Aliyah's Birthday Party

We had a birthday party for Aliyah at the park last weekend. She had so much fun with all her friends together at one time. She enjoyed being the leader in follow the leader. She even turned into a little aerobics instructor--she had all the kids facing her doing jumping jacks! :) She got a lot of fun presents and what kid doesn't love cupcakes. We lucked out and the weather was especially cool last weekend (meaning in the 70s). Great little party!

Fall Pictures

We Love Our Little Family

Russell at 2 Months

Russell went to his 2 month doctor appointment and weighed 13 pounds 13 ounces and was 25 inches long. He was in the 90th percentile for weight, 97th for height, and 75th for head size. We have another BIG boy!

At about two months he started to smile and coo. We haven't caught a full smile on camera yet, but more will be coming soon. He is a very content baby and usually only cries if he is hungry, poopy, tired, or alone. He loves being held, and I think there has only been once or twice ever in his little life that he has been inconsolable--and it usually only last for 20 to 30 minutes. He has been a pretty difficult nurser since about a week old and I have always been very concerned that he is not getting enough to eat--so the doctor appointment was a big relief, he is obviously growing. He has been improving in nursing, though, since about that time. He is starting to sleep through the night, going for 8-10 hour stretches on most nights. And he likes going to be early, usually between 7 and 9pm. Napping hasn't been as easy, but I borrowed a swing from my sister and he will take a lot of his naps in that. However, even when he has a bad nap day, I know that I probably won't have to get up in the middle of the night, so it makes it ok. He is such a sweet little guy--we all love him so much!

Friends Visiting

 My friend, Aubrey, and her kids came to Phoenix for a visit. We were so happy to see them and play with them. Aliyah has been friends with Eve since before they turned one! We miss you guys!

I took 5 pics of the kids--none of them had all 6 looking at the camera! :)

Our "Cool Guy"

Spencer got new church shoes and was showing them off before church:

After church Spencer found Dad's sunglasses and called himself a "cool guy" and was posing in all sorts of "cool" ways. He is such a hilarious little guy.

Everyone Loves Russ

Aliyah still loves holding Russell. And if he is awake and in a good mood in the evening, they all like to snuggle together before bed. So cute!

 Spencer doesn't look so much like a baby compared to Russell.

 Aliyah loves being a good helper and holds Russ whenever he is happy. She's not quite ready to take care of a crying baby.

Spencer Unsupervised!

I was nursing Russell in the living room and couldn't see around the wall from the couch to the table to notice that Spencer had filled up his paper and had moved on to coloring himself. This has been a problem before and he has been off limits from markers for about 6 months. I thought he was old enough to color the right way and he assured me he wouldn't color on himself. Don't believe the promises of a three year old boy--he might end up with a beard and double sleeve tattoos!

I am sure it doesn't help kids learn when you are smiling and taking pictures of their "naughty" act. I just had to capture this little moment! :)

Giants/Diamondbacks Baseball Game

We left Russell with Grandma and Grandpa Willman, and took Aliyah and Spencer to the Diamondbacks game when they were playing the San Francisco Giants. It was quite an adventure, but we had fun. The kids had a hard time sitting for the whole game, so we did lots of walking around, ate A LOT of treats, and went to the stadiums really cool kids section. They have a playground where they got to play and a mini baseball diamond where kids can practice batting. Both had long lines but it was fun for them to do. Aliyah is actually pretty good at hitting a ball--she loves playing ball at home and plays catch and does "batting practice" often with Bill. Bill enjoyed seeing his Giants win and seeing Hunter Pence hit a grand slam. We lucked out and went on fireworks night. We weren't sure if the kids would be able to make it that long or if the fireworks would scare Spencer, but they loved it.

Aliyah Turned 6!!!

Aliyah turned 6 on September 10th. She got to bring treats into her classmates at school. Then we had Aftin's parents come over for cinnamon rolls (Aliyah's choice). She got a new bike and loves it. She asks to ride bikes most nights after dinner. (We took video and no pics of the bike riding--we'll post pics of the bike soon.) She wanted to have a birthday party for her friends at the park, so we planned one for October when it would be a bit cooler.