Pumpkin Patch

Mason and Ellie were SO excited to go to the pumpkin patch. They were so funny in the car on the way over. You could feel their excitement.

Ellie's choice

Mason's pick

Tongue and drool

The kids love the hay maze.

There were a lot of school kids there on field trips and the maze was really crowded. I told Mason and Ellie they could go in if they would stay close together. I told Mason to keep an eye on Ellie. He walked in with his arm around her shoulders and made sure she was safe and close. He is such a great big brother!

Ellie's Art

Ellie is really focused when she's drawing a picture. I have been impressed by what she has drawn lately. She drew this picture today. I love how every time she draws people she adds something new to it. This one has hair and a body. The fingers and toes are a fairly new addition to her people as well. The other day she told me that when she grows up she wants to "do art." I think she definitely has the potential to become an artist!

She sits alone

Cassidy is getting so strong. We have to keep a pretty good hold on her when she's sitting on our laps, because she will use her muscles to pull herself up to a sitting position. She's been practicing keeping her balance while she sits on the floor alone, but she always ends up falling over to one side. Today she sat up on her own for at least a minute. She looked like she was concentrating so hard to keep herself upright. She did a good job and we were excited to see her do it!

Starting out with the support of the boppy.

Doing it all by herself!

Mason and Ellie were so proud!

Mason Turns 5

Happy Birthday, Mason!

Mason has been celebrating his birthday for almost a week. It started with his friend party last Saturday. We had a few friends over and did some sports games and had a pinata. On Sunday we celebrated his birthday at Grandma Nancy and Papa Steve's house. This included a yummy dinner of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, birthday brownies and opening up presents. Then today he celebrated his birthday in preschool and with our family at home. It has been a busy week, but it's been fun to see him so excited about turning 5.

Mr. 5 year old

Mason isn't a big fan of cake, so we made brownies in the shape of baseballs. Yummy!

More birthday brownies!

Eggs and toast and milk.

I dyed the eggs green (his favorite color) for his special day.

His new scooter.

I love the look on his face.

Don't worry, he didn't hurt himself!

No cake for his real birthday either. When I asked him what kind of dessert he wanted, he told me ice cream sandwiches. At least I could fit 5 candles on it.

Cassidy Eats!

Cassidy had her first taste of rice cereal last Sunday. She seemed to enjoy it. With every spoonful, she reached up and grabbed it with her hands and tried to shove the food in her mouth. Then she would suck her fingers for a second trying to get it all off. This created quite the mess. Mason and Ellie had a fun time watching her. Ellie got a little of the rice cereal on her hand and decided to eat some. Mason asked her what it tasted like and she said, "Nothing." I think that's a pretty accurate description.

I love looking at this face!

Here she is trying to grab the spoon.

(that other little hand belongs to Ellie. She wanted to help too)

I had to hold her hands down, just to get the spoon into her mouth.

When she realized she couldn't grab the spoon, she held her hands together like this. She had to do something with them!

All done!

Here are some cute pictures to enjoy!

Cassidy is 4 months

My kids just keep growing! Cassidy is now 4 months old. I took her to her doctor appointment today. She weighs 14 pounds 5 ounces which is still 4 pounds smaller than both Mason and Ellie were at that age. The crazy thing is Cassidy is still in the 75 percentile for her weight! She seems so small to me, but she's really not! Her height is 25 1/4 inches which puts her in the 95 percentile. The doctor said everything about her looks great! Cassidy even decided to roll over (both ways) this week just in time for me to report to her doctor that she can do it. She's drooling a lot, playing with toys and "talking" all the time. She is such a blessing in our lives.

I wonder how long she'll keep sticking out her tongue?

Spit up shot...I guess this is what happens when you

put her on her tummy right after eating!

Mason Goes to Preschool

Mason started preschool! I can't believe he's old enough to do this. His first day went well. He was very excited to go. I walked him into his class and we said hi to his teacher, then he walked right to his seat. He didn't have any hesitation about going. When I went to pick him up, he looked so cute walking out with his backpack on. I asked him what he did on his first day and he said, "I don't remember." I kept asking him questions about it the rest of the day and he started remembering some of the things he did. He talked about shapes, learned the spanish word for "nose," made cookies and ate them, played with play-doh and met some new friends. I'm glad he had such a great time. He's going to have fun this year!

Ellie turns 3!

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

September 7, 2010 Ellie turned 3. She is such a big girl. We made a last minute trip to California and were able to celebrate her birthday there. Ellie picked out Strawberry Shortcake decorations, including cool party hats. Everyone was very willing to help celebrate by wearing them. She wanted a flower cake and she helped make it. Thank you Aunt Brooke for helping with the frosting and making it look perfect.

Grandpa Mike and Ellie with the beautiful cake.

Yummy!

Mason and Aunt Brooke

Ellie kept a straight face the entire time she was opening gifts. She didn't show any excitement, except for maybe a slight half smile. The excitement showed later when she started playing with her new things.

She was so excited to be 3.

That night she asked, "Mom, will I be 3 tomorrow?"

Cake time!

Mason, Brooke, Ellie, Grammy, Dad, Eric, Megan

Trying out her new princess scooter.

She can't get enough of it!