10/14- 10/27

Well, I missed a week so this post is going to be on the long side. Lots of fun things to share!

 Last week started off with my little girl turning 8 months! Cannot believe how fast this is all happening. She's getting so big and changing so much!

 This is one of my favorite pictures! I caught Brian patting Clara's back to sleep. He is the best daddy in he whole world!

 Last week we also had our Elevation staff fall party out at a pumpkin farm. It was so fun to see how large our staff is getting spread out across the fields. Elevation staff parties are always the best and very well planned. The staff had some fun competitions and the mom's hung out and did crafts with the kids.

 Each staff team got a different colored bandana. Brian was on the blue team, so of course Landin wanted one too. He wore his on his head to be a pirate. :)

 Clara and her friend, Crew, hanging out while the big kids play. Love that these two will grow up together!

 Landin and two of his best friends, Winnie and Boone. These three are the best of friends. They've been playing together for a while and I adore their friendship. Landin gets SO excited when we get to play with these two!

 Yep, that's Brian up there in the blue about to partake in a pie eating contest! I was super impressed he even volunteered! He was one of the first to finish and ate the WHOLE pumpkin pie. Yuck. Ha :)

 A friend of ours gave us a ton of "Land Before Time" movies, which are about cartoon dinosaurs. He loves to watch them. In the movie they call leaves, tree stars and of course that's what Landin calls leaves now too. :)

 We went to visit Nana and Pappy during the week and Pappy got out some mustaches. Landin thought this was hilarious, although he looks super serious in the picture!

 Love this sweet boy. He's growing up to have such a kind heart and adventurous spirit. Grateful I get to be his mommy!!

 Riding his bike with his bandana on again. Isn't he just the cutest!

 I know I post a ton of Clara sleeping, but she is just beautiful! She still lets me rock her before she goes to sleep and I adore that time with her. She is definitely a snuggle bug!

 Boy, did the weather get cold this week! I feel like fall lasted a few days and then we slammed into winter. My cute girl has to have a cute hat for her little bald head when it gets cold! She didn't seem to mind wearing it and she looks adorable!

 Landin in his "boy house." He loves to play up high.

 We spend most afternoons playing outside. Both kids love being outside so much!

 I feel like I should start introducing some soft solid foods to her, but I get so nervous! So until I'm ready, I gave her a cracker for the first time. She loved it!

 Wednesday was Code Orange Underground night! For those of you who don't know, COU is a night once a month where Pastor Steven and Holly have a special guest speaker or worship leader to encourage and lead our volunteers. This Wednesday we had lead pastor Brian Houston from Hillsong Australia. It was so awesome! This year we have had Joyce Meyer, Kari Jobe, Louie Giglio, and Matt Redman... just to name a few! Brian always works very hard for these nights and I always take Landin to show him what his daddy has been doing. He LOVES the lights and being on stage :)

 We got a special Halloween treat in the mail from Aunt Jenny this week! Landin was so excited and happy to open the tin filled with his two favorite things, popcorn and candy! Thanks Aunt Jenny!

 My sweet boy is an early riser. He usually wakes up between 6/630. Brian usually wakes up with him and lets me sleep in, but this week Brian got sick so I got up with Landin. Although getting out of the warm bed was torture, I loved it! I got lots of snuggle time!!

 This little girl has been changing SO much in the last two weeks! She has started saying "Momma" a lot and really directing it to me. She has started attempting to crawl more on her knees. She can pull herself up from laying on the floor to a sitting position. AND Sunday morning we woke up to her standing in her bed! She's growing up so fast!!

 This was taken before church on Sunday. They both looked so cute! You wouldn't believe the work I had to do to get them to look at me at the same time! I must have taken 30 pictures and this was the only one!

My weekend ended with celebrating my future sister in law! Emily and my brother, Matt, have dated for over 7 years, so I already consider her part of the family. Can't wait for their wedding day!!

Clara- 8 months

I feel like I blinked and my tiny baby turned 8 months! Times is flying!

Weight: 18 lbs
Clothing Size: 9 month
Sleep: We are finalllllly making some progress. Clara still takes 2 naps a day, about 9am and 1pm for about 1.5 hours each. She goes to bed around 6:30 and only waking up once a night. I'm starting to feel like a normal person again!

New This Month:
-Crawling
- Realizes who is holding her. She will get upset if she doesn't know you.
- Gets upset when you take toys away from her.
-SHE SAID MOMMA! At church Saturday night, she started crawling over to me and said momma with a room full of witnesses! She only says it in a moment of panic, but I'll take what I can get. :)
- She really doesn't like to be alone. If she's on the floor playing and we move to a different room, she follows.


