At the park with pigtails

While my sister in-law Brooke was in town, we took our kids to the park. They were having fun & running EVERYWHERE. Paige was in school so just the little cousins could hang out together. It's always fun when we can get together.

Claire's hair is finally starting to fill in & get long enough to put in makeshift pigtails! She'll pull them out almost as soon as I put them in, but they're cute while they last.

Halloween at Disneyland

Aunt Jamie & Kaylee

Uncle Greg & Dylan

I LOVE this picture-These cousins are so cute holding hands!

Sorry, there are A LOT of pictures of this post. I'm not in any of them & am discovering I need to hand off the camera if I want to be included. The cousins had SO much fun. Thanks to Karen for Paige's cute Halloween outfit! She absolutely loved wearing it! For being October it was still pretty HOT. Can't wait for the cooler weather. Looking forward to Fall in Idaho next year, but will miss fun memories like going to Disneyland with my parents & my sister's family. Glad to have Greg & Mark with us this trip. Loved having Mark push the stroller & carry the backpack- thanks babe! It was a fun day all in all. Paige got to ride on Thunder Mountain & Matterhorn for the first time. Glad Mark was there for that. I couldn't ride since I'm an expentant mother.... She had blast hanging out with her Dad since he usually has to work. Claire loved the goats & sheep! She would get down on the ground so she could be eye level with them (the same way she does with the kitty here). She was sooo cute with them & didn't mind being down in the dirt.

Halloween

As you can see, I didn't take very many pictures on Halloween. Is it just my kids who won't sit still, stand together or pose for a picture??? They both are too busy & have other things to do..... Paige didn't go trick or treating this year. She loves to pass out the candy. She was quick to point out the kids who didn't say "thank you". Guess she did learn :0)

Ward Halloween Party & Pumpkin Carving

The girls seemed excited about finally getting put on their costumes- especially Paige. Claire was over it in no time. I don't think she lasted a half hour. She was teething...again & miserable. Cousin Kaylee was here for a visit & didn't last long either. Paige was terrified by the Bishop who was dressed up like a clown, but of course Claire wasn't afraid. They are SOOOO different! Paige is Ariel- the little mermaid. Hindsight- we should've talked her out of it. Not a huge fan of the costume, but she LOVED it! My Mom came to the rescue with Claire's tinkerbell costume. I found the perfect one at the Disney Store, but they didn't have her size becuase it was recalled.. so frustrating! She found this dress up costume & made some alterations so it would work. I promise to learn how to sew one day- Thanks MOM!

The party started late & the trick or treating portion was REALLY late. I stayed with Paige who was excited about being at the party. She was too tired to trick or treat around the cars. We kept telling her she had to say "trick or treat" to get candy & that she needed to say "thank you". She was totally in the zone. After several failed attempts, we told her we were going to have to leave. So we did..... she had PLENTY of candy and was ready for bed.

Kaylee was dressed up as Minnie Mouse- a little sucker can provide a little extra patience...

Soooo cheesy!

We are having so much fun doing "traditional" holiday things as Paige gets older. We (Mark & I) had this grand idea of carving pumpkins with Paige this year. We waited until the day before Halloween to get pumpkins..... big suprise that I procrastinated. Mark took both girls to find pumpkins after work & give me a break. They went ALL over to finally find them. They were the best ones he could find. Mark found a few websites that had different patterns. Paige of course loved the Ariel one. After seeing how much time that one took, Claire gets the traditional Jack 0'latern face. I was very impressed & he did all the work!

Paige wasn't sure about the pumpkin guts.....

Mornings with Grandma

It may be hard to tell, but both Paige & Claire are cuddled up in my parents bed. They love to climb into their bed in the morning & have Grandma turn on Little Einsteins. They love living with Grandma & Grandpa- everyday is exciting!

Paige's first"REAL" haircut

Paige needed a haircut from a professional. The time had come. The girl who does my hair does a great job & said she cut it. Paige doesn't sit still while I'm cutting, so I have to trim it over & over until it looks straight enough. It had been awhile since the ends had been trimmed & we all remember Paige's "bang up" job she did. Paige was hesitant about leaning back & having her hair washed. Give her a lollipop & her worries are over! As you can see, Claire has the same philosophy.... Paige LOVED being able to look at herself in the mirror the entire time. Had there been a mirror in front of the sink, she may not have needed the sucker. I'll have to try cutting her hair in front of the mirror next time. It was worth every penny to have someone else cut her hair- thank you Jessica!

