She'll appreciate this someday....maybe?

Sorry, I just had to! How cute are those rolls? I hope she's as proud of the ones she has in her 30's as I am of these.!! :)

I just wanted to quickly record some of Beth's measurements and milestones for posterity...

9 months:

Height: 27.25 in.
Weight: 19.9 lbs.
Physical Development: sitting unassisted (barely, like just now)
Language Development: screams like she's on fire...oh, and babbles mamama & dadada, though not in context

In other words, she's PERFECT!!

Proof is in the picture! ;)

Farm Days

YeeHaw!! Doesn't Beau make a cute farmer/cowboy? He had a "Farm Day" at school a couple of weeks ago and loved every minute of it! They had a great petting zoo (way better than the one at the Phoenix Zoo, sadly) and while Beau was intimidated initially by all of the baby pigs and bunnies running around him, his nerves did finally ease up enough for him to really enjoy and pet each of the animals. I think his favorite was the miniature horse and baby calf.

There were so many fun activities set up for the kids to participate in: pseudo cow milking, stuffing their own scarecrow, square dancing, etc. Fun times for Beau!

I'm so happy we put him in preschool this year. It's been really good for him...and me! :)

Apple Picking in the Desert

That's right! Only in Arizona will you find and an apple and a pear orchard in the middle of the desert! We had a great time spending the day with some family and good friends of ours. Even though the "apple schmaple" stench lingered in my van for days, we can't wait to go again next year! Right, Daniel? :)

GoldiLUKE

A couple of months ago we tried moving Luke to his "big boy" bed. Let's just say....he's not ready yet! :)

This is what we found when we went in to check on him not too long after putting him down. He loves Beau so much that once he fell asleep he thought he'd snuggle in close to him, pull up the covers, and settle in for the night. When I first walked in, Luke was actually lying there, sucking his thumb, trying to go to sleep. When I came back with Tom and the camera he greeted us with a mischievous smile.

Apparently, Beau's bed is juuuust right!!

Monsters have God in their Hearts, too!

Beau has become quite the artist lately. Since I can't even draw a decent stick figure, I'll admit to having not given him much direction in this area, but he seems to be figuring it out all on his own....and loving it! He's drawn SO many adorable things for me in the last few months that I wish I could save them all.

This particular drawing was accompanied by such a precious commentary that I just had to take a picture of it. He brought the Magnadoodle to me and said, "Look mom, the monster's got God in his heart."

Aw, isn't that sweet?

Blogging, Menu Planning, and Scrapbooking

Blogging: Okay, so I'm a horrible blogger! I LOVE to read others' blogs, but keeping my own has been super challenging. I think my last entry was in July. BUT, I'm making a comeback! Blogging is something I really, REALLY want to do for my family, so I'm going to start taking the time to get it done. I have a problem not doing things unless I know I'll be able to do them perfectly and with 100% confidence. Yes, this is exactly why I don't do much at all! :) I'm going to have to settle for mediocrity and a substandard level of confidence on this one.

Menu Planning: I know how to do it, have the desire to do it, but never quite accomplish it. I want to be domesticated.....I really do! I feel like I need to be a good steward of my family's money and grocery shop on a budget, plan meals, and actually cook them once they're planned! We eat out WAY too much! So much that I can't even bring myself to confess just how much. My friend Brooke knows, and she still loves me, so maybe there is hope! It would be easier if Tom didn't want to eat all healthy and stuff, but whatever!!

Scrapbooking: I don't necessarily want to manually "scrapbook", but I would at least like to find a way to get my photos organized and easily shared. Digital scrapbooking?? I don't know. Just another thing that I'm stressing out about lately. I don't want to be buried in pictures 10 years from now that I have no recollection of when/where they were taken or who's even in them. I've seen this happen. Not good.

These are just a few of the MANY things I want to get the ball rolling on. Baby steps....