It started with a crib.....

I can remember one of the first, bigger, things we did as parents-to-be was buying and putting together the crib. One of those things that you do that makes the fact that you are going to have a baby...seem that much more real.

Right after we got it put together.... our little 'nursery' in our old house.

This was a picture of the first time we put Taylor in the crib. She looked so tiny. And she was only happy for about 5 minutes. :)

Tay a bit bigger. :)

And then little sister came along. :)

Sweet little Cam.

Fast forward two years, and we decided it was time to officially take down the crib and transition it into a full size bed.

No more crib. These two girls are starting to look pretty grown up. :)

Cam's last time sleeping in the crib.

The girls were really excited about the change and both love their new beds!
Camryn has done really well in a bed. The transition has been seemless. She goes down to bed at night just as easily and doesn't come out in the morning until we go get her. :)

And Taylor loves her new big bed.

Big. Kids. :)

Early November - including SNOW and a milestone for Cam :)

(Warning. I may mention of that green and red holiday coming up... and it isn't December yet. :))

Early November equals really early sunsets now. And with it being dark so early, we can't really play outside like we used to after dinner.
So one night we brought out the flashlights to go for a walk. They had a lot of fun, and walked a LONG way even though it was really cold out.

As soon as Halloween was over, the next week I got an itch start thinking about Christmas a little bit. So our first step was to bring out the holiday stuffed animals. They were pretty excited about these toys that we only have out a few weeks each year.

Taylor LOVES her Rudolph and Clarice stuffed animals. :)

And... that same week we also might have put up a little tree in our lower level.

Taylor was very eager to help decorate it. :)

We also may be playing holiday bingo, too. :)

But part of what makes it feel like Christmas is closer is because SNOW has already arrived! We have about 6-8 inches on our back deck right now.
The first morning that we woke up to snow, the girls were SO excited. :)

And we did get to play outside for a bit this weekend.

And here are the randoms to sum up the past two weeks....

A fun Friday night out to dinner at IHOP with good buddies, Ty, Addi, and Kristen.
The girls were pretty happy to be meeting with their friends.

And this is what happens when you try to get 4 little kids to look at the camera and smile. :) I love Cam's expression in the bottom left photo. :)

I went out with a bunch of friends from the gym to go to GR for dinner and catch a Griffin's game. Pics with some of my favorite girls!

And it was Lego night, so Katie and I managed to snag a pic with the Lego guys. ;)

BIG NEWS for Cam!! She is officially DONE with PACI!! :D We didn't have to do any tricks or special methods - she just started being able to leave it behind a little easier, and it got lost somewhere in the house, and decided to just not look for it! After she went her first night without it, she got to go to the store and pick out a little toy (a Winnie the Pooh and Tigger stuffed animal).
Then while cleaning on Saturday, I found it under a bed, and Cam was a big girl and threw it away herself!

Big girl!

Snuck into Taylor's room while they were playing, and caught the girls practicing the Zoo-Phonics alphabet together :)

 

And reading a story together in Tay's bed before nap time

And now tomorrow is Monday, again. Wish weekends could feel a little longer. Especially when a bunch of time on Sunday is spent just getting everything ready for the week. These are the bags ready for the car tomorrow. There are 6 of them. And I don't even have my gym bag out. :)

11 days until Thanksgiving Break!!

The rest of October... and Halloween fail :)

So, to start with the end of October, there should be a bunch of cute pictures of the girls in their "costumes" and trick-or-treating fun. But there aren't. Hardly any, actually. I just wasn't feeling very motivated about Halloween this year, and Camryn was pretty much terrified of the whole thing. She didn't like any costumes on other kids - didn't matter if they were cute costumes or scary, on big kids or little kids...she was not a fan. And jack-o-lanterns? Yeah, she didn't like those either.

Technically Camryn was a pumpkin and Taylor was a ghost.  They were very simple costumes, and the girl's were more excited about the tutus than anything. We did go out trunk-or-treating at our new church home - Ridge Point, with Tay and Cam's favorite buddies - Ty and Addi.

Camryn was scared the whole time, and had to be held by us or she would scream and cry. We left with some pretty tired arms. :) Taylor, on the other hand, LOVED it and was all about trick-or-treating.

Halloween night, Taylor went around our neighborhood with Ry and his dad for just a little bit (it was super cold and snowed earlier in the day!!), while Ry's mom and I stayed inside with Camryn and handed out candy. We actually kept Camryn occupied and away from the front door because there were a couple scary, big kid costumes that frightened her pretty badly.

We at least put the girls in their pumpkin shirts for the holiday. :)

Watching Halloween Curious George

 This girl was happy only if she had nothing to do with Halloween or the trick-or-treaters

I actually dressed up for Halloween this year with two of my favorite people from the gym, Lisa and Leslie. We were Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wonder Woman. :) It was a really fun workout morning - and our tutus may have left a lot of blue sparkle all over the gym floor. :)

The weekend before Halloween, Ry and I took Taylor to her first Griffin's game in Grand Rapids, while Camryn stayed home and played with Mem for the night. We went with my friend Katie and her family.

Taylor was really excited about being in the big arena.

She ate her first cotton candy (not sure she was a huge fan of it).

But was not a fan of when the Griffins would score - a little too loud for her. :)

A few other moments from the end of last month...

First haircut in a salon for both girls - it went well!

Big leaf piles at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Visitors on long parent-teacher conference nights

And I caught the girl's in a moment after school one day - reading in Tay's bed together. Love moments like that. :)

 

November is here, which means the HOLIDAY SEASON can get started!! :D