Fall Visitors!!

B&P came to visit! Baba and Papa came and brought the chilly weather to Charlotte... We had such a good relaxing yet toddler-style-busy FUN time!

Barb and Ari made me an amazing (and gluten free!) carrot cake. Meanwhile, I went shopping with Ashlyn and used my birthday gift cards!

Ashlyn was a sweet and happy girl who loved being with these two! They wore her out so much that she slept through the night on Friday night! (but then... not again :( )

Barb helped me tame the craft-mess of carving and painting an Elmo pumpkin for Ari! The weather was a sunny, brisk fall day and Bill and Dan went out on a 9 mile bike ride to enjoy it.

We ate great food and enjoyed Sunday at church. It was nice to have company/help while Dans been studying so much. (He is doing great BTW and almost done!!)

4 Months!!

Watchout: an overload of pictures here!

Ashlyn Claire is 4 months old! So stinkin' adorable and full of cuteness.

She weighs in at 14 pounds and is eating like a champ [still]. She is not sleeping as well as her sister but those late night snacky snacks are worth it for a little smile in the morning! Ari and Ashlyn are adorable together. My day is complete if I can get both of them laughing at each other at the same time. Sometimes, all it takes is for Ari to come sit on my lap while I am holding Ashlyn and they just giggle. I am really blessed by these two sweet girls in my life.

Current loves: rolling over, chewing on her hands/fingers/thumbs/toys, watching Ari, standing/sitting in the exersaucer thingy, her new car seat, being held by mom or dad, walking around facing out, smiling, when I 'play' the piano with her hands and Ari laughs, being tickled on her chunky thighs!
Current dislikes: burping, being cold, being on her tummy (yet she's rolling over a lot...), being buckled in the car seat, being away from mom

She sleeps from 8pm-1:30/2am and then from 2-6am and then has an early morning nap. She takes two great naps in the afternoon so I can't complain. I just need to get them on a somewhat similar schedule so that I can get stuff done/nap/exercise/eat/cook... HA! Juggling!

Milestones: grabbing a toy in front of her, holding a toy to chew on, rolling over from her back to her belly over and over again, 'talking' to herself in a mirror and babbling to Ari or me, dexterity to use her hands, making tons of eye contact and smiling, facial recognition to me, Dan and Ari, holding head up really well while on her tummy, 'standing' with assistance (just showing strength in legs), sits in the bumbo seat and has great head control.

She's growing up WAY too fast!!

Jammie Time

They look so cute in their jammies. I always forget to take pictures of them (probably because its late at night and I hate using the flash) but they are adorable!!

Nigh Nigh!

Pumpkin Patch

There is a really fun pumpkin patch nearby and I took the girls last week with some friends! (all boys!) The site is a fully functioning family farm where we've purchased two of our last three Christmas trees! (and bought our pumpkins too!)

So many pumpkins, so little time!

Here's my good friend Lauren and her son Jones.... and some eager and friendly pigs!

Eli and Jones and some chickens!

It was a beautiful fall day and a fun time at the farm!

Mom/Shelley/Grammy's 50th Birthday Celebration!

Happy Birthday!! So happy we could all get together for you. Such a fun weekend full of good times and crazy kiddos! (And -I hope- yummy cake).

Ashlyn and Ari with their Grammy!

The older girls went horseback riding with Mom and she loved it! We enjoyed a nice trail ride in the Lake Lanier area and though no trotting was done, it was a fun little jaunt together!

Here is mom and all her babies!!

Check out the other sisters' blogs for some more pics: Rebecca & Raschelle

21 months [and a few days]

Ari is growing too fast! And the months are just flying by so quickly. We are just living day-to-day, learning lots of new words and putting them together as sentences. She is learning ABCs and 123s and can count her way up the stairs. She is still sleeping and eating so well and loves to help in the kitchen and 'sashalt' things.

Ari loves: bubbles, Sesame Street (Abby-cadabby and Elmo), raisins, puzzles, balls, cat-cats, playing with Daddy, her toy barn, buckles (like on Ashlyn's car seat) sitting on the counters and helping me, playing outside, the water, bath time and walking.

She dislikes: the wipers in the car, getting her diaper changed, sharing with Ashlyn (We'll get there), pineapple, spiders and of course: when you take something away she isn't supposed to have!

Ari loves to sing songs and yesterday, we took a video of a few songs she likes to sing.

An interview with Ari: