Mirabel - 10 months

And another month rolls by. This baby, I tell you what. Mirabel, you are such a ray of sunshine. Your big, beautiful smile steals my heart every time. You are a crawling fool these days, keeping us all busy trying to keep you out of trouble. You are much more curious than I remember your sister being, though she didn't have stairs tempting her when she was your age. When I put you down, you race over to climb them! You have six teeth now and you continue to be quite the little eater. The only thing we've put in front of you that you haven't cared much for is stir fry (I'm thinking you're not crazy about soy sauce). You're starting to learn some words, most of which start with "B". It's absolutely adorable when you see your cousin Charlotte's photo on the wall and you get a big smile on your face and say, "bay-beeeee". You say "ba" for ball, "bu-bu" for bubbles, and "buh" for balloon. I just love this stage!

We are so thankful for the spring weather. You seem to be quite the water baby already, loving to splash in the water table and sprinkler with Eloise and your buddy, Greyson. What a fun summer we are sure to have. I love you, Bug-a-boo. Kisses.

I tried out a little photo editing on these. Kinda fun!

Grandma got the best smile out of her. 

Easter Morning

Sharing her purple egg with Daddy. 

Sparkle gum.

This was her first reaction to getting quarters in her Easter egg. 

Collecting all the loot before Mirabel wakes up. 

Happy 1st Easter, baby girl!

Mirabel - 9 months

Crawling, cruising and cute as ever, you always put a smile on my face. You keep me busy as ever these days. More messes to clean up and more boo-boos to kiss as you become more and more independent. You absolutely adore your big sister and you both love to crack each other up. Your fourth tooth finally came through and you and Eloise had your first visit to the dentist this past week. Check ups for teeth and health went very well all around! You are 19 lbs 7 oz, over a pound heavier than Eloise weighed at this age. I just love your chubby, happy face! Eloise loves to "chubba your cheeks". She asks to do it multiple times a day and for the most part you let her. She puts your cheeks in her hands and squeezes them together. She thinks it's hilarious. You're never too amused by it but you're a good sport to let her do it. You are waving "hi" and "bye" and you love sharing hugs and kisses. You are starting to respond with your first animal sound, "what's the elephant say?" - you answer back by blowing a raspberry. You are so loud! Whether you are laughing, playing or imitating Eloise, you give it all you've got. We just love having you around, Miss Mirabel. Kisses!

And one more for the books. Two cutie patooties waiting for their bath. 

Party time

We had a whirlwind of a weekend, celebrating Eloise's 3rd birthday. Family brunch on Saturday and a costume party with friends on Sunday. Monday was her actual birthday, so we went out for birthday breakfast, complete with a smiley-faced pancake. I love preparing for such a celebration. We had lots of balloons, bouquets of flowers and colorful streamers. Tons of cupcakes, costumes and a fun photo-booth to take photos of these memories. What a fun little girl to celebrate!

The birthday girl with her kitty-cat face paint.

Her new big-girl balance bike. 

Eloise pretending to be Elton John. I asked her what she was playing on her keyboard and she said, "Alligator Rock".

A new Thomas shirt!

She just had to put her new shirt on right away. 

Makin' it rain!

Sparkly chap stick from "Aunt" Sandra.  

Love for baby sister.

No words. 

Pink frosting anyone?

Miss Mirabel enjoying the soft and beautiful new blanket that Grandma made for Eloise. 

PHOTO BOOTH FUN!

Eloise's most favorite thing to do is pretend to be other people and characters. I thought, what better than to have a dress up party! It was fun to see everyone joining in the fun!

"Dressing up" the cupcakes!

Eloise has not let us forget the tradition of picking up a box of Lucky Charms for her (and her dad) to enjoy during her birthday week. 

She chose spaghetti to have for birthday dinner. I just love that face.