Double Digits

My little Ella Grace turned 10 Months old today.  And when I put her to bed last night, I almost cried.  I put her to bed as a 9 month-old, knowing the next time I saw her she'd be 10 months old and, for me, going from 9 to 10 months seems like a bigger jump than any other "month mark."  I guess it's because it's double digits.  I am such a baby lover and I'm just trying to savor her baby-ness as much as possible.

The biggest change in the past month?  Mobility!!  When I took her to her 9-month check up, the doctor asked me if she was crawling.  Nope.  Up on all 4's and rocking?  Nope?  Scooting/army crawl?  Nope.  She just sits there.  And will roll on occasion, I responded.  But within a couple of weeks of that appointment..... it started.  Out of nowhere, she was on her stomach, instead of just laying there or rolling on to her back like she usually does, she reached her arms out in front of her and started pulling herself forward.  She scoots like that from room to room and makes cute little baby Ella sounds as she does.  (I took this video today).  But I've still never seen her get up on her knees or lift her belly up off the floor..... which is fine with me!

Clothes:  9 months

Diapers:  Size 3

Food:  Yogurt, applesauce and pretty much any "soft" table food.  I have never bought any baby food.  I have always just fed her "regular" food appropriate for her age.

Talking:  Says "Mama", "Baba" "Dada", but can't tell yet if it's all just babble or whether any of it is purposeful.

Sleep:  2 naps/day and sleeps through the night about 90% of the time.

Welcome Home

Waiting with their signs....

Welcome Home! 

(Notice Lacey handing over her hand - made thank you note)

The "aerial" view of the troops coming out of customs

Fellow patriotic classmates :)

In one of the school newsletters, I heard about a "Welcome Home" event at the airport welcoming home the troops.  As you can see from the turnout, most people probably thought it was a bit much to squeeze in on a school night (it was scheduled for 7pm on Thursday night.)  It was especially tough for us since I don't even get home until almost 7pm on Thursday nights.  But as soon as I heard about it, I was totally committed to going.  What a great experience for my kids to learn at such a young age that Freedom is something that is earned.  Something worth fighting for.  We talked about it ahead of time and they made signs and thank you cards.  I told them to dress in something patriotic and Tanner's outfit cracked me up - a red, white and blue striped shirts with his "army" pants.  Perfect!  We all had fun welcoming home the troops from their tours of duty and we all went home that night feeling a little more patriotic.  A little more grateful for the freedoms which we have and just a little more appreciative of all of those who serve to protect this great country.

Riley J

This picture was actually taken 5 months ago, but it is one of my very favorites.

Happy 3rd Birthday to my Riley J!  

Gotta love her hair :)  The girl REFUSES to let me do her hair.  And on the rare occasion that I force her to let me brush her hair and put it in braids or a pony tail or whatever, she takes it out in about two seconds.  It is a total pointless use of my time.  And she takes her finger and twirls her hair around it until there are big knots all over her hair that are sometimes so bad, we have to cut them out.  Awesome.

Her tie-dye cake

Piñata time!

My Riley J turned three years old on Thursday.  It's hard to celebrate a birthday on school nights, so we invited all of Dave's family over and celebrated last night.  She loves this Micky Mouse book that is all about Minnie Mouse planning a birthday party for Micky.  So, she has been talking about her birthday for weeks telling everyone that her birthday is "after Halloween" and that she will have "balloons and party hats and cake and candles and presents."  And then she lists every single person that is coming to her party.  It was fun getting ready for her birthday because it is the first year that she was aware that it was her birthday and excited about it.  And, I am happy to say that she is my first child so far that actually spent her third birthday in underwear!  About two weeks or so ago, she finally started using the toilet.  Yeah!!!!  She's not perfect and we still have accidents, but she is doing really well and I am so happy that it is finally clicking for her!

