Old friends are the best!

One of the great perks of the holiday season is getting together with old friends! :) Saturday morning we had over the Galer's and Swynenburg's for a brunch. We had a wonderful time sharing our lives and also our girls!! How awesome is it that our girls are little stair steps! It is great to see our husbands all interact and enjoy laughs together! Never a dull moment when the 6 (well 9) of us are together!

Thanks girls for coming over! We had a blast!!

Allyson, Sophia, Leslie, Adelynn, Apryl, Olivia

Allyson

Merry Christmas .....

... to all in blogger-world!!

Nate, Sophia, and I wish you all the happiest of holidays as we celebrate the birth of Our Savior and King; Christ Jesus! As Pastor Steve mentioned last night during services, "We must not leave Jesus in the manger. We must receive Him and celebrate fully who He is and what He did ... the manager, the ministry, the miracles, the cross, and the empty tomb!" We rejoice and celebrate these truths!

Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve .....

"Alright mom, I am ready for church!"

"Hey pops, look at me!"

Merry Christmas from the Long's!!

Allyson

Many lasts ....

Our 2009 Christmas letter was titled "A Year of Many Firsts!" This month is becoming a month of many first, yet many lasts (if 'lasts' is even a word!). I have been quite sentimental this month for various reasons!

After my bittersweet celebration of my last nursing session, I put away all my nursing gear (bras, pump, Medela accessories, boppy, etc). It is weird to think they won't be used for a few more years (as long as we stick to the plan - HaHaHa)! I started packing up more of her 6-9 month clothes that she has outgrown. Wow, we might not ever use these again if we have boy for child #2? Isn't that a weird thought? (Although, I am thinking the girl genes on both sides of the family will be in my favor!) Pretty soon we will be out of the 12 month clothes b/c of her length! This chica has the LONGEST torso ever!! In a week, we will no longer be using bottles!! Something that has been such a crucial part of our daily life -- gone, vanished, in the wink of an eye!! I definitely won't miss the chore of constant bottle washing!

Finally, it was our last day for breastfeeding group! We went one last time to say our Thanks and Good-byes! It was so sad!! I have been going every week for the past 11 months!! What on earth am I going to do on Monday mornings at 11am now?? I am so thankful for everyone that I met! I know I talk an awful lot about this group, but you must understand it has impacted my life forever!!! I will cherish all the memories!! Thank heavens I formed some great

friendships so we can continue our playdates!!

Here is a picture of my dear friend and one of my biggest encourager's: Jan! She always treated Sophia like a princess!! I will miss seeing Jan's face weekly, but am thankful we can keep in touch via Facebook!!

They had to say their final good-byes! Good thing we can go visit after her doctor's appointments!

Sophia was a stinker and didn't want to give a big SMILE!

In other news, one of Nate's closest friends, Eric, came to stay with us this weekend. He lives down in OK, but was visiting Indy. Nate and Eric both love do to music recording. Eric bought some news "music toys" so you better believe Nate played with them all weekend. The boys got to do some music recording! Sophia even helped her daddy to test out the Mesa Boogie Pedal!

That was some crazy sounding music with Sophia controlling the pedal!

"Hummmm .... what should I push next?"

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Looking forward to this week's holiday celebrations!!

Allyson

Struttin' my stuff

Another milestone, check! Yesterday she started walking behind her walker!! It was so fun to watch! My dad, aka Grampie K, was there to witness it!!

Allyson

The dairy barn has officially closed for business!

11 1/2 months .... that is how long this dairy barn lasted!! Wow, that is a REALLY long time!! I often wonder how many gallons of milk I produced!! Ha Ha

My last nursing session this morning was a very special one! Sophia woke up so happy and just cuddled with me (as she usually does in the AM!) I enjoyed that last burst of nursing-induced oxytocin as I looked down at my sweet baby girl and took a journey down memory lane! It was all I could do not to shed a tear!!

As I look back upon my breastfeeding journey, it has been overall a great experience. Granted, I have had my fair share of problems (inadequate supply the whole time, guilt that I couldn't provide enough, taking 12 herbs pills/day, multiple clogged ducts over and over again, supplementation, the nasty side effects of Reglan, pump issues, sleepy baby syndrome); you name it, I had it! All of those problems seem minuscule compared to the joy I felt during each (well, most of them) nursing session; the beautiful bond that only I shared with this precious baby girl! God created such a beautiful thing when he created the ability for a woman to feed her child! I think there are few things on earth that can even compare! Whether you nurse your child for 1 week or 2 years, it is a very memorable experience.

