9 months

Where has the time gone?

It is hard to believe that M is 9 months old!

She is getting so big and here are a few things

that help us remember how:

1. She finally has 2 teeth (bottom front)

2. She crawls FAST to you when she is excited about seeing you

3. If you ask her for kisses, she leans her open mouth to your face

4. She got her a new big girl car seat...

5. She could walk if she really wanted to

6. She can stand up well enough that she can clap while she does

7. She has realized that if we laugh at something she does,

she will do it again to get us to laugh more

8. She likes french fries to eat when we go out

9. She is starting with the stranger anxiety

So much for such a short time. We can hardly believe we are just a

few months away from ONE! Time sure flies...

We love you M!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas...

From our Home to Yours!

We hope that your Christmas is filled with family,

friends, love and most importantly remembering

Our Savior, Jesus Christ!

With love!

Christmas 2007

Oh what fun!

B, the girls and I have had a blast opening presents

and spending time with family and friends.

Below are pictures of them checking out what

Santa brought them. They each got a baby

doll and a stroller. A and R got Littlest Pet

Shop playthings and M got a sing stage. M loves

music and bounces when it comes on. She also loves to

look at herself in the mirror.

We hope Santa was good to you too!

R's School performance

Here is R's preK class getting ready to sing for their

Christmas performance. They had a BLAST singing

with the other classes 15 or so songs.

R concentrating very hard on what she is doing.

She has a great time. She loves to sing. Way to go, R!

Celebrating the Season

A as "Child #3" in the church Christmas play.

She had lots of lines and did a great job.

R was one of the angels and looked adorable.
Plus she remembered to say her group line

every time.

Santa came for a visit after the play.

Here R and M are telling him what they would like.

M was just more interested in his beard, which

she grabbed a few minutes later.

Here A is very serious about what Santa is saying.

Dress Up for Christmas

Isn't she cute?

R is in our Christmas play at church and one at school.

However, she is not Mary in either one of them. So, she

has been playing dress up at home. It makes my heart

just melt. I love you, R!

Ribbons!

Last night was the girls first "ribbon night" at gymnastics.

They did great, and at the end of their classes, they

got ribbons for their hard work. They just started

in August.

The first picture is of R being "shy" (which she is NOT)

upon getting her ribbon. In the second one, we finally

got her to pose for us. She has mastered 40 skills, but we

are not sure how many there are all together.

In the next one, A is holding her ribbon. This

is the best we could get her to do for us in a pose.

She has mastered 58 skills, and we are not

sure about her's either or if they are looking

at the same skills for both girls. They are in

different classes. We are very new to this

gymnastics stuff.

Thanks to Mimi, Poppa, Grammy, Grandaddy,

aunts, uncles and cousins for coming to watch and support us.

We love you all!

Getting those ornaments....

M just loves the Christmas decorations.

Below you can see she is trying very hard

to get an ornament off the tree. She was

successful in doing so. I have also wrapped

very little in the way of presents, because

she goes straight for them and has already

taken the paper off of one. So, I will wait

a bit longer to wrap anymore.

Waffles

The girls LOVE waffles! So, thanks

to Grammy and Granddaddy for giving

the girls a Cinderella waffle maker.

They were so excited, and thought that

the waffles tasted DELICIOUS!

Below are some photos of the girls

with their first Cindereall waffles.

Thanks Grammy and Granddaddy!

We love you!

p.s. Sorry, cannot get the photos to rotate, and

I forgot before adding them to the page.

8 Months Old

The months are flying by...

It is hard to believe that M is already 8 months old.

Where has this year gone? She is really

getting into things around here, and the

temptation is GREAT with Christmas decorations

every where she looks.

What a difference a month makes:

1. If you clap, play music, sing, etc. she will bounce up

and down where she is or she will clap along.

She absolutely loves to hear music.

2. She can climb the stairs, so now she stands at the gate and

shakes it hoping to get past.

3. She loves to take a bath, and if you let go long enough

she will be swimming like a fish.

4. Still no teeth, although you would be surprised since she

works so hard at chewing on things.

5. We went to see Christmas Lights near our home and

she absolutely LOVED them.

6. She is beginning to resist going to bed at night,

especially when she knows A and R are still up...she

just wants to play.

7. She weighed 18 1/2 pounds last week and has

just about grown out of the infant seat. (This makes me very

sad, as we will no longer have an infant).

8. She loves to eat finger foods, which drives her

daddy crazy. This is the learning stage that he dislikes the most.

It makes him so nervous.

We have enjoyed that last 8 months and are excited about what

is in store for us this next month. Will she actually take the record for

walking in our family, or will she let R keep it? We will see.

Easy Craft Project

Rainy Day Fun!

I found an easy recipe for dough in a book, so Monday

the girls and I got to work. Wednesday they painted them.

I think they turned out nicely. Check them out below.

