So.

So, Hollie's using the potty like a pro.  It was a rough start, but after the first week we had a visit from Daniel's brother and family, including 3-year-old cousin J who, I think, showed her the ropes and gave her the toddler perspective she needed.  Now she's doing great.  Jumps up and tells us when she needs to go, even when we're out of the house.  I got one of those little seats that sits on top of the adult toilet seat, but she's not willing to try that yet, so we're taking her little potty everywhere!  Accidents have been very rare.  When it clicked, it just clicked.

We're still putting her in diapers at night, just because we didn't want to overwhelm her with expectations of dry days and nights.  I see us making the switch to underwear at night pretty soon though, because she's been waking up with dry diapers.  She wakes us up pretty much every night, at least once, for help using the potty, so another next step will be limiting her fluids in the evening.  But yeah, one step at a time.

Blake has started sleeping through the night, after weeks and weeks of just waking up once, around 5am, and going back to sleep.  Between her waking to eat and Hollie waking to use the potty, I was not sleeping much!  They are such great kids though.  Hollie is becoming Blake's favorite source of entertainment.  I swear, Blake spends half the day getting poked, prodded, having toys waved in her face, and being generally harassed by Big Sister, but Blake smiles more readily for her than she does for anyone else!  I think Hollie even got Blake's first laugh today.

Little Sister is holding up that big ol' head better and better.  She's about to be sitting on her own, I can tell!  Spending more time on her tummy, too.

She'll be four months old this weekend.  That's a third of the way to ONE YEAR.  Holy moly.

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This past weekend we made our annual trip to Phoenix for the ASU Homecoming game.  Both girls just soaked up the attention from the grandparents, and loved every minute.  We visited a park that we used to live near, and hiked this hill...Hollie's first time!

She made it about halfway up, then asked GB (grandpa) to carry her.  She ran around at the top for a little while, and then he carried her all the way down, too!

Blake slept the whole time :)

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Our Halloween was a big deal this year.  We have dressed Hollie up every year, but this was the first year that she has really grasped the idea, and also the first year that she has known about CANDY.  Yeah.  Oh boy.

She chose her costume for the first time, too.

We bought the ears and tail for her, but she picked out the rest herself from her own clothes.

Blake was a hula dancer, with a grass (gold ribbon) skirt and a kiwi bra.

Can't forget the candy-corn socks.

Hollie picked out this little pumpkin bucket herself, too.  I was standing there in the Halloween aisle thinking "man, these candy buckets are huge" when Hollie grabs this little bucket (intended to hold a candle) and says, "this is for my trick-or-treating!"  Didn't have to think twice about that!

More later (whenever that is)

 :)