Another big milestone!

I have begun the weaning process!
My boy now gets his noon time milk from a sippy cup!
He is such a big boy!
I think that this time is going to be a bit harder for me then it was with Mia.
This is my last baby.
While part of me is so ready to be done with breastfeeding and all that goes along with it,
ie: wearing the right bra, thinking about the logistics of breastfeeding when I pick out my outfit for the day, limited caffeine, no alcohol, no chocolate (upsets marshall's stomach for some reason!), pumping etc...
Another part of me is going to miss it.
It's the end of an era in my life for sure.
All my life I dreamed about having babies and mine are growing too fast!
Slow down!
(I find myself saying that all the time these days!)

Cheers to you my sweet boy!
Don't worry about me, I'll be ok...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Best Friends

This week we had the special treat of having my longest friend and her daughter come for a visit!

It was especially cool for us as our daughters are the age we were when we first met!

 It was so wonderful to see her and catch up and to watch our girls play together!

I really loved the fact that we still have such a strong bond even though we have both changed and grown and been through so much.

I guess that is what 30 years of friendship will do for you!

Kind of a big deal!!

Caleb and Mia decided now is the time for her to start learning how to ride her bike without training wheels!
He took her to the greenbelt in our neighborhood and they practiced!

She has so much fun and really felt like a big girl!
She has a long way to go, but she has her daddy right beside her!
Love these two!

10 Months old!!!

Holy cow!!
How is this possible?!?!
Here is my sweet boy on his 10 month birthday

This past month was full of fun stuff!
Halloween, sister's birthday and a visit from Mama d were the highlights!
My boy continues to grow and flourish.
Still only has 2 teeth.
I fear that he is going to get like 4 at once on top.
Bless his little heart, some days he is so uncomfortable and drooling and chewing on everything!
Come on already! Quit torturing my babe!
He is still just doing the belly crawl thing.
He has made some effort to get up on to his hands and knees, but who needs that when you can scoot around on your belly just fine?!?
He is now able to get himself from sitting to crawling to sitting again.
It is so fun to watch him figure out all the new things!
Still eating like a champ!
Loves his food!
He is interacting more and more with Mia. Sometimes she will give him one of her barbies and they "play" together!
Well he just chews on the barbie, but at least they are together!
He recently discovered how to get to Grammy's room!
He crawls down the hall and knocks at her door.
If she doesn't answer he sticks his little hand under the door like a cat and tries to open it!
It is so cute!
And it makes Grammy's heart swell that he wants to come visit her!
He loves to wave Hi and Bye.
Today he made an attempt to blow me a kiss!
He sure does fill our days with smiles and laughter!

We love this boy so much!
Cheers to 10 months Magic Monkey!

Mia's Signature

Everyone has something special that makes their signature their own right?
Well it must be a natural instinct because Mia came up with this special flourish all on her own!

Perfect weather

This is a glorious time of year here in Arizona!
The heat of the summer is gone and we welcome the chill in the air.
It was a perfect day for an after lunch walk with my babes!

 Marshall had his first trip down the slide on sister's lap!!

 He loved it!

 ***Mia doesn't usually wear her helmet at the park! We passed by on our walk/bike ride and she wanted to slide for a bit!

Love this happy face!

Marshall's First Haircut

It was really only a very minor trim and clean up, but it was the first time any of his little hairs were cut so we had to make a big deal out of it!
Sadly his little rooster tail was the first piece to go!
It had dwindled down to just a few hairs, and they were so long that they just flopped over.
I will always remember that sweet alfalfa sprout on the top of his head!

 Sue made sure to save every little piece she cut off and then made us this sweet little keepsake!

She has been cutting this family's hair for about 17 years! (Crazy)
She spoils us though!
She loves to let Mia help!

And Daddy is such a good sport!
Love the purple shampoo!
Really makes his grays sparkle :)

FEED ME!!!

This little dude LOVES to eat!
Even peas! 
Doesn't matter what's on that spoon, that precious mouth is wide open. 
Every. Time.

Just like Daddy

I had to share this picture of Mia.
My sister and her family got her this guitar for her birthday.

Doesn't she look like a natural holding that thing?!?
She looks so much like her daddy here.

Can't wait til the 2 of them are jamming together!

The Birthday Bash!

This year Mia had her birthday party at her gymnastics place.
She had 14 friends with her! (counting her cousins also!)
A grand time was had by all!

5!!!!!!

How can it be that my Baby Angel is 5?
It wasn't so long ago that I only had her in my dreams.

Today I celebrate you my angel.
You are such an amazing little girl.
Your spirit and personality are truly one of a kind.
You brighten my days and fill our family with such love and joy.

You have grown so much this past year.
You are in your second year of preschool.
Pre-K this year!
And you are soooooo smart!
You amaze us and your teachers daily!
The other day the class was coming up with words that started with the letter C and you said "catastrophe"!
And for F you said "frantic"!
(I think you get all those dramatic words from Grammy!)
Mrs. Nettie couldn't believe her ears!
And you are reading like nobody's business!
You read chapter books. About 8 of them so far.
Every night daddy or I sit in your bed while you read to us!
It is amazing. I am blown away every time!

You are quite sassy.
I have had to talk to you recently about being a smart mouth.
It is a bit of an uphill battle though, you come by this trait naturally.
(my dad didn't call it smart mouth, he called it smart a$$!)
All of the adults in this house use sarcasm and have smart mouths, so it isn't a surprise that you do it too.
Somehow it sounds worse coming from your sweet mouth.
And even though you are very smart and mature, you don't quite know how to use sarcasm just yet.

You are still my little fashionista.
This year's ensemble of choice is black leggings and t-shirts with knots in the back to make them tighter and shorter. You would love for your belly to show, but I say NO WAY!!
Now I know why my parents were always making me dress a certain way. I get it.
I'm pretty sure I didn't start this early tho.
Thank goodness for school uniforms!

You are very into Pop music nowadays.
You even got an MP3 player for your big day!

It is so cute to watch you dance and listen to you sing with your headphones on!

Above all my sweet girl, you are beautiful on the inside.
You have such a tender heart and always strive to do the right thing and make everybody happy.

I am so thankful for you.
You are still my best girl,
and you still say I am your best mom!
Hope that lasts for many more years!

So glad you were born Mia Raney!