Too big, too fast!

Happy 5 months to our Baby Girl! She's just getting too big, too fast! We went for a sick visit to the doctor yesterday (yucky cold, cough, & fluid in her ears and so, her first antibiotic), and she weighed in at a whopping 20.4 pounds! She's a big girl! It's not just her weight that reminds me of how she's growing... she's working on sitting up, loving her cereal, quite interactive with toys and our family, and has settled into a great schedule. She's as sweet as ever and is quite the little princess in our family, adored by her brothers and parents alike. We are loving every minute with her!!

And speaking of growing too fast... two little boys are doing the same.

I'm so behind with my posting, but I really hope to catch up soon!!

The Polar Express!

Precious times, wonderful memories... a magical night!

Our ride on the Polar Express!!

Sweet cuddle time

A sweet picture of our 3 little ones together.

Cuddle time

A sweet picture of our 3 little ones together.

Baby Girl is 3 months old!

I can't believe Ann Evelyn is 3 months old. What a precious time we've had with her so far! I'm so thankful God gave me a girl. :) I already feel a special, sweet bond with her unlike that of my boys. I think it's natural for a mama to brag so I hope you understand that I have to brag on my baby girl. Ann Evelyn might be the sweetest, most laid-back baby ever. I had heard that 3rd babies were good... and it sure has been true for us. Ann Evelyn is so sweet and good that I sometimes wish she'd act up a little and demand a little more attention from us. She just goes with the flow - which truly is a blessing especially with the busyness that the boys bring to our lives. Don't worry though, I get lots of cuddle time with her... especially early in the morning, when the boys are napping, and after the boys go to sleep. We enjoy that quiet time!

For a little update on how she's doing...
She weighs around 16 pounds now. Her cute little body has lots of rolls and a big belly (like the one her brothers had!). She favors both of her brothers, but I think she looks more like Forrest right now. She's discovered her hands and loves holding them in front of her eyes. She watches her little fingers open and close around each other. She's also grabbing other things... like her toys... and my fingers when I hold her. :) She loves smiling and talking to us, and she seems to smile with her entire face. We feel like she's right on the verge of laughing out loud. We can see those laughs in her eyes and facial expressions already. She's becoming strong and likes to stand up in your lap. One of her favorite things is bathtime... she's loved her bath since she was a newborn. She's been sleeping thru the night consistently since she was about 12 weeks. It seemed like it took her a little bit longer to get the sleeping thru the night thing down, but she's so good that I just didn't mind it. I told her earlier that I've kind of missed her during the night - but I am enjoying getting some good sleep!

It's been sweet to see her and the boys interact more. Andrew especially loves to talk to her ("Evelyn") in this sweet high-pitched voice (mimicking us). He has been making her smile for several weeks now, and even introduced her to her first solid foods - a cheeto. Yes, that's right. My 3 month old tasted a cheeto! Forrest has just started coming around enough now for Ann Evelyn ("Sissy") to interact with him, too. He's been sick off and on the past few weeks, and isn't it so funny that his new-found interest in her came the day he was running a fever... thankfully no fever was passed on to her. Both of the boys are adjusting well and have been very sweet to their baby sister. And now for pictures of our baby girl...

All bundled up! AE at 10 weeks

Sweet profile - 10 weeks

A visit from the boys!

Snuggling with her pink poodle - 13 weeks

Asleep! One day I laid her on the playmat while I got the boys cleaned up from lunch and ready for naps. It was actually time for her to eat, too, but she just laid there quietly and fell asleep without a peep - sweet girl!

3 months old! (notice how she's holding her little hands)

Evidence of the cheeto... you can see a little orange on her tongue and lips, and I do believe she's smiling - she must have liked it! :)

Pumpkin pickin'

We took our annual pumpkin pickin' trip with the Beavers family a couple of weeks ago. The pumpkin patch wasn't giving hayrides that day because of all the wet weather so we went to the Ag Museum instead. We road a hayride around the "old town", petted the animals in the barn, and walked around a bit. Then, we loaded the wagon again and rode over to where the pumpkins were. The boys had a great time. They loved the hayride and exploring the old town, and they even did a little wrestling in the pumpkin patch! And what child doesn't love picking out the perfect pumpkin?

Hayride time!

Andrew and me - with friend, John Keil beside Andrew

Hmm, which one?

Forrest's pick!

Andrew, playing in the pumpkins. He and John Keil rolled around in those pumpkins -
it was so funny!

a family picture on the hayride

the boys on the 'largest rocking chair in MS'
Forrest, Andrew, Ross Harden, and John Keil

What a fun day!

Santa's in town!

HO! HO! HO!
Andrew told me a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to be Santa for Halloween. This boy LOVES anything Christmas! He sings and listens to Christmas music year round, so I have to say that I wasn't all that surprised when he chose this as his costume. What a cute Santa!

We had our Reformation Party at church on Sunday night. I decided since Andrew wanted to be Santa that the rest of the family should go along with a Christmas theme!

So, Forrest was Rudolph....

and Ann Evelyn was a gift!

We had so much trick or treating with our little ones. We walked to a few of our neighbors' houses. Andrew loved it. He wasn't shy at all, and he loved showing our neighbors his costume. He walked right up to the doors, knocked, and said "Trick or Treat!" Forrest had fun, too. He followed his brother's lead, and we came home with too much candy!

On a side note, this year Andrew has noticed the "scary" things. As we were out tonight, we saw a little boy wearing a scary costume. Andrew did not want to be close to him! Andrew said, "He's scary. I wait until he leaves (the house we were walking up to) because he's scary!" He was very serious, but he says the word "scary" so cute... I hadto be careful not to smile when he said it. :)
Happy Halloween!

Beach Photos of Boys

Our beach pictures are usually just "fun" pictures. I have always thought the pictures of children dressed in their white on the beach were precious, but I've never braved the dressing up of my boys to take this kind of picture. However with Andrew having just turned 3 and Forrest 18 months, I decided that this might be a good time to take some sweet beach pictures. So, we put on the linen and took lots of pictures. Wilson had left the beach at this point to go to a meeting in Atlanta so he missed all the fun. Thank goodness for Bubby. He was a huge help in keeping the boys close and not letting Forrest dive in the ocean in his button-on suit. :) Andrew was in a great mood for me. Forrest was a little less enthused, but overall, I still was happy with how they turned out. Here are some of my favorites!

Beachtime is Funtime!

We love our trips to the beach! The boys have the best time in the sand and water. They love it all, and so do Wilson and I.

9 weeks old and loving this bouncy seat

enjoying May-May's yummy beignets

big boy chowing down - he never leaves any food on his plate! :)
when did he get big enough to eat with utensils?

I love the hand holding

it's so fun to run at the water's edge.
when did he get big enough to run so fast?

Loving the water!