Alice's Happy Ninth Birthday!

For Alice's 9th Birthday we had a fun Saturday just for her. We went to the pumpkin patch first, then off to Trampoline Nation for a few hours and then to California Pizza Kitchen (her very favorite where everyone in my family besides me literally orders a pizza with JUST PEPPERONI) where my folks met up with us. Alice and my mom made a quilt together for Alice's birthday. My mom took her shopping for the fabric and then they cut and sewed and Alice actually did a ton of the work herself while I was in Hawaii and she was at my mom's. She loves it so much. She learned so much she even knows how to load a bobbin and thread the machine now. I was impressed!

Grandma and Grandpa Pierce got Alice a used bookstore certificate and it's amazing how those places work. She got so many great books for such a great price and we had a great time there together. 

Alice is such a rare girl. She is without guile. She is pure, kind, sensitive, well-intending, innocent, easy to please, thankful and smart. She is a whiz at putting things together, building things and understanding how they work. She is not one to be the center of attention but she is willing to try new things and challenge herself and she doesn't feel bad when she does her best even if the results aren't what she'd hoped. She is very tender with Leo and really works hard to be his favorite by answering his every wish. She loves dogs and riding bikes, and rollerblading. She loves gymnastics and swimming. I love her presence in our family.

Baby Lambs...

We were so excited to go see the baby lambs at my friend's house, but boy oh boy are they loud when the bleat. Really loud! The kids didn't find them cuddly as imagined, but we were still glad to have seen them. 

When Betsey is nervous she makes this face...

My friend, Thala holding Leo.

Alice gets braces...

Took the kids in to get consults at several orthodontists and felt the choice was obvious to go with Orthodontic Excellence due to their ability to convince me of the ortho needs my kids had. I felt maybe Ruby would be ready for braces, but she looks good and can wait longer while all of her adult teeth come in. Alice on the other hand (who I only took in because I was told that if I got her examined and quoted now they would honor the price forever) was in need right away because some of her adult teeth had no room to come down and were turning toward the roots of her adult teeth that had already come down. So. She gets to have braces twice! One round now to help everything come in right and then later we'll do it again. It isn't that fun of a thing to deal with, and I hate paying for it but I wish I had had braces when I was younger and so I am glad we are taking care of it.

Haircuts...

 We have hair problems at our house. We aren't the daily groomers when it comes to hair. Nope. We sometimes go a day or two between brushings which is a major problem since my kids have bed head just from a short ride in the car. I always like their hair shorter (Ruby's hair is now long enough to be worn long, though she NEVER does anything with it and never allows me to do anything to it either), but it is a tough sell since every little girl wants long hair. This particular morning while I did the torturous hair brushing while Betsey screamed, I told her how shorter hair would mean less knots and she got on board. It was a drop everything and run to the nearest hair-cutting shop situation so that is what we did.

Before. 

 During...look at that adorable group of fans posing for a pic in the background! I can't get enough of this foursome! 

 The lady did some horrible flipped curls on Betsey's hair, but I didn't stop her, she was so pleased.

 Leo hanging out.

 Betsey AFTER. I love that happy face and that short hair really is easier to brush...we are both happy!

 Alice always wants to grow her hair and I always manage to talk her into choosing to cut her hair. Phew, because she didn't get the Hamm hair genes. She has thin, sparse hair and it doesn't look good long. 

 After...what a beauty! 

Daddy Daughter Valentine's Dance...

I love Daddy Daughter dances!! Last year I spearheaded the whole dance, so this year it was awesome to be only in charge of the photography...and I wasn't alone in that responsibility...Jen Wilcox did more than me and between the two of us and our gear we had two booths for photos set up this year so that the line for photos would move faster. The older two and Chris had a great time at the event, but Betsey was a little stink for the second year running. Chris found me and ditched her like he did last year and she was happier sitting on a chair by me working the photo booth than she was on the dance floor. Maybe next year she'll get into it.

Even though she isn't that fun to dance with, she certainly IS fun to take pictures of! I love her little face and her totally Pierce "straight line smile". I love her dimple, though she has to smile right for it to really show. I love her lellow hair and her beautiful KQO dress. I love that when she feels pretty, she rocks her hips dramatically back and forth when she walks and she runs to show daddy how pretty she is. I don't know what to do with all the cuteness she exhibits all day, every day. It's too much.

Ruby and Kiley Benner have been friends since six months. I guess that is too early to really be friends with someone, but they have known each other that long and they were in nursery together and they did preschool together and to this day she is the first name mentioned if I ask Ruby who her best friend is. I am grateful for their connection, Kiley is a very sweet, kind and sincere girl and my only wish would be that they could spend more time together. It is hard to coordinate schedules with public schooled friends. Anyway, so these two spent time at the dance together and I couldn't be happier that I got a few good pics of them out of the night.

