Candy, candy, candy, candy, candy, candy, candy!

This was the first Halloween that I ever dressed Hattie up. And honestly, she probably would have been fine without dressing up. She was certainly more into the candy than her costume. But I made her a tutu for her birthday, so it was a pretty simple costume. Thanks to Payless having a 50% off coupon, I even found her some little ballet shoes. And since there was extra tulle, I made a matching one for Anna.

Here we are at the ward Halloween party. Hattie was distraught that we stopped her from running around the cultural hall to take a picture. Anna slept most of the evening. But she made a sweet ballerina.

I took Hattie trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. We went pretty early so she could get to bed...she was coming down with a cold. But very few people were home, so we didn't get much. I won't complain, and neither will Hattie. She's just glad that she has some candy. When I would ring the doorbell, she would say "Tookie Treat" before anyone came to the door. And once she had one piece of candy in her jack-o-lantern, all she wanted to do was eat it and didn't really care much about getting more.

We only got about 7 trick-or-treating groups at our house. Every year I tell Paul to buy just one bag of candy, but of course he buys 4, so we've got all sorts of candy at our house, despite the fact that Hattie got so little while we were out. Paul is determined to get more into Halloween, and he's already planning our costumes for next year. It'll be our new tradition I guess!

Strolling through the mall

Here's a random video of Hattie and some friends at the mall the other day. They were having such a ball together. I love how Hattie is getting to where she has friends and plays with them better.

Stina come!!!

Last Friday my in-laws told us that Aunt Christina would be able to come out for a visit. She had fall break at her high school, and since she flies for free, it was just a quick 40 minute flight for her to come see us. When I told Hattie that Aunt Christina was coming, she wouldn't stop talking about it. She constantly said, "Stina come!" Finally Saturday came and I told Hattie that when she woke up from her nap, we would go get Christina from the airport. The minute I opened her door after nap she said, "Stina come? Stina come!!" Much to her horror, Christina's flight was delayed 2 hours, so poor Hattie had to wait, and all afternoon I had to keep consoling her, promising her that eventually Christina would come. Once Christina finally arrived, Hattie ran to give her a big hug, then quickly remembered her toys and forgot her aunt. Silly kid.

We had a great time with Christina, playing late night board games and watching movies. On Monday we went to a cool park here in Lubbock, which Christina deemed was the coolest park she had ever been to. One point for Lubbock!

She refused to slide...just wanted to crawl around!

When Christina got out of the van at the airport, Hattie started bawling...and didn't stop for about 10 minutes. And she's been asking for her ever since. She's even asked to go to Grandma's house!

Our blog neglected daughter

I'm sure many of you fellow bloggers feel like you blogged a ton about baby #1, whereas baby #2 gets neglected. Looking back to when Hattie was a baby, I always posted about her...random pictures and long, boring videos. Poor Anna...I hardly even remember to get the camera out for her! So this morning I got a few pictures, sporting her cute shoes and bow...thanks Chelsea! She is definitely a Hattie look-alike.

Oh, and this little angel went 10 hours between feedings last night. She smiles for us occasionally, but mostly just lounges around being happy. She loves to sleep on Paul's stomach and is never sad for very long. We love our girls!

Temples to dot the earth

Another weekend of General Conference has passed. My in-laws flew in from Dallas to spend the weekend lounging in pajamas with us. It's always wonderful to have them around. Hattie has been asking for "Stina" ever since.

I simply want to express how excited I am for another temple to be built in Chile. WhileI was there as a missionary, all of the members dreamed of when Chile would be ready for a second temple. It was one of their goals, and the dream seemed to unite all of the members from Arica in the north to Punta Arenas in the south. When President Monson stood up on Saturday morning, I said aloud to Paul, "I wonder what he's going to announce today...maybe some new temples?" As soon as he said he would announce 5 new temples, I knew that Chile would finally have its dream. Even though Concepcion wasn't in my mission, I know how much this temple will bless the people that I served in Vina. So much of what I, other missionaries, and the members worked toward is represented in this new temple. Hearing of this temple has reminded me of how much I love Chile and its people. I hope to be able to visit there again with my family someday.

Santiago Chile Temple

My growing girls

Today I was brave. I took both girls in to the doctor for a check up and shots. Here's the results:

Anna
Weight: 11 lbs 8 oz - 50%...amazing considering that at 4 weeks she was in the 5%
Height: 21 inches - 5%
Head circumference: 15.5 inches - 50%...again, also amazing considering she was preemie

Hattie
Weight: 31 lbs - 90%
Height: 33 inches - 25%
Head circumference - 20 inches - 95% +

So what do we learn from this? My children have huge heads, they are good eaters, and they will be short like me.

And the shots went reasonably well, although that was certainly the loudest either of them had cried in recent memory. I dread going back in another two months for Anna's next round of immunizations. And I'm sure that as soon as we walk in the door, Hattie will try to run for her life. The doctor's office is starting to equal pain!

But here is a sweet moment from last night...I love having a snuggly baby!

Some random bits

Hattie's favorite place to play lately is her crib. She stands in it and asks me (very politely) to give her a train, a book, a blanket, a stuffed animal, another book, and so on. Then she passes all the toys back to me, and then asks me again to give them to her. She can play in there forever. The other day she was having such a great time that Callie had to join her.

On another random note, this picture was too funny...Hattie stretching to bounce both Anna and baby James at the same time.

And lastly we went to the South Plains Fair. Hattie adored the baby ducks and chicks,

was pretty hesitant around the petting zoo (this was as close as she would get),

and loved the lemonade.

She just discovered a seed in her drink, hence the pretty face. She and Juliet were quite content to sit and drink their lemonade all day. She was pretty interested in checking out the rides. Gratefully they were closed, but I think we'll have a hard time keeping her away from them next year.