Plus, we had a great time doing this together.

R's creations

A's creations

Here is the recipe if you would like to try it at your house.

Salt Dough Recipe:

3 cups flour

1 cup water

1 cup salt

2 tsp oil

1. Put all the ingredients into a bowl.

2. Squeeze the mixture together.

3. Pat it into a ball.

4. Roll it out.

5. Have fun.

We used Christmas cookie cutters to make ornaments.

We cut them out, then baked them at 350* for 20 minutes.

I also poked a hole in the top of each so that I can put a ribbon

or something through them to hang on a Christmas Tree.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for

in 2007. Here are a few things

that A and R listed when we talked

about being thankful yesterday.

* My mom and dad

* My sisters

* Grammy and Granddaddy

* Mimi and Poppa

* Magic ( G and G's dog)

* My aunts and uncles

* My cousisns

* Friends

* cats and dogs

* God and Jesus

* My clothes

* My shoes

* Gymnastics

These are in no particular order and of course ar not all

we have to be thankful for, but it is nice to know that

they do understand how GREAT they have got it. We are

truly thankful for our Family, our Health, our Home, our Friends,

Our Lord Jesus, and so much more. We are also VERY thankful

for the rain that is pelting our home as I type (we need it badly).

Thank you, Jesus, for these and all the many blessings

you have bestowed upon us. We are ever THANKFUL!

Happy Thanksgiving from Our Family to Yours!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, B!

Thank you for being such a wonderful

husband and Daddy! We love you

very much!

Love, Your GIRLS

My Grandaddy

We took the girls to see my Grandaddy

last night. Here is a picture of him with

his strawberries. My Grandaddy will

be 86 in just two weeks.

M is the youngest of his 14 Great-Grandchildren.

Here she is trying to reach up and get to his glasses.

We love you (Great)Grandaddy!

Trick-or-Treating

Here is our own little "Strawberry Patch".

My mom sewed the costumes and I

drew all the little black dots on them.

Aren't they cute?

M's first Halloween. Looks

like she is having a good time.

We were lucky to have a few of our

cousins come trick-or-treating with us.

Pumpkin Cleaning

Tuesday night we cut, cleaned and carved the pumpkins

that A and R chose at the pumpkin patch. Here

is A is showing you what she is pulling out.

M enjoying watching her sisters get slimy.

R scooping out the seeds of her pumpkin

while mommy counts the seeds.We counted the seeds because A, R and Daddy

guessed how many were in each. A was only off by

11 in R's pumpkin and Daddy was just a couple off

on A's.

7 Months Old!

It is hard to believe that M is 7 months old.

This month finds her doing more and more.

Although we are excited about all her

new accomplishments, it is also sort of

sad...she is THE BABY! We want her to stay

a BABY. However, we know that is not

possible, so we will continue to

celebrate all her new feats.

This month she can:

1. Say "Mamamama"...I am VERY excited about this

since both A and R said Dada first.

2. She is pulling up to standing every chance she gets.

3. She HATES peaches!

4. 17lb 8oz and 27 1/2 inches...phew!

5. She is starting to eat "big people food": cheerios,

puffs, wagon wheels and LOVES THEM.

6. She scrunched up her nose and blows in and out...

it is so cute.

7. No matter how many toys she has, A and R

are STILL her favorite!

Happy 7 months, M! We love you and Thank God everyday for

giving you to us! Here's looking to another month of changes.

Pumpkin Patch

We took the girls to the Pumpkin Patch Sunday night. They

had a blast. Of course, this was M's first trip to see pumpkins

and all that goes along with it. Here is a couple of the 3 of them loving

on each other. Enjoy!

R posing for a cute picture.

A pretending to get her leg bitten by the spider.


R trying to decide if this is the best pumpkin for her.
R posing again...so cute!

M seeing pumpkins up close and bare feet on the

straw for the first time. She wasn't sure what to think.

M deciding it isn't so bad and wanting to touch.

They had a BLAST, picked out some pumpkins, now they await

decisions on how to be carved into Jack-o-lanterns. More pictures to come...

Happy Halloween and Happy Fall!

6 Months

M is 6 months old!

6 months is a good stage...I like this stage. Not too big

to get places too fast, and not

too small to have to be carried around all day.

M has reached some milestones around this 6 month mark.

1. She can sit up all by herself.

2. She can crawl...and it is the cutest crawl.

3. She is beginning to notice when you leave a room.

4. She got her first cold...YUCK!

5. We think she is teething, but have not seen any teeth yet!

6. She LOVES to sit in the highchair and drink a sippy of water.

So far, A and R still love having a baby in the house.

She has not gotten into their things yet, so that

will be the true test. Look out, we are moving out of infant world!

The Obsession has begun...again!

