Halloween

Now that we are coming off the sugar rush from last night, here’s a quick post with the Halloween festivities. Ava opted for her Candy Corn costume – almost every Mom professed that candy corn is their favorite candy. Ali was the sweet pea (of course)!

We went trick-or-treating with Sofia. The girls were cute – they took turns ringing the doorbells, and loved checking out all the neighbors’ decorations. Ali of course was just being her adorable self.

Ava with her Halloween flashlight…

Ava and Sofia posing by the pumpkins (which Ava helped Dad to carve)

Closeup of the pumpkins – Ali’s handprints as eyes for the big pumpkin, and a cat and tree for the little one.

The excitement is in the air…

Racing to the next house…

But pausing to check out the decorations.

Back at home, Ava had the most fun handing out candy. She was a little afraid of some of the “scary” costumes – but she was happy to give candy to the “nice people”.

After the eventful evening, Ava will be sad to put away her costume and decorations…

Ali 4 Month Update

Happy 4 Months Sweet Pea!

We went to your pediatrician this morning and you are 11 lb 7 oz, and 23 3/4 inches long.  You are perfectly following the 25 percentile for height and 10th for weight.  Dr. Kaye was very impressed at your bubble blowing and your strong kicking.  You were very talkative and giggled a lot, well, until you got your shots.  :-(

This past month you started Mommy and Me swimming lessons.  One lesson with dad and one with mom.  You are very relaxed and seemed to enjoy the water.  It must be from all the time in the pool when you were in Mommy's tummy. 

Likes:  reading books with Mommy or Daddy and big sister, Ava;  napping in your swing, going on walks with mom in the Ergo, watching TV, and being outside at the park.  You like cuddling in mommy and daddy's bed in the morning. 

Dislikes:  napping in your bed,

New in the past month:  swimming lessons, more teething (none have cut through, but lots of drooling) thumb-sucking, playing in your jumperoo, and sleeping through the night!  You go to bed around 7:30 or 8 pm and sleep until 5-5:30 am.  Rolling over;  if we put you down for tummy time, you quickly roll yourself to your back.  We also find you sleeping on your side many times.  You are also making bubbles and raspberries. 

You are going to be a Sweet Peapod for Halloween, but here you are with mom in your "pumpkin" outfit for Halloween party number one.  (It was too hot for your costume.)

Ali smiling for her 4 month photo…

Amazing the size difference of 3 years between Ava and Ali.

Ali as the cowgirl at the Ranch…

Ali, Ava, and Dad at Alcanterra Vineyard.

Ali’s comfortable post for the camera.

Morning stretches.

Followed by relaxing with big sister Ava.

Mo(m) and Ali getting ready for a Halloween party.

We’re looking forward to all that the next month brings!

Ali’s First Swim Lesson and Fun Around the House

One of the nearby swim schools has lessons for the babies. Inside, with a little warmer water it is perfect for Ali to get more comfortable in the water.

Here’s Ali anxiously awaiting the lesson.

Calm and collected at the start of the lesson.

Having fun playing motorboat.

Ali loved the back floats. She is definitely comfortable in the water…

Click on the image above to play the video.

We should have known that Ali would love the water given how much she loves her bath time…

(Nice and clean.)

Ali is also having fun around the house. Sometimes she supervises Scott working in the office…

Or makes sure Chase has company on the floor.

And sometimes Chase even helps Ali as a backrest.

Ali has also discovered that the jumperoo is fun…of course big sister Ava wants to play with her old toys too.

 

But mostly Ava just likes to hold Ali…especially in the morning when we are hanging out in bed.

And sometimes Ava has to just burp her baby doll like Mommy does with Ali.

Ava has been taking a dance and gymnastics class called “Tumblelinas.”  Hereshe is dressed up in her uniform for class. 

The girls sure are growing up fast!

Arizona Fall Fun

With the arrival of cooler weather we get to spend more time outdoors, whether it be at the park, going for walks, or just playing in the backyard. Ava loves being outside, and Ali seems to really like staring at the trees, sky, and especially dozing during our family walks.

Ava recently had two birthday parties to go to. One at the ranch, which of course was a western-themed party.
Here’s Ava showing off her cowgirl hat.

Feeding the chickens.

Panning for gold.
And of course riding a horse. Note that we had to wait for the brown horse – which was of course the biggest of the horses they had out that day.

The next weekend was a train-themed party at the railroad park. The kids got to play some games outside before riding the train.

Ava loves her little engineer’s hat.
And the girls all had fun on the train.
The cooler mornings have made it more fun for some hiking…here’s Ava from a recent Saturday morning hike.

And of course it is nice enough to ride the tricycle.

And the really big tricycles…



We’ll leave you with a video of Ava on her morning runs with Chase…

Click the image above for the video