A fun end to October

My girls enjoyed the last few weeks of having mommy around 24/7. We didn't do much those last few days though, just hung out around home for the most part. Well that and spent lots of time going back and forth to the doctor's office- eye appt for me, a sick visit for Evie, and Lydia's 2-mos chekup. Evie had a slight case of viral croup- that is a scary little illness!!! She was feeling pretty sick for most of last week... mommy was worried enough to sleep with her two nights, but she's doing much better now without ever needing to take steroids to heal.
Lydia is doing great!! My little girl is right on track with her growth and development according to the pediatrician. She weighed in at 10lbs, 14oz and is now 22 1/2 inches tall. She's at about 75% comparitively. She's so full of sweet smiles and funny little noises now. She likes laying down on the boppy pillow and just looking around at all the action (which there is plenty of with Evie running around!)
My transition back to work went well this past week. Though I wasn't so happy that it was a very, very busy week full of lots of outside visits and not much in-office time. It's hard getting home late and not having much time to play with my girls now!
Gabe is doing good too. He's been busy winterizing the house, we need to everything possible to keep warm in this drafty old house! He's hoping a job interview goes great for him tomorrow!!! I sure hope it works out for him!

Well enough chat... here's why you really stopped by! :)




Unfortunately she prefers to play in the living room instead of in her room... my house is always a disaster until we clean up at bedtime!


I was SO happy to get to see one of my oldest and bestest friends last weekend! Angie came up to visit for the weekend, I only got her for a few hours, but still so nice. She loved meeting Lydi for the first time.


So alert... she loves laying and looking around


Look at that huge grin!




Evie when she was feeling pretty under the weather. She got spoiled with lots of movie-time on the couch.


I thought this was too cute not to take a picture of! Evie loves her fairy princess costume... I thought it looked like Lydi's guardian angel holding her... :)


Pumpkin carving time w/ Daddy


She wasn't much help... just supervised from the boppy


Really? I don't even know what to say here... she's just that crazy


Cute now..


The full Princess costume! Oh did she ever get oooohed and aaahed over.


It was CHILLY for trick-or-treating but she said she wanted to keep going around and getting candy... was not ready to quit!


Lydi kept the costume simple :)

The Princess & The Peanut

It's amazing how fast these last few weeks have been going! My little peanut is growing up very quickly- hardly a little peanut anymore, more like a walnut now! :) She's doing so great with sleeping and eating. And we are LOVING her smiles and cute little noises now- so fun. Lydia is definitely showing a bit of preference for Mommy though which makes it a little bit hard, but I'm guessing she'll get over that quickly once I head back to work next week (at least I really hope so!)
My Princess is exactly that... total princess. She has been a hoot lately. Totally getting into her imagination. She loves to play with her baby dolls and dress up like a fairy princess and call Cinderella on her play cell phone. She's very in-tune with emotions. She always talks about what would make her feel happy, or that she's feeling sad. She's also very aware of what the emotions of characters are in her books and movies. In most books she'll find the page where the character is sad or scared and really focus on it talking about how the other characters help them or what they're scared of. It's so sweet to see her being so empathetic.

We've been doing lots and lots of "fun stuff" still (Evie loves asking to do "fun stuff" everyday!) But I'm down to my last few days off work... goodbye freedom! LOL. We're totally making the most of all this extra time together.

Of course I've been taking pics of it all! :)

Here's my cute little peanut making sweet little faces.


Look how big she's getting!


They were so cute last week in their coordinating brown dresses for church


Her eyelashes have grown in! :) Aren't her eyes the prettiest shade of blue?


Totally passed out on Daddy when we were visiting Natalie & Jason


The Princesses in action... Evie loved all Sophie's dress-up gear!




Me...30! Yikes. Nothing a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of wine can't fix though... :)


She told me she was "Just relaxin" in her chair. LOL. Her favorite new movie is "Charlotte's Web"


We had a great time on Monday with Mom at the Apple Farm. It was a beautiful, warm fall day (finally!)


