Oh the girls God has given us

Sisters! We are so blessed that they really do love each other. I think Addy still doesn't realize Elsie is her own person and not just a toy I brought home for her to play with. Things could get interesting when Elsie starts to disagree with Addy. We'll start praying about that now.

Well, I think we're officially on our way to winter. We pulled out all the hats, coats and gloves and now Addy has a whole new toy basket to play with. Unlike last year she can put on her gloves and hat herself so it's dress-up time all the time!

Just in time for the cold winter I got a new bike. Hmm. Actually, Brad 'gave' me a new bike when I got my master's degree (6 years ago!) but we never actually got it. I just always felt like the bike I've had since I was 12 still worked so why get something new. Well, after a few frustrating weekends of trying to get out for a family bike ride and my bike failing to function, we upgraded me. I've ridden 3 times since we got it on Saturday and yesterday I even pulled the girls in the trailer. 50 extra pounds is a killer for someone who hasn't really exercised since being 9 months prego and swimming 2x a week (if that even counts as exercise!). It was really cold but the girls were bundled and I was sweating plenty to get up the itty bitty hill to the park. Hopefully we'll be able to bundle and ride even through the winter.

We dedicated Elsie Mae to the Lord at church on Sunday and celebrated by having Uncle Scott, Aunt Deb and Cousin Matt over for steaks after. They brought a cake and Addy really wanted to put candles on it so.

. . we did and we sang Happy Birthday to Matt & Addy. Elsie was sleeping so she didn't mind. :)

Yes, that is a big, pink bow on Elsie Mae AND she is wearing shiny shoes! I'm getting so much better with accessories. :) At least for the girls. Thank you Grandpa Hulsbos for the pretty dress for Addy!

Elsie is working on sitting up and does pretty good. She doesn't even mind face plants because usually she's trying to get to a toy out of her reach anyway.

This is a new one for us. Elsie likes to try to reach for things on the table (yes, her bouncy seat is on the table) when she's in her seat so she sticks her head through the toy bar to be able to reach further. She often gets stuck and can't get back. This was one such time. :)

Elsie had her 6 month check up today and she weighs 15lbs 3 oz (35%)and is 26.8 inches tall (90%) and her head is 16 inches around. She's growing like a week and is changing so fast!

What?!

Here's an update on our super happy baby. . .

Elsie threw us a look during the last few weeks. I'm still recovering. Once you get used to a baby sleeping well, any night waking feels next to death with the dread that she might be picking up a bad habit. Well, for Elsie, it was nothing but hunger but man, she nearly killed me! Elsie started waking up several times a night and talking a while but then falling back asleep. As a mom, I spent that time awake listening intently to her noises to make sure she was ok. Brad? He slept through all of it. Then, late last week she started crying when she woke up. We did all the checks (dirty diaper? no. wedged in the corner? no. too much daytime sleep? maybe.) one thing was sure though, she was hungry. How did I figure it out?

When I picked her up to check her. . . she about sucked my face off. I'm not baby whisperer but that one was clear. So, I started feeding her at crazy hours when she woke up crying and we started making rice cereal for her. (I love that I know how to make all the baby food so that it's second nature to me! Babies really are easier the second time around.) Elsie's been reaching for food and smacking her lips when we eat so I figured she'd love starting food for herself. Well. . . Here's Elsie's first bite. . .
She wasn't so sure. But, if you remember Addy's faces. . .

Now Addy will eat anything so long as we tell her it's ok to eat. Brad likes to take this a little far. . . smoked oysters, greek olives, wasabi peas. . . just to get a reaction. She'll try anything. The only things she really doesn't like (and you do get a pretty funny reaction when she does eat it) are eggs and zucchini squash. Last night we had fried rice and spring rolls and she asked for more crabs (they were shrimp) and more dip (spicy peanut sauce) to go on her bowl. She kept telling me it was a bit spicy but she just drank more milk and kept going.
Here's Addy with her spicy asian cuisine.

Here's Addy making binoculars to watch the birds in the neighborhood that God made on the 5th day of creation (our Bible story right now for her preschool stuff).
Finished product. We did go bird watching before lunch today but I think most of birds have headed south. Oh well. We'll go visit the ducks at the park to see birds on Friday and the fish at the aquarium tomorrow to see the fish God created on Day 5. Both of which were Addy's ideas for field trips. :)

These girls are so much fun! What a blessing!

Beautiful Fall Colors

Seriously, where do we live?! Last week we had our first snow of the year. Have we even had fall yet? Actually, I think this week could count as fall. It's been beautiful. But last week. . . rain, snow and bone chilling cold. So, we did some bundling and headed outdoors. We are still paying for it though. . . the girls have colds and even Brad is coming down with something now. Is that just an old wives' tale?

OK, side note about that hat Elsie is wearing. . . I had her propped up on the couch when I was helping Addy get ready to outside and she managed to twirl the hat around so that the flower over her ear ended up over her nose. I just died laughing at the poor kid with her eyes covered and a big blue flower over her nose. If only I had had a picture of that!

We recently returned from a week in Gunnison where we experienced brilliant Colorado sunshine, beautiful fall colors, fun outings and adventures and great visits with some old friends from Colorado, Brad's parents and my parents. We packed in the fun and are still recovering from it! Below is a slide show of photos. There are a few tree pictures. . . but really, it was so beautiful!





Addy is enjoying being '2' and we are having fun doing a home school preschool curriculum a friend told me about. We're doing art projects together, learning songs and Bible stories and practicing her manners and fine and gross motor skills. It is so great to have meaningful and purposeful activities to do together. I'm sure this will be a lifesaver this winter when we're stuck inside. (http://www.abcjesuslovesme.com/ for the free online curriculum for 2 - 4 year olds)

Elsie is Addy's #1 fan and loves to play with her. She's rolling over quite proficiently now and chews on everything she can get her hands on. She's a bear to nurse because she's so easily distracted and really just wants to see everything that is going on around her. Elsie is working on sitting up on her own but her favorite thing is to 'jump' up and down while you hold her under the arms. She loves music and if she's crying, she stops immediately and gets a huge grin if someone starts singing. If there are hand motions or instruments involved, even better. Elsie loves being in her exersaucer for Bible story time using the flannel board with Addy and she jumps up and down and squeals during our songs. Since she's almost 6 months old, I think we'll start rice cereal with her this weekend. I froze a batch of cereal for her this morning so more on that to come.

Brad and I have had the opportunity to get involved in a Bible study with some friends from church and we're enjoying doing that together. We're studying 1 Corinthians and we've had some great conversations so far. We're also starting to feel a little more capable of managing life with 2 small ones and so we're working on getting back in the groove of an organized life.

We hope fall is treating your family well!