Racquetball Lesson

Family time at the court....

Max is more coordinated that I am.

Has all the gear... 

1. Racquet is an old one from 20+ years ago, that came from N&P's house

2. Ball from dad's R-ball bag

3. Lowe's kids club goggles

Tali enjoying the "chase"

Now her turn to play

All done and ready to go get a treat

Halloween fun

Max loves everything Halloween (and the fact that next is Thanksgiving and Christmas...he has already started talking Christmas just like his dad).

Now to church to show off his "killer" candy corn tie. (Stef made it!)

Don't ya love this smile!

He is thrilled that they are Glow-in-the-Dark.

Anyone for a ride

"In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. 

You find the fun, and - SNAP - the job's a game!"

                                                                             - Mary Poppins

Laundry Day:

That is our fun for the day....Love my family!

9 months

Tali is now 9 months and still a little peanut. She is 14.2 lbs (-10th percentile) and in the 30th for height (she gets that from me). She is healthy, happy and lots of fun to dress.

She lights up the room with her big happy grin and loves to play with Max.Giggling more every day, she loves to tease (gets that from her dad) and eat "real" food. She waves, does "So Big" and is working on signing "more". She has a fascination with faces and especially noses and might stick her finger up yours if you aren't watching.

She still has the best temperament (unless sleepy) and will snuggle right down when ready for bed. I love to go and get her out of her bed, even if she is screaming, you walk in and the smiling starts and the arms are waiving with excitement (wish everyone was that excited to see me).

Quack-quack

Our little ducky in her towel. Her eyelashes have come out and they are almost as long as Max's.

Max at about 3/4 months. They are about the same weight but I think Tali has chubbier cheeks.

Crawling

Tali has been crawling for over a month so I guess we better show you her stuff.

 This video was taken right after she learned to crawl so she is still getting the hang of it but very cute while doing so.

Jam Session

Somehow our deep freeze was unplugged and we lost everything in it. My first project was the strawberry freezer jam. We all love it and it seems to go very fast, so I hope we like it a lot since I made enough to last us years! We have been working on following directions with Max and having him help me cook has made a huge difference.
Pouring....

Scooping...

Stirring...

As usual Tali is along for the ride (with crazy hair).

I can't believe that Max started helping me when he was this big.

Cats away the kittens will play

Clu and I went to celebrate our 10 year anniversary in Vegas dropping the kids off at N&P's on the way. We did everything we love to do without two kiddos in tow (pool, shopping, nice restaurants, shows and maybe a little gambling). They didn't even miss us (except the time Max put himself in time out). I am not even sure they were glad to see us when we got back.
Just a few of the reasons they were happy to be with at Nan and Papa's:

Tali after a nap (crazy hair) and ready to eat

naked time for Tali

While Max and Papa watch Star Wars (not mother approved)

Wearing Papa's hat getting ready to go to Pine Valley and check on the cows and horses

Playin' in the back of Gpa Esplin's truck (waiting for the swing)

Tali visiting with Gma Esplin and loving it

As for Clu and I we don't have any pictures (not even one) to document our time in Vegas, but nobody really cares about pictures of us anyway.

Hats off

I was getting out all of the fall/winter clothing and Max found Tali's hat and thought he would try it on her. It must have looked like lots of fun and so he thought we should dig out his as well.

This hat Gma Snow knitted for Tali to come home from the hospital in (it said it was a newborn size) but once she saw Tali she knew it would never fit and whipped out another one to bring her home in. She is amazing to say the least and she is the "Best Grandma in the Cook"!

This is the hat that she quickly knitted for us to bring her home in (and the booties too).