October Stuff

Lydia is really cute!

Even when she won't nap.

I had craft night with my friend and we made these square pumpkins and the Happy Fall Y'all sign (on the back of the Let It Snow sign we made last Christmas time).

"Mommy, look at us! We are being cute! Take a picture!"

Lydia is still getting good at her afternoon naps. I do what I can to stay sane and have a little time alone to recoup every day.

These kiddos are pretty cute when Dallin doesn't attack Brianna with bites and pinches.

He was very excited for his train engineer costume!

During fall break the girls and I made a cute Halloween craft together. They did a great job on their parts!

We also made some delicious Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Bread and muffins. Yum!

It snowed!

Maya and Brianna love dance class. 

I had a really rough day. I was texting Ryan (he hears me complain a lot - sorry, babe) and he said, "I think it would be nice for you to not have to make dinner tonight." He came home with McDonald's for the kids, Indian food from one of our favorite places for us, and this cake for me. He also rented a movie for us to watch after the kids went to bed. It was PERFECT and I was so grateful to him for pampering me when he knew I was struggling that day.

Lydia eats meals in her high chair now, instead of my lap. It's the best!

We inherited this train set from my parents. The kids, especially Dallin, love playing with it!

Dallin and I had a little playdate at the Children's Museum in town. Dallin and Liam were cute little buddies.

I took the kids to another pumpkin patch. It was super lame. The girls kept saying how bored they were and the owners were RIGHT THERE. It was embarrassing!! We did our best to enjoy a little time there anyway.

School pictures were a success this year!

We bobbed for apples. The kids thought it was totally hilarious, especially when I did it too.

More cute sibling moments!

I had the pleasure of participating in a production of Women at the Well. It was a wonderful experience and I am so grateful to have been a part of it.

We made brown bag apple pie after school!

Squishy face smile. My favorite!!

The primary kids earned a treat for getting all of the puff balls in the jar. (I am the music time leader right now.) Brianna helped me make Oreo pops. She was great at putting in the sticks and applying Halloween sprinkles for me.

Dallin loves nursery at church!

Looking pretty cool!!

I got to do some cute hair! 

Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween this year! For some reason the idea of carving pumpkins was not super exciting to me this year, so we painted them instead. I'm a fan! It was faster and less messy. Brianna painted a witch, Maya did a ghost, Dallin and Ryan made a spider, and I painted "Happy Halloween" and a Jack O'Lantern face.

We attended the ward All Hallow's Eve party on the 30th. It was only the costume parade, games, and the trick or treating (which was done inside because it was super cold outside). No chili or food of any kind! Our little family had a good time, and even Lydia stayed happy for the duration despite having woken up early from her afternoon nap and staying up late. This year Maya was a witch, Brianna was a vampire, Dallin was a train engineer, and Lydia was a ladybug.

On Halloween day we went to the library and Dallin wore his costume.

After our traditional pizza dinner the three older kids went trick or treating with Ryan. They were only out for about 30 minutes. It was really cold!! They still managed to get a good haul, even some full size candy bars. My mom and I stayed home and answered the door for a very small amount of trick or treaters this year. Come on guys, candy is more important than staying in your warm house!

And a couple of photos from the Halloween parade at the girls' school earlier that day.

Happy Halloween!

Lydia - 7 Months

Lydia is 7 months old!

She is starting to show her personality, and it's a pretty sweet one. She gives me the biggest hugs! She will look at me, hug me for about ten seconds, stop hugging me, look at me again, and hug me again for a long time. When she smiles she scrunches up her face and makes a really cute sound.

She is starting to try to pull herself up to stand when I'm folding laundry and she's sitting next to the basket. She got herself all the way up one time, looked very proud of herself, and then immediately fell over.

She can sit for extended periods of time now. I love that milestone because it means she can sit in the highchair to eat, can sit among toys and pick what she wants to play with, and she can see the world from a much better vantage point than the floor.

Her hair is long enough to put in little piggies or a Troll style pony. I've only done it a couple of times but she wears it well!

Her daily schedule is waking around 6:30/7, napping 9 AM - 10:30 AM, baby food lunch around noon, nap from 1 PM - 2:30 PM, baby food dinner when the family eats, and then bed time at 8 PM. She nurses 4 times a day with a night cap right before bed, and she still wakes to nurse once during the night. Still no teeth!

She is turning into a wonderful baby, and I'm so glad. I remember during the hard months as a newborn I kept thinking, "I wish it was 6 months from now!" and now it is and we are reaping the benefits of the passage of time.