Too much Fun!

We had such a great time in SLC with our family and friends over the holiday that we forgot to take pictures! We did manage to snap a few photos of Harry, who decided to grab his bowl of sweet potatoes away from Ma B since she apparently wasn't getting it in his mouth fast enough! As you can see, he thoroughly enjoyed it. He also started to make a new sound - smacking his lips together like little kissing sounds. And he is very busy all of the sudden. I'm afraid he'll start crawling soon.We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Ma B's and since we were all indulging, we let Annie have a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top. Of course, she ate the cream first, then the pumpkin filling and left the crust until Anutie Hil decided she needed just a little more cream. When a whole spoonful fell onto her plate Annie let out a very excited "ohhhh!" and ate every last morsel off her plate. Then she ran around in her birthday-suit while we sang, "happy birthday" to daddy. Annie was especially excited to see her Uncle Andy (he even read her a bedtime story) and "uncle" Kim (I told her Auntie Kim was coming to visit, but when Kim showed up, Annie ran around yelling "Uncle Kim, Uncle Kim!").

Harry and Maddie

We were in SLC for the week of Thanksgiving visiting with family and friends so Harry had a play-date with his girlfriend Maddie. They had fun checking each other out and pulling and pushing each other. Even though Maddie is 1.5 weeks older than Harry, he is of course bigger (but not by too too much, Maddie likes to eat too). Aren't they cute!!!!

Harry's cup of Joe

Harry has always been intrigued with our coffee cups so I let him hold this one yesterday and he put it right up to his mouth. He has been a little fussy lately (not napping as well) so I'm hoping its just teething and that they pop through soon and he goes back to normal. Otherwise, he's doing great. He's started to grab at the little white tags on all of his toys (something Annie used to do too). His hair looks like it might be getting darker (its been really light so far), but I think his eyes will probably stay blue. He LOVED his yams - it made for fun colored diapers. We're thinking peas next or maybe pears and of course an entire Turkey drumstick on Thanksgiving (not really, but he'd probably love it - that kid can eat.) In fact, he is already in a new car seat since he out grew the infant one. So he rides in style like Annie, only facing backward still. As Nana and Poppy pointed out, he is very strong. When he grabs on to something he has a death grip - a good quality for a future NFL player. Of course he is just as sensitive as he is strong - like when Poppy kissed him with his scratchy beard - he had a bit of a meltdown or when jelly shakes unexpectedly next tom him - he gets really upset. So he'll be the strong, sensitive type, just like his daddy :).

No more Diapers!

Okay, well only 1/2 the amount - Harry still wears them, but Annie is done (except at night -- we do enough laundry I don't want to wash sheets every day too, at least not yet). This is a photo of Annie proudly showing off her new underwear that Nanny and Poppy gave to her during their last visit. We had a great time with them. We rented a mini-van (Grady is ready to buy one right away - I'm pusihng for a VW pop-top) and headed up to the McCall area. It was cold and rainy and actually snowed a little, but it was beautiful. We stayed the night in a little rustic cabin. The sleeping situation was a bit tight so no one slept all that well, but that aside it was great. Both the kids did great on the drive and were showered with lots of attention, which of course Annie thrives on. She still really likes to tell you what she "likes" which is everything: even the yellow squash we made her take a bite of. As she was literally gagging it down she was telling us, "I like, gag, squash, gag." We did not make her eat anymore. At night, after stories, when you tuck her in and tell her good night she says, "sleep tight." Its very cute. She also "misses" a lot of people. "I miss poppy" "I miss Omi" "I miss B," but of course she also "misses" mommy while I'm standing next to her. I think she's starting to figure out time -- like when we put away all the Halloween decorations until "next year." And soon it will be "Christmas time" when she gets some new toys (just what she needs). And now she keeps saying "next time" or "next day." And, she still surprises me every now and then by throwing out things that I didn't know she knew - like last night we were coloring and she grabbed a crayon and said "this one peach mommy," and indeed it was - a peach colored crayon. Kids are incredible!

"Get a kick out of you!"

Annie is still doing pretty good with the potty training so we took her to buy big-girl underwear. She wanted the Thomas the Train ones which were of course boy underwear. I should have just bought them anyway, but we picked out curious George instead. Grady found a frog in our backyard over the week-end that seemed to be injured so we've been taking care of it in a cardboard box. Its still alive, but I'm not sure it will make it. If it does, we'll have a new pet! Harry is getting better and better at attempting to sit up on his own. He also likes to try and feed himself - every time he sees the spoon coming he grabs for it - it makes for very messy meal times. He's had some avocado (not his favorite), banana (he thinks its okay) and oatmeal cereal. We'll be trying yams next. Annie's vocabulary is still growing so fast. Yesterday there was frost on the grass in the morning so we went out to touch it. After I got done explaining about frost she said, "on my cookies too!" (frosting is her favorite part of cookies). The other night, I mentioned that Nana and Poppy (who will be coming for a visit tomorrow) are going to "get a kick out of you." She said, "Yeah, and Annie Cry." I had to explain over and over that Nana and Poppy weren't going to actually kick her, but that they would just think she was really funny.

Our Little Pumpkin

Harry made a very cute pumpkin for Halloween and received lots of compliments on his costume which was handmade by Ma B. A couple of people even asked if he wanted some candy - I guess since he looks a lot older than 5.5 months old? He's been having some fun these days in his exersaucer (or the ADD toy as some call it). Annie of course likes to show him how everything works! One thing is for sure, our kids are cute!!!

Potty Time

After many months of attempting nearly everything we could think of, including bribery with cookies and putting her potty in her tent as demonstrated in these photos, Annie has now decided that she is "older" and can use the potty. Ma B sent her an Elmo's potty video recently and even that didn't work - she'd tell us that she would use the potty when she got "older." Apparently, now that she's old enough to eat suckers and chew gum, she is also old enough to use the potty - Amen! Anyway, we were so excited that we called daddy, nana, poppy, oma, opa and Ma B so lots of people got messages about "poo poo in the potty." Its true what they say - kids will use the potty when they are good and ready and not one day earlier!

"Tick-O-Teat"

After filling our bellies with homemade chili (a Birch tradition) we headed out into the neighborhood. Annie got the hang of it quickly: we'd ring the door bell, she'd say "tick-o-teat" and open her bag, we made sure she always said "tank you," and then she'd yell "next house!" She also stopped to pick up a couple of different rocks and a leaf to add to her treat bag along the way. It was pretty cute. When we got back she dumped everything out and sorted through it. I told her that she could pick one piece of candy at the end of the night to eat. Of course, one turned into three pretty fast: she picked a gummy bear and two tootsie pops - she loves suckers. After brushing her teeth really good and running around in circles screaming loudly until the sugar rush wore off she crashed.