Henry is nine months old!

Henry is nine-months old! He is a crawling, pulling up, smiling machine. He has cut one top tooth and the other should emerge soon. Hopefully his sleep will improve when he does because I am one tired mama.

Henry reacting to his favorite person (aka the photo-shoot interrupter).

And we are off on a cruise up the coast with Bill and Barbara. We'll be back in a week with lots of pictures to share.

Besides the Birthday

Sorry, I accidentally emailed this out a bit prematurely.

So, besides celebrating Elizabeth's birthday, we also attended a harvest festival where Elizabeth painted a pumpkin,

played with playdough,

got her hand painted with her friend Emma,

and raced down a hill with her buddies.

Henry has hindered my movement,

looked like the BMOC (big man on campus),

prepared to walk, 

and helped bake Elizabeth's birthday cake.

Elizabeth also practiced her dance moves.

E is three!

Today, our little girl is three years old! It's amazing how much she has learned and changed in the past year. She really seems to be a kid now, and no longer a baby.

Elizabeth is constantly amusing us with her funny faces, endless singing, and amusing antics. At times, she wears me out with her constant talking, but she really is a great kid. She likes following rules and helping out others; she even corrects her friends when they aren't doing what they are supposed to.

Cautious by nature, she has started coming out of her shell more in the past few months. She warms up to new people faster, participates in her classes, and tries new things every day.

The most wonderful thing to watch over this past year has been to see her develop into an amazing big sister. Sure, she still kisses and hugs Henry a bit too roughly, but she always tries to make him happy and he loves being around Elizabeth.

So, happy birthday to our little girl. We love you very much!

It's been a festive week that we kicked off with a doggy birthday party that consisted of eating and jumping on the bed,

and paw print cupcakes.

Today began with opening presents while in PJs (however H is nude),

 decorating a Pecos birthday cake,

 visiting the schoolyard

with Baba,

and eating a delicious birthday cake!

Fallidelphia

We are wrapping up a busy weekend that included a birthday party and a fall festival, but I'm posting about last weekend and last week when we went to a "farm" and Philadelphia. We're in the midst of a busy couple of weeks, so expect lots of posts.

So, last weekend we learned about milking cows,

went on a pony ride for the first time,

enjoyed a hay ride,

rested on a cow bench (with Ethan Williams),

checked out some chickens,

loved on bunnies,

and picked out some pumpkins.

The shirts were painted by Elizabeth!

Then it was hot, so we pulled out the pool for the last dip of the season.

On Monday, Henry had a long doctor's appointment so Justin and Elizabeth explored a new neighborhood and park. They watched some Tai Chi,

anticipated tasting the best Vietnamese sandwich around,

and then really enjoyed the sandwich.

Justin had work in Philly during the week, so the kids and I accompanied him. We saw dinosaur bones for the first time,

went on a canoe ride,

got scared when a turtle swam too close,

played on a tortoise,

dined with Opa,

tried to recreate old photos (scroll down to the Philly section),

explored the Magic Gardens

Elizabeth took this one!

and dined with Opa once more.