Playing catch up- Halloween

Another Halloween has come and gone! This year's Halloween was so fun having two little ones to dress up! We had so many celebrations to attend this year between school, play dates, Trunk-or-Treating, and birthday parties that Quinn became a pro at getting dressed up by the time Halloween actually arrived. She had her heart set on being a 'cute' witch so we did our best to make that happen. And as for Joshua, he got to be the pumpkin that Quinn wore on her first Halloween. Maybe next year he will have a little say in his costume. ;) Quinn had a parade and party at her school on the Tuesday before Halloween. Here are a few pictures of that day:

This little parade was the cutest thing ever!

Witchy pals!

This little guy was content completely happy playing with the kitchen set in the classroom

There are so many fun kids and families in our neighborhood and the past two years we've all gone trick-or-treating in our neighborhood together. I'm hoping this becomes a tradition!

These two were ready to go!

Family Photos and the Latest

I've been a horrible blogger the past few months, eek! The whole reason I'm doing the blog is to have in place of baby books so I better keep up. One day I'll turn these posts into a book and when we're old we can look back and lament on the way things used to be! Several weeks back we took family photos with a dear friend of mine, Jen Loves Photography and Design and we're so amazed with the sweet moments she was able to capture! Especially since Quinn decided she wasn't going to smile or talk! Jen's got some talent!! We did take some family photos of all four but I'm not going to show those since we'll use them on our Christmas card. Here are a couple that I loved:

Aren't they great photos?  We even had one with both kiddos smiling!  Victory!!

Things at home have been BUSY to say the least.  Joshua is on the verge of walking, yikes, and is getting into everything.   He crawls at the speed of light and will crawl even faster if you are trying to pick him up.  He loves to walk around while pushing one of his stand up toys and will go around and around our kitchen.  He is understanding so much more and is starting to speak a little more.  His favorite word (and person) is Dada.  He is now pointing to an object and will say "ssaaaat?"  I think he's saying "what's that?".  He also likes to say "no, no, no".  Peek-a-boo is becoming his favorite activity now too.

This has become common place in our house right around the time I have to make dinner.  The only thing you can't see here is the mess his older sister is making in her room/living room/playroom/other side of kitchen!

Quinn is loving school so much and I'm so glad.  There for a while I was so worried that she wasn't making any friends or talking to anybody because she was really being sooooooo shy at school.  I spoke to her teacher about this and she set Quinn up to play with another sweet little girl who is just as equally shy as Quinn and now Quinn tells me they are best friends!  I saw them playing on the playground the other day and Quinn was pretending to be a dog while her friend was pretending to pull her on a leash.  It was hilarious!



 

Joshua is ONE year old!!

Our little prince is already a year old! How can it be? Didn't he just come home from the hospital yesterday???

Joshua is a gift from God and we are so thankful to have been given the gift of being his parents. He has added so much to our little family and cannot imagine life without him in it. Quinn loves him so much and gives him the tightest hugs every morning when he wakes up and after every nap he has. He follows her wherever she goes and comes crawling as fast as he can when he hears her calling "Come on little buddy!!". I love the way they are together.

Right now at one he is so cuddly and just a happy little dude. He is completely fine playing and exploring all on his own but really wants his daddy to hold him when he gets home from work. He loves playing with cars and trucks and anything else with wheels and will spend almost all day pushing them around our house while making a little car noise with his mouth.

Joshua loves to eat, especially cheese and fruit. One thing he isn't too fond of is anything with ground beef. I'm sure he'll grow to love some lasagna one day. He sleeps pretty well during the night and will fall asleep around 7 pm and wake about 5:30 am (so early!!). He still takes two naps a day, one in the morning and one after lunch.

We have had an amazing year with our little guy and can't wait to see what the future with him holds!!

We had a play date birthday party with him on Friday, here are a few pictures of our little cowboy:

Quinn's First Dental Appointment

Quinn had her first dental appointment a couple weeks ago and surprisingly loved it! She was sold with the train table in the lobby and the giant flat screen playing Happy Feet. Joshua had a blast too. Trains, toys, and movies, who wouldn't?

