Hailee watching Chloe stuff Sally
Hailee and Chloe giving Sally a bath
Mommy dressing Sally
Hailee giving Sally her first hug!
Hailee's first cake (Saturday's cake)
The Big Birthday Girl!
Hailee's second birthday cake (Sunday's cake)
Hailee and her Birthday Girl Balloons
And the infamous cake eating pictures...Yum, Yum!
What a fun Halloween!! Our fun started the night before when we carved our pumpkins. Chloe wanted to draw all over the pumpkins instead of carve them, but we told her that if we didn't carve them then we wouldn't be
able to put fire in them. Her mind quickly changed...who doesn't want to put fire in a pumpkin? Hailee was cute...she watched from her high chair until we were done with
the carving and then we let her loose. Like typical Hailee as soon as she got a hold of the pumpkin it went straight to her mouth. At least she recognizes food.
We sta
rted in Meridian with Chloe and Hailee's cousins Makayla and Alee. The kids did a trunk or treat at the neighborhood park...what a great thing for kids...it's fast and easy and the kids don't know the difference. After the trunk or treat we headed in to Star to see their other cousins Trinity and Zoe. We went around my parent's neighborhood for a bit and after only a couple of blocks Chloe handed us her candy bucket and said "I'm done!" and that was the end of that.
After an emotional and overwhelming start I can say that Chloe thoroughly enjoyed herself. The kids got to pick a 
pumpkin from the patch then they got to go on a hayride through the farm
where they got to see a Zebra and a Camel among other animals and finally they got to run through the hay bail maze. It's amazing how fast Miss Carolanne can get a group of 16 kids (not just kids, 3 and 4 year olds) through a field trip in an hour. I asked her how she does it and she just replied 23 years of experience. She also said that if I thought that was impressive just wait until they go to the zoo. 
08...it was my last night at the hospital and what a bittersweet night it was. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom, but when it came time to make that decision it was a lot harder than I thought. I was 18 years old when I was hired at St. Luke's and for a number of women I worked with I was like a daughter to 
them. They have watched me grow up...from dating Brian, marrying Brian, and then finally becoming a mom, they have seen it all. I will never forget all the memories I made at St. Luke's and I will never forget any of the friends either.
pictures on my locker and emptying out my mailbox. I still haven't put any of the stuff away from my locker. It's almost like it's still not real! I will miss the job, but mostly I will miss my family there at St. Luke's. For any of my co-workers reading this...Thank you for nine wonderful years of advice, support and most of all love. Remember don't forget to invite me to any get togethers...I will being needing the adult interaction more than ever!! 
ter-in-law, Sara and I decided to take our girls to The Discovery Center. It was so fun watching the girls figure things out. Makayla was probably a little more into it than the li
ttle girls, but they still had a great time. I think some of the highlights were the grocery store where they could shop on their own, the tub of
soapy water where you could blow huge bubbles, and of course the veterinary office where they were able to take care of all of the stuffed animals...complete with
Hailee swinging
Huddled around the fire
o she finally put it together and took off in a matter of hours. It's funny how you anticipate it for so long and then boom, it just happens. She is so proud of herself and since that weekend she has figured out how to climb the stairs. YIKES! We have yet to find a baby gate that we trust at the top of the stairs so you have to be watching her at all times. We d
on't totally keep her away from them because she does need to learn how to go up and down them, but it is the rule that Mommy and/or Daddy have to be present for her to climb. She thinks it's funny to try and sneak away toward the stairs and when she sees one of us coming she tries to hurry as fast as she can to get to them. It's cute!! It's amazing how with the freedom of mobility comes their personality. She definitely isn't a little baby any more...:( 
though. Everything she brings home is cut practically right on the line and you can definitely tell what shape it is. I'm am just constantly amazed by my little girl and am so proud of her! We are anxiously awaiting her very first field trip which will be a trip to the pumpkin patch and yes she can not stop talking about it and wants to be told several times a day when they will be going...stay tuned for that adventure!
r you the rain cover, always take them up on it because you just never know. Yes we were just three of the many women who braved the rain to participate in the annual St. Luke's Women's Fitness Race, however, had it been raining when we left the house we probably would have just stayed home. Luckily I always have an umbrella in the car and because it was so chilly that morning I put in extra blankets for the girls and left them in their footy pajamas. It was quite the site though with the rain pouring down and crowds of women, children a
nd strollers trying to find a little shelter while waiting for the race to start. My girls did really well waiting for the race to start, all things considering, but as the race got started I quickly realized that this was going to be just too long of a walk for the girls and after just a couple of blocks we turned off to head back to the parking garage where we had parked. It was a bummer not to do the race completely, but as we got back to the car and I realized how soaked I was (all the way down to my underwear) I wasn't so sad. After all there is always next year!!
nd she absolutely loves it. Our daughter isn't the one that cries when you drop her off...nope, she's the one crying because she has to go home and can't stay and eat lunch and spend the rest of the day with the daycare kids. Which is fine with me because I would rather it this way and it is a great way of letting me know that she likes it. Everyday we ask her what she did at pre-school and she says "I played and I learned". It never fails that is always her answer. We've started to make our questions more specific. It is so fun to watch Chloe be so excited about school and meeting new friends. She thinks it's pretty cool that th
ere is a girl in her class named "Makayla" just like her cousin. She tells us "Mom, Dad there's another Makayla! I think that's five of them"! Well, it's not quite five but we do know a lot of Makayla's. So we are off and running with pre-school and we have a little girl who couldn't be more happy and of course that make's Mommy and Daddy happy as well...emotional, but happy! Our second milestone of the day was that Hailee turned 9 months old and has figured out how to get herself from one place to another...whether it be s
cooting backwards or rolling she doesn't care just as long as she gets where she wants. I set her down in the middle of the living room by the coffee table and stepped just outside of the garage door to grab something and when I came back in she had gotten herself about five feet away from the coffee table and had found my basket of smelly pinecones. When I caught her she just looked up at me and gave me a huge grin and a look that said "What?". I jus
t can't believe how fast these girls are growing up. I love it because they are just so fun and interactive and we just have such a good time together, but at the same time I'm trying to take in every moment and remember it exactly as it is. I just don't want to miss a thing! Anyway, it's been a great week and I am so proud of my girls, they are definitely the best things to have happened to us!!
26th and that same day Hailee will already be 9 months old. It just seems like yesterday that we had Hailee let alone be only 3 months from her 1st birthday. I can't stand it and I have to stop thinking about because it makes me tear up everytime. Anyway...the girls and I were just getting ready for our day Friday and I was putting Chloe's hair up and I looked over at Hailee and she was just watching us. So I got to thinking after looking at her for a minute "she has so much hair...
I could probably make a ponytail in her hair". Sure enough after fighting with her movements for a few minutes there was a ponytail sticking straight up in the air. She looked so cute and she new it because Chloe and I were just gushing over her. Here it is another milestone reached! 
, Meagan turned 21...YEAH! For those of you reading who don't know Meagan, she is Brian's brother, Brandon's girlfriend. Her birthday was on Tuesday August 19th and since it was the middle of the week us girls just went downtown to Old Chicago for some dinner and of course to have a couple of drinks. It was a quick night because everyone (except for me) 
had to work the next morning, but I think fun was had by all. Meagan was thoroughly embarassed by all her mom's picture taking and we all got good laughs over it. So on that note..."Welcome Meagan, to the ranks of legalized drinking...sure glad you could join us"! Love ya Sweetie!