My sweet girl is getting so big. She's still a relatively calm baby and very snugly. My favorite thing about her right now is how much she adores Landin. I mean her eyes just light up when she sees him. It's the sweetest thing ever. Hope she never grows out of it!

Few pictures from this month:

I mean good grief. I can't handle the cuteness!

Happy 8 months sweet girl! Mommy and Daddy can't get enough of you!

10/7-10/13

What a week! It was a busy week and we had plans almost every morning, but I forgot to snap pictures! Fail. But I did get some great pictures of the pumpkin patch. Landin absolutely LOVED it! If you're in Charlotte, Hall Family Farm is amazing. Very kid friendly. We did a corn maze, hayride, and picked out 3 beautiful pumpkins! Great family day :)

My babies together. Landin is on the left and Clara on the right. Both are almost 8 months. There are definitely starting to be some differences, but it's still crazy to me how much they look alike.

 I love this picture. Every time I have plans in the evening and daddy is in charge of dinner, the boys eat in the "boy house."

 So we went to the park this week and of course I didn't get any pictures of the kids, but I did manage to get one of the geese that chased us. Poor Landin was so scared and kept looking back for them, even after we left the lake.

Pumpkin patch! I mean really, I could eat them up. My babies are the cutest!!!

 Hayride!

 Clara fell asleep half way through. Thankful I got to snuggle with her all morning :)

 This is our big cat, Cooper. Meow.

 Poor boy was spotty with his naps this week. On our way to church he told me he was tired and the next time I looked back he was asleep! He NEVER sleeps in the car. I hated to move him!

 Amazing weekend at church! Words cannot express how much I love Elevation Church and the heart behind it. Thankful I get such a front row seat seeing God move. 

Clara turned 8 months on Sunday! Ah, time is flying.

9/30-10/6

Well, the past two weeks have been a bit challenging. Landin got sick and Clara has been teething again. Our AC went out and we had to go stay at my parents house for a few days, and all this happened while Brian was out of town. Whew! But we made it! Brian fixed the AC and saved us $700. YES! Landin is doing much better, Clara is starting to sleep again, and Brian shouldn't be going out of town for the rest of the year. PRAISE! :)

Landin has really started talking and forming thoughts. He has conversations between his toys. He can say complete sentences and seems to understand what I tell him. Although, if he is telling me a story about something in the past, it always takes place last year. "I took a nap last year." or "Last year I ate my food all gone." My favorite thing is that he's finally started saying "love you" back. I'm sure he doesn't understand it fully yet, but it melts my heart to hear. 

Clara is a serious mover now. She can pretty much get any where she wants. This week she finally pulled herself up from on the floor to a sitting position. She loves her brother's toys and prefers to play wherever he is playing. Landin isn't always fond of this, but he's getting better about taking turns. He's starting to get a little bossy with her, which I think is common for the oldest. For example if she has a toy he doesn't think is appropriate for her, he tells her "No ma'am, Clara. I will get you a baby toy." Ha! 

 I know I have posted a hundred pictures of me rocking Clara, but I can't get enough of it. I wish I could freeze this moment.

Landin turned into a little daddy for a few days. He took his kitty to the store, fed him, changed his diaper, and put him down for a nap. Sweet sweet boy!

Every morning when I come downstairs I find one of the babies snuggling with daddy. Melt my heart.

My dad is the best Pappy ever. So grateful for the amazing father he was to me and now Pappy to my kids. They are very lucky to have him!

 Family picture playing in Landin's "boy house" on his playground. Clara looks scared! Ha :)

Brian and I finally got a date night this week! He took me shooting. This is definitely a favorite hobby of his but I had never done it before. Honestly, I was terrified. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest, but I did it! Don't come breaking in my house! Momma bear will get you!

 Love this great, Godly, man. Love how he loves me so much. Love how he works tirelessly to provide for our family. Love what an amazing father he is to my babies. Love his heart for the Lord and the church. Love how he can do anything he puts his mind to like fixing our AC. So thankful he's mine. We celebrate our 4 year anniversary this week!

 Took the babies on a walk in the nice weather. They both look so big.

 Landin loves to ride his bike with Brian in the alley. He wants to do anything Brian does.

 So glad we have a swing set! This girl LOVES to swing!

 First play time after being sick.

 Sink bath at Nana's! Love my sweet girl.

Landin loves to play at Nana and Pappy's. He actually told me earlier in the week "I want to go to Nana's. I like her." My parents live on a lot of land and he just runs and runs. It was a great place to grow up and now a great place to bring my babies!