Pumpkins

we never made it out last year to a pumpkin patch ...and of course this year we waited until the last minute so we ended up just going to the closest one. i wouldn't exactly call it a "patch", but at least there were some pumpkins to take pictures with.

here are a bunch - they tell the store of our visit, for memory's sake ...great pictures are hard to come by these days with 2 squirmy ones! ...and we were looking particularly thrown together at the last minute this morning, haha! enjoy:

 the first one she picked up was kind of moldy! eww! and i didn't notice until now that you can hardly see her pigtails...and her bangs fell down before we even got out of the car - oops :)

 reid's shoe disappeared sometime between leaving the house and sitting on the haystack (later to be found in the car, probably taken off by his big sister!). he was practicing his model stare here

 he woke up from his nap not just with his normal red cheeks and nose, but also with a red forehead! what a cutie.

 she wouldn't look at the camera! ...notice the drool - she's finally getting one of the 4 teeth she's still missing

 first attempt at a family shot - looking right into the sun...

 nice timing little man for a blowout!

 ok, i'll humor you..but this is the smile you're getting

 sweet girl

 petting the "so so so big" pumpkins

 talking to something or someone

 not too sure about this...

 right before he put his mouth to it!

 i told her to give the pumpkin a big hug...interesting hug, huh!?

 she picked one for reid first

 and then for herself (i think she looks like my cousin michaela in this picture!)

 haha, look at reid's outfit - the only spare pants i had after his blowout...and this time neither of the cute shoes on anymore!

 this is the best one we got folks, here you have it

"cheeeeese"



a heart for God

at this age kids just soak up everything around them - it is truly incredible. and i love that we can decide as parents, what we want to teach our children. we want them to know God - not just to know the Bible stories and who God is, but to really know Him and develop a heart for Him. this is hard. so hard. so many kids raised in the church learn knowledge of God and the Bible backwards and forwards but don't have the heart behind it. i pray that we find the balance and that the Holy Spirit would guide us in wisdom for how to teach our kids about the heart.

all that to say, right now sierra remembers everything she hears...and she repeats it. (side note: my eyes have been so opened to how influential teachers and school are to a child. i'm thankful that our MDO teaches Scripture, but it makes me nervous to one day send our kids off to school having no idea what they're being taught).

here are some sweet things sierra's said recently:

* me: sierra, do you know who Jesus is? who is Jesus?
S: (long pensive pause)...God loves me
me: (heart melting)...yes, sweetie, you're right. God does love you
S: and God loves Reid...and God loves Mommy...and God loves Daddy

* she has been singing a song she learned at school and i can't understand all the words, but this is what i can get:
"God our Father, God our Father....a blessing, a blessing...a-a-men, a-a-men"

* most of the time when we ask if she wants to say the prayer to thank God for our dinner, she says no and just holds our hands while daddy prays. but recently she's started praying out loud more. it's very sweet.

* this, however, is more common - while daddy is praying out loud, sierra starts praying at the same time - also out loud. it is precious!!! usually i can't help but giggle because it's so sweet. those prayers are usually "..and thank you for a-yi, shu-shu, baby hudson, thank God mommy, daddy, and reid...thank you for my milk...(etc.)".

* when we pray before bedtime, she likes to thank God for (by listing out) all her family by name, her teachers (ms. barbara and jojo) and friends at school (yuke, patchick, liliana, michaela, wooby (ruby), maya, pawpeh (harper)...and every stuffed animal in her crib (my goo, white bear, puppy, macaw, groovy goo, monkey)...and of course her paci.

sibling love

I kept forgetting to do Reid's 4 month photo shoot, so I ended up having to do it while Sierra was awake. I was hoping she would stand behind me and make him laugh...haha, I think I still have a couple more years before that type of cooperation :) Instead she wanted him to sit in her lap...and this is a glimpse of what followed...

she kissed his hand right after i took the picture

so sweet  :)

