Thankgiving

We had a very relaxing Thanksgiving! We spent the day with Papa Bruce and Nana Jill and enjoyed exceptional food, took long siestas after the tryptophan kicked in and played cards long into the evening. Haven decorated her ginger bread house but we sort of gave up after the roof collapsed. I just don't have the patience for those things!

NKOTB or Bust!

I can't believe I was able to make it to the event of the year. Yes... New Kids are back! The New Kids on the Block reunion tour was the place to be this past Saturday night. I along with thousands of other 30+ women gathered in the Tacoma Dome to cheer on our childhood crushes. The concert was great! Exceeded expectations and the guys sang and moved like they did 18 years ago. Has it been that long?? Crazy... Plus, it was fun to see my good friends I haven't seen in years. It was worth the drive to make the connections again. And, have face time with NKOTB. =0)

Parker's Dedication

Parker was dedicated during our church service on November 2nd. My family was able to be here for the special occasion. Our Pastor took the meaning of Parker's name - guardian of the forest/park - and gave her a special verse highlighting the key word, "guardian".

"Keep my commands and you will live; Guard my teachings as the apple of your eye" Proverbs 7:2.

What a special verse to keep close to Parker's heart! I was only encouraged to make it a priority that our girls know God's teachings and develop their own desire to know their Lord and Savior.

CHEESE!

We had some fun on Nate's MacBook.

Parker's 4 month Check-up!

We just got home from Parker's 4 month check up! She cracked me up... not a tear or an annoying cry after being prodded and poked by the doctor... that is until she got her shots. Here are her stats:
Height: 24 3/4 in. 75% percentile
Weight: 13 lbs 1.6 oz. 50% percentile
Head: 16 1/2 in. 60% percentile

I was curious to see Haven's measurements and weight at Parker's age. So, I dug up Haven's stats:
Height: 24 in.
Weight: 13 lbs 3 oz
Head: 16 3/8

Their info is very close to each other, which makes sense since they are sisters! The biggest difference is Parker is almost an inch longer which explains why Parker is wearing 6 month clothes already! She is long little baby. She has started to roll around and flip over in her crib. She now sleeps on her tummy which has resulted in her sleeping a full 8 hours at night now (YES!!!). We can always get her to smile and giggle, which we love. I could have babies forever if they were all like this!

Haven's First Day of Preschool

Haven now attends a great private Christian preschool not far from home. She LOVED her first day there and is ready to go back for more fun with her friends. I am glad I can start "letting go" with this first step. It became more apparent these last few months that Haven was ready for more social time, constructive activities and academic challenges that a preschool can provide. Plus, it gives me a few hours in the week to run some errands and spend time with Parker.

Happy Halloween!

BOO! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Today started off with lots of excitement as my parents woke up to the chatter of the girls. They drove in from Washington to spend the weekend with us. Haven celebrated the arrival of my parents by adorning herself with some of her dress up clothes and joining GG on the couch for story time before bed.

Haven knew it would be today that she would be dressing up and joining all the kids for the quest for candy. Our plans for Haven's costume changed after she spied a "pretty" kitty costume at the mall today. You know what, we should all buy our kid's costume on Halloween - what a deal! So, we have costume #1 - the giraffe that she wore around the house, and costume #2 - the cute kitty that she wore trick-or-treating and to our church's carnival. Parker lasted a few minutes in her caterpillar costume... until she fell asleep.

The fun started at our church's fall festival. Haven quickly spied her friend, Katie, and they quickly went from activity to activity. She loved going "fishing" for candy and found out that bobbing for apples is a whole lot easier grabbing them straight from the water filled bin. Halloween is so much fun for kids! I love seeing all the kiddos dressed up. =0)

Nate's Buck

As we were having fun at the Pumpkin Patch, Nate did shoot his buck this weekend on my family's farm up in Havre. He was happy to finally bring home some meat for our table, and a nice rack for the garage (it will not be displayed over our front door like he would like).

Pumpkin Patch!

I love the fall! There is something about the colors, the crisp air, the need to bake and have warm cider or hot cocoa, actually enjoying putting on a coat and hat for the first time, having a Starbuck's pumpkin spice latte in hand, watching (USC) football, picking out Halloween costumes ... I am getting carried away. Anyway, I like fall.

We were able to meet up with some friends at the local pumpkin patch today to ride ponies, pet goats, bob for apples, drink fresh pressed cider and even eat cotton candy - what a treat! Funny kid story: The other day I mentioned to Haven that I was "pooped!" She looked at me with an urgent expression on her face and said, "Mommy, just get that poop out!" Gotta love her figurative brain.

The Girls...

I can't believe how big Parker is! Parker has surpassed her sister in height and weight compared to when Haven was her age (3 1/2 months). We quickly put away the 0-3 month clothes and are now moving into 3-6 month stuff. Parker is a very happy, predictable baby and is very easy to love and take care of. She is mostly sleeping through the night (a few nights a week she will surprise me at 2:00 am), and is happy to be on a schedule of two naps a day. Haven loves her... almost too much at times. Parker is almost happy to take the extra hard squeezes from her big sister, as long as they are not suffocating!

I had grand plans today since we are all together as a family, however, I am still in my pj pants and it is 3:00 pm in the afternoon! I just had our washing machine fixed after three weeks without it. The part took three weeks to get here, and about 5 minutes to install... it was such a pain not being able to do the wash on a regular basis. So, I am catching up on piles of laundry! So much for the shower today - looks like I will be staying in my sweats with my hair askew.