Yesterday at BF'ing group I saw a new mom walk through the door with an oh-so-familiar face -- one that I wore just 11 months ago. The face of guilt, defeat, sadness and my heart just went out to her! I gave her a hug and she shed some tears ... I told her ... "It's going to be alright! I know exactly how you feel b/c your story was my story!" If only I would have had someone to tell me that during those first few weeks! It was definitely one of those God-ordained moments that I will never forget! I hope that I can use my experience to help many more mothers out there! I know there are a few people that really helped me make it through my first few months (Darla, Dixie, Mom, and Jan)! You ladies will never know how much you touched my life!! Thank you!!

Finally, the biggest encourager and support in my life: My ROCKSTAR hubby! Thanks Nate for your unconditional support!

Now that I am done, you may ask, what are you looking forward to most? Wearing a normal bra!! :) (For all you nursing mamas out there, you know what I am talking about!)

Thanks readers for all your encouragement throughout the 11 1/2 months!! It has been a journey to say the least! I sure hope breastfeeding baby #2 is a lot easier, but if it isn't ... I know how to deal!!

Allyson

Sleepy Head

Yesterday morning I went in to wake Sophia up at 7:45am so we could leave for the gym at 8:15am ... this is how I found her! She didn't even wake up when the camera went off! How sweet huh?

Sure would love for the 7:45am wake-up to last!!

Allyson

Guinness and Grapes

Nate and I had a wonderful time celebrating our anniversary last evening! Nate's parents braved the freezing cold weather and came out to watch Sophia! It was so appreciated!!

We headed to Claddaugh Irish Pub for dinner! Nate really enjoyed their Shepherd's Pie, and I had a wonderful Dublin Grilled Chicken Salad!! Yum! Although I learned that a little goat cheese goes a LONG way!! I think next time I will stick with feta or blue cheese! Anyone else share those same feelings? I also tried their Guinness Onion Soup -- wow, that was amazing!! Worth every calorie!!

After dinner we headed down to Chateau Thomas Winery! What a wonderful atmosphere to continue our celebration! We were the only two people in the winery for the wine tasting, so we received "special" treatment! Our "wine" lady (don't know their fancy name) was quite knowledgeable and shared lots of interesting facts with us. She was very gracious in our tasting and made sure to suggest many wines that were big sellers. Nate and I fell in love with a handful of wines!! She also told us a little bit about the Winery itself. Dr. Thomas is a retired OBGYN and he had a love for wine! He travels all over the country and his wine has won many awards!! We had such a nice and relaxing time at Chateau Thomas. We hope to go back again to try different wines!

What a wonderful end to a wonderful evening!! It is always so nice to spend time together, alone without Sophia to rejuvenate our love!

I love you Nate!!

Allyson

Happy Anniversary!

3 years ago today I married my best friend!! It has been a wonderful 3 years!!! Happy Anniversary Nate! I love you!!

Allyson

Squeak Squeak ...

Last week, Nate and I were having a little fun with Sophia before she went to bed!! I caught the tail end of it on camera!! Poor Sophie the giraffe!

Hope you got a good laugh! We sure did!

Happy Tuesday!! Hope we don't get too much snow tomorrow evening/night!

Allyson

A few funnies ...

Working retail = BIG chuckles (at times)!

Today two different people came up to my pharmacy counter to pick up their prescriptions (both antibiotics) and asked, "Why aren't these public? They work so well they should be easier to get!" REALLY? First of all, you don't call them "public," they are called over-the-counter prescriptions! Secondly, antibiotics are already WAY OVER-PRESCRIBED and are losing their efficacy as we speak -- so why would we want people self-diagnosing and taking antibiotics? It isn't like hemorrhoid cream people!! Crazy!! The things people request!

In other funnies (or nasties) is the story of the germ-lady! I was in the bathroom washing my hands and some lady comes up to the sink next to me and (1) touches the faucet with her hands (2) runs her hands under the WATER ONLY for less than 5 seconds. Does she think running her hands under water is going to get rid of all the germs? Yeah, um NO!! Plus, by touching the handle she added about 1000 more germs to her already dirty hands!!! Seriously people, PLEASE wash your hands with soap and water (aren't you supposed to sing happy birthday twice?)

