10 Months!

Alright, so technically Sawyer Belle turned 10 months a week and a half ago, but I've been busy with work and sicky children.  But any who, can you believe that my baby is 10 flippin months old!? I can't, in less than 2 months, she will be 1, and in my head, that means she is kinda out of her babydom.... agh! I don't like it!  Here is a fun fact, when Harper was 10 months, we were finding out we were already pregnant with Sawyer... crazy, we were insane.  Anywho, here are a few random things to know about Sawyer to the B at 10 months...

We have renamed her Monster Baby, because if she can reach it, she will pull it, knock it down, eat it, hit it, or kick it.

At the same time though, she is also very joyful, she is such a flirt and it is hard not to smile and be in a good mood when she is being in her happy baby zone.

She thinks being upside down is the greatest, I don't know why, but she really likes it, and it can be a bit startling when you are holding her and she lunges back so she can be upside down.

She is pulling herself up and walking holding on to things, but also just standing up on her own in the middle of the room, she has tried to take a few steps, then realizes that won't work after she face plants.

Finally FINALLY she is sleeping through the night!!!!  Can I get an "AMEN!"?

STILL she has no teeth... I would think with acting like she is teething so much, she would have some teeth to show for it, but nope.

She likes to shut doors, which she just did, then had a freak out moment because she realizes she couldn't get out of her room, we do this about 10 times a day.

She is giant, well not the most giant, but 90% in height and 70% in weight and I just had to break out some 18 month clothes... yikes.

ummm... probably there is more, but I hear crashing coming from Sawyer's room, probably that is not good.

"How YOU doin?"

You know what is better than a Sawyer Belle?  I giant Sawyer Belle face on the tv...

She's pretty cute... you can say it, I won't mind

Also she has invented a new hairstyle, its between an Alfalfa-do and fohawk, I shall name it the Alfahawk!

The Harper on the bus...

Giggles a lot, apparently busses are the funniest. You see, I have been trying to get to Pikes for about 2 months to get Beckett a piggy bank for his bday, and since its tomorrow, we decided we should go this weekend. Since Sawyer and I were sick yesterday, Ryan and I thought it would be fun if I took Harper on a date today, Ryan stayed home with Sawyer and watched all the pre-game football stuff, he is watching the game now, you can cut the tension with a knife in this house. Any who, Harper, Mickey and I grabbed a bus and headed downtown.  She seemed a little overwhelmed, I think her favorite part was the escalators going into the bus tunnel.  Harper did learn some good city lessons...

1.  Don't listen to the crazies... they don't make any sense, also don't give them any money, also don't stop and wave when they try to tell Harper how cute she is.
2.  Those birds everywhere are called pigeons, they go ccccrrrrruuuuu (you try typing the sound a pigeon makes)
3.  Sometimes you have to wait a long time for the right bus, also probably 6 buses will come and go in that time.
4.  Mommy can't go to Pikes without stopping at MeeSum for Pineapple bread  (usually also Mr. Ds for a gyro, but those are messy and we were in a hurry)
5.  Walk around tourists, they take too long
6.  The best fruit stand is inside Pikes, not the ones on the outside, they are still good, but the one down the middle on the left is the best.

She was pretty excited while we were waiting for the bus, Mickey was a little nervous about his first bus ride.

We sang "The Wheels on the Bus" I think the dude behind us enjoyed it. 

Pretty much she was done with getting her picture taken already

Enjoying some Chicken Humbow

There was a pigeon stalking Harper while she was eating (pretty much the bird form of Griz), this is not that pigeon, I didn't take its picture because I was trying to be ready to defend my child in case the pigeon decided to attack, they scare me a bit.

Obviously you can't go downtown without giving some money to one of the many street musicians

We found the pigs!!!

We considered getting some dried flowers to bring home, but then figured Sawyer would just eat them.

She wasn't so sure about the crabs I made her stand by, at least it wasn't fish.

She really liked the pig, you can't tell in this picture, but I'm pretty sure she wanted to bring it home, but it wouldn't fit on the bus.

And doing some more eating while we waited for the bus home.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Alright people... I'm a bit behind, and my excuse is pure laziness... so let's get caught up!