2 years old

Our sweet baby girl turned 2 years old today. TWO. I seriously cant believe it! Sweet Sierra, This has been a really fun year, watching your personality develop. You fit the description of a spirited baby when you were just a few months old and it still holds true today - so full of energy, life, giggles and sass!!! You keep us on our toes! We have gone through some big events this year - your first overseas trip to Argentina, a very scary trip in an ambulance after a febrile seizure, becoming a big sister, learning how to live with a peanut allergy, welcoming 2 new cousins, starting your first school... And that doesn't include all of the daily things you do to have fun and make us laugh. You are a very silly girl and you love to tease. You are so inquisitive and ask questions all day: "hey Mommy, whatcha doin' Mommy?", "where my Daddy go?", "where my baby Reid go?", "owts (what's) that sound?", "Mommy, wanna color?", "Mommy, you wanna read book?", "owts that?" ...you get the picture! I love it. You are my little buddy and we talk and play all day. You are such a good helper and love to help me put clothes in the washing machine, throw them into the dryer and "fold" them in the basket or hang them up to dry. You are also great at throwing away trash, putting your dirty dishes in the sink, and sometimes even cleaning up toys! You are such a great big sister and have recently started to really interact more with Reid. You ask him questions a lot too! "See that, Baby Reid?", "Can you do that Baby Reid?", "you hungry Bab Reid?", etc. You want to make sure he is included so you want to hold his hand when we pray, give him high fives, tell him night night, sometimes put toys in his hands (and sometimes take them...but that's what big sisters are for, right?!), and you have to know where he is at all times. You still struggle with getting both feet off the ground to jump, but you sure know how to dance!!! You dance when you're excited, when you hear music and pretty much all the time. You are also getting really good at singing! Some of the songs you sing are: Jesus Loves Me, Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, You Are My Sunshine, Have Patience, the Clean Up song, Happy Birthday. You are a social girl. You can be quiet and shy right at first, but don't stay that way for long. You love older kids and seem to get energy from being around other people. You still have a very enthusiastic wave to say "hi" and "bye" and will say it often, even to the same person after you've been with them for a long time. You are still a great sleeper and LOVE your crib! You run to your room with excitement when it's time to go night night (naps and bedtime) and stay in there playing happily after you wake up until someone goes to get you. You still sleep with a paci and love it so much we're afraid to take it away. You also sleep with Goo (of course-he is still your best friend), pink puppy, groovy goo bear and recently Macaw and white bear. You like us to put a blankie over you and tuck you in. You pray to thank God for your family. Some of your favorite things are: Goo, coloring, playing outside, "watch T-Wee", playing on an iPhone, looking at pictures, kitties, doggies, peas, blueberries, raisins, bread, smoothies, taking a bath, reading books, going to the park, music and dressing and undressing yourself and your animals/babies. You're not quite so fond of: meat, frozen desserts, being woken up, big animals, or sharing your toys You are a Mommy's girl and I am relishing that while I can! But you do ask about your Daddy all day long. You love to play chase and tickles with Daddy and you've become his little garden helper. You can be very independent or very clingy but either way, you know what you want and tell us with assurance! You like to test the limits and see how we'll react. Your vocabulary is through the roof and your grammar is getting better every day, it really amazes me!! You still can't pronounce "r" or "l" so it makes for some super cute words. Some of my favorite words and phrases right now are: "Auntie Money" (Meli), geeraff(giraffe), mulk (milk), "peoples", yogurt (yogurt), "yeyow" (yellow), "I yove you", "upy" (when you want to be picked up), (I'll have to come back and add more here...) You know your colors, can count to 15 in English and 8 in Spanish, some shapes (triangle, circle, oval, heart), the ABC song and can recognize a few letters (B, M, O, R, S) Sierra, we love you more than words could express! We thank God for letting us be your parents and for getting to experience so much joy through you! We can't wait to see how you grow in this next year. You are a beautiful little girl, perfectly and wonderfully made by God! Happy 2nd Birthday Sierra Grace! You I wish I could capture everything about you at this age so I don't forget the details!