Finally, we were in the middle of a little "rush" and a lady came up to my pick-up window. I immediately greeted her and said, "I will be right with you mam." I checked two rx's and performed a drug interaction check for one of the techs, and started heading down to the out-window when I noticed the lady was walking off. I said, "Mam, did you need something." Her response, "WELL, I WAS TRYING TO PICK UP A PRESCRIPTION, BUT I GUESS I WON'T NOW." To which I said, "I am sorry I was a little tied up, but I told you I would be right with you." Then she totally rolled her eyes and walked off! Ok, seriously lady .... I told you I would be right with you and you had to wait like 2 minutes ... so I thought to myself ... "You have to come back sometime and pick up your script, so are you going to go waste more of your time and make me wait?" 1 hour later she comes up to my out-window to pick up her script and only has 2 cases of pop in her cart. Many thoughts ran through my head (1) You just wasted 1 hour of your time and only picked up 24 cans of pop? (2) Were you trying to get back at me for making you wait? I actually had things to do during that hour window -- I wasn't twiddling my thumbs waiting for you to come back? (3) Really, why did you leave in the first place? It isn't McD's drive-thru? Sometimes you have to wait for quality service!!

So those were the funnies of today!! I imagine I will have many more tomorrow!

Happy Sat night, off to catch some zzzzz's!

Allyson

TGIF!

Thank goodness it is Friday!!!

It has been a long and busy week!! I work this weekend, so I promise a blog update on Monday!!

Here's to a weekend of brain challenges for mommy and fun memories with daddy!

Allyson

So much to be thankful for...

We have so much to be thankful for this holiday season!! God has blessed our family beyond belief!! This past weekend, we had a lot of time to reflect upon these blessings! We had the wonderful opportunity to spend 3 full days with family!!

Thursday after Sophia's morning nap, we headed over to Nate's parents house! This was the first year we celebrated Thanksgiving with Nate's family on Thanksgiving Day! We all had a wonderful time and the food was ALL amazing! So healthy and so wonderful! Yum Yum!! I even tried a new dessert out on the family and it was a hit!! Two pieces made it back to the house with us on Thursday night, but were gone before I could even get Sophia to bed! (Thanks Nate and Tyler!)

Thursday night Lexi and Tyler spent the night! We played Ticket to Ride (European Version) after Sophia went to bed!! After lots of giggles and squeals, we hit the sack early so everyone (minus myself and Sophia) could get up early for Black Friday shopping! Don't they all look thrilled to be up at 4:30am? (I wasn't thrilled to be up taking the picture!!)

Nate and Tyler both scored a copy of "Elf" for $3.99 at Target!!

Friday morning we watched Elf and played with Sophia! I doubt many people were watching movies at 7am on Black Friday, huh? After Sophia's morning nap, we headed to Nate's parents house to meet the family, then proceeded to head to Garfield Park Conservatory for some family pictures. Here is a glimpse of a few of them ...

After pictures, we all (minus Sophia, Rhoda, and Delores) headed south to Perry Park Ice Skating Rink. It is a Long family tradition to "Skate off the Turkey" the day after Thanksgiving! Did you know that ice skating for 1 hour burns 700 calories? Also, 9 laps around the rink is equivalent to 1 mile? We sure burned lots of calories that afternoon and had tons of fun doing so! We had a nice meal at Nate's parents house that evening and some yummy peanut butter balls! (All the kids FAVORITE treat!)

Saturday we headed down to my parents house for some food, family, and fun!! Sophia really loved eating lots of turkey, bread, and veggies this year -- but no desserts!! (I know, such a mean mommy!) After a yummy meal, Sophia took a nap and the adults took part in a card game of "Hand and Foot!" We had a blast playing together with my parents, Sarah, and Brandon. Too bad Nate and I didn't win!!

Yesterday was Sophia's 11 month birthday! I can't even believe it!! Time sure flies -- although I sure love this stage!! Each month is more enjoyable than the last!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!! We Americans have so much to be thankful for each and everyday!! I am especially grateful for our men and women overseas fighting so that I can enjoy freedom!!

Allyson

11 months!

Happy 11 month birthday to my baby girl Sophia Grace!!

It has sure been a great 11 months!! I can't believe she will be 1 in just a short month!!

Love you baby girl!

Mama Al

Trying to save some dough....