I really wanted to somehow ingrain in Harper (and Sawyer) from a young age, the real reason for the season, but at the same time, let her experience the magicalness (its a word) and wonderfulness and givingness (also a word) of Santa.  So I thought hey, I'll do an advent kind of calendar, and every other day, we will read part of the Nativity story out of her children's bible and then on the other days do something else Christmasy... hahaha... I'm so funny, it got stuck on day 22, so I did really good for those 3 days.

Luckily, Harper did go to toddler bible study and we did try to do some Nativity reading, also we made a birthday cake for Jesus, and Harper and Lincoln blew out the candles Christmas night as we sang "Happy Birthday" which was cute, and pictures of this would have been special... but I did a serious photo fail this Christmas, I don't know what happened.  Also I think Harper was a little scared of Santa, we went to see him but neither girl would go near him, we did leave out cookies, which Santa ate, and 2 carrots for his "reindeer", which they enjoyed eating, hopefully they won't catch on that Santa only has 2 reindeer, kinda like we have 2 dogs.

Our Christmas was pretty low key, which was nice, for the first time we stayed home and woke up with just the girls and opened gifts, then later that afternoon we went to my brother's and had Christmas with them and the Baker's.  Really though, as seeing how special Christmas is through our girls' eyes is, we are glad the holidays are over because Ryan worked 6 days a week and we never saw him. 

And if you are wondering what crazy shenanigans we got into on New Year's Eve... Ryan worked, and I let the girls stay up until 9:30 (because Whitney came over and we were working on some small group stuff and I just didn't get around to putting them in bed) and then I was in bed by 10:15.... WooooHOOO!  We live the crazy life.

Kennedy and Harper made a gingerbread house the weekend before Christmas, Harper discovered a love of marshmallows, and a sugar high happened

She kept forgetting that you can blow to make a noise and she'd put her mouth on it and squeak

The adults playing with Lincolns toy

Harper got a doctor set, Tet-Tet needed a check-up

Sawyer thought her new Owl from Aunt Heather was delicious

Harper reading the directions while helping me put together their new table

"I don't need to read the stinkin directions! I got this!"

The finished table and the kitchen Santa brought

Game Changers

Hello blog world,
I hope you do not mind, but we are going to get a bit serious again.  It seems this past week was horrid, just filled with the most devastating news from all over.  None of it actually directly affected me, but every time I got wind of a new sad development, it was just gut wrenching, and I a little bit obsessed.  I 100% know why, I am a mother now, and it all had children involved.  Having kids is a game changer, not just your life, but how you feel and react to so much changes, at least for me. 

I first realized this, the last time I read Harry Potter, I read through the whole series probably every other year, and this time, instead of relating to Harry, Ron, and Hermoine, I related to the parents.  The whole time, I thought, how horrid would it be to die before you see your child grow up?  Or, I could not imagine feeling like my children were in constant peril.  Obviously Harry Potter is fiction, as far as I know, there is not a super evil wizard out there, but still, the story changed for me as I grew up and had kids of my own. 

Then, Friday happened, you all know what I'm talking about, my heart goes out to those families, even the shooters, because he was someone's child as well.  Then Saturday, my nephew had a seizure, as scary as that was, once I found it we was ok (he's feeling better!) I started thinking of my brother, sister-in-law and my nieces, how scary for them to feel so helpless while this is happening to their baby boy. 

Then yesterday, Natasha told me someone I know has stage 3 breast cancer.  This one really seemed to hit home.  Now, I am not close to Lindsey, I've only met her twice, but I like her a lot, also she is my age, and has a beautiful baby girl.  If I received this news, I don't know what I'd do, before I had kids, probably I would curl up and cower, but I feel like having children gives you a strength you never knew you could posses.  What I do know, is I would not be as courageous as this amazing, beautiful young woman.  So this is what I want you to do... read her blog, then if you happen to have a few dollars lying around, please please help her out with some medical bills.  They are a young family, and not having to be so worried about how they are going to pay for all of this, will help relieve her stress, and help heal her faster.  But above all, please keep her and her family in your prayers!

Read her blog here... no really DO IT!  You will be so glad you did! She is such an inspiration!
http://lindseysfight.blogspot.com/2012/12/take-my-breath-away.html


Help them out here....
http://www.gofundme.com/1p4na0

And because they are the game changers... here are my children's faces.

To move or not to move?

