Uncle Sam's Visit

My brother, Samuel, came to visit us at the beginning of October - it was such a fun visit! In addition to spending time with the kids (he's so good with them!) he also helped out at our church and another church in town with renovations!

 Uncle Sam and Lucy enjoyed time in forts.

 Lucy was supposed to be pretending to sleep... I'm pretty sure she was "snoring" when I took this pic. We will work on the closed eye thing... :)

 Lucy and Ellie showed Uncle Sam how to do puzzles...

...and Michael joined in to show him one of their favorite shows. (Any of the LeapFrog movies on Netflix, Lucy calls them her "Purple Puppy Shows")

 (Instagram Pic) Duplos were a big hit too. :)

Samuel helped Lucy name all of her baby dolls, their names were very creative "Polly" (the doll whose tag says she's 100% Polyester) and "Blondie" (the doll with blond hair) are just two examples of his genius. :) 

 Uncle Sam with his favorite niece and nephew (they are the only ones right now!) :)

 There is a special place in Samuel's heart for Michael boy - it makes me really happy. :) 

Sam's in South Carolina doing his Basic Training for the Army. Would you be praying for him that he would be a light for Jesus during these difficult weeks? 

Thanks for visiting us Sam! Our house is your house! Come visit any time. :) We love you.

Making Memories: Fall Fire Pit

We got a fire pit! It's something we've wanted for awhile, so when we saw a sale at Wal-Mart - we jumped on it! We brought it home and then Lucy and her daddy assembled it and gathered the wood.

 (Notice the ballerina slippers - they are a favorite of Lucy's these days!)

 Waiting for the fire to get started. 

 My sweet kiddos - they make me so happy! 

 Our doggies, I don't think we've introduced Belle yet - but here she is. Baxter has LOVED having a friend again, they have fun playing together. 

 As my Mother's Day gift, Brad fenced in part of our back yard so that the dogs could be contained in their side and the kids and I can have the other side. :) It has been SO nice!

 Lucy named our puppy, "Belle" and it stuck. :) She's a Lab mix and is growing into a beautiful dog!

 My teething little bud - He is so quietly observant of the world around him. 

 Brad was pointing out the lights to Lucy, but what I love about this picture is that she has her legs crossed. :) 

 No fire-pit is official unless it has been used to make SMORES!

 Lucy enjoyed her first roasted marshmallows - but wasn't too interested in the chocolate or graham crackers - she missed out! They were yummy!

 It was such a fun evening - Brad and I brought out some wine and sat and watched the fire after the kids went to bed, a great way to sit and chat about the day. :)

An Instagram pic, proving that I was there! ;)

Do you have any fun fall memories? 

Rosy Cheeks

When he was 9 months old, Michael woke up one day with very rosy cheeks. He wasn't running a fever but was pretty clingy and sad. I assumed he was teething but then remembered a day when Lucy had super pink cheeks too! So I looked up the pictures, sure enough - when she was 8 1/2 months old - Lucy had a rosy cheek day too. :) Here's the fun comparison:

There you have it, a rosy cheek comparison. I love that Lucy's hair was so "girl" and Michael's has stayed very "boy." 

Also... a comparison in how my photography skills have improved. I'm NO expert - but it's nice to see that I've gotten better! :) 

Nine Months

9 Month Accomplishments

• Army Crawling, Michael has perfected his method and is quite a fast little crawler!
• Clapping/Waving on his own! It surprises people when Michael waves "Hi" or "Bye" to them without being prompted - it's pretty cute to see him crawl around the corner, see you and then wave "hi!" :) 
• "Pinching" foods to pick up and eat. Michael has gotten so much better at his fine motor pinching abilities in this past month. Cheerios are a definite FAVORITE but he also picks up peas and chicken pieces. It's been great as he begins to eat more table foods because it's one less thing for this mamma to think about. He also likes Kix, Chex and the crust of bread. :)
• Michael says, "Ai Dad" which we translate as "Hi Dad!" ;) No matter what I try he won't say "Mama" though…. Oh well - we will keep trying!
• He LOVES his sister and often watches her play. He likes to be close to her as she plays, which has made for some interesting situations but Lucy is learning to be kind and gentle (slowly!). :) 
• Making people laugh, if you laugh at something Michael does he catches on to the fact that his action was humorous and he attempts to duplicate the results. :) This has made for some really fun dinner time family interactions. 

To see Lucy at 9 months, click here. 

Aunt Jana's Visit

"Aunt Jana" came to Pampa for a visit at the end of the summer - what a fun few days! Apparently I was having so much fun I wasn't very good at taking pictures. But Jana captured some great ones with her phone, and thanks to Instagram and Facebook I was able to download my favorites. :)

ALL OF US! (This is rare!) I love that Lucy's just "Peeking" into the picture. :) 

Michael found a buddy! And easily smiled himself into Aunt Jana's heart. :) 

Brad's amazing Risotto - a definite highlight. :) (Learn how to make it yourself here!)

Playing around with Jana's photography website one evening. :) 

What a blessing to have family members who love your kiddos. :)

Lucy got a treat in Amarillo, because her daddy loves her. :) 

Jana loved how Michael smiled for the camera every time she pulled it out. :) 

Lucy's face cracks me up! I think I asked her to show me her teeth (Sometimes that prompting produces a nice smile and not a "growl" face) :) 

Thanks Jana for coming to visit! We really really enjoyed having you! You are always welcome to come cuddle our kids and spend time with us. :) We love you!!!

Lucy's First Hair Cut

Our daughter was born with a lot of hair. And unlike most babies, she didn't loose any of it! She didn't even get a bald spot on the back of her head! 

 LOTS of dark dark hair!

 This is one of my top 10 favorite pictures. 

I called her my little hedgehog - ahh so cute! 

Other than a bang trims, Lucy had never had a hair cut - her locks were lllooonnngg. 

Her hair has lightened up a ton! 

It was shorter near the front of her face, mostly due to some breakage when Lucy went through a pull-out-my-hair-things phase. 

It went all the way down to the middle of her back!

 It was time to get it cut and even it out... but this mamma and daddy were really apprehensive about taking this step. It was sad, we felt like this was one more step into "big girl" territory and WE weren't ready. :( BUT we knew it would grow better and be more healthy if we trimmed off the ends and evened it up a bit. So we made an appointment.

 She was so squirmy, but I came prepared with the iPad (loaded with the newly purchased Lady and the Tramp) and pretzel M&Ms - lesson learned: bring colorless candy next time. :-/ 

 After! She got about 5 inches cut off! But I was glad we got to keep a lot of her length - I had prepared myself for the beautician to suggest that we cut it all off to chin length, but was so happy she was able to work with it! :)

 We got Lucy a few headbands to celebrate the event! She doesn't wear them very often, but they were a fun treat. :)

I scooped up a bit of hair to put in her baby book - it makes me feel pretty sappy when I look at it. :) 

They grow up so fast.... What's the next big-girl transition we need to prepare ourselves for?