We had about six inches of snowfall this past weekend, first
snow of the year! It was actually really
beautiful, but a bit early in my opinion!
We still have leaves on some trees!
Maggie was so excited when she looked out her window after waking up – “it’s
wintering outside, Mama!”
So beautiful
In other news, Evie is now 7 months old! She is sitting up and rolling around all over the place. She's incredibly strong (and strong-willed)! Evie was sleeping 12 hours at night for a couple months, but now she's waking up in the middle of the night again. We are experimenting with her feeding schedule, so hopefully that will help! My favorite thing about Evie right now is her giggle. She loves to be tickled, and her laugh is so funny... most babies have little angelic, fairy-like laughs, but Evie's laugh is much deeper and gritty (? I'm finding this really hard to describe... I'll try to get a video sometime soon). It just cracks me up!
Sunday we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Rabine side since
my parents will be out of town this week.
So much good food, it was awesome!
Maggie was beyond excited to spend so much time with Luke. They did everything together (even
cheerleading each other while going potty). Evie got lots of attention, and was a total
sweetheart all night.
A bunch of the grandkids (and Allison)
Grammer doing her Donald Duck impersonation
It's been a long night of partying!
The little ones
Mr. Mischief
Jamie finally got to meet his new niece!
Evie's latest fascination: spoons
Luke led a parade and dropped his latest single, "Dinosaur Song:"
Here's some others from the weekend:
Evie is happiest next to Maggie
Taking a break from housework to snuggle
Daddy's girls
Trying to focus a lot more on tummy time,
need to practice for crawling!
Playing at the library with Grandma!
Showing off her new bib all the way from
Japan! Thanks, Andy and Katie!
We are working on catching and throwing with Maggie. Turns out, balloons are awesome for practice! Her very patient Grandpa likes to play with her:
I celebrated my 32nd birthday last week, and had a blast! Jamie and I escaped to Grand Rapids on Friday for some yummy food and partying at a bunch of bars. We slept in until 9am Saturday! Woot! We visited Gilly at Grand Valley on Saturday for breakfast at Coney - so good to see my goddaughter... all grown up!
Lunch. (there was food too)
Partying in GR
...maybe a little too much...
We also celebrated with the Donoghues on Saturday and my parents on Sunday - I'm feeling pretty loved.
32 never looked so good
(actually, it's probably looked better, but I'm happy)
Will helped us party down
This is what a family photo looks like towards the end of the day...
If I keep shaking and tearing these, a present is bound to appear!
Cuddling with Grandma
...and with Grammer
...and with Pops!
This cupcake is really quite good, Mother
The girls had picture day at daycare last week, so I worked really hard to make them look cute with semi-neat hair. Sadly, I did not realize that they were going to take pictures together, so Maggie's red/blue jumper really clashed with Evie's pink dress... mom fail. Evie was also really cranky during picture time, so the "best" photo looked like Evie just finished doing meth. Well, at least I got a few cute shots at the house before we left:
Ignore the kitchen sink and light switch, and you almost
have a cute picture!
Seriously, she's so cute
Maggie didn't want to hear me taking pictures...?
I never know what's going to come out of this girl's mouth
Evie went in to get her head scanned and measured for the helmet. She's so cute, she makes a head sock look cool.
Babushka!
Some others:
My friend Therese made this adorable hat for Evie! So cute!
Maggie really partied down this weekend
Screw you, baby, I'm the star!
Weight training
Giving each other the silent treatment
This is Maggie trying to pop a balloon with her bottom - just cracked me up:
This is Maggie after Grammer and Pops left the house on Sunday... it's a bit rambling, but I love when we have conversations together:
New life! Our niece Sarah Elizabeth was born on Monday, and she is a beautiful little ball of sweetness. Maggie and I went to visit at the hospital tonight, and I just couldn't believe how tiny she was compared to Evie... you forget just how small they are. She even let me have the honor of wiping her bum. So we're pretty tight.
Maggie loves her new cousin
Maggie said "I think she should come home with us" at least three times while we were there... when it was time to leave, she had a mini-meltdown because she didn't want to leave without Sarah. I had to carry her through the hospital while she wailed "Sarah!" at the top her lungs. So we went to McDonalds... it worked... don't judge me.
Telling her "we're here for you" as she fussed getting her diaper changed
We went to the Neuroscience Center this week to get Evie's flat spot checked. The doctor recommended that she wear an adjustment helmet for 3 to 4 months. She is getting fitted this week, and I'm sure we'll get the helmet in a little while. After all we went through with Maggie's club feet, this really doesn't seem like a big deal. It's kind of a bummer, but we just thank God every day for our girls' health - we are so blessed.
Give it to me straight, Doc
Otherwise it was a pretty calm weekend. Maggie and I went to the zoo and played outside, just had a good time together. Evie continues to be annoyed whenever we sit her down alone - she just wants to be part of the action! My left bicep is approaching Thor-like strength from carrying her around everywhere!
"These pine cones are best friends"
My snuggle bear at the park
Looking at the butterflies
Our little artist hard at work
Side note - if you're ever driving southbound on I-75 near 14 Mile Road, look for the billboard ad Jamie designed for Bishop Foley! It's one of those electronic ones, so you don't always get to see it. Proud of my hubby!
We had a fun (though wet) Halloween this year. Maggie was Princess Sophia, and Evie was classic as a pumpkin. We trick-or-treated in the Donoghue's neighborhood this year so that the cousins could be together. Maggie got sooo much candy throughout this past week - we saved a little for her, but the rest had to go to school with Jamie for his students (we decided this after candy bellyaches one night).
My team will consider your request, but know that all negotiations
require payment in chocolate
Blowing kisses to her wookie
Sister love
Hanging with Grandpa
Love my little pumpkin
Riding her horse, Minimus
Dads on duty
There were several Halloween festivities throughout last week. We carved and painted pumpkins on Friday night:
Got some good coverage with a small brush!
Can't forget the stem!
We were proud of Maggie for getting her hands dirty
Finished products!
Maggie and her "other best friend" were both Sophia at daycare on Friday. Maggie had so much fun that day, and her teacher told me that she was just thrilled when she saw Evie in the parade (I don't think they really see each other at daycare).
Gal pals
After daycare, Jamie took the girls to Bishop Foley's Safe Halloween, where Maggie got to trick-or-treat around the school. It was almost the end of the event when they got there, so everyone dumped a ton of candy in Maggie's bag!
Hanging in Daddy's art room
Look at all my candy!!
After Halloween, the squirrels ate our pumpkins. Maggie was worried the squirrels were inside the pumpkins, and had to open them all to check. Jamie is very proud of his Star Wars pumpkin... I'm not totally sure what it is, and I'm ok with that.
Anybody in there?
R2-3PO??
Maggie got a haircut this past weekend also. I've been putting it off because she was so upset by it last time. Turns out if you give her some yogurt raisins, she will let you do anything you want to her hair.
Just a little off the bottom please, I'd like to
keep my natural color though
Very carefully following instructions to
"look down"
Evie had her first taste of veggies this week! We started with carrots - like her mama, not a huge fan. We have to mix her veggies with baby cereal, she just really doesn't like that soupy texture!
Maggie is really excited about her new cousin Sarah, scheduled to arrive next week! She keeps talking about her tiny shoulders, tiny teeth, and how she wants to hold her at our house. She also keeps saying that she is getting a little sister too - let's be clear, that is not happening (for now anyways)!
Here's a few others:
Brushing our teeth before bedtime!
My sweethearts
Jack, paint me like one of your french girls, wearing this...
wearing all of this...
