Blocks! My favorite thing!

Little One has a love of her blocks! No matter what is out to play with she zeros in on the box of blocks and can sit for a while and just play. It is adorable... her favorite thing is when we put all the blocks away and she gets to dump them out all over again.

Time for catching up

Well, we have always said November and December are the craziest time of year... and this year has been no different.. I seriously cannot even believe it has been so long since I have posted, but well here I am trying to get everyone caught up.

So, Mike started his new job and loves it! He is working a ton and not around alot so I decided to start our Christmas decorating a little earlier then we have in the past... The week before Thanksgiving. Mike thought I was crazy but we are so glad we started early. The monster 12 ft tree took us forever all by itself. Here is a picture of Mike trying to separate all the branches. He had to go buy a new ladder just to get to the top!

We also put up a much smaller tree... 7 1/2 feet in the family room so the kids can put all of their fun ornaments up... The family room is more the kids Christmas room with a kids tree, nativity, decorations... anything in there is durable for all the little hands!

Happy Halloween!

What a Halloween! Daddy made ghost and cat pancakes to start the day, we got to wear awesome cat eye t-shirts that Mum brought us back from Salem, MA and the day was filled with Halloween parties and costumes. Miss M had an early release from school and went with her Brownie troop to a senior home that we sponsor. The residents listened to our girls sing and then the girls went trick or treating around the senior home. The seniors loved it and all had big smiles on their faces. We came rushing home and got ready for a block party that we were hosting in front of our house... Thank goodness for Mum... she made the chili and cornbread :-) and came to the rescue fixing a tear in Miss M's bridal gown! By the end of the night we were all exhausted, but I think the kids had a great Halloween and the exhaustion was well worth it!

Miss M as a bride

Miss A as Tinkerbell

Little One as a Peacock... but she would not wear the head piece!

Pumpkin Patch

We braved the heat and made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch... we so miss the cool days of the Bay area this time of year... I just feel like it is abnormal to not be in a sweatshirt when picking out a pumpkin... Little one did great in the backpack for the first time... even fell asleep in it on her dad's back. Miss M found her pumpkin right away... Miss A found one and then searched all over the pumpkin patch for another 30 minutes only to come back to her first one... It was a hot but fun day!

The finished products

Everything is done and ready for fall... now all we have to do is get out costumes ready and trick or treating candies in the bowl!

Fall is here!

So, with the cooler (sort of) weather comes decorating for fall... It has to be my favorite season and the girls love helping us decorate.. A fun tradition they have with their dad is helping with our scarecrow family... the kids love putting it up. This year we had some other kids from the neighborhood as well. I am sure Mike would have gotten it done alot quicker without all the "help" but it was so fun!

So, the house is all decked out... we had our annual pumpkin carving party with the T's... it is so fun to get together with them... The kids have a blast and the pumpkins turned out great!

Litle One just took it all in... She had fun snacking and watching all the actions....

No more baby food

Little One is not very excied about baby food anymore.. so we are venturing out and eating alot of what the family is eating.... some of her favorites... carrots, green beans, pears, peaches, banana and even a pizza crust! No teeth yet, but she is loving the "real food"....

It is time for winter grass

So, to live in Arizona is to plant winter grass in October. You don't have to but if you do not your summer grass goes dormant and is itchy and a yellow color... Not what we wanted for the backyward so Mike took on the task this past Saturday... and of course he could not do it without an assist from the girls.. high heels and all!

And Little One just took it all in trying to figure what the mask was that Daddy was wearing!

It's hard to be a baby!

Playing, eating and hanging out can wear a girl out.... I turned my back for 2 minutes to clear dishes and this is what I found during lunchtime....

A beautiful fall day

So, we are FINALLY able to be outside again for playtime. The weather has been beautiful! The temperature still says in the 90's but it does not feel like it at all. Miss M comes home from school and tries to do homework as fast as she can so she can be outside! We did an impromptu photo shoot last weekend... Little one just loves to be with her sisters and is growing so quickly. And her sisters just love to take care of her!

KIX FOR EVERYONE!

Our new love... KIX Cereal!

7 1/2 months old

We can hardly believe it.... Little One is doing so great! Her new thing is talking (more like screaming.. but talking sounds better). Two nights ago she actually tried to get up on her knees. She is constantly rocking when on her tummy like she just wants to take off... I would prefer that she stay put for a while longer!

Friends Forever

Miss M and her best friend have been inseparable lately.... Same street, same school, same Brownie troop... but they are so sweet together and this picture was just so cute. Miss M and her friend were able to take part in a Brownie Try-It night... we had about 14 girls from our troop and they had a blast. They earned 3 try-it badges that night... I think the best part for us moms was the snack.... imagine fried bread caked in powdered sugar... like a homemade donut.. that is not in the diet plan, but a nice treat!

Always stop to smell the roses...

What a surprise... Flowers from my parents for our anniversary. They are probably the most beautiful roses I have ever seen! Had to share them... Thanks Mom and Dad!

