Olivia turns 1!

Here are Olivia's 1 year pictures from a photo studio.  Isn't she just the cutest thing you've ever seen?

 

I can't believe my baby is ONE!

 

My little snuggle bug.  She love to cuddle and be held by Mommy!

It's been a crazy month!

The last few months have been a little crazy!  Abbie and Leah started school, Abbie is in 2nd grade and Leah is in Kindergarten. 

The kids got a little restless during the summer and found some creative ways to play and keep busy!

 

Even Olivia was playing games, she became pretty good at disappearing!

Abbie turned 8 years old (and got baptized yesterday, see post above)

 

She got some Lego Friends from Leah and was so excited she screamed with joy and then tackled Leah with a hug.

Last but not least, we bought a house!  That's right, we are finally homeowners!  We have been renting the house we're in (and for the last 13 years have always rented) but we finally found a wonderful house in the right location and will be moving next week!  We're up to our ears in boxes and upheaval but it's been fun to pick out new carpet and do some painting in a few of the bedrooms.  We can't wait to be settled into our new place, if you're ever in the area give us a call and we'll give you a tour!

Leah turns 5!

Leah also had a birthday recently.  She turned 5 just a few days before Christmas and since she has never really had a big party before, I let her have a princess party and invite her cousins and some friends.  Here are all the girls dressed up in their princess dresses.

Getting ready to eat some cake!

 Her Cinderella cake

Blowing out the candle

Opening presents

 Hitting the pinata

 Candy!

The decorations.  I was really proud of myself for being able to pull off a princess themed party just a few days before Christmas and not make it seem too Christmasy.  Leah loved the streamers and pink everywhere...

 And the pink birthday tree!

I can't believe my princess Leah is 5 years old.  She is growing up so fast and is so ready for kindergarten.  She loves to do pretty much anything Abbie is doing and also loves to dance, color, dress up, and play with her cousins.  She is also a great big sister to Porter and does a great job sharing with him and including him in her make believe games.  She is almost always happy and smiling and is pretty easygoing, happy to do whatever we need to do that day.  She loves to help me with cleaning and cooking and she also loves to run errands or go places with Daddy.  She is excited for Mommy to have a baby and I'm sure she will be a big help.  We love our sweet little Leah!

Porter turns two!

Porter had his 2nd birthday recently.  I sewed this #2 on a car onsie and we had a little family party for him and Jared, since their birthdays are just 3 days apart.  Here is my cute little guy with his favorite toys in the whole world, cars!

 We got him this semi filled with cars, he loved it!

The dual purpose cake I made, vanilla for Porter and chocolate for Jared.

Porter loved the cake, it took a minute for him to realize how yummy it was but then he really got into it.

Showing us one of his many cheesy smiles

And silly faces!

We love our little Porter!  I just can't believe he is already 2 years old!  He is such a happy, smiley kid most of the time and loves to do things to make us laugh.  He is pretty curious and active and is always climbing onto the couch, bed, or table to see what is going on around him.  He loves to chase around his sisters, give hugs and snuggle with mommy, mimic almost anything we say, and carry around his little blue puppy saying "I love Puppy!" over and over.  He loves cars and balls and his blankie and puppy.  He is such a joy to have in our family and I love watching him grow up and learn new things.  Happy Birthday little buddy!

Abbie's 7th birthday, visiting the farm, and Pete

Abbie and her cousin Emily have their birthdays just two days apart so we decided to have a cousin birthday party together. Abbie turned 7 and Emily turned 8 in the middle of September. Here they are blowing out their candles.

Hitting the pinata

Abbie's presents from her cousins

All the kids at Hollywood Connection, an indoor amusement park just for little kids. They had a blast!

Abbie's present from Leah. Leah picked it out herself and wrapped and decorated it. She was so excited to give it to Abbie that she told her a few days in advance what it was because she couldn't keep it secret.

A squinkie gumball house

She also got an art kit from Mom and Dad, she has been begging for one ever since her cousin Kyra got one.

We also recently went to Wheeler Farms for a family activity one gorgeous fall day. The girls liked feeding the ducks and geese.

Porter liked riding this tractor

My cuties on the hay wagon before we went for a ride

I love how Porter is peeking through the slats

Leah posing in the pumpkin patch. Each of the kids got to pick out a pumpkin which we later carved for Halloween.

Abbie in the corn field

Holding hands and walking (awwww, so cute!)

Jared and his brother Pete, who visited from NE recently, showing off their facial hair (uhhh, not so cute...)

Fall Firsts

We've had a lot of firsts happen lately. The main one being that Porter got his first haircut! Isn't he so cute? It makes him look a lot older, just in time to start acting like the big brother that he's going to be! (That's right, another little baby will be joining our family in April 2012!)

Here he is before the haircut

During the haircut, he did such a good job for the stylist and didn't cry at all

And after, isn't he so handsome?

He also finally started walking recently, it's about time since he's almost 2 years old!

Leah finally learned to go potty and has been wearing underwear for a few months now.

Abbie learned to tie her shoes...

And started 1st grade!

Here she is on her first day of school, she was so excited to go all day and be able to eat lunch at school!

Walking down the sidewalk with her cousins

I had another birthday and went rollerskating with my sisters. It's probably been over 10 years since the last time I went and it was still fun and no one got hurt!

Jared got me a serger for my birthday! I was totally surprised and had no idea he had been calling around asking what was a good brand and finding the best deal. Now I need to find some time to learn how to use this baby!

The girls with their cousins having a little slumber party

Playing in the swingset with Grandma

Grandma going down the slide!

Abbie swinging with her dolly, practicing to be a good mommy someday

Leah being a great big sister to her brother

Porter loves cars

And trains!

Playing at the pool one last time before summer is over

Porter, the diaper bandit - "Stick'em up!"

Well, that pretty much sums up the last two months, hope yours has been just as great!