3 year check-up.

Today we took this little girl to the doctor for her 3 year check up.

She weighs 27 lbs. (10th percentile)

She's 36.6 inches tall. (30th percentile)

And is just as healthy as can be.

STOP growing Olivia!!!

What does a fox say take 2.

Olivia and Michael are obsessed with this song to say the least.

The dancing and singing that takes place while it's playing is hilarious.

Here is one of Olivia.

I'm still in the process of getting Michael's permission to film him as well:)

Halloween.

This year for Halloween, I had grand plans of making super cute costumes for the girls.

Well, that did not happen ha.

Luckily I had Olivia's bear costume from when she was a baby that would fit Clara, and another little bear costume that my mom made for us kids when we were little.

So all I had to do was put their costumes on and put a little dot of brown lipstick on their noses.

Perfectly easy!

When we got the mail today, there was a special Halloween package for us from my mom.

Olivia and Michael loved opening it. There was some pretty good stuff not the least of which was some butterscotch/ sea salt/caramel/ chocolate balls. To die for!

She really is the best. It helped me feel better about missing my family's halloween traditions.

We went to dinner at our friend's house. I was in charge of the dessert.  I had to make something pumpkiny of course!  So I made a little pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting. 

After dinner the boys took the kids out trick or treating. Olivia loved it! She was a little shy about it and would walk up to the door with her head down and just hold out her bucket. And after they dropped the candy in she would quietly say, "doo doo so much." (Thank you so much).

She got quite a bit of candy and was more than willing to share with her dad and I!

Oh and I just have to write this down so we always remember, but below is a picture of both babies and it's super cute and all but seriously seconds after taking it Olivia threw Clara right off the couch.

It was a little scary but luckily Clara was fine. Oh gosh is all I can say to that.

Here are a few pictures:

Michael took this video while they were trick or treating.

It's hilarious haha. She was quite freaked out about that scary wolf kid.

We definitely had the happiest of Halloweens this year.

Pumpkin Patch fun.

There is a cute little pumpkin patch here in Salem that we went to last year.

Although I hardly remember it because I was so sick.

So this year, I was really excited to take Olivia and watch her pick out her very own little pumpkin.

They had a petting zoo, a few fun activities, and of course the pumpkin patch.

And did I mention a farmers market?! 

So if I'm being perfectly honest....we really just went for the pumpkin donuts:)

That goat tried to eat Olivia.

Or that's what she thought when it grabbed her shirt with his mouth!

She loved all the little animals and when we would walk away she would always try and run back.

There was only so much of that petting zoo I could take though, I mean it seriously smelled SO bad.

She loved riding this horsey.

How cute is he? I mean taking care of two babies plus carrying the Petunia.

Impressive!

I am so in love with this picture!

Could they be any cuter?!

They loved doing the duck races.

As you can tell my Michael's face!

Olivia liked the tractors even though they were super hard to pedal.

Olivia and her little friend Hugo!

She knows how to work things!

Standing by "Petey pumpy."

She calls all pumpkins Petey because of the book Petey Pumpkin.

Hello there cutest girl!

And then to finish off the night Michael and I enjoyed our pumpkin donuts with some hot chocolate while watching Jaws II. 

I know weird movie choice but I've been having an obsession with sharks lately, well I guess I do all the time but I really wanted to watch it.

 And because of the good husband that he is, he watched it with me and maybe even got freaked out a few times:)

Just kidding, but I sure did.

Oh how I love fall.

Clara's 5 months.

Another month has come and gone and we've sure enjoyed every second of it with you.

Sometimes I just have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.

You are absolutely perfect.

Here are a few things about you:

*You love to eat. Like all the time. I have felt that I can hardly keep up with you. Sometimes I would feed you and 30 minutes later you would act like you were starving. So your dad and I thought it would be best to introduce you to a little bit of formula and rice cereal.  I still nurse you for most feedings but I usually give you a bottle in the morning and then a bottle mixed with rice cereal right before bed. You seem a lot happier and a lot fuller:)

 *Your sleeping has not been the best this month.  I wonder if you are teething. There have been nights that you will wake up every 1 1/2 and act like you are starving. I of course feed you and you go right back to sleep. It has been a little exhausting. But we get through it. Thankfully your dad has been so good to me and wakes up with Olivia in the mornings so that we can sleep in together until around 9:30 am. He's the best. 

*You are so good at grabbing things now. You love all your little rattles and toys. Olivia is very good about making sure you always are surrounded by them. Your favorite toy is a little elephant with colorful balls as legs. When you pull down on it, it shakes and goes back up. Sometimes you even laugh when we do it for you.

