Saturday, March 17, 2018

Grandma Kelley and Poppa Jay come to visit

At the beginning of the month, Grandma Kelley and Poppa Jay (sidenote...the girls still refer to Grandma as Gigi occasionally, but it seems like Grandma Kelley just flows more naturally. Papa still works, but since he signed his name "Poppa Jay" on the girls Valentine's Day cards, I've switched the spelling and will now go with that!) came to visit us for a week! They rented a house out on Wiser Lake and we split our time between our house and that place. The girls discovered a big toy box full of fun new toys so they were more than happy just to stay there and play. 

Playing 'Simon Says"

They arrived on Thursday afternoon and came right to our house; we had dinner and hung out a little bit before they headed over to their house to get settled in. Annaliese didn't have school on Friday so we took the opportunity to head up to Salmon Ridge Sno-Park for some cross-country skiing! It was pretty much perfect! We packed a lunch and decided we would go as far as the girls could tolerate and they made it much farther than I anticipated. 

Catching snowflakes!








  

Friday night, we all spent the night at Poppa and Grandma's house; it was a really nice house right on Wiser Lake. It easily accommodated us all, the sunset was beautiful and the girls love any opportunity for a sleepover! Saturday we headed up to Canada; we were hoping to go to the zoo but the weather was just a little too cold for that so we decided to go out for lunch and 5-pin bowling. After an unfortunate stop at the border (Pepper spray is illegal in Canada. They took mine. All 7 of us had to go inside their little building and I had to sign papers saying that I was 'abandoning' my pepper spray. I was not happy.)  we made it to a great place for lunch (Brodeur's Bistro) and then to Alder Alley for some bowling. 














Saturday night, Kyle and I went out on a date (Brandywine for dinner and then Upfront Theatre) and the girls spent the night with Grandma and Poppa again. We met up with them Sunday morning and all went to church together. Sunday afternoon we spent at our house, getting ready for Haleigh and Mallory's birthday party. That will be another blog post! 

Monday Annaliese had school, so while she was there, the rest of us went shopping for some new cross-country skis for me and Kyle. We didn't find anything but we did find a tasty Mediterranean restaurant for lunch. I think Kelley and I were able to fit in a run today as well. 
Playing with her new birthday present!




Both the girls had school on Tuesday until 11:30, so we all picked them up and then headed out for a hike and a picnic lunch. We decided to try something new, so we found a trail around Lake Louise in Sudden Valley and walked around it. It was a bit chilly, but we found a picnic table in the sun that was perfect for lunch!







Not quite sure...but she just kept coming out of her room with more 'bling' on! 

Bedtime snuggles


A little dancing before bedtime



Bedtime Story with Poppa Jay
Wednesday I had to go to work and Kyle had a few work things to do as well so Grandma Kelley and Poppa Jay took advantage of all of the snow on Mt. Baker and went skiing for the day. It sounds like they had a lot of fun and it looked like a beautiful day!


They had to fly home on Thursday, which we were all sad about, but we were able to spend the afternoon together before they had to head to the airport. It's always so much fun when they come visit and we wish we could see each more often! 



Thursday, March 15, 2018

Haleigh is 4!

March 7 was Haleigh's 4th birthday and she was counting down to the day for weeks! We made a big deal about turning 4 and about how 4-year-olds are really good listeners, good helpers, do a great job following directions and are basically just amazing little people! Haleigh completely went for it and has been such a good listener and big helper since her birthday! Anytime she starts to through a fit, we remind her that she's 4 now, and she chimes in with "Oh yeah, I'm 4. I can do that."  It's wonderful! 
Sleeping: Some things never change...Haleigh is a great sleeper! She goes to bed about 7:30 and usually wakes up between 6:30-7:00. Our goal is for her to stay in her room until 7 but that rarely works. Sometimes she will go back in her room and rest for a few minutes and if both she and Annaliese are awake, they will turn on the light and read books together. Other mornings I let her climb on the couch with me and we do our Bible Study together. The girls have a Precious Moments Bible that was given to Annaliese a few years ago by a good friend and Haleigh has pretty much claimed it as hers. She likes to read whatever I'm reading and, much to my chagrin, she has colored in it all over the place because she sees me highlighting and underlining in my Bible! 
Haleigh still sleeps with her purple bunny...or at least part of it! It's falling apart and the actually bunny is missing, but as long as she has the other part, she is fine. She still sucks her thumb as well. Haleigh takes an afternoon rest time and most days she ends up falling asleep and will sleep for at least an hour. 

