Belated Halloween Pictures

Here are our Halloween pictures just a little late... The merchants downtown put on a nice trick or treating for the city every year. Believe it or not, this was the first time that we've been trick or treating since having kids!

Brigham's "costume"... He actually slept the whole time in the stroller anyways!

Our little Pirate and Fairy Ballerina with their stashes

Ayrrr... Matey!

Bella walks ahead with Daddy while Lincoln lags behind.

Lincoln couldn't keep his hands off of the candy. Here Isabella is wondering why he gets another piece!

Bella singing at her preschool costume parade

Snuggle time!

Here's a rare picture of all three of the kids together!

Recent Pictures of Brigham

Even though I'm still behind with getting pictures downloaded onto our computer (still having issues with it...), I wanted to update with a few pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to post some of the more important things from the last couple of months over the next week or two. I'll start with some recent pictures of Brigham since he's changing so much now and almost four months old! Enjoy our littlest Cutie Pie! :)

School Picture

We got Bella's school pictures back today, and it was SO good that I had to share it! :) Doesn't she look so grown-up?

I Kind of Like it...

Isabella came up with a new way of addressing me this week since watching Cinderella many times over. Out of the blue the other day she answers me with, "Your Mom-nesty". (Get it... Your Majesty...) Yes, she thought of that one all by herself and has used it many times since. That's a little more like it!! :)

Isabella's Back in School!

Isabella started in the 4's preschool class on Monday by "Hopping into Preschool". She was really excited to start again, and is very anxious to go three days a week now! She had a great first day and was excited to tell us that she was picked to dress the "Weather Bear" during calendar and weather time. When I asked her how her new teachers were, she replied, "Great!"

Always have to take a picture by this tree!

Hopping into school with her aide.

For craft the kids made frogs with noisemaker tongues that popped out!

A few recent pictures of Brigham...

Here are a few pictures of Brigham from the last two weeks. I know you're all anxious to see how fast he's growing! :) The last picture of him in his diaper is on his 3-week birthday. He's already getting a double-chin!

More Pictures...

Sleeping Angel...

Brigham has such blond eyebrows and eyelashes, we're pretty sure that he'll be just as blond as Big Brother!

Hanging out with Daddy!

Isabella took time out from preparing supper with Mommy (hence her outfit...) to pose with Brigham!

Kisses from Lincoln...

He's Here! Introducing Brigham Isaac!

Before I had time to update the last post, our Little Peanut decided to make his way into the world! Brigham Isaac was born Friday morning, August 15th, at 12:55 A.M. He's perfect and healthy, and everything went fairly well with the labor. I myself couldn't feel better and sometimes need to be reminded to slow down. After all, I DID just have a baby four days ago! :) Brigham has been a little angel, and is very laid-back so far. (He doesn't even seem to notice the background "hum" of his sister and brother!) He's nursing wonderfully and sleeping well. We're all completely smitten with him, and Bella and Lincoln love him to pieces! We're really enjoying these first days as a family of five, and things couldn't be better! We're so blessed! :)

7 lbs. 5 oz. & 20 in. long

Meeting Big Brother & Sissy for the first time!

Daddy admires his son and snuggles his princess...

Still No Baby...

As you all know, Baby is quite comfortable inside Mommy right now. This Little Stinker that gave us the biggest "scare" of being early is hanging on for the longest by far! Having never had to wait before, I'm (well, WE'RE) finding it hard to be patient! :) I have another appointment this morning, and I hope to update you all this afternoon. Maybe I'll even throw in a picture or two!

Funny Girl...

Here's just a funny picture of Bella modeling her new sunglasses. She's very into making funny faces for the camera lately!

Cousins!

Claire and Ella came to visit last week for a day! The kids had a lot of fun playing inside and out. They tried out a new sprinkler attachment for the hose, and Isabella was also introduced to "The Wizard of Oz" for the first time! It's always so rewarding to see the kids able to play with any of their cousins! They love you all so much! :)

Drying off after some sprinkler fun!

