Paige's Two Year Professional Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, we had one of Drew's co-workers take a few pictures to mark Paige's two year milestone. Paige isn't much for posed photos right now, so I figured this would be the best option. We just received the CD with all of the shots and I think they turned out great. Here are a few of my favorites. They can all be viewed at http://www.hamfamilyphoto.shutterfly.com/.

First Attempt at the Toddler Bed

As you all know, Paige isn't the best sleeper. She still wakes up at night on a fairly regular basis and often fights going to sleep in the first place. So, because we've tried everything else, we thought we'd give the toddler bed a try. Drew and I figured it might give her some motivation to want to go to bed. Paige was excited to be able to crawl in and out of her bed by herself, maybe a little too excited. She wouldn't stay in the bed for naps or at night. It lasted about 24 hours before we decided to go back to the four crib walls that at least keep her contained! Maybe in a few more months...

By the way, now when we say "cheese" to get Paige to smile for the camera, we get a squinty eyed grin. Oh well.

Second Birthday Barnyard Bash

This year we celebrated Paige's second birthday with a barnyard bash. I figured it was appropriate given the area that we live. I'm not sure if it's the beginning of the terrible two's or just Paige exerting her independence, but she didn't want much to do with pictures at the party so the posed shots of her are few and far between. Of course, it rained that day, which put a bit of a damper on some of our plans, but we had a great time with our family and friends and are so appreciative of everyone that came to celebrate Paige being two!

See more pictures at http://www.hamfamilyphoto.shutterfly.com/

Halloween 2010

This Halloween we all donned a costume. Drew and I were invited to a neighbor's Halloween party so we went as Fred and Wilma Flintstone. We enjoyed the night out with the Iten's and Ernsberger's.

Paige enjoyed trick or treating this year as a butterfly. She quickly caught on to the concept and was excited about getting all of the candy, but she wore out after several houses. Good thing, because Mommy and Daddy are still eating the candy! Our little butterfly isn't much for posing for pictures lately, so this is the best we could get.

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Grandma and Grandpa Visit for My Party

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit shortly after we returned from Mexico, for Paige's birthday party. Paige loved having all the extra attention, although she was very concerned that it meant Mommy and Daddy were leaving again. During their visit, we went to a wilderness safari close by. Paige wasn't so sure about some of the animals but warmed up by the end. The baby tiger was her favorite; she treated it just like it was one of her sisters.

We were so happy to have Grandma and Grandpa here to celebrate at Paige's birthday party and they were a huge help with all of the preparation. We miss them and can't wait to see them next month!

See more pictures at http://www.hamfamilyphoto.shutterfly.com/

Mexico

Once life finally began settling down after the move, we, along with the Iten's, decided it was time for an adult only vacation. Jodee's mom was generous enough to let us use her timeshare in Riveria Maya, Mexico for a week. So, we took Paige and the dogs to Drew's parents in St. Louis and boarded a plane for some much needed relaxation. The four of us enjoyed drinks by the pool during the day and early bedtimes each evening. We even survived Hurricane Paula, which turned out to be just heavy rain. Life was great in paradise, but we missed Paige greatly.

Meanwhile, Paige was having a great time wearing out her Nana and Papa. She loved playing with Lucy and her aunts and uncles. Sleeping was a little tough for her while we were gone but she found a cozy spot right next to Nana. Thanks to everyone who helped take such good care of her that week!

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Paige's Second Birthday at the Pumpkin Patch

Happy 2nd Birthday Paige! We celebrated by going to the pumpkin patch with the Iten's and the Jones'. It was a beautiful fall day, perfect for finding the ideal pumpkin!

I know I say this with every post, but it is amazing how quickly time flies. When did my 5lb 5oz little baby become a walking, talking, full-fledge toddler? Speaking of talking, Paige has a lot to say. She started talking in sentences a couple of months ago, with her first being, "I want my book." It's fun to have an actual conversation with her but with all that talking also comes lots of opinions. She definitely lets us know when she doesn't like something!

Paige's favorite things right now are playing outside on her playset (she loves to go down the slide on her beebo), dressing her magnetic "Barbie" dolls, reading, and watching Seasame Street. She seems to be enjoying school and talks about the class hamster, Chip, often. She's also napping on a mat at school without any problems, which still amazes me.

We recently went to the doctor for her two year check-up and all is well. She's grown, but continues to stay pretty much in the same range as she's been.

Weight - 24lbs - 14%

Height - 34 1/2 in -62%

Head circumference - I think this was 19 1/2 in, which is 92%

See more photos at: http://www.hamfamilyphoto.shutterfly.com/ (We were having some issues with our camera so some of them are dark, some are washed out. Sorry!)

