Kiera eating real foods!

Finally!!! That is what Kiera is saying now that she is eating solid foods. She did not like the rice cereal at first but is now gulping it down. She is quite picky and has to have it super warm and mixed with my milk, not water!

She also has tried some butternut squash that we grew in our garden this summer...

Gotta love this face, she just stares sometimes....

I think more of the rice cereal made it on her bib than in her tummy! She kept letting it dribble out until she learned that by closing her mouth and swallowing she got more food!

You would think we were the meanest parents, making her eat cereal! Just look at that face!

Hee Haw Farms

My friend Rachel and I had the chance to take our girls to the Hee Haw farms last week. Jade absolutely loved it and I think her favorite part was the corn box. What an ingenious idea it really is and so much cleaner than sand! However, when I got them home, both girls diapers were filled with corn!

Trying to run...it felt like quicksand.

Her face says it all!

Kiera kept letting the corn run through her fingers and she would just smile and laugh.

Jade on the horsey swing.

Feeding the pigs. She actually chased after them with handfuls of straw trying to get them to eat from her. She loved being in the pen with the animals.

Jade and Mommy going down the big slide on our potato sack! Jade was shrieking in joy and I was well a little scared!

Jade got to pick her very own pumpkin from the patch. Every time she sees her pumpkin now she picks it up and says "punkin patch."

Jade, Rachel and Audrey on the hay ride.

Gotta love this face! Even Kiera had fun. My girls are growing up so fast!

Kiera is 6 months old!!

Six months ago our lives changed forever again, when sweet, little Kiera was born! It has been a joyful journey as Kiera has graced our home with smiles, laughter, and the sweet sound of her little voice. We really cannot imagine life without her.

Weight: 18 lbs. 9oz (90%) Still our little chunk, gotta love the thigh rolls!
Height : 27 1/4 in. (90%)

Just a few things Kiera can do at 6 months:

• Can almost sit up without help! Does great sitting on the couch or in her highchair.
• Can roll from front to back, and is trying her best to roll from her back to her front, but can't quite figure out what to do with her arms yet!
• While on her back, she will scoot her arms and legs so that she spins a full circle. I would technically call her mobile now because she is never in the same place I leave her in!
• Tried rice cereal for the first time but does not really care for it. She sure enjoys spitting it back out at Mama!
• Laughs her head off when her big sister jumps or talks to her in a sweet voice. She loves to watch Jade do things, no matter what it is.
• She gets a big grin on her face each morning as Jade gives her big hugs.
• Loves to hear her own voice as she babbles and yells most of her waking hours. She is not a quiet kid anymore.
• Has discovered her hands and legs and will chew on them constantly, yes even her toes!

Ben's B-day trip

Thanks to my Mom watching the girls, Ben and I were able to get away for his birthday weekend. It was a nice break from life! We went up to Park City and stayed at the Chateau.

We ate a 5-star hotel for brunch and they had some great tasting food! It was a once in a lifetime experience and just fun to get out and see how the rich live!!

Each time we left our seats to go get more food, our waiter would refold our napkins into these nice little triangles...

Ben was daring and tried all the seafood and raw fish things, yucky! Here he is showing off his crab legs? I think that is what they were.

They had a massive dessert bar, we had to try at least a bite of everything!

This is what happens when...

You leave a 2 year old in her room all night and then wait too long to go get her in the morning! She discovered how to "zip" zippers!!

Your husband discovers the new apple peeler, corer, slicer....

You get a large package from Amazon and your Daddy has a creative imagination...

You go on a nice Sunday walk...

You catch your 6 month old staring at you...

Your 2 year old is obsessed with buckling things...

Jade plays hide and seek...

Spida-Man!

Jade is obsessed with Spider man lately and it is so cute when says his name because this is how she pronounces it, "Spida-Man!" Neither Ben nor I know how she came to like this red & blue man so much but she now asks to watch it on Netflix, and Ben bought her a little spider man action figure! She loves it and it has become one more doll that goes to bed with her at night. Who needs a boy when your daughter likes Spiderman? He he!!

My mom gave Jade these cute Halloween clothes with a glittery spider on them. She immediately saw the spider and began calling it Spiderman. These have now been dubbed her Spida-man clothes!

Showing me the spider...

Showing off her new Spida-man clothes!

Watching her new favorite show! What happened to Elmo?

Happiness is...

Here are a few random pictures of what has been happening at our house lately. The girls are growing so fast I can hardly keep up with them. After watching General Conference last weekend, there was one quote by Elder Scott that really stuck with me and has made me change my focus as a Mom.

"Children are not something you have if you have time for them, having children is what God gave you time for."

I was a bit teary when I heard this quote as my life has been full of many changes this past little while and I feel super overwhelmed with all that I have to do each day with the girls and work. I am trying to remember this quote each day as start out and it has brought much more happiness to my life. I love these 2 little girls and can't even imagine my life without them!

Here is our little 6 month old!! Can you even believe that she is 1/2 year old already!!

Jade has a new ritual of putting Woody in Kiera's highchair every time she has to eat. She has a snapping problem! Meaning she goes around snapping anything and everything with a snap or buckle! It was cute at first, but now is starting to get annoying...he he!!

The other day, this is how I found Jade, face pressed down in the book, sound asleep!! It sure made me smile real big! She has to go to bed with a pile of books to read to her dolls. This is what happens when you are too tired to finish your book!!

Our little librarian. Kiera has recently discovered how to turn the pages in books and loves to look at all the brightly colored pages. She has to be just like her sister!

Jade bowling with her new life size bowling pins and ball! It is just hilarious to watch her throw that ball, because she does not even aim for the pins, but instead just throws the ball in any direction, and then she tackles the pins with her body!

One of Ben's friends from UNT gave the girls this bib. He thought he would let them both try it out! Go UNT (we are kind of alumi I guess as that is where Ben got his Master's degree)!

Love, love, love this stunned look on her face!! Looks like she is saying "You caught me and yes Daddy made me wear this gigantic bib!"

Jade loves to fix things and help do chores around the house. As long as we make it fun, we can usually get her do almost anything, from laundry to mopping! Here she is fixing her Elmo doll!