*You are very very ticklish. When I am taking off your clothes before bath time you just bust up laughing. You are mostly ticklish under your arms and your chubby neck. Your laugh is the cutest thing ever!

*You love bath time. And know that around 6:30 pm that it's that time of night. You kick your little legs and make the cutest little turtle faces the whole time.

*You love to play the stand up/sit down game just like your sister did. You get so proud of yourself and so excited about it. We will lay you down on your back on our legs and then say, "okay Clara are you ready to play a game?" You will start kicking around with a little smirk on your face because you know exactly what to do. It's amazing to me that you can stand up with those chubby little legs of yours!

*You are so good in the car. As long as you have your binky and and a little toy to look at you hardly make a peep.

*You still love to be tightly swaddled. When you get tired I just lay you down and swaddle you up like a little worm and you snuggle right up to me and fall right asleep. You love it when I rest my face on your head.

*You absolutely love daddy. You are always lifting up that little head of yours and trying to find him. When you do, you will just sit and stare at him and kick those little chubby legs of yours. (Kicking those legs of yours is definitely you telling us that you are a happy baby!) Daddy of course is obsessed with you and is always wanting to hold you and talk with you. You are very cute together.

*Looks wise it seems as though you have my nose and my eyes and daddy's mouth and chin. (Of course!) You seem to have my coloring as well. But you are changing all the time so we'll see!

You are such a happy baby Clara. We are blessed every day with your sweet smiles and giggles.

We love you so very much!

And we're out!

After living here for over a year I finally met someone that I felt comfortable leaving my babies with.

Yes even baby Clara.

Shocking I know.

But I just really feel like it is important for Michael and I to get out sometimes, just the two of us.

Sure, we spend time cuddling and talking every day, or buy a yummy dessert and watch a movie together Friday nights, but it just is nice sometimes to get out of the apartment and be served a nice dinner without having to worry about preparing and cleaning up, and literally inhaling our food so fast that we often want to barf because a baby is crying or running around like a wild banshee.

So a night out on the town or just a nice dinner at the Wild Pear was exactly what we needed!

You can tell we are nothing but thrilled!

Our appetizer: chips and hummus.

My plate of a butternut squash pasta.

It was delicious!

(I was unable to get a picture of Michael's food because he ate it so quickly!)

A warm chocolate chip cookie with icecream and caramel.

Oh my gosh I almost died!

And of course we had to order one of our favorites: creme brulee.

As you can tell we are dead serious about our desserts.

I found this quote on pinterest the other day and I can't help but share because it is EXACTLY how I feel about Michael and I.

"He's more myself than I am. 

Whatever our souls are made of, 

his and mine are the same."

-Emily Bronte

Every single day I am grateful for him. He's my everything, and I'm his everything. And that's how it will always be.

Picture overload.

The face she makes when she knows it's bathtime!

The Mickelson's came down for conference weekend and we of course had to take Olivia to her favorite place!

I love how excited she gets and how she waves hi to us with the biggest smile on her face.

It was a little cold waiting for lunch, luckily Aunt Rachel was nice enough to share her jacket with Olivia!

That chubbiest baby blowing spit bubbles.

Just check out those legs.

Absolutely scrumptious if you ask me!

Big smiles.

Doing some web surfing with daddy.

Look at our perfect little baby.

I have the best mom ever.

She sends me loaves of Kneaders pumpkin bread :)

Little turtle smiles!

Olivia is such a good helper when it comes to folding laundry!

(She mostly thinks it is fun to fling it all over the place :))

Sister time.

Her sweet smiles make my day.

Getting letters from my missionary brother Emerson is the best ever.

I always seem to get a letter on the days I need it most.

Little baby legs.

Loving her warm bath.

Sparkly clean and smelling exactly like a baby.
I could just eat her up!

Enjoying a banana crumb muffin.

A yummy dessert of grilled peaches with brown sugar and butter.

I know, it's heavenly.

Sometimes we go to Costco and spend almost $100 dollars on diapers and wipes.

Oh the joys of having two in diapers!

A fresh chicken avocado salad for dinner is sometimes all you need after a long day.

She's the best little mopper!

I think Clara is starting the process of teething.

Hence the constant sucking/chewing on her fingers.

Playtime!

Having a nice dinner with her little friend Shayne.

They laughed at each other for seriously 10 minutes straight!

Naptime with this bundle of joy!

Storytime!

Sophia and I call each other on facetime multiple times a week and just chat for hours. We usually just carry around our phones and go about our daily tasks. It's just comforting having her there. And makes being a part just a little easier!

How cute is that face?!

Movie time.

*And I am still in the process of catching up.

More to come!