Activities: It's hard to say...Haleigh likes to do what everyone else is doing and doesn't really have any clear favorites...she likes to dance and goes to dance class every week. She also likes to exercise with me, color, and play games. It's hard to get her to go outside, but once she's out, she loves to play! She asked for a pink soccer ball for her birthday!




Clothing: All of Haleigh's clothes are 4T and she is wearing size 8 shoes. She loves to wear stretchy pants and dresses and although she can get dressed with no problems, likes to have help picking out her clothes. She has a tendency to put her panties on backwards and has a hard time taking off her shirt all by herself! 

Teeth: Haleigh doesn't have any loose teeth yet, but she frequently talks about what she is going to buy when they do fall out and the tooth fairy comes! Pretty much everytime we're at the grocery store she tells me, "I have a loose tooth Mom. I'm four now. I have a loose tooth." It's pretty cute!

Haleigh goes to school two mornings a week and loves it! She loves painting and coloring and they do a lot of that at school! She doesn't say too much in Spanish yet but I'm sure she's picking it up. Haleigh almost always has a big smile on her face and gives amazing hugs! She is so full of joy and life and is so fun to hang out with! 



Friday, March 9, 2018

18 Months

Lydia has reached the 18-month mark and it seems like not much has changed! She is still happy, loves her sisters, gives great hugs, says very few comprehensible words and doesn't walk! It's amazing how almost everyone who sees her walks away with a smile on their face. I guess it makes sense...how can you not smile when you look at this cute little face!
Sleeping: Not much has changed here: Lydia still goes to bed around 7:00pm and sleeps all night. She wakes anywhere from 6:30-7:30am, depending on when Haleigh decides to go 'check on Lydia.' She usually takes two naps, each lasting from 1-2 hours. Lydia goes to sleep with her bunny and a fuzzy blanket and has become quite attached to both items! I lay her down on her back but I find her in all sorts of positions when I check in on her. Her room is kept pretty dark and the sound machine is always on.
Eating: Everything! Lydia eats most everything, although at any given time she may refuse the food offered! Current favorites include bananas, blueberries, chips, fishies, bread in any form, and chocolate chips. She's getting picky when it comes to eating eggs and chicken and makes it quite obvious when she's had enough. Her newest habit is drinking milk from her sippy cup and then slowly letting it run out of her mouth, down her chin, and all over her clothes. She's also getting rather particular about her bib...she no longer lets me put it on, but if I hand it to her and tell her that she won't get food until her bib is on, she will put it around her neck and let me fasten the clasp. Lydia has also discovered utensils and is convinced that she needs to use them...by herself!
Clothing: All of Lydia's clothes are 18-month at this point. Diapers are size 3. She doesn't keep socks or shoes on so sizing is irrelevant. 

Activities: Lydia is such an easy-going little lady...when Annaliese and Haleigh are playing something, she likes to be a part of it, but when they are gone, she will easily sit and play by herself. She likes to dump her wooden blocks out of the box and then sort them, throw them, or put them back in the box. She also enjoys playing with the magnet tiles and the train set, drawing all over herself when she finds a marker on the floor, reading books and trying to put other people's shoes on. 





Lydia has just recently started standing up against the furniture but hasn't made any attempts to pull herself up or move her feet once she's there. She just starts to look a little scared and starts crying. She also isn't talking much; she will sometimes say 'mom' or 'up' but that's about it. Lydia definitely understands, however, because I will ask her to do something and she will! She will go get a bowl of the drawer for a snack, will turn off the light in her bedroom when I ask her to, and even puts away her toys every once in awhile. Her attention span is pretty short so she gets easily distracted, but the understanding of words and language is definitely coming! 





Monday, March 5, 2018

February wrap-up

Here are some of the latest pictures from the past month:

Malachi and Haleigh- these two are like two little peas in a pod!

Lydia- she picked out all the cylinders and lined them up all by herself!


We received a whole box of freshly picked oranges from California!

Isn't she cute!

Trying to put my boots on!

Haleigh trying out her new skis in the backyard!


Annaliese is practising her skiing as well.

Brrr...not quite prepared for snow while we were out and about!





On a walk at Boulevard Park




Homemade pizza! Everyone made their own! Kyle's is the one in the back (dairy free; gluten free) and the girls each picked their own toppings for theirs!


At the dentist!



The grocery store gives out free cookies!


A pretty good looking loaf of homemade gluten-free bread!