My sweet, spirited Riley Jane, you are such a presence in our family.  Truth be told, you have been a tough two year old.  Can't believe we made it through :) You definitely want what you want when you want it.  You are assertive and determined.  You and Tanner egg each other on constantly.  You still love your "hot milk in my baba" and I know I need to take that bottle away from you!  Your speech therapist has been after me for the past year, but you just won't give it up!  And, given the fact that we have a baby in the house with bottles around, it is no easy task!  You love going down to the basement with your "baba" and watching your "show" which is usually Micky Mouse Clubhouse, Team Umizoomi, Special Agent Oso or Little Einsteins.  When you turned two, your Pediatrician told me to have you evaluated by a speech therapist because she couldn't understand anything you were saying.  We started you in Speech Therapy in March and you now speak amazingly well!  What a difference a year has made!  I just had you re-evaluated and you were within normal limits except for a mild delay in articulation.  You love your blue teddy and you love your mama.  Every single morning (or middle of the night), you come to my side of the bed.  We always know it is you because you always close the door behind you.  You stand there by my side of the bed until I acknowledge you and then you climb over me and cuddle up in bed between us.  You love playing with all the neighbor kids, especially Giana.  You love going to the park.  You are so, so hard to shop with, so I try to avoid it at all costs :)  I just took you to the Pediatrician for your 3-year wellness check and you were 41# and 41".  Off the chart for both.  You were 36# and 36" at your two-year check-up.  Off the chart then too!  I can't believe you have grown 5 INCHES in 12 months!!  We can't keep up with you!    So glad you are in our family, our sweet Riley J.  Love you a hundred million.

Go Hedgehogs!

Lacey's last game of her soccer season was today.

The two "Laceys."  They spell their name the same way and even sit next to each other in their class too!

Lacey and her awesome soccer coach, Coach Doug.

Her whole team.  Lacey is such good friends with all these girls - they all live in our neighborhood and they all go to school together.  They named themselves "The Hedgehogs" and each coach is holding their mascot :)

This was Lacey's third consecutive season playing soccer.  It was a major change from last year to this year.  For the past two years, she played on a co-ed team on a small field.  Nobody played positions and there wasn't a goalie.  Nobody kept score and there were a ton of goals scored - and Lacey scored a half dozen or more at every game.  But this year, it got serious.  Field was way bigger.  They were expected to learn and play positions.  There was a goalie.  Genders were separated.  Scores were low.  There were games when we didn't score any goals at all.  Lacey played hard at every game, but going into today's last game, she had yet to score a goal.  She was so hoping she would get a goal today.  She had a couple great breakaways and a couple great runs and shots, but her goal attempts were blocked by the goalie.  Until..... the end of the fourth quarter when she made a great play and scored a goal!  She was SO excited!  I was so happy for her that she finally got the goal she wanted so badly and ended on such a high note.  It was so cute -- she immediately looked right at me and smiled from ear to ear!  Until next season...... Go Hedgehogs!

Trophy Time!

Tanner just wrapped up his second season of soccer today.  

Tanner posing with his buddy, Matthew

Go Ravens!

And the best part of the season ending?  The trophy of course!

I'll be honest.  Last year was painful.  PAINFUL.  He whined incessantly and I had to bribe him every week to just stay in the game and focus.  He didn't turn into Beckham in a year, but the difference of him playing soccer at Age 5 versus Age 4 was night and day.  He still pooped out toward the end of the hour long games, but he didn't whine and I didn't have to bribe him.  And most importantly, he had fun!

Trick or Treat!

I actually took this picture a couple weeks ago when we were taking out our Halloween decorations, but it seemed perfect for this post :)

The night before Halloween, we de-gutted and carved all our pumpkins....

Nice that Lacey and Tanner can finally participate in the de-gutting part!

On Halloween, my sweet father-in-law came over to watch Riley and Ella so that I could volunteer for Lacey's classroom party.  Here she is with her entire class of 21.

In addition to classroom parties, all the kids went outside for a parade, so I got to see my T too!

This picture cracks me up - she is totally acting the part of a flamingo flapping her wings and even making a bird sound.  So funny.

After we got home, I quickly got to work getting the younger two ready for trick or treating.  Although Riley was Dorothy at the ward Trunk or Treat, we decided to mix things up a bit and have her be a flamenco dancer for Halloween.  We love this dress - Dave bought it in Spain and Lacey used it for Halloween when she was three and I wanted to make sure Riley used it before she outgrew it.

Her attempt at making an "O'le!"

My baby girl's first Halloween.

As I went out with the kids, I kept thinking about how I was doing that same exact thing last year, but waddling around with this little bug inside of me.  What a difference a year can make!

My "Muscle Ninja" in one of his favorite places - the climbing tree in our front yard!

The finished products of Halloween Eve's degutting and carving :)

Happy Halloween!