November recap...now I'm back on schedule

Well, this little girl is growing, literally, before our eyes. I put her down to bed or for a nap and it seems she has grown just in that short amount of time. She is working on sitting up. She hasn't quite gotten it yet, but she is definitely almost there. She loves to watch Anna Claire move about the room while sitting in this chair so I think that is helping a lot.

Molly loves to smile and she really is a contented, well mannered baby. I am blessed to have had two very easy babies that were easy to figure out when it came to what their needs were. Molly only cries when she needs something, either to eat, when she is tired or needs her diaper changed. Other than that, she is in a good mood all the time. :)

Anna Claire, on the other hand, being almost 3, is giving us a run for our money. She has finally hit the terrible two's. I was talking to another mother the other day and I mentioned that I think she has hit that stage. The mother looked at me and said, "wait until she actually turns 3." Wow. Okay.

We are trying, very diligently, to instill in her a sense of responsibility for her actions and words and to teach her that she can control some of the emotions she is feeling. But I'm learning....NEVER TRY TO REASON WITH A TODDLER!!!! I have to give her credit though, she is realizing that there are boundaries, which ones she absolutely should not cross and which ones she tries to cross but knows she will likely get in trouble. It's just a season and I have to remember that we are not the first, nor the last parents to ever go through this with their child.

She brings us so much joy. She is funny, compassionate, she loves her sister and she has a huge imagination! Her favorite thing to do right now is to dress up. She usually puts together an ensemble that includes a princess dress, her Tinkerbell shoes, her crown and her baseball bat that serves as a wand or microphone, depending on whether she is going to sing or just walk around like a princess. She loves to dance and always wants some sort of music on.

The other day it was raining outside and she wanted to play baseball. I told her we could so this is what she put together....

See that Tinkerbell shoe popping out down there! :)

We headed to Tuscaloosa for Thanksgiving this year to visit some of Mike's family. It is always a good time with lots of laughter and fun! Santa Claus showed up to pass out some early Christmas gifts to the children. It was the first time Anna Claire has been that close to Santa. Last year she didn't want to have anything to do with him but this year, I think she warmed up a bit since he had a present for her.

We did take an afternoon to get some family pictures done. It was a beautiful afternoon at a park near the campus of University of Alabama.

We are looking forward to December and all that it holds for our family. The holidays, our wedding anniversary, Mike's birthday and visits with family. And a bonus...Jessica, my niece, flies in today to spend a couple of weeks with us!

October recap...a month late

I remember feeling after Anna Claire was born that it took me a good 6 months to feel back on my game. Evidently that is true for subsequent children as well. I feel like I am just now getting back to being organized, from meal planning to cleaning, to life in general. Mike has probably been wishing it would have happened sooner, but it has been a quick 6 months since Molly was born and it seemed to go by ALOT faster this time around.

I'm sure we are not the only ones that find the end of the year months getting busier and busier as the years go by; wanting memories to made for our children, wanting to capture each and every possible thing we can either on video or camera; and with Anna Claire being old enough this year to experience some of those things, we took advantage of the activities during the fall.

At the beginning of October, I threw a baby shower, along with the other women in my church, for sweet Lauren. It was just a little over a year ago that I threw her bridal shower. I have so enjoyed getting to know Lauren over the year and was so excited to have a party in her honor, and baby Ezra too. Did you know that the way to a pregnant woman's heart is through donuts? If you are a mother, I'm sure you did :)

For fall break, we headed down to southern Alabama to visit my sister. She and her family moved from Ohio to Alabama earlier this year and it was the first chance we had to take some time to visit. They just so happened to move to a city that neighbors where Mike grew up so it was fun for him to be back on his old stomping grounds.

Christy has a HUGE love of horses and some wonderful people in their church have given her the opportunity to ride one of their horses whenever she wants. She goes out a couple of times a week to ride Bama and one day we went out with her. Anna Claire was able to ride Bree, another horse who shares the same pasture.

Christy also took a few pictures of us one day at the park.

Sweet Molly.

It was only appropriate for Anna Claire to be a cowgirl this year for Halloween. She liked her "freckles" so much that the next day she asked if she could have more "sprinkles" on her face.

Molly went as her trusty sidekick.

We also visited Owen Farm, a local pumpkin farm that puts on a festival for the fall. They had tons of stuff to do for kids, a giant slide, a petting area, pumpkin shooting, big inflatables for them to play on, a corn maze and also a corn pit. It is definitely someplace we want to make a yearly tradition.

This is exactly how I felt as the month came to a close--and now we are in the throws of November! It's been another busy month with Anna Claire showing us exactly how strong-willed a 2 year old can be and Molly continuing to grow so fast; we have visits with family coming up and the long awaited arrival of my niece, Jessica, home from Australia for Christmas!

More pictures and hopefully a bit more consistency with blogging to come!