Happy Halloween!

Halloween 2011 was pretty fun! We finally had a real trick-or-treater this year. Although June couldn't actually say "Trick-or-Treat" or "Thank You", she tried. But she always said "Bye-bye" and waved enthusuastically. I don't think she really understood any of it, but she still had a blast running house to house and meeting everyone in the neighborhood. She was scared of the decorations that moved and made noise, and the barking dogs in some backyards, but she liked the people, and picking out a candy (or several) from the candy bowls.

Due to some miscommunication on Andy & my part, we only had a homemade cotume for June ready on Halloween. As the only one of our children who enjoys (or can) walk, talk, or eat candy, I thought that she would be the only trick-or-treater. I figured neither Lincoln nor Roxy would care one way or the other, plus their costumes are packed away deep in a storage locker awaiting our move to our new house. But at the last minute Andy said he wanted all of us to go. So I found that little sunflower headband for Roxy, and Lincoln just went in his regular clothes. Lincoln & Roxy stuck mostly to the wagon. Lincoln did get out and walk for the last 20 minutes or so. And even trick-or-treated (picked out a candy from a bowl) all by himself.

Here are some pictures.

June is very excited to get started!


A smiley sunflower!


All the girls.


Afterward June eating candy with Daddy outside.


We heard a lot of "bite" "bite". Which means she wants more food. Super cute!

Broken, One Week Later.

This is what the house site looks like one week after breaking ground. It was sunset when we got to the site, so the pictures are kind of dark. Sorry.

They have been adding tons and tons of dirt for the past week. The small hollow that ran through the site is gone, and the whole pad has been built up several feet. Probably another week of adding & leveling dirt, and then they will lay out the house. After that, we will really be able to see & imagine our home! So excited!!

Gigglefest

This video is about three weeks old, but this was the first time I ever saw all three of them "playing" together. It made Andy & I grin with happiness, and is absolutely the best thing about having many children of a similar age! :)

Roxy's New Cheese

This is Roxy's newest way to smile/laugh when she is being goofy. It is like a combo of sniffing and snorting all the while grinning & wrinkling her nose up. It is hilarious, and really endearing as well.

Broken

The ground that is!

Finally! After months (and months) of waiting, the site has been cleared of most of the vegetation. The plan moving forward is that dirt will begin arriving Monday morning & there will be a pretty good foundation of dirt in place Wednesday evening, if all goes well. I will be sure to update with more pictures as time goes on!!

A pretty good before & after shot

Before


After

And some more cleared site pictures. Yay!!

My 31

I saw a friend do this recently on their own blog, and I thought it was a great idea, so I am gonna borrow it!

On my 31st birthday; my 31 instants of joy and thoughts of happiness today.

1. June's constant requests for "Morrr!" when she is having fun.
2. Lincoln's adorable giggles when he is in a silly mood
3. Roxy sleeping through the night!
4. Andy's excellent work on the projects for our house
5. Our new house being built!
6. The love and support of our families
7. The loss of some baby weight
8. Cooler weather
9. Good friends volunteering as babysitters
10. Lincoln's craft projects from school
11. June combing her hair
12. Roxy's patience
13. The love of a good man
14. Children to adore
15. Adorable children
16. A trip to the park
17. Planning for the future
18. June's pointy chin, cute little tushie, and mischevious grin
19. Lincoln's beautiful blue eyes, blond hair, and cheek dimple when he smiles
20. Roxy's long dark eyelashes, baby soft skin, and happy snorts
21. Andy's smile lines around his eyes when he is being silly
22. Happy birthday wishes from family and friends
23. Kisses from my kids
24. Andy's successes
25. Shopping for the holidays
26. Presents
27. Taking advantage of a good deal
28. Lincoln feeling braver on stairs and ramps
29. June brushing her teeth for fun
30. Roxy crawling
31. Another year with my family and all the joy and adventure that brings!

Happy birthday to me! :)

Well-Baby Appt Updates

Roxy had her 6 month well-baby check up today (at 6.5 months old). She is 18lbs 10oz (90%) and 28in (99%). Big girl! She got 3 shots, one of which was her first round of flu shots. We go back in 1 month for her second round.

June had her 18 month well-baby check up today (at 19 months old). She is 24lbs 4oz (50%) and 33in (70%). Medium sized girl, lol! She just got her flu vaccine today & a sucker, which she loved!

Other than both girls having very sensitive skin, and some fairly severe excema going on (to be treated with hydrocortizone and mosturizer), they appear to be the picture of health. Eating, sleeping, growing, and developing like they should! Yay, for healthy baby girls!

Next appointment with the doctor for Roxy will be Jan 5th when she is 9 months old. And the next appointment for June isn't until March when she turns 2 years old!

Garden

The reason I love butterfly gardens...











I can't wait to have one of these at the new house as well!

Annual Remembrance

Much love to anyone and everyone who has lost children through miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death. They will never be forgotten.

I was wrong!

Roxy must have read the blog post where I called her lazy, because not moments after I hit post, she started trying to get up on her hands & knees. Over the past few days she has been trying very hard to figure out the mechanics of crawling. In the meantime she discovered the army crawl. And though she hasn't started the 4 point crawl yet, she is most definitely mobile! I guess it didn't take her a couple more months like I predicted!

Pumpkin Patch & Orchards

We went to Apple Annie's in Willcox today. The weather was so nice, it was definitely worth the trip. It turns out the kids could care a less about any fruit or vegetables that could be picked, but they did have fun on the hay ride and in the corn bins. I will have to say that the trip was better than any previous trips to the pumpkin patch in years past. All in all it was a good time, but maybe they will have even more fun next year? After a lot a fresh air, sunshine, and missed naps led to some very tired cranky children by the end of the day. Some of the pictures reflect that. ;)


Pictures & Videos:

The apple orchards! The trees were so puny looking, probably only about 8-10 feet tall at most, but I guess they produce a lot of fruit. The trees themselves just looked nothing like the large beautiful trees we are used to seeing in the Pacific Northwest orchards. Life is hard for plants in the Arizona desert!

We didn't spend much time here, because it was super crowded, and the kids were really just a bit too young to enjoy any u-pick apple type adventures.










The sunflower fields! Aren't they beautiful?

And one cranky Lincoln too! He has a hard time walking on uneven surfaces. When he trips he gets upset. Poor baby. Too bad he was so upset in this first picture, it was probably the best picture of June we have gotten in a long time!






The girls posing at the pumpkin photo shoot area. Roxy is at the stage where she thinks it is really fun to grab at peoples faces. Sticking her fingers in eyes, noses, mouths, and pulling hair. June was not in the mood to take that treatment, but Roxy was having a blast!



In this picture Andy had just told June to kiss the baby, that is why Juney is puckered up. :)




June had a blast playing in the corn bins. She got so much corn in her diaper!



She just discovered the corn down her diaper! Lol!





Andy was burying Lincoln in the corn. Lincoln thought that that was pretty fun! He had a good time in there.

September in Review

Pictures of Lincoln


Lincoln's first school craft!










Pictures of June.






















Pictures of Roxy.