Pizza party!

Isabella is FOUR!!

Isabella turned FOUR on Friday! It's hard to believe that my "baby" is four already, but I wasn't too sad surprisingly. She was so excited and counting down the days of course. I had given her a couple of options for where to go out to lunch, but knew what the answer would be... Chuck E. Cheese! :) The kids had a great time, and it wasn't too bad for Mark and I either! After naps at home, we had a little Princess party with just the four of us. Mark grilled, and then we had cake. Isabella got her first "big girl" bike, a princess one of course! (She's had her eye on it for quite a while now, but knew she had to turn four first!) She's already a pro at riding it, and Lincoln and her love to ride around the kitchen table. (Him on his four-wheeler of course...) Here are just a few pictures from the day!

You can imagine how excited Lincoln was to see Bob and Scoop at Chuck E. Cheese. It seemed like half of our tokens went to this ride! Here, Isabella is riding on Scoop like Bob does. :)

Posing with Chuck E. himself!

Right after Daddy wheeled her bike in!

Princess cake for everybody with a lot left over for Mommy! :)

Big Stuff! (She also got the proper safety equipment!)

Lincoln's Breakfast: Round Two

Okay, this is now at 9:45 this morning... I ran upstairs to clean the toilet while the kids were watching "Bob the Builder" in the other room. (They didn't even notice that I had slipped away!) I came back down a couple of minutes later to this...

Not only butterscotch chips this time, but paired with mini fruit-flavored marshmallows. Is this how the whole day is going to go? Needless to say, I wasn't quite as understanding with Lincoln this time around. (And not just because the remainder of the marshmallows and chips that weren't in the bowl were on the floor...)

Lincoln Got His Own Breakfast

This morning Lincoln came downstairs before I got out of bed. I'm not stupid, so I knew that I only had a minute or two to get downstairs to spoil any plans of destruction that he had. He met me at the bottom of the stairs holding this...

... a bowl of butterscotch chips. He had already gotten up on the counter, into the baking cupboard on the top shelf, and poured himself a bowl. I said, "Lincoln, is that your breakfast?" "Yes", he said with a smile.

35 Weeks and Counting...

Sorry there haven't been pictures of giant 'ole me sooner. I missed a month since the last set... Well, these should make up for it, though! This was yesterday, 35 weeks and 1 day. Mark keeps wondering if my due date is off. Now why do you think he wonders that!? :) I'm still feeling good, but suddenly can sympathize with why some women might not completely "enjoy" the last couple of months. Simple things like walking and bending seem to be a challenge lately! This one is definately more active and seems bigger sooner. All in all, I still love every moment of being pregnant!

Who Needs a Sister??

Every once in a while Isabella recruits Lincoln to dress up with her princess style! He's a very good sport, and actually somewhat enjoys it, I think. On this particular day, he especially fancied the red ballet flats! :)

Botanical Garden Trip

We took our first trip of the year to the botanical gardens last week when we had a little bit of a cooler morning. Mark got a family membership pass for Father's Day since it's one of his favorite places to be with all of the plants and hostas! It was an absolutely beautiful morning in the 70s. We were able to be there for a couple of hours, eat lunch on their outdoor patio, and be back home by naptime! Bella and Lincoln love it there just as much as we do, especially since they have one of the country's only children's gardens. It's an amazing place for the kids to explore with little houses, a big sandbox, gardens, caves, a treehouse, bubbling fountain, and a couple of fish ponds with bridges and stepping stones. Isabella is going back next week for a BotaniCool Little Spuds class for 3-5 year olds. We also love the Glass House with the butterflies. There are so many that they actually land on you sometimes so you can touch them! If any visitors are ever interested in going, let us know! We love visiting there and would be glad to take you! :)

"Ribbit" in the children's garden

The fountain in the children's garden

A beautiful fountain near the entrance

Posing in the Japanese garden

Crossing a bridge over a fish pond in the children's garden

Lincoln exploring one of the caves

Another bridge in the children's garden