything new. 

Sleeping: Not much has changed here...Haleigh still goes to bed between 7:00-7:30 and sleeps until about 6:30ish. Ideally she stays in her room until closer to 7 but that doesn't always work. She still sleeps with her purple bunny which is now in two pieces. Thankfully we don't have to keep track of both parts all the time because she only needs one to be happy! Haleigh still takes a nap almost every afternoon and can easily sleep for 2 hours without a problem. 

Activities: Haleigh likes to be doing whatever Annaliese is doing for the most part and will parrot just about everything Annaliese says. However, when Annaliese is at school, Haleigh likes to help me clean, make lunch, color and dance. She is starting to get particular about the music she dances to and will frequently tell me that she wants 'you-tube, not Pandora, Mom.'  She doesn't seem to have any go-to activities or toys that are clearly her favorite things. We spent quite a bit of time over the summer encouraging her to ride her bike but that is one thing that she does not like doing yet! 

Clothes: Most of Haleigh's clothes are 3T but there are a few 4T shirts in the mix, mostly hand-me-down's that have shrunk a little bit. Shoes are still a size 7 but anything new that we buy is a size 8. 

Haleigh has started the Spanish immersion preschool and it has been a bit of a rough transition. She has cried 3 of the 4 days that they've had so far, but the last day seemed to go significantly better so hopefully that will continue to be the trend. She likes to count, knows most of her colors, and is starting to learn how to spell her name. She is definitely a lefty; there is no doubt about it! 

There are also times where she can be a bit irrational and will simply say my name over and over and over again. "Mom. Mom. Mom. Mooommmmmm. I'm trying to tell you something." Repeat. And then she gets very frustrated and Annaliese will usually chime in, "Haleigh, she's listening. Just talk." And we usually get nowhere. Most of the time it happens because she is just a little too hungry and tired, and unfortunately, she becomes so irrational she won't stop whining to eat anything! 

Haleigh is also a bit of an instigator and loves to give Annaliese a hard time. She does have a bit of  temper so if she doesn't get what she wants, she will push or hit Annaliese. It only seems to happen with Annaliese, not with any of her friends. I guess this would be an example of sisterly love!! 

Labor Day at Artist Point

Since nobody had to work or go to school on Labor Day, we decided it would be fun to drive up Mt. Baker and check out Artist Point. It's been quite awhile since we have been up there and we were excited for some beautiful views, some good hiking, and maybe even a little bit of snow! 

It was definitely pretty, although a little hazy due to the smoke from all the wildfires that was just making its way in, but we did manage to do a short hike and spend some time playing in the snow. 

Haleigh was not in the mood to hike...or have any fun at all. She cried for the first 20 minutes of the hike. At that point we decided it was a bit ridiculous and after eating a quick snack, we turned around and went back. She would have cried all the way back too, if I hadn't just picked her up and carried her for the sanity of us all! 

We ran into our good friends, the Potter's, and Annaliese was very excited to play in the snow with L.J. and Keziah. Haleigh was pretty indifferent and spent most of the time standing right next to me. She can be so silly sometimes! 

Keziah, L.J., and Annaliese

Eden

L.J. (in red), Mandi and Annaliese...they were having a snow ball fight!

At the end of the day, we decided that the trip was fun and worth the drive! But we also realized that it's nice to do things with friends and that having the Potter's to hang out with made the whole trip more enjoyable for everyone! 

On the drive home, we decided that it would probably be a good idea to end the day with some ice cream from Edaleen Dairy. They have delicious ice cream and serve huge ice cream cones! 

Lydia was not a fan...it was too cold for her liking!