Happy 10th Birthday, Ricky!

Ricky hit double digits today!  After a walk in the park and lots of fetch in the backyard it was time for birthday cake!

We sat on the floor with Ricky while eating cake, of course!  Audrey really wanted some and we had to keep moving her away.  

Peanut butter carrot cake with peanut butter frosting, mmm!  Yes, it's actually tasty for humans, too.

Christmas Photos

Look, a new banner!  It only took 6 months to get a photo of all three of them together.

Today we took some photos in the park for our Christmas card.  Here's just a few.

Are these two related or what?

Audrey, Six Months Old

Six months plus a couple days!  Audrey is a little mover.  If Max leaves a toy on the floor that she thinks is interesting (which is all of them) she will army crawl to it and give it a taste.  In the past week she has become really good at sitting up.  She's getting so strong!  She's also showing a lot more interest in Ricky now that she can get to him.

Yum, toes.

Max's 2nd Birthday!

It was a big day that started off with cookies for breakfast (after normal breakfast) and an hour of sitting on the front porch watching cars drive by.  He got out of taking a nap, much to mom's displeasure, but some things you can get away with on your birthday.

We had a little party and made Max his favorite meal for dinner.

Then followed it up with a tractor cake, which he was very excited about.

Maybe a little too excited.  He tried crawling out of the high chair to get to it.

It was delicious.

Then it was time to open presents.  He was over the moon!

After the birthday party he was treated to watching a movie on mom and dad's bed.  He fell asleep 15 minutes into it.  Pretty good way to end the day.

Hungry Baby

Avocado is SO much better than rice cereal.

Audrey Photos

Ross worked last weekend and took Max with him which left us ladies at home to snap a couple photos.

It's so nice to have a model that doesn't move much.  She stays in one spot and looks cute and I take pictures.  It's so easy! 

 I know it won't last much longer and catching a moment will be more and more challenging.  A couple weeks ago Max was having a peaceful moment looking out the window with a stuffed bear.  I tried to sneak up and take a picture.  I got caught but snapped one photo before he put the lens cover on the camera.

Not what I planned, but I did capture Max being Max.

Audrey's First Solid Food

"Audrey's First Time Having a Spoon in Her Mouth" or "Audrey's First Time in the High Chair" would be a more appropriate title for this.

She actually did pretty good and even swallowed a couple bites though she would have preferred to have the spoon to chew on without the rice cereal.

Old Stomping Grounds

No trip to northeast Montana is complete without a stop at the place where we met.

There was a lot of pointing going on. 

 You can see for miles.

"Oooooooooo!"

Audrey's Baptism

Audrey was baptized in the Froid Lutheran Church on November 1st.  We were so grateful with how much family came to celebrate with us.  We wish we could get together with everyone more often!

Audrey slept during most of the ceremony and woke up just in time to get the water on her head.  Being the sweetheart that she is, she didn't cry or make a mess of her dress.  Max was...Max.  Much thanks to those who wrangled and distracted him!

Audrey's dress was made by her great grandmother and was worn by Michele when she was baptized.

Audrey's godparents, Aunt Nicole and Uncle Jarvis.

The congregation at this church was very welcoming and loving to us.  They held a potluck after church to celebrate.

Just some of the family who attended.

Of course we had to pass around the baby.

She's a little jokester with some people.

Hanging Out In Homestead

Never a boring day in this town!

Audrey made a new friend in Boots.

Max met Boots during his last visit in March and they were pretty good pals.  This time was different.  He was curious about the kitty but didn't want him to get too close.

I guess he's just more of a dog person.

There were a few days of really beautiful weather.   It was so relaxing to walk around town, breathe in fresh air, and hear nothing but the wind and the geese.

On one of our walks Max found a tractor to investigate.

It was a little too brisk outside for Audrey but she didn't mind staying inside with Aunt Nicole and catching up on "Days of Our Lives".

Really, she was happy as long as someone was holding her.  She didn't spend much time out of someone's arms.

Uncle Jarvis doesn't look too upset about holding a baby.  Audrey was happy about it, anyway.

It's always a must to get a photo by the Homestead rock.

It was long days for these little ones and I think it shows.

Halloween

I have so many pictures from our trip to Homestead, MT.  Over the next few days I will be making several posts of all the fun things we did.  

Max participated in the pumpkin carving for the first time.  He didn't do any carving but he helped clean out the insides.  

Jack-O-Lanterns don't scare him.

Raw pumpkin, yum!

Halloween night we took the kids to Froid.   We didn't have high hopes trick or treating would go well so we only planned to go to a couple houses.  As usual he surprised us and was a pro.

On their way to the first house!  Max was a little confused on his way up to the door.  Things really clicked in his head when the door opened and he was handed candy.

 Every house after that he was all business.

Sadly, this is the best video I got.  He moves too fast.