Fresh Start

Here goes blog #2. More pictures and commentary from our life. Enjoy!

 At 6 months, this boy is on the move. He can't crawl yet, but he's working diligently toward learning how to. He is constantly in motion and is by far my squirmiest baby - something I was pretty aware of even while still pregnant with the little fella. He spends a great deal of time on his tummy these days, working his legs under him and scooting around a bit.

 Mommy and her big girl

 My fearless climber. Evelynn is a little less careful than Claire, but neither of them is afraid of climbing in the least. They get this from their daddy for sure.

 Everybuddy in the ball pit!

 A toothy grin. This boy loves to eat like his sister Evelynn did. He loves baby cereal and fruit, but does best if we stick to single fruits or veggies at a time rather than the blends so far. He is not a messy eater, but the boy will chomp on his sippy cup and get soaked by the juice.

 The Thanksgiving project and the last time we will "DIY" for some time. With the help of Nani and Pop and friends Jenni and Chris, we constructed from pine boards a loft bed system for the girls' room. Geoff has a new catch phrase from the project: "It looked easy on the internet." We got the plans from the internet and I modified them (scary, I know). Actually, once we figured out what a pocket hole screw is and got the correct tools, it wasn't a hard project, but we have decided at this time in our lives, we'd rather buy our beds already constructed. Nani and Pop seemed to enjoy the project, though.

 Pop and his grandboy - That Buddy sure has a whole lot of Hallquist in him

 Jenni keeping the girls distracted while we tried to get the beds assembled

 Wall to wall loft beds for the girls - they actually turned out perfectly. They are sturdy and just the right size and leave open floor space for them each to have a curtained off area that is just theirs. Only one miscalculation on my part - their age. As it turns out, wonderful climber that she is, Evelynn is just not ready to climb down from such a height yet, especially in the middle of the night to go potty. So I came up with a new plan until both girls can handle the lofts. (More pictures below).

 Buddy at play. Have I mentioned how much this kid likes toys? Toys of all kinds. Neither of my girls was nearly so interested in all things toys as this boy is.

 The re-work of the loft beds leaves plenty of room in their room for playing, which was the overall goal of the beds to begin with. The bottom bunk is toddler height for Evie and the stairs are now against the wall for Claire to get up to her bed. I would say these beds are a huge success. I had never been able to get the girls to nap in the same room - they do now. They practically don't want me to read to them anyomre either - just put them in bed with a book and let them read themselves to sleep. They are hard to get up in the morning too. I say job well done on design and implementation!

 Fingerpainting. I can't say enough good things about washable art supplies.

 Buddy in the exersaucer. I wasn't planning on using one of these at all due to space constraints, but as I said earlier, this boy loves toys, so I borrowed it back from my sister. I will say, he is already at its maximum height, so I don't know how long we'll be able to use it...

 All of the Hallquist cousins together for Thanksgiving - first time in 3 years and there are twice as many kids now and one more on the way (my sister). Top row from left to right: Claire P. (3), Wyatt Y. (4.5), Mercy Y. (7.5), Buddy P. (6mos.), Stone H. (7), Landry H. (8.5mos.); Front row from left to right: Evelynn P. (23 mos.), Tessa Y. (19mos.)

 I think I mentioned that my girls like to take books to bed at naptime and "read" themselves to sleep. Sometimes that habit leads to some funny photo opportunites.

 Ahh, yes, the fingerpaint is washable!

Claire loves her loft bed but I guess she decided her Brobee doll needed to be even higher than her. Needless to say, the fan blades have now been removed...