Thanksgiving

With Laura as my co-pilot, us girls loaded up in the Ex and headed over the mountains for Thanksgiving. We cut our time by an hour as the girls were able to go 4 and 4.5 hours between feedings. Cassidy was a great traveler and Laura made sure we all were well taken care of. We arrived in Dayton Wednesday night and took over Mom and Dad's bedroom while Cass slept upstairs with Grandma and Papa in her tent that stayed up from hunting and settled in.

Thursday morning, Bryce arrived to find his Birthday surprise (Jessica) and Dad got the girls (his girls) harnessed up for a practice run. Cassidy was definitely up for "helping" and despite the cold was right up front helping him drive.

Dinner was a wonderful team effort and Jess dived right in while Cass and I were in charge of the the squash and of course marshmallows, which took a second try but tasted yummy!

Laura supervising Dad carving the turkey

and helping Bryce with dishes afterwards

We also celebrated Dad and Bryce's birthdays and of course Cassidy was right in the middle, both serenading and helping blow out candles and open presents.

Friday morning brought the annual Christmas Kickoff and Dad doing the wagon rides. His new crew worked well and all went off without a problem. This year people were telling him that they drove to Dayton just for the wagon rides...pretty cool!

Mom and I and the girls got to town a little later and Cassidy didn't waste any time riding shotgun with Papa, going 4 straight despite the cold.

Cassidy got a chance to visit with Santa and although still very shy, did manage to sit on his lap on her own. She didn't talk to him, but did sit tight through the visit. She was upset afterwards saying "I didn't tell him what I wanted" but was reassured when I told her that Santa would know. Next year I think she'll be ready!

Of course we had to go back into town for the fireworks...It was great and then us girls (Jess and Laura) got to go out on the town thanks to Bryce and Mom babysitting the twins. I even got a beer and went down a slide...It was great!

There was a lot of hanging out, Papa showed Cassidy how to work the computer on her own and Grandma perfected double fisting and every one was there for my girls...it was a wonderful weekend with family and friends that are definitely a part of my family.

Jessica got a great series of Sawyer muggin' that I have to share...

Out trip home was another success and again got shorter. No matter how long of a drive, it's always well worth the effort and time to be with loving family...Thank You!

Life with a 3 year old

What does living with a 3 year old mean? Every one gets cupcakes for their Birthday...even if they have 4 legs! Both Echo (12) and Mossy (1) have November birthdays and not only did they get cupcakes, they got individual parties, which meant 2 batches of cupcakes...she is a clever little girl!

They love her!

2 Months

We had our 2 month check-up today and the news was all good. The girls are growing and are now "on the charts" for weight and height...yay, and Sawyer has just about caught up with her sister. Both girls are close to 9 pounds...I was thinking maybe around 8, but not my good little eaters. In the last 5 weeks they have put on about 3 pounds each, that's 48 ounces, or almost 10 ounces a week. Chugin'! What has been great is that just in the last week the girls are starting to show signs of tummy improvement. We are actually getting short periods of content babies...happy to just hang out and observe! It's been really amazing and I was even able to read them their first story and we are getting some smiles that arn't gas related! We might be turning the corner....

Rylee

weight: 8 lbs 15 oz (10th percentile), height: 21.5 inches (10th percentile)

Rylee's heart mummor seems to be getting better, although when she is fired up our doc says it's pretty loud, which she was inclined to demonstrate for most of the visit. However, when she was calm he was barely able to hear it and feels that it may heal itself. If not, it is not a significant concern, just something to be aware of

Grandma Margie was back for a visit and support and was rewarded with seeing some of the girls' first smiles...Rylee is a little more serious but did like the Elvis smile

and was a little skeptical on what G'ma was saying sometimes, but does enjoy a good manicure. We've started painting Rylee's fingernails (Cassidy's choice) as a quick way of telling the girls apart.

Sawyer

weight: 8 lbs 14 oz (10th percentile), height: 20.75 inches (3rd percentile)

Sawyer is a little more free with her smiles and we had a great time getting them!

We did find out that her belly button is not just an "outtie" but actually a hernia from the muscels not closing up where the umbilical cord came in to her tummy. The doc is not worried, saying "oh I've seen much bigger" and feels it should be closed up by the time she is a year. If not, they will evaluate at that time and determine if surgery is needed. It doesn't seem to bother her and all we need to do is not play with it "too much" per the doc...

So, this was the girls the day we brought them home....

and here is Sawyer today

and Rylee today

and a few of the pics of the girls not cooperating! Rylee first was not happy about the photo session

followed by Sawyer who decided she'd had enough about the time Rylee settled...but you can definitely see that they are filling out. They look like babies now and are even getting a little bit of some chunky thighs and buddah bellies. They are still in newborn clothing, but getting close to being to big

The girls also got their first bottles. Dad and Sawyer had no problem getting used to the process and finishing the bottle. Rylee started of strong, then realized it wasn't quite the same and had a little fit. After settling her with me for a few minutes, we slipped in the bottle and she figured it out quickly and was able to finish with G'ma. I'm excited for Cassidy to be able to help with feeding and for the little bit more freedom for myself...I'm thinking first a good long ride and then a date with my hubby. Any babysitters?

Chad getting to experience a content Sawyer

My new version of multi-tasking

Overall, things are getting better with more periods of contentment. The girls are sleeping well at night, giving me at least one 6 hour stretch, and we are getting into a pretty good day time routine, most days. Chaos still wins at least once a day, but we are gainin'. Cassidy continues to be an amazing little girl who loves her sisters and is a big help to her mamma. Her flexibility and understanding compassion is a remarkable blessing, and even when she is having a "tough" day, she's still doing better than I could have ever asked of her.

Halloween

Halloween weekend was a lot of fun for Miss Cassidy, starting off with the traditional trip to the great pumpkin patch up north with Grandma Kit. Her cousins, Lindsay and Alexa got to go this year as well, making it extra fun.

There were wagon rides

Picking out pumpkins

She even picked out two little ones for her sisters

Of course the monstrous piece of pumpkin pie

and lots of fun things to do

Stubborn 1 and Stubborn 2

Then came Trick-or-Treating in town. Cassidy wanted to be a butterfly this year and worked hard to decorate her shirt

Chad, Sawyer and Cassidy

Hitting the town with all the other kiddos. Cassidy was much more in the spirit this year and independent, not afraid of the costumes or decorations, and she made a haul!

Cassidy and her friends Mave and Morgan

2 skeletons and a butterfly, oh my!

After trick-or-treating we went to a little party in a neighborhood. Chad and Cassidy went door to door trick-or-treating while I fed the girls and then she got to hand out candy at the house. I think that was her favorite part, she loved seeing all the costumes and being in charge of giving out the candy.