Halloween

CrAzY, EXCITING, giggles & SHRIEKS describes our Halloween this year! The kids enjoyed three full days of fun...first the Preschool Party, then the Halloween Party at the "Haunted Barn", and finally Trick or Treating with cousins! Glad we have a year to recoup until next Halloween!!!

Jace, cousin Jett (Zorro) & Caden

Steps Ahead Preschool Class ready to sing Halloween songs


Caden, Jace & their beloved teacher, Mrs. Becky!

Pictures from the "Haunted Barn" Party


Cade, Aunt Jess & Kylie Rose
Jace, Kate & Avery taking a break from jumping in the Jumping House
Warming up by the bon-fire (Maddie stayed with Nany)


Trick or Treating

Zorro & Spiderman (Jett & Caden)

Stewart Cousins: Jace, Kylie, Jett, Maddie & Caden

Allred Cousins: Cade, Braydon, Jace, Randi, Savanna, Maddie, Jillian & Wyatt

Little Bo-Peep & her sheep

My sweet little lamb

Weekend fun

Here's a few pics from our weekend...we made the trip down to Tri-Cities for a playdate with our friends, the Maxwells. The boys love to play with Gavin, and Teagan and Maddie just make the cutest little pair. We went to the playground of dreams which was a huge castle/fort playground. We don't get to play at parks often since we live in the boondocks, the little boys had a blast. The baby girls loved the swings too...such big girls. Susie and I had a great visit, we never run out of things to talk about! We're so blessed that our paths crossed with our sweet girls.

Our little Halloween babe... She's learning how to jump in her Jumperoo (a stationary Johnny Jump-up) but she looks more like a clogger in it to me. Riverdance try-outs, here we come! I also think her foof now looks like a halo! God definitely sent us a little angel. We're looking forward to a "frighteningly fun" week of Halloween parties and trick-or-treating. The kids (and I) can hardly wait!

Shots, shots and more shots

Today Maddie had her 6 month well-child exam and immunizations. She's a month off... I was worried about her weight gain because she's been such a turkey about eating lately! We never reach the volume that the dietician wants her at and she's just been such a snacker. Bad habit...Shockingly, she weighed 15 lbs. 12.5 oz! I even had the nurse re-weigh her because I was in disbelief. So in 30 days, she gained 25 ounces!!! Wow, I know! That's well over the 1/2 oz. a day goal! Eating some solids has really paid off I guess. As for the immunizations, she got a half dose of her flu shot (the boys got theirs too and now we're all taken care of) as well as her DTAP and HIB. In a month we'll go back for the other flu shot as well as a couple of more immunizations. Then she'll be caught up until she's a year old. Starting in November through April, she'll get her Synagis series. This immunization is to help prevent RSV and she'll have the Synagis shot every 30 days. The cost of each shot is, get ready, $1600!!! It's only allocated for "high risk" kids and being a cardiac kid qualifies her for them. Luckily, our insurance will cover the cost. Lots of pokes for our sweet girl. But it will all be worth it if this can help keep her healthy this winter!

Pumpkin Patch Pals

We went to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend with some friends and had a great time. What a fun little outing for us and we lucked out with a gorgeous Ellensburg day. The boys had a ball "catching" little pigs, playing in a trough of wheat seed, a hay ride, the giant corn maze, picking the perfect pumpkin, and they especially enjoyed sharing it with friends Bennett, Anderson & Emerson. Fall is sure fun!!!

It runs in the family...

SPOOKY HAIR!
All 3 of our kids have had this fun hair-do. Jace had the shortest version, Cade's went all different directions, and Maddie's sticks completely, straight up! Her foofs can't be missed! I've tried taming it down but it has a mind of its own. Just a favorite thing about our babies...gotta love it! The three pictures below are all between 6-8 months of age of Jace, Cade, and Maddie!

7 months!

These monthly birthday's sure come around fast...Maddie's growing up quickly and picking up momentum on reaching many milestones. I'm finding her sleeping on her tummy now when I get her out of her crib. Rolling has become a favorite new trick. She's sleeping a 6-7 hour stretch at night which has been SO NICE for me...finally, some sleep! We've gotten the OK to let her sleep now and wake up when she's hungry but most of the time, I still wake her. I sometimes wonder how long she'd really sleep if I didn't wake her up! The girl has a lack of appetite and enjoys her sleep. Wish I had that! She's so close to sitting up and loves standing with the help of holding onto hands. These are things I wasn't expecting for her until 9 or 10 months. She hasn't let that heart of her stop her! And I'm happy to say that now she officially enjoys her baby food. It took almost a month of convincing though... she's finally welcoming a bite rather than spitting it out or doing the tongue thrust. Here's some pictures of her at mealtime and her favorite thing to gum around, an arrowroot cookie. Teeth have got to be on the way!

Pictures & an update

Buzz Lightyear, to infinity and beyond!!! Jace invented his own Buzz dress-up the other morning :)

Cade showing us how old he is now, 3!

Maddie getting some brotherly love!

Teagan, Susie & Gavin came and visited last weekend...here's the girls, laughing! It was such a fun day with them.

The little sweet'hearts'...

Toes are yummy! I love how Maddie plays with her feet now!


Things are going great for us. Maddie is doing well, despite the fact that she's had 2 little head colds in the last month (may have been the same one, just came back). She's tolerated it really well, which is a huge relief. It's been hard to distinguish whether it's teething too, she's sure a drool queen. We've had a busy couple of weeks and are starting to settle back in to "house arrest" mode again. I have so many projects to work on this winter...quilting, scrapbooking, cardmaking and I have 15 receiving blankets to sew up for Children's CICU. My mom, Maddie and I hit Costco on Monday and we are officially stocked up for the winter with goods. I love on-line shopping and have decided that this year, that's the way I'll Christmas shop. With gas prices the way they are and us living an hour and a half from any "good" shopping, this is the best way to get ready for the holidays. You can't beat $5 shipping! It's a good thing I'm a home-body otherwise, I'd go nuts! Fall is definitely here and apple harvest is getting close to an end, then we will have daddy home with us more! Yay!!!

Prayer Request

Please say a prayer for our little friend Lindsay and her family. Her mama, Suzie, is so sweet and we've kept in touch through email and our blogs. Lindsay is 1 week post-op from her 2nd surgery and is facing another big surgery tomorrow. The alternative if this surgery doesn't work is a transplant for her. Our hearts go out to the Dean family...as well as to all of the other heart babies and families who are having rough times too. Having a "heart baby" is stress enough and as parents, we want to fix it but it's a very helpless situation. Prayer is the only thing we can do and being on the receiving end of the prayers strengthens and renews our faith. Keep Lindsay and family in your prayers.