Catch-up

It seems like every post I start saying that it's been a while since I last posted, but this time that isn't the case. I actually wrote an entry last Monday. However, it's just me complaining about having lived in Yuma for the last two years (in case you haven't read it). I am pretty sure that most of the people who read my blog (I have no idea who or how many) are more interested in the children and what they are doing rather than listening to my complaints. So in that case, it has been a little while since I posted about that so here you go:

Halloween

Brooke was a princess, and Jade was a mermaid. Bristol was a witch. I decided that I was not going to buy any costumes this year; we were just going to use what we have. That worked out pretty good. I spent about $13 to buy a few accessories for their costumes, and I think I saved about $50 by not buying all new ones.

Like my smile in this picture? I wasn't quite ready when Trent took it.

Bristol's First Birthday

When Bristol was six months old, I said that her first six months went by quickly, but these last six months went by even faster. I can't believe that she is already one year old!

I made gumpaste flowers for the cake. I had never made gumpaste decorations before, and I wanted to try them because I liked the way they look. While cake decorating from piping frosting can certainly look good, I have to say that I really like the gumpaste. It's faster, cleaner-looking and way less of a mess. Well, it does take some time for the flowers to dry (a day or two), but actually creating them was pretty quick.

Some of the things that she can do now are:

*walk really well

*climb off the bed or couch herself

*eat with a spoon and drink from a cup pretty good (In fact, everytime she sees us getting a drink at the water cooler, she hurries over and we give her the cup with a little water in it.)

*wave hello

*point at things

Some of Bristol's likes are:

*water -- She loves taking a bath and is constantly sticking her face in it the water to get a drink, despite my protest.

*playing with her sisters

*going down the slide that she got for her birthday

*books -- She pulls them out of the bookshelf a lot and likes to look at them.

*putting things around her neck -- She is always finding things to put around her neck (not all the way around, just draped from one shoulder, around the back of her neck, to her other shoulder). This one concerns me a little because she tries to use jumpropes, ties, cords (even cords that are attached to things like lamps), anything pretty much. The strangulation risk there concerns me so I keep a close eye on her when she is doing that.

*going outside -- She always tries to escape when someone is going out. Since the weather has cooled, we can definitely spend a lot more time outside, though.

*people -- She isn't afraid to go up to others and smile at them.

*car keys -- the real ones, toy keys are not an adequate substitute

Some of her dislikes are:

*her carseat or for that matter, being restrained in any way

*having things taken away from her -- No child likes this, but she throws a big fit, crying on and on when we have to take something from her.

Bristol has been so fun to have in our home. The girls like playing with her most of the time, and she and Jade are starting to play together when Brooke is at school. She is a pretty happy girl as long as she is well-rested and fed. I have to say that I am pretty happy too when she gets her sleep because she sleeps for about eleven hours at night and for about three to four hours during the day (split between two naps).

Oh yeah, noticeably absent from her pictures, at least to me, is her hair. She is our Miss Baldy, but she has been working on her teeth. Bristol has her eighth tooth coming up now.