As some of you saw on my FB page, I asked for recommendations for online printable coupons for organic foods. Many of you responded so I thought I would throw together some links of resources to save money while grocery shopping!! If you (my faithful reader) have any extra sites you like to use, please leave them in the comment section!! I think my favorite is the organicdeals blog!!

http://organicdeals.blogspot.com/
http://savingmoneylivinglife.blogspot.com/
http://www.stretchingabuckblog.com/
http://www.healthesavers.com/HealthESavers/Coupons.aspx
http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons
http://www.earthsbest.com/promos/promos.php?cat=coupon

Check 'em out!!

In other news, Sophia has really picked up speed in her crawling!! She sure be-lines it for anything of mine I set on the floor (cup, plate, my food, bowl, etc). Also, she crawled to get her book in book babies today for the first time!! I was so happy and glad she could show off her new skills!!

We hope you all have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!! We are looking forward to spending lots of time with family that we love dearly!!

Allyson

BREAKING NEWS .....

Sophia has FINALLY started crawling!!! Check out the video!! We are thrilled!!!! It has only taken 10 months and 3 weeks!! I am also so thankful that Nate was here to witness it for the first time!! (PS. Don't mind the lack of pants, can't seem to keep the leaks away! At least you get to look at a cute diaper cover!)

ONE THRILLED MAMA,

Allyson

My new favorite thing to do ...

READ BOOKS all by myself and to myself!!

Allyson

Rainy days don't get us down ....

because we still have room for smiles! :)

Allyson

We sure gotta girly-girl on our hands...

This afternoon Sophia and I headed over to Charlie's house for a playdate! It was so great to see Kathy and Charlie, as our last "date" was back in the summer! Both kids have grown and developed so much since they last played!! Charlie is your typical boy and Sophia is definately a typical girl. It is amazing at such an early age they display characteristics of their sex!

When we arrived, Charlie was so intrigued by Sophia. He loved grabbing her hair, wanted to get so close to give her a hug, and thought they should be best buds! Sophia on the other hand wasn't so sure about a "boy up in her face!" I know in 15 years I can only pray she doesn't want "boys in her face!" Ha! Nevertheless, our two kiddos quickly warmed up to each other! It was fun to see them interact. Sophia needs a good "toughing-up" session anyways!!

I told Charlie that before we left for the afternoon, Sophia needed to follow his example and crawl! Somehow I think the language barrier (baby talk to English) jumbled my message!! She thought it was hilarious to watch him walk behind his shopping cart and crawl like a race horse!! He thought it was hilarious to listen to her say "Dadadadadada" over and over and over again!!

We had a wonderful lunch! (Thanks Kathy!) The kids looked at each other during the meal and started talking baby! It was so cute! Sophia would say something and Charlie would just laugh at her!! It is almost as though they understood each other!!

"Here mommy, wanna puff?"

We look forward to our next playdate!! Too bad we don't live closer, or we could see each other more often!!

Allyson

Hats off to ....

Sophia and I went into the Avon Texas Roadhouse today (Veteran's Day) to purchase a gift card at 1:30pm. As you well know, TR opens at 4pm during the week, however today they are open all day! From 11am - 3pm, the Avon TR is honoring our vets with a FREE meal! How awesome is that? As we waited on our gift card, I looked around and saw so many men and women proudly displaying their shirts, hats, and jackets! You couldn't help but smile and be internally grateful for their sacrifice!! Even the workers that were vets were wearing their military outfits and garb! I was EXTRA proud to be an American this afternoon!!

Allyson

Hat's, Guitar's, and Stars!

Wow, what a whirl-wind of a weekend!!

Friday, Sophia and I went down to spend the day in Greenwood! My dear friend Leslie and her 3 month old baby girl Adelynn were in town from Chicago! We were able to spend lots of time at my parents earlier in the day! I found this precious hat at Buy Buy Baby for Sophia! (Now she is twins with Maeve!) She was totally cheesing it up when I was taking her picture!! As she grows up, we should probably work on her "modeling pose!" (Can you see her two top teeth? She likes to grind her bottom teeth with her top two! It makes the WORST sound ever!)

A few weeks ago, our dinosaur big screen TV bit the dust. So sad to see it go!! :( It was about 20 years old!) It was really perfect timing b/c my dad has been itching to get a new flat screen plasma TV! He offered to sell his old TV to us and so Saturday morning Nate and Brandon headed down to Greenwood to pick it up! It took 4 guys to get the TV loaded on the truck! Heck, the thing weighs 275 lbs!! They finally arrived with it and hauled off the broken dinosaur!

We spent lots of time to get everything arranged! Here is the final picture! Now we just need a nice big family picture to hang above the TV!!

