Too braid or not to braid

So Halle and I wanted to try her hair in braids to see how it would look crimped style. We will put this one out to jury. Here is her with the braids all in her head and the result of it the next morning. I think we will stick with her beautiful curly hair. Oh well, it was worth a try of something new.

The result

Berkeley update

Here are some random but new thoughts I have about Berkeley and her growth. Berkeley got her second tooth today. She loves to eat big people food especially pasta and homemade sweet potato fries. She loves to make a mess while she is eating. The more that is on her face the better. She LOVES the bath and splashing in the bath. (which is a good thing after her eating habits) She doesn't like to be put down on her back... until she realizes I am changing her then she is ok. She loves when her brother and sister come home from school and dote over her. She is content to sit in one spot for the most part until she finds he way down to start to roll then she is all over the place. She does get up and rock back and forth but no crawling yet. I bet by the time she is one she will be crawling. She hates the initial part of being put in her car seat. She still loves her binky. She loves to give a cheeser smile and blink her eyes. It is adorable! She loves paper and would eat it every chance she gets. Everything in sight goes in her mouth, even when I think the floor is clean she finds something to eat.
So there it is! She is growing up way to fast so we just enjoy every moment and stage we can.

Enjoying splashing herself like crazy

I swear some of the food went in her tummy.

Berkeley finding the little plastic thing on the drawer so. She has great eyes that spot everything. She is determined to get it in her mouth.

Isn't she the cutest girl ever?!?!?

On the move.

April Fools

So have you ever been fooled by your kids for April Fools? Well, Austin got me this year. He got up and was getting ready and kept asking me to do his hair. This should have been the first clue because usually he does it or doesn't (its a 9 year old boy thing). So I sprayed his hair with the water bottle and then went to comb it and it felt dirty so I asked him what was in his hair. He told me, "milk." I was wondering how and why he would put milk in his hair so I combed it and moved onto Halle. It was not until the spray was white that I noticed that the milk was in the water bottle. We got a good laugh out of this one this year. Good thinking Austin! He is always keeping me on my toes.

Berkeley is 9 months

We went to the doctor for Berkeley's 9 month checkup. She came in at a big 15.5 pounds. She is in the 2% for her weight. Low but the good side is we are still on the charts. She was 27 1/2 inches long. She is a healthy, happy little girl!

They score a Superior!

Halle and Austin participated in Music Festival this year. They have to learn two piano pieces and then are judged on them by a judge. They go in a room with the piano and the judge and them and play their piece. This year both of them scored a Superior! (which is the best you can receive). Halle received a perfect score of 50 and Austin a 47. I love seeing the confidence that comes from them working hard and achieving a goal.

It is finally here!

Berkeley finally had her first tooth break the surface. She keeps moving her tongue over her lip to see why it feels different. She will realize that sucking/biting on her own fingers will start to hurt a little bit. I learned that the hard way when I tried to fish out food of her mouth. She thinks that she needs to eat anything and everything we are eating until she realizes that she cannot chew it. It is always amazing to me to see how much they can gum food though.

Visitors for the holiday weekend

Aunt Em, Grandma, Carter and Wrigley came to visit us over the Presidents day holiday. The kids were so excited to have them here. Carter informed me that we either need to move closer or they need to live by us because the drive is too long. They always play so well and love to be together. We spent the weekend going to Austin's basketball game, going to the movies to see the Beiber movie (it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be), eating lots of good food, and playing games. I forgot to add this video clip. The kids were doing skits for us. They had a blast doing them so I had to post one to share. The weekends are never long enough and time always flies by but one thing is for sure we always have a great time! Thanks for visiting.

Austin gets his Bear

Tonight at the Blue and Gold Banquet, Austin received his Bear award. He was so excited to get his award a little before his birthday. Now we can have time to work on all the many electives they have. We are so proud of him and his desire to do it.

Valentines Day

Valentines Day at our house always starts with a big breakfast of waffles, strawberries and whip cream. This year we topped it off with a little bacon and orange julius. The kids got there valentine from Mom and Dad and were off to have a fun day at school. I had a busy day of prep for our big restaurant plans. The kids and I came up with a plan to surprise Lowell for Valentine's Day. We gave him a card in the morning that said he had a dinner reservation at 5:30. Little did he know the reservation was right here at home. When he came home from work Austin took his coat and sat us at our candlelit table (in our room) where they proceeded to serve us our meal. Austin did a great job of being the waiter. He was so proper and even came up with wearing his suit coat to look nice. Halle was in the kitchen getting it all ready. (yes Mom I trained them so they would not burn themselves.-Lowell had the same concern). Halle had also helped me make a menu and sign for our restaurant. They called it Ricardos, which was one of their previous restaurant names during their creative play. It was so nice to sit alone and in almost peace and quiet and enjoy a meal with my favorite man. The kids loved doing it and even cleaned the dishes up and put them away. We then shared dessert together and watched a fun movie together. There is nothing better than spending the day with the ones you love.

Kodak Moment

So the other day Berkeley was eating and I captured the perfect poo face. I think it explains it all.

Berkeley and all her new things

I can't believe how little ones change so much. Berkeley is now eight months old and cute as ever. She has learned to say.... Mum, mum. She also loves to take her baths. She will splash herself uncontrollably. She loves her baby food and would get rid of the whole nursing gig. I will be glad when we can have cows milk. She loves to do a bitter beer smile that just makes you laugh. She gives a stare down that reminds me of her sister. She has started to sleep on her belly and I love it because she is sleeping so much better. Why does it make such a difference?!?!? She laughs when we laugh and thinks she is so funny. She LOVES her binky. There is no way I can get rid of that anytime soon. We are still waiting for that first tooth to break through..it seems like I keep saying anyday now but no it hasn't happened but is taking FOREVER. But best of all she has a smile that will melt your heart. She is such a happy little girl and brings so much joy to our crazy lives. I have to keep reminding myself to sit and enjoy her as a little one.

Sickness

I can't remember a time that sickness has knocked out my whole family. This week I had Austin, Halle, Jett and Lowell home sick for three days. They all started with a fever, chills, cough and aches. It was nice to get it all at once and be done with it. Thank goodness that Berkeley and I never received the junk. We have been lucky. I think I am ready for Spring.

Teeth Issues

Well, we have had a interesting week with teeth. Halle has had her front teeth loose for a long time and they started to move and look TERRIBLE. I have pictures to prove the look. I want to share the stages with you. After weeks of begging to pull her teeth out, it finally sunk in that we could do it or should I really be honest and say that she got sick of us calling her a beaver. (I know rude huh, coming from her family.) So she let me wrap floss around her tooth. One came out one night and then the next night we did the other one. She is now toothless but looks so much better. She realizes that having them out feels so much better then trying to eat around them.

The Beaver look.

The Pirate Look.

Toothless.