2015 albuquerque international balloon fiesta

posted by owen and everett

we went to albuquerque for the balloon fiesta. unfortunately, the one night we went to the field for the special shapes glow, the weather didn't cooperate and it was cancelled. at least we got to see a laser light show and fireworks. but the next day we went to the park behind grammie and gampa's house and got to see tons of balloons land.

hello real food

posted by eloise

while in albuquerque, i got my first taste of real food with a banana and avocado.  wasn't able to actually eat much of it but it's the effort that counts.

a girl and her shoes

posted by eloise

my first pair of shoes!

toofers

posted by mommy

eloise's first teeth have arrived! less than two weeks apart her two bottom middle teeth popped through (sept 20 and oct 1). and boy have the past weeks been rough because of it! our normally happy chill baby has definitely been a bit fussier and needier, but between teething tablets and some homemade essential oil teething paste, we made it through! hopefully she'll stop flicking her tongue over them soon so we can snap a pic. and now here's hoping for a break!

eloise: 5-month update

posted by mommy

1. nursing - eloise continues to enjoy nursing every 2-3 hours, depending on naps. she has definitely entered the distracted phase, especially with two loud big brothers running around!
2. growth - she feels like she is getting so big, evident by the clothes she is growing out of and into!
3. development - in the last month, eloise has begun rolling onto her tummy and her back, definitely preferring to be on her tummy. she has also inherited and loves playing in the exersaucer, especially when we are in the kitchen cooking. the day after she turned 5 months her first tooth (front left on the bottom) finally made its long-awaited debut...and she is not a happy teether! unfortunately a second tooth is very close behind...
4. sleeping - eloise's sleep has definitely begun changing. although she often still naps for long periods, some days she exhibits the much more normal short nap schedule so common at this age (around 45 minutes). she also has begun waking again at night once or twice, partly due to a cold she was gifted from her brothers in early september as well as her pesky tooth. but she generally goes back to sleep quickly with a short nursing. she is still swaddled at night with one arm out as she likes trying to suck her thumb on her left hand.
5. overall demeanor - she continues to be very relaxed and laid back but has definitely started making a lot more noise as she discovers her voice and her tongue! the boys and daddy have started calling her sweet sunshine because of how she lights up and smiles big when she sees them. she is truly one of the smiliest babies we know! 
6. favorite things - she absolutely loves her tongue as she uses it to spit and make noises. she also loves her exersaucer and enjoys being upright to play...she can see so much more!  

happy 5 month birthday eloise!

posted by eloise

back to school

posted by mommy

{home}school has officially begun! actually, we started two weeks ago. but due to all of us passing around colds and such, it's been a rough start. the boys are loving our kindergarten curriculum from my father's world. our first two weeks were more of a review from our preschool stuff last year, but we focused on learning about each day of Creation and they made a new Creation book (pics to come later).

can't believe he's officially in kindergarten!

he is also doing bits and pieces of the kindergarten curriculum this year
since he likes to do everything just like his brother!

having fun decorating our back door with back-to-school clings

beginning each day with calendar time...everett is the official weather man!

and owen likes figuring out "yesterday", "today", and "tomorrow"