The more mess, the more fun!

Well, little one has decided she does not like being fed... She was so fussy tonight and not wanting to take anything to eat.. we think she is teething... So, I decided to let her explore her food bowl just to keep her busy.... Here is the first picture... She was very lady like and exploring very carefully...

And then we started getting "more into it".... and her sisters began egging her on....

And one last picture... immediately after this we took the clothes off and threw them in the sink to soak, and little one went right into the tub... we found rice cereal and peas EVERYWHERE! But, at least she had a good time and we got some classic Kodak moments!

A rainy day

Ok.. so this is very overdue.. but we actually had rain.. and boy did we have flooding... the kids had to stay inside for another day.. not due to the heat this time, but water... Here is our greenbelt to the left of our house.. We could not believe how quickly the water rose.. we had no sidewalks at all at the begining of the day.. this is a few hours after the rain storm. At least it brought the temperature down under 100 but with humidity! I am not sure which is worse!

Some rainy day fun...

An afternoon with Nana

So I figured that many of you who see our space here might want to see some shots of Nana.

We were to Tucson on Sunday and took her out to lunch. She was in great spirits and was actually up for an outing which I was excited about... We went to the Gold Room and she had a great time... Even commented how good the food was compared to her place... We came back just in time for a party in the lounge and hung out. The kids were a hit. Miss A decided to teach a couple how to play chess and was with them for well over 1/2 hour. When it was time to go she told them she would come back in "10 weeks for another lesson". It was funny. Fun day and here are some shots from it...

We had some "playtime" as well.... I think every pillow was off every chair and couch for the fort that was built..

And look who has mastered the art of sitting!

Never seems to be enough hours in the day...

As I sit here, I am shocked that I have absolutely nothing to do... Kind of a nice feeling, but a strange one. The house is picked up, the kids are all in bed and asleep and I am enjoying this moment of quiet.

This fall is going to be a busy one, but I would be bored if it was not. Thank goodness all the planning sessions for the different clubs is just about over. Tomorrow night we have our first Brownie meeting, and yes I am one of the leaders... I never imagined that I would be a brownie leader but here I am. Next week we have our first MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting and I am so excited about the upcoming year. I hope that all the moms will get alot out of it. I loved my first year last year and I am so excited to be on the steering team this year.

The kids are in the thick of school... Miss M is now getting homework every night and she seems to be doing well. She has made friends and looks forward to going to school each day which is a relief. She will start her Religious Ed classes in a couple of weeks and Brownies tomorrow night. There is a chance she will also be taking piano lessons and a gymnastics class until it cools off and we can start soccer. Miss A is loving school 4 days a week. She feels like a big girl to go almost everyday. Miss A is also in a music class that she loves... it is a program that will teach her all about music and notes and how to read music... which will get her ready for piano. She too will be doing gymnastics and then on to soccer when it is not 115 degrees outside.

Little one is still along for the ride... she is thriving and is completely sitting on her own... she even catches herself now when she starts to fall over. We had our first stomach bug for a good week so our solid food eating took a break, but we are back on the schedule now. Favorites seem to be peas, sweet potatoes, and carrots... She even had some cheerios today and did great with them. Tomorrow she will be 7 months old and we can hardly believe it.. time flies!

We are constantly on the move with the 3 kids but are loving every minute of it.. just wish there were a few more moments like this one I have had tonight...

Best Buddies

A new team that has come together in the last couple of weeks... too cute...

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL HYSTERIA!

So, yes we were one of the many houses that had a big high school musical party and sleepover. Miss M had her first sleepover with a friend. Miss A had a friend over as well for part of the movie. They all had a blast.. Pizza on High School Musical plates, icecream sundaes with all the fixins and of course the movie... My kids know all the lines and songs from the first one and I am sure it will not take long to learn everything from the second one! And we just read HS Musical 3 is already in the shooting stages and HS Musical 4 is in the planning stages.. God help me! :-)

Gets Mommy all to herself...

Now that Miss M and Miss A are back in school Little One and I have had lots of uninterupted time together.. It is nice. We are happy when the big girls get home from school but Little One and I have not had very much one on one time since summer started! Her favorites these days are Peek-A-Boo, her rooster, musical toys, and holding anything... her different stuffed animals, rattles etc. She has even started sitting in my lap and we are reading books... she holds the book while I read!

Miss A Goes Back To School

Miss A headed back to school today... She was so excited to see all of her old friends and even made some new ones. She loves her teacher and has been working all summer on perfecting her name so she could "Sign in" when she got there... She is excited to go back tomorrow!

Miss M goes back to school....

Miss M headed back to school last week but we had to take our pictures in phases... we did not want to do anything that would not be considered "cool"... So, we went to school and took pictures in front of it with out any kids around before school even started, we took pictures in front of the house on the actual first day and we took school bus pictures today! Like I said it has been done in a phased approach!

Miss M days before school offically starts!

Miss M on her actual first day of school... so excited!

Bus time! Miss M loves the bus.. except on the really hot afternoons!