Fun with Elmo

The weather here in AR has been unseasonably warm the past couple of days so we took advantage of the heat to have some fun in Paige's Elmo sprinkler. She enjoyed drinking the water more than anything! More photos at www.hamfamilyphoto.shutterfly.com

First Day of School

Last week, Paige attended her first day of "school", a mother's day out program at a local church. She is there from 8:15 to 2:15, which allows me six hours to be extremely productive at home or running errands. The drop off went well; she whined a little as I left but quickly began playing with the other kids. Naptime did not go as smoothly (I had anticipated this). She cried herself to sleep, slept for 40 minutes, and when she woke up cried more only to wake all of the other kids from their nap. (Sigh.) No big surprise but I'm hoping the more that she goes, the easier it will get. Most importantly, she said she had fun, which is a great sign.

Butterfly

I bought a butterfly costume on clearance for $1 last year, thinking Paige could wear it for Halloween this year or at the very least, use it for dress up. She asked to try it on for size a couple of days ago so we snapped a few photos. She kept it on for quite a while, until it was time to eat dinner. I think she'll love Halloween this year!

Rosie and Zoe's Birthday

We celebrated Rosie and Zoe's ninth and tenth birthdays with dinner, cupcakes, and ice cream with friends. Rosie and Zoe weren't left out; they loved the Frosty Paws ice cream too.

Happy Birthday to our furry children!

Ryan and McKenzie Visit

Paige and Gigi on the train

A few weeks ago, Jodee and I took off on a girls' trip to visit our friends in Charlotte and meet the newest addition to the group, Miss Molly. Since we were leaving the guys home with the kids, Ryan and McKenzie came to Arkansas to visit.

McKenzie enjoying the train ride

The girls had a great time back in Charlotte, shopping, eating, and just catching up. The weekend went pretty smoothly for the boys too. They took the kids on a train ride to a local festival where they played games, rode a few rides, and drank slurpees before heading back home on the train. The kids were all healthy and happy when we returned to AR so I'd say it was a successful weekend!

Random Fun

Our little fairy

After all of the unpacking the past couple of months, we've finally had some time to enjoy what's left of the summer. Paige has entered into such a fun stage. She's talking in sentences (two or three words most of the time) and keeps us cracking up at what comes out of her little mouth. It's amazing at what adding a simple "Mommy" or "Daddy" on to the end of the sentence can do to melt my heart(i.e. I love you Mommy/Daddy, bless you Mommy/Daddy, ok Mommy/Daddy). By the way, she says bless you when we sneeze, cough, and blow our nose. Guess we could all use a few more "bless you's" throughout the day, right?!

Ready for a bike ride

Paige is loving her playset right now. She has so much fun going up the ladder and down the slide, just to start all over again. Seriously, the energy is unbelievable! She also has a love of coloring and can spend an eternity (for a two year old) just digging through her coloring books and stickers.

Coloring

"I wear my sunglasses at night."

These are a few pictures we took while playing around the house. More can be found at www.hamfamilyphoto.shutterfly.com

Kitchen!

As a housewarming gift to Paige, we bought her a play kitchen for her new playroom. She's really enjoying it and playing with her pretend food, too. She microwaves the food and feeds it to her babies. What a good little mommy!

Here are a few more shots of her playing in the new house.

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Destin Vacation

In July, we traveled to Destin, FL for a vacation with Drew's family. We drove from Rogers, which was about 13 hours. Paige did pretty well in the car and we stopped overnight to break up the drive. The weather was great, other than during our dolphin watching trip and the night before we left. The beaches were beautiful, white sand, clear water, and no signs of oil.

Paige grew to really like the pool and the ocean over the week. She wasn't crazy about the sand, which surprised us. Guess she takes after her mommy!

I apologize, I realized at the end of the trip that we didn't really have a family picture from the trip so here's one of Drew and Paige enjoying the water.

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Fourth of July

The Fourth of July was pretty low key at our house this year. We stayed home to be near Zoe, who is extremely scared of the fireworks. I wasn't sure how Paige would react this year, either. I think she was a little unsure of the whole concept. We did buy some Sparklers and played with them in the backyard.

21 Months!

Paige turned 21 months on July 3rd. How quickly two years is sneaking up on us! There are many days that I look at her and wonder when she got so big. I've been taking pictures with Little Bear every three months after her first birthday, so here they are for this quarter (the first in our new house).

Here's what Paige is up to right now:

• Loves to play with pretend food and her new kitchen (pictures to follow on this)


• Enjoys her babies and wants to take them with her EVERYWHERE


• Started sleeping with two babies, two blankies, Georgina (Gigi) the monkey, one purple cat, and a sippy cup of water. It seems to work magic with bedtime.
• Is working on putting together small, two or three word, sentences.

Birkdale Fountain

On our last weekend in Huntersville, we went with the Iten's and Bailey's to the Birkdale fountain. It's a fun water fountain in the middle of an outdoor shopping area and this was Paige's first and last opportunity to enjoy it. Unfortunately, one stream of water shot her in the face and it went downhill from there. Addie and McKenzie loved it, though!

More pictures at www.hamfamilyphoto.shutterfly.com

Goodbye Home Sweet Home!

I wanted to be sure to document our house in Huntersville so I asked our realtor to send us the pictures that she took while it was on the market. It holds so many great memories and has a special place in our hearts, since it is where our family began. We'll miss you 13610 Delstone Drive!

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