Saturday afternoon we headed out to Beasley's Orchard to get their new apple, "THE GOLD RUSH." I believe it was created at Purdue (but I could be wrong!)! It is a great apple -- you should check your local orchard to see if they have some!! It is a fairly young apple type so check soon before they are all gone!!

Saturday evening we celebrated my dad's 58th birthday! It is so crazy b/c I always think my parents are in their 40's. Maybe that is when their birthday's started meaning more? Or maybe it was those surprise 40th birthday parties for both of them that stick out in my head always?

Below is dad showing off his new "pick" from Sarah and Brandon! He was so excited about this piece of art! He can't wait to hang it up in his "music studio." As you can see Sophia was interested in the wrapping paper!! HEHE

Sophia also found joy in the plastic container that held his Best Buy gift card! She figured out she could see through it if she held it up to her face! She thought it was funny to smash it against her nose too! It provided lots of laughs for the family!

Sunday, we decided to get out Olivia's Colts Cheerleading outfit for church! Sophia was a "star" cheerleader all day for the Colts!! Good thing she cheered with some extra loud "squeals" b/c we were all worried they weren't going to pull off a big VICTORY!!

Go Colts!!! (Go Butler Bulldogs too! For once their football team is undefeated!! Who knew?)

Allyson

Sophia's Super Porridge

This morning I made up a batch of Sophia's Super Porridge!! I took a picture of the key ingredients and thought I would post the recipe. I know lots of my faithful readers make their own baby food as well!! If you click on the picture, you can enlarge it on your computer screen to read the black text I added! The great this with this recipe, is you can add, subtract, or substitute pretty much anything ingredient to your babies liking!! I used a few ingredients I needed to get out of the freezer!

Sophia's Super Porridge

(You can make this recipe gluten free by leaving out the oats, everything else is GF)

1/2 cup steel cut oats, ground into a powder

1/2 cup millet, ground into a powder

1/2 cup buckwheat, ground into a powder

1/4 cup brown rice, ground into a powder

Cinnamon to taste (probably used 2-3 tbsp or more) -- we LOVE cinnamon!

3 brown bananas (mash as put into the pot)

1 cup bean puree

1 cup organic pear juice

7 cups water

Grind all grains into a powder (can grind together). Bring 7 cups of water to boil. Once the water is at a boil, add the powder and start whisking! Whisk, whisk, whisk to prevent clumping!! After whisking for a few minutes, I turn the burner to low-medium and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. I added the pear juice, bean puree, cinnamon, and bananas. Whisk, whisk, whisk!! I let it simmer about 5 more minutes and then poured the porridge into my trays for the freezer!

From start to finish, it only took me about 30 minutes!! See, it is so easy and you can make the recipe with ingredients you have around the house. You don't really even need the juice, but I wanted to use it up, plus it adds a little sweetness to the porridge!!

The finished product!! These trays should last us awhile!!

Interesting facts about the ingredients (from www.wholesomebabyfood.com):

1) Millet is rich in B vitamins, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and is even considered a good protein source.

2) Buckwheat is not related to wheat nor is it a grain. Buckwheat is actually a seed however it is tossed into the whole grain category. Buckwheat is gluten free and makes a wonderful food for those who are gluten intolerant (celiac disease) or who have an allergy to the wheat protein. Buckwheat is high in fiber and contains Iron, Niacin, Folate and even Vitamin K.

3) Oats are high in fiber, calcium, protein and even some B vitamins. Whenever possible, you should purchase steel cut oats as opposed to rolled or quick cook or instant oat(meal)s. Steel cut oats are minimally processed (they are simply cut into small bits.) so they retain their natural levels of fiber, protein, calcium and more.

Anyone have any favorite baby food recipes they would like to share? I would LOVE to have more nutritious recipes for Sophia!!

Allyson

The Cutest Halloween Outfit EVER

For those of you that don't follow the other blogs on my "favorite" list -- you MUST check out Jen's blog with their Halloween Costumes!! It is the most creative idea I have EVER seen!! Hats off to Jen and Brad for their creativity and to the boys for being "little monkeys!" Way to go Murray's!!

http://murraycrew.blogspot.com/2009/11/five-little-monkeys-jumping-on-bed.html

Allyson

Quack Quack!!

Sophia had a wonderful time Trick-or-Treating with her daddy, grammie, and grampie Kiesel! I had volunteered to work on Saturday, so this mama didn't get to go!! No worries, I will take Sophia around next year!! :) The word on the street was Sophia was pretty somber and wouldn't crack a smile until the very end! She loved holding the candy -- double-fisted (of course)!! Who knew shaking a bag of M&M's could be so fun for so long!!!

