Annual pumpkin patch trip

Today we went to a local farm geared toward younger kiddos, with a cow train, bins of corn, bales of hay for climbing, and lots of wide open space for running.  The girls loved it, and I loved taking tons of pictures of them in their Fall outfits with my good camera.

At least one of these is THE cutest pic I have ever taken of Evie, and that's saying a lot.

Happy Fall!

Look who's walking!

Evie took her first steps on August 18 at Aunt Katie and Uncle Sahil's house....while my back was turned hanging streamers.  Doh!!  Ever since then I watched her like a hawk to see if I could catch a repeat.  No dice.  It seemed the strength of my gaze prevented her from doing any meaningful steps.  Jeremy very sweetly reframed it as her being too excited to see me and wanting to use her quickest way to get to me.  OK.

Then she started walking long stretches with the babysitter.  I had to do lots of work to be ok with this, and to not interpret it as working too much and missing all her milestones.  But I am.  Ultimately I'm glad she is so comfortable with her sitter, and that she is helping her to grow while I do my thing at work.

She finally started walking long stretches for me last Friday, when we had lots of extended time together during Willa's Little Gym class.  I love to see how excited she is with herself, and how completely she throws herself into every new task, even if she has fallen before.

This girl is going to go far!

Thanksgiving 2017

One more before I stop for the night, Thanksgiving!

For Evie's first Thanksgiving we were scheduled to be in Niceville.  Since our family has grown this year, the Fowlers generously put us up in a beautiful beach house in Destin.  We had a lovely time doing Thanksgiving crafts, making homemade applesauce, and spending a little time getting our toes sandy.  So wonderful!

Halloween, finally!

As long as I have momentum from posting about Evie's first birthday party, I thought I'd post some pictures from her first Halloween.  Seriously overdue, I know.  So sorry!

As seems to have been the trend in recent years, Willa had a few costumes!  She had a few different events, and she tends to change her mind about what she wants to be between each one.  At school she wanted to be Sofia the First.  She definitely fit in with the girls in her class, where almost every single one was a princess too!

We also had a family costume, as the Belchers, when we went to our friends' Halloween party.  This is what Jeremy and I were last year, but this year we incorporated the girls.  It was so fun!

When I found my childhood dream costume at a resale shop, I couldn't help myself and had to get it for Willa.  We took it to a trunk or treat in our neighborhood, and she had lots of fun galloping in it!

For the church All Souls Festival, Willa was Sofia the First again, and Evie was a perfect little owl.  They were both too precious for words!

Two days before Halloween, Willa told me that she wanted to be a puppy.  Thanks to Amazon Prime, we were able to make that happen for her.

She really was the cutest puppy on the block!

By total coincidence her friend Petra, who joined us for trick or treating again, decided to be a puppy too.  They are the sweetest friends!

It was fun, but a little hectic!  Wouldn't have it any other way!!