They had the most adorable baby pygmy goat there- Evie kept asking if she could pick it up!




That evening she got her whole princess ensemble on and was just playing like crazy.




Good times! Hope you like seeing what we've been up to. Leave me a comment, I'd love to know that you've been by!

San Francisco Adventure

My little Lydia got her first taste of traveling a few weeks ago as she and I boarded a plane headed to SF to visit Mandy & her fiance Liam. She was a model traveler (of course!) making Mommy very happy and very relieved! I was headed out there on business of sorts...hired to take engagement portraits for a gorgeous couple. ;) They were nice enough to cover all my room & board while there too... :) What a treat!! Mandy & Liam were amazing hosts (what great meals we had!) and great fun to hang out with. We didn't do much "touristy" stuff...been there 3 tumes now and I'm more interested in being like a local now! It was a fantastic trip as always and once again no fog- I think they're crazy for saying it's always so foggy, I've hardly seen any on my visits!

On our first night. Lydia was cuddled non-stop by her loving Aunt and "Uncle"- so lucky!


Us overlooking GG Bridge on our whirlwind day of portraits!


Enjoying a spectacular sunset at Ocean Beach




Chilling w/ Liam at the Thai restaurant where we dined Saturday night


A brisk walk across the bridge was the one tourist thing I did want to do... we walked halfway before deciding to head to lunch and relax w/ a few beers! :)








We spent almost all Sunday afternoon chillaxin' at Park Chalet- a very cool restaurant w/ a live band playing on the back lawn- total relaxation (and excellent micro-brews!)
Lydia was SO happy to be enjoying a lazy Sunday,






Tuesday I was so happy to go wedding dress shopping with Mandy- major success!!!! I'm so excited (and very touched) that she's asked me to be her Matron of Honor for her wedding! I'll take my duties seriously and try and help as best I can. ;)
What a great trip! Thanks so much guys for taking such great care of me and Lydia!!!

September Fun

Things are still going good for our little family of four. We're all making the adjustment and figuring out how this all really works! Lydia is doing great! She's growing so fast, I can really tell that she's starting to gain a bit of weight and fill in a little. It won't be long until we're out of newborn diapers and clothes now! We had a doctor appt last week and she weighed in at 8 lbs, 1 oz and was up to 21 inches. Doing great! This week she had a bit of gassiness for a few days that bothered here and a few nights of waking every two hours to eat... but last night was MUCH better so here's hoping we'll be sleeping a bit more soon!!
Evie seems to really love her little sister. She's been a great helper for me, getting things that I need or just being good while I need to take care of the baby. I think she especially loves having mommy around to play with 24/7- I love being off work and spending all this time with her! We've been planning lots of fun things to do to fill up our days and really make the most of it- she couldn't be happier about it!

We went on Lydia's first outing on Labor Day- a day in Frankenmuth wandering around like tourists. :) Here's our little picnic:




Lydia with her Godparents, Natalie & Jason


My cute little peanut, all curled up newborn-style. :) I LOVE this cute little bug outfit and am so embarassed that I cannot remember who bought it for her- my mind wasn't all here that first week!! LOL! (Was it you??)


Grandma Mary stealing a few kisses


Usually when Lydia gets to fussing, Evie will say to me: "Should Mommy take care of her?" My cue to take her away!


Last weekend we headed over to the westside of the state to celebrate Cole's birthday- here's Lydia enjoying the outside time


Evie loving the chocolate cupcake!


And Aunt Sara taking over baby holding duty


Anything sweeter than a sleeping baby? Yes, one with hands by their face! Always gets me! :)


She's been awake longer stretches during the day- always my goal so that we get our days and nights straight!


I just can't stand how cute she is!!!


Isn't this sweet? Daddy had her all snuggled up while I was getting ready for the day. I think they look a lot alike.


A fun trip to the zoo last Friday was perfect for Evie!




But all that fun wore little princess right out! She loves riding in my baby carriers