Emerson is 3!

Our girls are growing up so fast! It's funny to say that Emmie just turned 3, because in so many ways, it seems like she's been 3 forever. She acts so much older than her age in so many ways, that we have to remind ourselves sometimes that she is still our little girl! She had a fun and eventful year, with many fun holidays, trips to Mexico and Arizona, starting preschool, and of course, getting a new baby sister! She has handled it all so well, and have loved every minute of watching her grow, even though she acts more like a 10 year old than a 3 year old at times! We have so much fun having funny conversations with Emmie, her ability to grasp big concepts and be aware of others' thoughts and feelings is amazing to us. Of course, along with turning 3 come some not so fun, and challenging battles! Emmie has become quite the little drama queen lately, and we never know just what's going to set her off, but I suppose that comes with the territory, and we will get through it sooner or later. :)

We had her birthday party at Little Gym on Sunday - here are a few pics of her and all her friends and family enjoying the fun!

She was so exhausted after all the fun that she fell asleep in the car on the way home!

Hayden is 1 month old!

Actually, I'm a little behind in posting - she's five weeks now, but these were taken at exactly one month. Hard to believe it's already been a month - in some ways, it's flown by, and in others, it feels like she's been a part of our family forever! She continues to be a champion eater, everyday we continue to be amazed at much she can put away in one day! She is already up to 10 lbs. and at this rate, we are going to have a pretty chunky baby on our hands soon. :)

It's been alot of fun to see the differences in our two girls already - Emmie was our mellow baby who could have cared less about holding her head up and moving around, she was very content to just 'be,' except, of course, when it came to sleeping, which she was never much good at! Hayden, however, has proven to be quite the strong and active little baby, always holding her head up and trying to look around, trying to climb up our shoulder when we are holding her, and never really wanting to be put down. But so far, she is definitely the better sleeper of our two girls!




















For a fun comparison of Hayden and Emmie at one month - http://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=33740559/PictureID=974212659/a=25835724_25835724/t_=25835724

Professional pics

Well, we attempted to get our first professional pictures done now that Hayden is here, and let's just say it didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped! In fact, I'm sure we were the photographer's worst nightmare:

- Hayden cried anytime we attempted to lay her down
- Emmie would not put down her teddy bear or blankie for any pictures
- When it was time to get pics of the whole family, Emmie would not move, and insisted on laying down on the couch in the spot where she had been previously watching Dora while we tried to get pics of the previously mentioned screaming baby.
- The last straw was when Emmie decided to escape the family pics by climbing onto the back of the couch and crawling along it, which ended with a loud fall to the floor between the back of the couch and the wall, which of course, was followed by much screaming. Fun times!

The photographer just posted a few of the pics on her blog, and amazingly enough, it looks like we may have ended up with at least a couple of decent options! http://www.deenahofstad.com/blog/

Visit from great-grandparents

Nate's grandparents are visiting this week to see their second great-grandaughter for the first time and of course, Emmie, too! We went to Snoqualmie Falls Sunday.

Auntie did Emmie's nails before her pizza and pajama party at her preschool Saturday night.















Don't worry, that's just Emmie's baby doll Sarah that's getting her diaper changed!




















Daddy's little football...

Halloween fun!

We celebrated Halloween all week long, and Emmie loved it all! She was a very proud butterfly, and was very happy to wear her costume all week long!

First, we went to the Issaquah Highlands fall festival on Saturday, where her favorite thing was the pony ride - quite a sight to see a pink butterfly riding a pony!

On Thursday, Emmie's preschool had a Halloween party, and Emmie was so excited to see that her best friend at school, Bebe, was also dressed up as a butterfly!

And finally, the big night came and we went trick or treating with our neighbor Jordyn, who was the cutest little princess! Hayden came along for the ride, even though mommy couldn't find a costume small enough - she had to settle for wearing a pumpkin hat that was too big for her!

First doctor appointment

Hayden had her 2 week doctor appointment last Tuesday, and everything was great! Dr. Hiegel said she was perfect, which we already knew, of course!

Her stats at 2 weeks:

Weight - 7 lbs. 9 oz. -- 55th%
Height - 21 1/2 in. -- 95th%
Head - 65th%

Fall fun at the park

We met grandma Betty and grandad at the park for a 'last nice day of Fall' picnic last weekend, and Emmie had fun playing in the beautiful fall leaves.