3 months ago......

Paige's 1st day of School

Claire was teething- her hand was in her mouth & she was drooling ALL day.

Paige handing Aunt Kira her bouquet

With the exception of my last post, it's been awhile since I've blogged. There have been lots of things to blog about, I just haven't found the time to sit down & do it. So as a fellow blogger & good friend said on her blog- "sit back & enjoy" because there is a LOT to catch up on.

To start back in September when life began to change- preschool started, we had a wedding,we moved & news a baby would be coming).

1- Paige started preschool with her Grandma at Mrs. Rogers preschool. She LOVES going to school & learning. She is so social & loves to talk, so it is good for her to be in with other kids her age. My Mom is an awesome teacher & they seem to love spending that time together each week.

2-We moved in with my parents in Moreno Valley! We were anticipated a move to Idaho in December/January & rented out our house to Mark's brother. My parents have been so wonderful, patient, understanding, etc, etc!

3- Matt & Kira got married! Clear back in September Matt & Kira were married in the San Diego Temple. We learned the hard way that having kids at the temple is tricky. My parents were nice enough to bring the girls out to the temple so we could go to the sealing. Claire slept the entire way to San Diego. It was a very long day for them & they didn't make it through the reception (hence no additional pictures). Matt & Kira seemed so happy & continue to LOVE being married! We are so excited for them- Congrats to the happy couple :0)

4- We found out we are expecting baby #3! To find out more, stay tuned for a future post with ultrasound pics revealing what we're having.....

So, a lot happened back in September. This at least gets me started where I left off and explains why there has been a lack of blogging!

Soakin' Cute

Paige loves to talk and is always coming up with something entertaining. So I won't forget, I wanted to include a few of her sayings.....

Soakin': adjective used to describe anything in excess.
Example- You would say "soaking wet" if you were really wet (which is where she learned this). After her first time on Splash Mountain, she was wet. After two more times, she was soaking wet- along with my parents who went with her. Now, anything can be soakin'- It is soakin' hot, I'm soakin' angry, or this is soakin' good.
I'm not sure whether or not this new word will catch on with others, but we use it in our family & have to laugh. Paige is so soakin' cute!

Little Lord 'tivity: a nativity or creche
Paige refers to the baby Jesus of any nativity as "the little Lord Jesus" (from Away in a Manger). When Grandma got the fisherprice natvity set to play with , she dubbed it the little Lord 'tivity. We tried to correct her only at first because it is SO sweet.

Old McDonalds: most refer to the restaurant as McDonalds
We have only ever called it McDonalds, but she has always referred to it as Old McDonalds. Again, no point in correcting her- it makes us smile

Last one- this is a quick tribute to Mark. He was brave enough to take Paige to Old Navy for a last minute whim..... If you saw the Old Navy ad last week, they were giving away 4 movie tickets with a purchase of $20. If you do the math, that's a great deal! Saturday morning I was reading the ads in the paper from the day before & thought "why not"? The ad stated tickets were limited to the first 50-200 people. I assumed that few people would have seen the ad & I'd be in luck- always the optimist! This is even after I attempted the black Friday sale at Walmart and struck out at 5:00am. Josh agreed to come with me & then Mark volunteered too. My Mom watched Claire & Paige came with us. To our surprise, we ALL got tickets eventhough we didn't go early to stand in line & showed up just after they had opened. See what happens when you read the paper :0)
So... back to the Paige story- Mark and Paige were standing in line to check out. An older lady in front of them was talking with Mark & Paige. The lady mentioned to Paige what beautiful, brown eyes she had. Paige responded with "I got my beautiful brown eyes from my dad" in her nice Paige voice (loud). The lady looked at Mark (who was already embarrassed) and said "oh yes you did". Then to Mark's dismay- several other ladies in front of them turned around to see what Paige was talking about. I wish I could've been there to see & hear it!