That is the question! UGH!  Anyone who knows me, knows that I am BAD at making decisions.  I mean, I have been losing sleep over trying to decide which play kitchen to get Harper.  Ryan is usually pretty patient with me, except for drive-thrus, which is rare for us so I don't have the menus memorized, and then you have to decide in the amount of 5 seconds what you want!?!  Even when shopping for stuff for myself, I usually have to text someone (Natasha) on which one to get.  When my grandfather and step-grandmother died last year, and I couldn't make it back, we started considering moving.... this has been an impossible decision.  Ryan and I can do our jobs from anywhere (kinda, Ryan has his own store here, but might have to wait for who knows how long if we moved), and after doing research, have decided if we want to move, the Des Moines area would be the best option for us to raise our girls in.  So I'm throwing it out to you blogging world... we need your help! I'm going to do some pros for staying, and for moving... lets do this!

Staying Pros...
1. We have the most AMAZING friends here, and our girls have friends close to their ages within our group of friends, but who knows if all of our friends will stay here?
2.  The weather... it is pretty mellow, and I kinda like rain, it never gets super hot or super cold, also hardly any mosquitoes, which are gross and annoying, also I've been sick maybe once or twice here (allergy to dust wise), it used to be a lot more in Iowa.
3.  It is beautiful, trees, mountains, lakes, oceans, who could ask for more?
4.  Culture, it is pretty varied here, our girls will be exposed to so much.
5.  Acceptance.  One thing Ryan and I love here is that our girls can find somewhere to fit in.  They can be deep, wear black, be artsy, emo, musical, geeky, whatever, people out here can be pretty darn accepting.
6.  This is our adopted home, even though Ryan and I are both from the Midwest, we met & fell in love here, got married, popped out a couple of kids, that means something to us, its weird to think of not living here.
7.  Coffee... we have an addiction, its on every corner, that's handy.

Movie Pros...
1. FAMILY!  Our girls get to see their 4 sets of grandparents 1 or 2 times a year. We want them to know them, and have as many fond memories with their grandparents as we do with ours.  Also, lets be honest, being able to drop the girls off at a grandparents' house for a weekend, would be kinda nice.
2.  House, if we could ever afford to buy a house here, who knows where it would be, what kind of school district, and how small, we could buy a better one in the Midwest because it is so much cheaper.
3.  Even though there is a lot out here, we feel like since Iowa is pretty centrally located, we can drive to a lot more vacation spots from there.
4.  Ryan works retail, he will always have to work the day before and after every major holiday, which means we can never go anywhere, it also means, that those days while everyone else is spending it with family, it is just another day to the girls and I, at least in Iowa, the chances are much higher that someone will be around to spend them with. (on the same note, not being able to go anywhere eliminates the which one of the sets of grandparents will we be with this year kinda thing)
5.  Ryan and I were both born and raised in the Midwest... I think we turned out ok.
6.  Safety, the amount of crime is much less in Iowa.
7.   TRAFFIC!!  There is none, there is sooo much here, it stinks. 

Who's still with me?  If so, go you!  This has pretty much been a novel.  I know I'm missing some pros, but my foots asleep... so lets get on with it, shall we?  What do I need from you?  Well if you grew up here (in Seattle), was it as accepting as I think it is?  If you grew up in Iowa in a bigger school or live there now (we are thinking Johnston), how was it?  Opinions people!!!  We need help!

Lincoln, the only cousin Harper has her age (lives in Seattle)

How adorable would it be have this picture every year?  We'll just skip over the fact that someday my teenage daughter will be in a wheel barrel with 2 teen boys

Sister, sister.  Never knew how much I missed ya. Which I do, I love my family out here, but sometimes, I just need my sister.

Please enjoy this photo of my dad in dreads...

We love these girls, and can't imagine not seeing them!

Harper and her Peepaw

Harper and her Iowa cousins with my grams and gramps.

Ryan... fishing... which he likes to do but there is less of in Iowa

The King boys!  Ryan only gets to see his bros every couple of years

There are no major pro sports teams in Iowa... which Ryan thinks would be sad, I on the other hand, wouldn't mind a little less sports on the tv.

This has nothing to do with moving, but I realized there was no photo of Sawyer, also I made her this hat. Also my flash is bright.