My girls. My man. Second year in a row that I wished we'd dedicated more prep to our own dance experience and not just the general dance experience. Some girls had fancy hair and corsages matching their dad's boutineer's and some dad's wore tuxes and some sisters matched and I think all of those things make for a really special night like no other. I'd like to do that for my girls one year. As it has been for two years, I barely run in the door from setting up in time to brush their hair and be sure they are wearing a dress that at least fits them and isn't noticeably dirty. Chris walked out of the closet in jeans, and when I tried to steer him fancier, it just wasn't worth it. I do love this picture though, I love what Chris wrote on the heart. It's a good thing that Betsey is naughty because something has to balance out the cuteness. This was Ruby's last year of the dance age and I can't believe how close in size she and Alice are! Look at them! They wear the same size clothing half the time.

Daddy loves his girls and is so good to them (unless he is brushing their hair). They are lucky as can be!

November Randomness...

Ruby learned how to french braid. She can practice on me all day every day if I had the time...but I do not mind a bit being her toy head of hair. Best thing ever!

I thought this was funny, Chris with his phone all propped up like it's his wife.

Still loving the sunglasses on Leo pics.

We did a unit at co-op about local Tacoma founders and homesteaders. The kids took a fieldtrip to Fort Nisqually to finish what they had learned and do some hands on things.

Leo...I take a lot of pics of him on his changing pad.

I hate waking up my baby. A lot. Here he is about to be awoken by me.

Betsey drew this beautiful flower and bunny rabbit at piano during the girls' lessons.

More cool braiding! She was learning how to go around my head. Not bad!

Well baby check up with quite an attentive audience. I don't remember the stats, but the conclusion was FAT AND LONG and perfectly healthy. We love our doctor, Kim. She has taken good care of all of the kids since Ruby was six weeks old.

Leo always ends up with girly blankets. I think he likes pink.

Can't get enough of these hands clutching things. That's what they are always doing, and as long as it isn't my hair I think it is the sweetest thing. I love those hand dimples.

Besties.

I got lucky and my cousin Sydney came down for a slumber party and her mission assignment happened to arrive at her house in Snohomish a few minutes after she got to my house in Puyallup! So we had the fun time of having a bunch of people come all the way from up north to bring her her call and watch her open it at my house! So cool! Here is Sydney with her call to St. Louis posing with her sister, McCall.

Betsey and McCall had lots of cuddle time.

Leo got in on the action a time or two as well. When I am around these girls I miss my aunt Carol so much. I wish I could give them their mom. They need her but I have to say they are holding together well...they are strong!

I have A LOT of white hair. A lot. Lot.

Betsey asks for me to take pictures of her a lot.

Leo bathes in a few inches of water and Betsey always wants to get in with him. It isn't my favorite thing to navigate but I always let her.

Alice and Leo. We call Leo, "Wee-oh", "Lilo", "Little Man", "super chunk" and other nicknames.

Fixed that white hair and took a ducky selfie for Mimi.

Betsey being crazy.

I met up with my gf's for Eden's birthday at a place in South Center. I was so grateful that we could meet close enough to my house for me to be a part of the fun. I hate living so far south! Lots. Here is Kel, Sand, Leish, Ede, Jenn and me.

See Leo's fuzz? He has a few hairs that haven't ever fallen out from babyhood and we love them. We call them shark fin and

We have had unusually dry weather all fall and this was a fun morning outing...everyone on their own wheels...bike, stroller, rollerblades and a scooter!

Closer up of this to die for kiddo in his blanket from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Hamm.

Betsey always asks me to take pictures of her hair so she can see how pretty it is.

That is Betsey by the 3ft sign. We aren't allowed to take pics at the Y, so you have to do it in secret (I don't like getting caught) and she is so cute in her swimming lessons...I can't resist!

Hailey pays such sweet attention to Leo when she visits. 

Hair! I was not meant to have girls with long hair because I don't do a good job of keeping up with it! This is every morning at my house.

I went to the temple with some girlfriends...first time since Leo was born. It was nice!

She is such a sleeping beauty.

Ruby had a swim meet the morning after her birthday party and Chris decorated her back with permanent marker.

Big boy eating big food in his big chair.

Betsey trying to get a pic with heads together of she and her brudder. Not so much. happening.

Us in my bed in the morning.

I love nursing him. So much. So, so much. Even when he is dressed up with a Zumba skirt.

Hailey and Ru wrote this song called "The Adventure Girls." I love it. I love their age.

Sigh. He is so stinking cute with all that eye all over his face! I love him!

It's hard to get a decent shot in the tub, but this kind of showcases his chubs without showcasing the other parts.

Leo has been so alert at bedtime, he never falls asleep until I lay him in his bed...and he never cuddles. Ever. I never stop trying, but every time I move him from nursing to shoulder he picks up his head...until this fateful November night! I was dying to get pics, this is as good as it got. I held him like this for more than an hour. I couldn't get enough of it. 

Ruby and Leo

I have hated my front loading washing machine for seven years now and we got a bonus and agreed it was time to get a new machine. YESSSSSS. Did some research and I found a machine that is old school...still made of metal parts, no computer, and top loading! It's been in use two months and I am in laundry heaven (if such a place exists). It is a Speedqueen.

Toad in the Hole at Oma's for breakfast. On Ruby's birthday.