last bits of fall

happy birthday, matthew!

We dropped off all the tuxes from Tessa's wedding and stopped in at the bakery next door.  Kate helped me pick out cupcakes for daddy's birthday.  We had a nice dinner at home, and then enjoyed our special treat:) Kate almost kept daddy's gifts a secret until after he had opened them, but spilled the beans at the last minute.  The girls each gave him a new tie.  We got him a new pair of slippers, and I got him tickets to see the musical 'Once' in a few weeks.  All in all, we had a great day.

8 months!

Our little love is growing so fast!

At eight months, Liv loves teeth...as in my teeth, she still doesn't have any of her own.  She sticks her fingers in my mouth and touches them all the time.  Strange? Probably.  Do I care? Not really.

She gets visibly (and audibly) frustrated when things aren't going her way or her big sister isn't being super nice.  And she's a little bit dramatic/sassy already.  People keep telling me it's the red hair, but I hope it doesn't last!

She's trying to crawl, but just does a little inch worm action.  Her main mode of transportation is rolling for now.  I'm trying to take in as many snuggly moments as I can because I know they're probably coming to and end as soon as she learns to move on her own.

Liv loves to play peek-a-boo and she's incredibly squirmy.  If you tickle her right on her collar bones, she has the sweetest belly laugh.  I could listen to it all day:) Her pincer grasp is getting pretty good, and she's making lots of consonant sounds...dadada, mamama, bababa, nanana, gagaga, yayaya, etc.

She's eating solids 2-3 times a day and is back to waking up once a night (thanks to a yucky cold she had a few weeks ago).  She likes to be outside, to take walks, and just people/kid/sister watch.  She also loves to do SO BIG! and wave and clap her hands.

SO BIG!

silly, sweet girls

Lots of random photos from the past month or so...

"See, I can wear Liv's hat"

daddy snuggles

little diva running around the cul-de-sac

working on her basketball skills

checking out a fuzzy caterpillar on our walk

she's writing checks (Bri Guy, you got $3) 

such a sweet moment

"I'm just reading, mom"

Kate 'reading' to Liv

gymnastics!

Kate just finished another 6 week gymnastics class.  This time she did it at our local community center. The class wasn't quite as organized as the class she did at the Y, so she struggled to stay engaged a little bit, but it was still a lot of fun.  And running off some of her immense amount of energy is never bad!

Here are a few photos of her over the weeks...

Kate's happy place...she could jump all day!

haru sushi

A new sushi restaurant recently opened up near our house.  We already have a few favorite places around town, but we had to check in out, you know, just in case we ever 'need' to order take out:)

this girl LOVES edamame

Overall, the sushi wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a fun environment, and definitely nice not to cook for a night!