Thanksgiving

We thought it would be appropriate to start Baby Izzi on solids this Thanksgiving. I mixed 1 part organic rice cereal with three parts breast milk. Needless to say, she wanted a second helping. Since then she has fondly looked upon her afternoon feedings. I think she knows the sequence of events because as soon as I put her in her high chair she starts kicking her legs in wild excitement. The challenge is keeping all the food in her mouth. She's getting better, but at first she was trying to latch on to the spoon. That's my girl!

We spent Thanksgiving day at Mike and Rosalinds with Corina (Rozzie's second daughter) and her boyfriend Charles. Mike and Roz got Izzi a "rainforrest playset" and Ashton had hours of fun patting at blinking lights and bouncing to elephant and monkey shrieks. We'll go back to the grandparents house tomorrow for some more action.

Thanksgiving with Brenda

Grammie Brennie came over on Wed. for an early Thanksgiving celebration. She brought Ashton this big puppy to lounge on. As you can see, baby A loves it.  She had no problem cuddling up to the furry friend. We keep reminding her that it is the only dog she'll ever have, so enjoy every moment.

It was fun to watch Jake, Brenda and Ashton during this little photo shoot. They all had some pretty wild faces. It was quite the task trying to capture the three of them all looking their best. It was really nice to celebrate with Brenda, as she is going to her sister's for the holiday proper.

lavender fields forever

This week Ashton and I have been harvesting the second bloom on the lavender plants in our fields and making holiday wreaths. It has been really entertaining watching baby Izzi put her hands in the mudd and squeal with glee. After she had an accidental face plant I wisened up and got the laundry basket. I was getting tired of rescuing weeds and grass before it could make its way into her mouth. She seemed to like the basket just as much, and it made it much easier for me.

So, we realized that we don't really have very many family photos. This weekend we tried, but something always goes wrong with one of us. I don't know how mum ever got all five kids to smile at once when I was growing up, especially without a digital camera. Anyways, I just love the way Ashton is laughing at poppie in the second photo. I had to put the first one in just because she looks so cute in her sweater jumper! 

Ashton is sitting up so well on her own these days it amazes me. It wasn't until Laura and Win came over this weekend that my pride swelled. Laura said that Win didn't really sit up on his own until December, and Ashton is a pro already (Win's birthday is the 23rd of May). Poppie still gets really nervous and won't leave her on the ground alone. He's a bit more protective than I am I guess, but most of you knew that already.  As a busy working mom, I love that my little girl can entertain herself for a few precious moments without me. She absolutely loved picking up the leaves and examining each one before trying to taste them. Later that day she was so curious about my apple that I finally let her have a "lick." She went wild about it. Perhaps it wasn't the best first flavor to give her, but alas, hind sight is 20/20.

Last week when I picked up Ashton from daycare I heard someone pounding away on the piano. I chuckled to myself at how much fun she must have watching the older kids play. When I walked around the corner I was quite surprised to see that it was my baby Izzi banging away on the keys.  Perhaps she will have Jake's musical ability. I'd sure love that!

Ashton in Ashton photos

These photos are from our trip to Ashton. The first is the "hospital" that I was born in. It is now a storage unit. The second is a little cafe that we used to go to when I was in elementary school. I remember sometimes when we'd go see Grandma and Grandpa Howell we's stop at the resturant for a bite to eat. It was fun to have breakfast there with Grandma Pauline the morning after her birthday celebration. (Look closely at the photo and tell me she doesn't look just like Jake!)  

The last photo is the welcome sign. Last summer after Jake and I hiked in the Tetons we stayed in Ashton to shower, shave and watch some TV. We ate at Big Judd's, which is right next to the sign. That was when we verbalized that we both liked the name Ashton if we were ever to have a girl. It was really fun to be able to take her to her name sake this autumn.

Powell and Laura let us borrow Win's walker and it has changed Ashton's world. She isn't really covering any ground in it yet, but has found that she loves the tray where she can "swish" around all her toys and then throw them one by one on the floor. Occasionally she'll stash a lucky treat in the seat to find later, which results in much glee and few saved moments for Mommy. The books say she's learning cause and effect relationships by tossing her toys and then whining to get them back.  Although it can be exhausting, I still love playing her little games and watching her grow.

We spent some family time in the garden this weekend. Our lavender has a second bloom and so we harvested a basket to give a holiday wreath a go. We'll see if I can make it all come together and stay that way. Our maple trees haven't dropped all their leaves yet, which makes being in the yard rather nice. It's so much better with the backpack now. Ashton can see the world, and I can move around comfortably.

We also spent some time at the "duck park." I remember the duck park in Great Falls from when I was a little toddler and because of those fond memories like to take Ashton to Carrie Blake. It's fun to see her giggle at the waddlers.

Apple Cider

Aunt Amy, Uncle Bo, Uncle Tyler and Aunt Katie came out for the Halloween party on Friday and stayed through the weekend. On Sunday we harvested almost all of the apples on the trees, rented a cider press from the co-op and went to town pressing some juice. It is absolutely delicious. We ended up getting 15-20 gallons. I was amazed. It has been nice to have such an abundant harvest this year. We left the  big apples on my two favorite trees so I can finish up the season with a few more apple pies, apple crisps, and possibly some apple butter. We also picked all the pears, and I'll do the last round of canning in a week or so when they fully ripen. It's been a few years since our last big harvest, and it was fun to make a tradition out of pressing on Halloween again. Thanks for all the help!

Look how much Maximus has grown!

He had so much fun that he didn't want to leave (check out the last photo).

Izzi's FIVE months

It's hard to believe that my baby is already five months old! She still is not really interested in rolling much. She can move from side to side, and front to back, but is not even remotely interested in moving from her back to her front. Her toes are still too entertaining. She can, however, sit up on her own for several seconds before nose diving into her blanket.  This Friday when I picked her up from playing with Sydney I could have sworn she grew while I was at work. It's amazing! Randi took Ashton and Sydney to the first teacher activity. She said everyone kept saying, "Oh, what cute boys you have." I had to laugh. Ashton had her little pumpkin shirt on that Kathy Stroyzk gave her for Halloween. 

Ashton took a nice long afternoon nap, so I thought she would be well rested for our Halloween party, but she went to bed around 6:30 and was down for the night. I couldn't believe it.

Ashton's five month "birthday" snuck up on us this month. Karol was asking when she actually turned 5 months. I said, oh, not until the 29th, not realizing that it actually was the 29th. She didn't realize either. So, these photos were actually taken on the 30th, and the 31st this month. Sorry baby A! October just flew by!