"Who let the duck out? Who-who? Who let the duck out? Who-who?" (Gotta love that little tail too!)

Grampie, "Somber-Ducky," and Grammie Kiesel

"What on earth am I doing in this costume?? Could someone please answer me that?"

Daddy and his little "Quack-Quack"

"Sophia, make your best duck face!!"

Maybe next year we will get some smiles!! :)

Allyson

Two more months till THE BIG ONE

It has been a wonderful 10 months with our little princess!!! We are very thankful for this blessing!!

Allyson

It has only just begun...

What you may ask? Stealing toys from other kids!! :)

Today Sophia and I headed down to the 'Burgh to visit Erin, Laurel, and the boys. It was the first time to see their new house! (They have done some great renovations. It is looking awesome!) Sophia and I hadn't seen Laurel for about 4 months -- so the visit was long overdue! Erin and I talk so much via email, FB, phone -- that I couldn't believe it had been that long since we actually had a face-to-face conversation! I think it was just what we both needed!! For those of you that don't know, Erin and I were pot-luck roommates freshman year at Butler and have remained great friends ever since that year!! It has been fun to watch our families grow together!!

I was able to document their interaction today with pictures! It all happened so quickly -- boy those kids move fast!!

Sweet, innocent Laurel -- chewing on her plastic hammer ... minding her own business!

Sophia enters the picture ... "Oh, look at me ... such a cutie with a big smile!"

Sophia: "That toy is MINE .... hahaha"

Laurel: "Yeah, not sure what just happened."

Laurel: "I finally got my toy back, but seriously ... another picture? Really?"

Sophia: "I am just sittin' pretty! All innocent and content, playing with my sock."

Sophia: "Wait, there is that toy I was playing with."

Laurel: "You will have to pry it from my hands."

Sophia: "Ok, I am strong!"

Sophia: "Ha Ha Ha ... I got it now!" (Mommy in the background, 'Sophia that wasn't very nice, you should give that back to Laurel.')

Laurel: "Hey wait, that is my toy!"

Sophia: "Who me? I didn't do a thing!"

Laurel: (Still pondering what just happened!)

Laurel: "Fine, I will just get another toy -- you can have the hammer!!"

Sophia: "Gee thanks, it is mighty tasty!!"

Oh, and the drama only begins... wait till the teen years huh?

At least we ended the day with a nice walk! Aren't the girls so cute side-by-side in "THE BOB?" (and check out that awesome hat Erin knitted for Laurel!)

Allyson

No more FB'ing until ????

So sad folks ... my facebook account has been all messed up since Friday AM! I have only been able to log-in ONE time since then!! I have talked to lots of other people and they haven't had any problems!!!

I guess I am way too addicted b/c I am just dying!! You don't realize how much you use the site for social networking until you can't get in!!! Ahhhhhh... sure wish they would fix it! FB withdrawal symptoms are in full-force!!

I had to blog about it since I can't do a status update!!

Tear! :(

Allyson

Twins?

So what do ya think .... does she look like me at all? Even the slightest bit?

(Thanks Apryl for letting us borrow this cute outfit -- who knew I would already have the perfect outfit to match!)

Allyson

Beasley's and Baird's!

Elissa Kate, Allyson, and Sophia

Saturday afternoon Chris, Ingrid, and Elissa Kate came to visit! Elissa is ~10 days (or so) younger than Sophia!! It was so much fun to see them interact. The more and more Sophia interacts with other children, I see her personality coming out. I have a feeling she is going to be a pistol. Your typical first-born traits are present!! Guess first-born's don't turn out all too bad since I was one!!

We let the girls play for a bit while we caught up! We headed out to Beasley's Orchard for the hayride out to the pumpkin patch! There were some MASSIVE pumpkins out there!! After the pumpkin patch, Nate and I had to get some more apples at the Orchard. We had a nice dinner at Los Rancheros to warm up! We put Elissa and Sophia's high chairs right next to each other. It was so cute to watch them trying to touch each other. Sophia was very interested in stealing Elissa's Cheerios!

We had a great time and were thankful the Baird's came for a visit!

"Ahhhhhhhh!! I love this place!"

In the back of the pumpkin patch!! Boy was that sun bright! Poor Sophia didn't have any sunglasses!!

Hope everyone had a blessed weekend!!

Allyson