First Day Jitters

Today was Quinn's first day of preschool! She will be attending twice a week from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm. We met Quinn's teachers last week and she had a great time playing and exploring around the room while we were there. Today we were a little nervous that she might think we'd be staying since we did so on meet the teacher day, but much to our surprise she blew us kisses when it was time for us to go and went on with her activity! I was also a little worried because she has had terrible allergies the past few days and had a rough night last night coughing and sneezing. I was almost expecting a phone call from the school to come pick her up early since she was a little under the weather but things went well and she did fine! She was so excited when I picked her up and gave Joshua and I a huge hug. We missed her so much today but know that she is having a blast and will gain so much from her time in preschool. Grab the tissues for this Momma, where or where is time going????

When I picked Quinn up her teachers said she had a great day but was quiet. This is so Quinn. And as soon as we're in the car its non stop talking all the way home. Hopefully preschool will help her get out of her shell a little more.

11 months and almost walking!

Joshua is now 11 months old and I know I must sound like a broken record when I say this but did I just have this baby boy?? I am blown away at how quickly time goes when you have children and I really feel that it feels like it goes even faster when you have more than one. Joshua continues to be just a fun little guy and is doing new things each and everyday. Here are the latest:

 -No more army crawl, full on hands and knees crawling, and FAST!!
-Is walking around the house with the help of his little alligator walker, he is extremely happy to do this all day
-Has 5 teeth, three on the top and two on the bottom
-Sleeps about 12 hours a night
-Can say mama, dada
-Points at toys or food when he wants something
-Waves
-Signs 'all done', 'more'

Quinn loves giving him a little push while he's in his walker

Ten Months for Joshua

Wow!!! I am a little past due for this post, Joshua is actually closer to eleven months as I write this so I better update the blog with the latest in life for Joshua as a ten month old. I feel as though we're getting out of the baby days and nearing toddler life as Joshua is full on crawling and exploring anything and everything he can. Our life has become very busy! There is no more making dinner while he sits and plays with his toys. An example of the craziness was today while I was cooking dinner, Quinn luckily was being entertained by my iPad while Joshua was roaming the kitchen he managed to knock over the very full trash can sending yogurt flinging across the floor as well as all the rest of the contents of the trash. While I was cleaning this up I could literally smell dinner burning on the stove only to find little man crawling up the stairs!! Time for baby proofing the house? Anyway, here are some of the things Joshua is doing as a ten month old:

 -His own version of crawling is a very fast army crawl (belly on the ground and using arms and legs to pull his way through the house). Occasionally he will get on hands and knees and crawl too
-Pulls up to knees and sometimes feet on different pieces of furniture or toys
-Waves hello and goodbye
-Says dada, mama, papa, baba
-Can sign "more", and "all done"
-Has two teeth on the bottom and is getting two on the top
-Laughs hysterically when Quinn is silly
-Will rest his head on your shoulder and pat your back when tired or showing love
-Eats all table food now
-Drank out of a straw for the first time this week!
-Sleeps from 7 pm to 7 am without waking
-Takes two long naps: first one from about 9:00 am to 10:30 am and second one from about 1:30 to 3:00   
 -Nurses three times a day, we're gradually weaning now

He's becoming more interested in books lately, especially ones with different textures

This Peek-A-Boo book might be his favorite!

Army crawling

Cracking himself up!

New Mexico

Last week we went to New Mexico to escape the heat and visit family. It was such a great trip and we only wish we would've stayed longer!! We spent a couple days with my parents then traveled north with them to Red River. The weather was dreamy with 70 degree highs and fresh, cool air. The cabin we stayed at was right next to a stream so Quinn and Jaime loved fishing in it and even caught a few fish! Jaime and I went on a nice (and very hilly) run and a hike up the mountain. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with family and getting out of the Texas heat for a while.