The Handley Family

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Monthly Update - November 2014 Happy Thanksgiving

Addie's Monthly Photo

Cooper's Monthly Photo

Aribelle's Monthly Photo

For Thanksgiving over the last several years, we have Shane's family and my family come to our place. It's nice to not have to load the kids up and drag them all over and even better to have everyone under one roof! This year the weather was exceptionally nice and the family took advantage. Everyone was outside playing football!! Even Addie & Cooper got in on the action.

All about Addie

A little less picky? - For Thanksgiving every year, Addie has just opted for rolls, veggies, chips, etc. This year though, she tried turkey for the first time. We had been reading our Thanksgiving books all week long and she because really excited about turkey for some reason after reading the books. I can't say she "loved" the turkey but she said "it's good" and then moved on to the rolls and mashed potatoes.

Leaves - While I can't really say we keep up on leaves in our yard, we definitely get piles together for the kids when we can. Once we made one pile, it was all over from there. Now every time we go outside, the first thing Addie says is "can we do leaves?". She will get a running start and try to jump right in the middle of the pile. She will also coerce the dogs to come to the pile and lay down in them.

All about Cooper

"I know how" - In other words "I DON'T know how". When Cooper is trying to do something and he either doesn't want to or isn't sure how to, he will whine to us "I know hoooowwwww". Even something as simple as coloring, he will get frustrated if the crayon is only lightly showing up on the paper.

Football star? - Cooper wanted in on the action when the family got together for a game of Thanksgiving football. As soon as he had the ball in his hands, he was grinning ear to ear but wasn't completely sure what he was supposed to do next. It was really cute to see him interact with everyone in the game.

All about Aribelle

First tooth - Aribelle's first tooth came in on 11/15. It was her left lower middle tooth and it looks like her right one should be coming in soon too. We were stunned since her brother and sister didn't get their teeth until they were a year. I can't say she's incredibly irritable but she's definitely trying to gnaw on everything.

Solids - Aribelle is really loving solids and it seems to be just in time for Thanksgiving. We started her on stage one baby food solids. She really loves the baby food packets the most because she gets her food quickly (versus waiting for us to spoon everything out of the baby food jar). I can't say there's anything she doesn't like yet. Even the all vegetable packets she will scarf down quickly.

Stopped up - With all of the new solids we've been giving her, I think Aribelle's belly has taking a beating. She became a bit stopped up for about a week or so and we had to lower the amount of solids we were giving her and up the liquids.

More Photos from the Month:

Monday, March 30, 2015

Monthly Update - October 2014 Family Photos and Happy Halloween

Addie's Monthly Photo

Cooper's Monthly Photo

Aribelle's Monthly Photo

This month we had our family pictures taken by a professional. Of course we love the candid pics that are taken throughout the year, but having professional pictures helps us ensure that we will get at least ONE out of 400 where all five of us are looking at the camera!! :)

Illinois Visit - We took a short trip to Illinois for my cousin Lynn's wedding. Although I was a little unsure how my kids would do at a wedding, they actually did really well and even better at the reception. I've never seen two kids dance so long and so hard in my life! It was really exciting to see them both open up like that and interact with some of their family.

All about Addie

No more preschool - We decided this month to take Addie out of preschool. She didn't seem to be getting as much as we thought she would out of it. I figured I could try and take a shot at homeschooling for a few months to keep her updated on her letters, etc. It seemed like every time we drove by her school while they were out at the playground, she was always standing with the teachers.

Halloween - Addie wanted to be Sheriff Callie for Halloween this year. Nana made most of her costume from materials we had in my craft room and mama made "sparky" the horse that sheriff Callie rides in the cartoon. Addie was on cloud nine strutting through Nana's neighborhood with her costume. She was adorable!

All about Cooper -

Mean to boo - Cooper hasn't been very nice to Boo lately. We don't think he's intentionally trying to be mean but his aggressive nature when trying to wrestle or play is just too much for her. He will play "puppy stack" with her, where the kids all pile onto one person. He will throw toys right in her direction, roll on the floor and then across Aribelle, he will sit on her back or her chest while she's laying on the floor, and more. We've tried teaching him to be gentile but he doesn't seem to completely understand that he could hurt her. The strange thing is, Aribelle almost NEVER cries when he is doing these things. She will sometimes get a concerned look on her face, but that's it.

Halloween - Cooper made a last minute decision to be Chase from Paw patrol . Chase is a puppy police man that bands together with other puppies to help people out. His costume was a bit big but he definitely looked adorable in it.

All about Aribelle 8 Months Old

Bouncing/ Dancing - Aribelle loves to bounce and "dance" while sitting on her butt or while laying on her belly. It's absolutely adorable to watch her little wiggle.

Crinkle face - We've experienced the crinkle face with the other two and now we are seeing it with Aribelle. The face never gets old. When they crinkle their nose with a grin on their face, it is one of the cutest faces ever.

Halloween - Aribelle was pretty tired once the kids finally went out for trick or treating, so we didn't dress her up this year. I think it was cold enough though that she probably wouldn't have lasted long anyway.

More photos from the Month:

Monthly Update - September 2014 Sheriff Callie

Addie's Monthly Photo

Cooper's Monthly Photo

Aribelle's Monthly Photo

All about Addie

Sheriff Callie - Addie's newest obsession is Sheriff Callie. She's a cat cartoon from the west who happens to also be a sheriff. It's a cute cartoon and Addie just loves it. Any time she gets dressed, she's got Sheriff in mind. We got her some pink cowgirl boots and she wants to wear them EVERYWHERE. Nana even made her a guitar out of a diaper box (see picture) and Addie carries it around with her everywhere too.

Preschool - For the letter B, they invited parents to come in and build bears and eat biscuits with the kids. Addie loved having mama there and loved showing me all around her classroom.

Chalk - Any time we let Addie outside, her favorite thing is to draw with chalk. She will draw scenes from Sheriff Callie and they actually look really good (see picture).

All about Cooper

Chickens - He has taken a lot of interest in feeding the Chickens lately. Whenever mommy goes out to feed the dogs in the morning, Cooper is right at the garage door asking if he can feed the chickens. Sure enough, he gets right out there with the straightest face and throws handfuls of seeds out like he's been doing it for years.

Potty training - Cooper still hasn't pooped in his diaper in two months and now seems to be showing signs of understanding that he's peeing in the toilet when he goes poop. He occasionally has a dry diaper when he wakes up from naps too.

All about Aribelle 7 Months Old

Mrs Grabby hands - Aribelle grabs at everything. I think we mentioned it last month but it has become routine for her to not only reach for things but now she can actually grab them away from us.
Piggy-Piggy - She finished her first full jar of baby food on 9/3. It's been tricky to get her to finish one because she fills up so much on milk.

Paying more attention - Wether it's book time or movie time, she has been paying much more attention. She used to ignore when the kids would have a movie on, she would just keep playing with toys while occasionally watching.

More Photos from the Month:

Our little Sheriff Callie