As some of you know, A and R LOVE their Baa Baas(the name of their beloved stuffed lambs). They sleep with them every night. They both have two (in case one gets lost). A even took hers EVERYWHERE we went until she was about 4. Luckily we have not had that carry over to R. I always hated thinking about what BaaBaa was picking up while we were out. A got hers from my college roommate, Heather, as a gift when she was born. Around 1 she decided she loved it and has not parted with it since. When R was born, my mom got R her own BaaBaa(actually 2, just in case). Well, just before M was born, my mom came home with A and R one day and in tow, two new BaaBaas for M to have when she arrived. Needless to say, the tradition carries on. However, M didn't take quite as long to get attached to her BaaBaa. (See above picture). I promise this was not a staged photo. This is how I found her taking a nap this morning. So, I had to take pictures. SO CUTE! We do have two, one downstairs, one in her bed. She loves to lay on it as a pillow, growl at it when you put her in the bed, and "talk" to it when she is trying not to go to sleep. Looks like we will be keeping up with 2 more BaaBaas. I love it!

The Fair

We took A and R to the County Fair last night....HAD A BLAST! This was by far the BEST night at the fair as a family. We did not take M, as it was Hot and she is too young to do anything but lay in a stroller. We rode rides, at good food, played games and won prizes, and ate caramel apples, but most of all we laughed and enjoyed each other. Complete success! We are ready to go again!

First Lost Tooth

First Lost Tooth

A has been waiting for this day for a LONG time.

She did not understand why she

didn't lose a tooth in Kindergarten

like all her friends did. She has been wanting

to lose a tooth, and today she FINALLY did.

About 3 weeks ago we noticed that the

new tooth was already coming in, yet the

baby tooth was not so loose. What JOY she

expressed tonight when I finally pulled it

out for her. It was getting more loose and beginning

to hurt her, so I asked her if she wanted me to pull

it out. She did. I did. PURE JOY...you should have

heard the GIGGLES from this girl. It made my

heart swell. However, it was not so thrilling for R.

After A showed her the hole in her mouth, R began crying

and said, "I don't have one out yet". PITIFUL. She wants to lose

a tooth now too. Oh, to be like our Big Sisters. Of course, we had

to call the Grandparents to let them know.

It did not take A long to fall asleep

(which for those of you who know her well, know this is a

feat in and of itself) in hopes of something special

from the "tooth fairy".

Good Night

Gymnastics

Gymnastics

Tonight was A and R's fourth night

of gymnastics. They LOVE it. I am

not sure if we can take pictures

while they are practicing, but I will

find out and post those if possible.

Baby Sleeping

Can you say RELAXED?

This is how I found M sleeping during a nap today.

I guess after driving R back and forth

to preschool, running errands

with Mommy and taking A and

R to gymnastics...she was pooped. What a way to sleep.

Oh, to be so relaxed.

Playing in the Rain

Playing in the rain

Tuesday A and R were hoping to go swimming.

However, the rains came, so they played

in the rain instead.

A lasted a bit longer than R.

R just wanted to sit inside the door and watch
her sister acting silly.
Boy, what it is to be young. If only
they could stay this way forever.

Remembering...

Remembering 9/11

Just wanted to take a moment to remember those that died on 9-11-01. Make sure to tell your loved ones how much you love them and what they mean to you! Kiss your babies Goodnight...no matter how big they are. Time is precious! Never miss an opportunity to show your love, be generous and pray!

Also, Happy 6th birthday to my sweet friends Malisa and Lance's little girl, Ivey! Just one reminder that Wonderful things do happen on bad days!

5 Months Old

5 months old

It is hard to believe that M is 5 months old today.

She is such a joy and we are loving every minute

of getting to know her. She is doing lots of things and

makes us laugh constantly. Here are 5 things that

she LOVES to do.

1. Put her big toes in her mouth (sometimes both at once)

2. Growl at A, R and her stuffed animals

3. Push up on all 4s and rock back-n-forth

4. EAT...she loves her rice cereal and veggies

5. Watch A and R. She thinks they are WONDERFUL (so do we)

I just know that time is going to keep flying. It already has. Thank you, God for this precious gift. Happy 5 months, M.

Sweet Girls

Our Girls

This is a picture of the girls at the beach this summer. I was trying to see if I could attempt to post a picture on this thing. Yipee. I am so exctied. Enjoy. B and I are so blessed with these 3 beautiful Girls. Thank you God for giving them to us.

I'm Back

Okay, I had forgotten how to get into this thing, and been a little busy with 3 girls, so it has been a while. All is well in the Ballew household. A loves first grade. R is anxiously counting the days until her PreK begins. And M is just hanging out at 5 months and loving all the attention she gets.

It is hard to believe that M will be 5 months old on Thursday. Where does the time go?

We have geared up for a new school year, begun taking gymnastics, and are just loving life. Maybe I will be able to keep this thing up for a bit. We will see.