Chris' Fishing Trip

We have had the most beautiful fall. One of the great things about Minnesota is you really soak in all of the pretty days before winter. Last Tuesday was gorgeous, and Conan got Chris out of school a little early to fish. Chris is such a big kid now! He's getting way more mature, and really taking on his role as the biggest brother. This was a fun way for Conan to show him how much we appreciate him. They had a wonderful afternoon out, and I think he'll remember it forever. He even made the school Facebook page!

Happy 7 Months Audrey!

Audrey has changed so much this month! She has always been a babbler, but now she has more distinct Dada's and Mama's. She seems to be figuring out what they mean also. Last weekend (11/8) she really started figuring out how to move. I don't know if it's technically crawling, but she can get anywhere she wants now! Life has suddenly changed immensely at the Crum house! She lays on her belly, and pulls all of her body weight with her arms. It's pretty adorable.

We're giving her more solid foods, and she loves it. She has never been a big fan of the purées, so when I gave her shepherd's pie the other day, she was thrilled. She loves Cheerios, peas, and biscuits. Her favorite thing is to scream when I'm eating an apple, until I give her the whole thing to chew on. That's probably a really good habit I'm creating : ).

Audrey's sleep is pretty atrocious. That's not a huge surprise, knowing our sleep history with two certain Crum boys. The tricky part with her is that she was sleeping through the night at 2 months. She gave us so much hope of being a good sleeper, and now we're back to up every 45 minutes with her. At least by the 3rd child I've learned, this too shall pass. 

She still adores her brothers. They are constantly making her laugh and playing with her. Chris says "she doesn't even seem real" quite a bit to me, because she's such a little doll. When Conan gets home from work it's her happiest. She loves to see him, and does her big, gummy grin. He can make her laugh like no one else, with tickes and raspberries, and silliness.

Audrey is getting big! She is almost only 12 month clothes. She's been spending so much energy on her growing that she hasn't had time to grow a bit of hair : ).

She is just such a light to our house, and to everyone she meets. We were eating out yesterday, and the waitress told her, "You made my afternoon". She is such a good baby (during the day). She gets toted around to all kinds of activities, and just looks around and smiles. She loves to stare at people, and is really entertaining. Audrey, you are a joy. We love you!

Bryce is 4 1/2!

Happy half birthday Bryce! We can't get enough of this kid! Every day I have so many stories to tell Conan about the hilarious things he said that day. We were at a church carnival yesterday and Bryce said, "Look, it's Darth Vader!". We were looking at the costumes, and couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Finally we saw this...

Another story... We were singing a song at church, and it was talking about the King. I said Bryce, "Do you know who that is?". He looked up with big eyes and said, "Is it me?". So funny! Glad we're spending the big bucks on a Lutheran school : ). 

One more. Bryce still doesn't eat fruit. He was telling me all about the vegetables he eats. He was going through them... Broccoli, cooked carrots, edamame, and then he says. "Meat sandwiches, I would eat them uuuuppp." Of course you would, Bryce!

We took him for donuts and Mac and cheese on his half birthday. 

Can't believe he's 4 1/2!

He's extremely into Star Wars right now. Here he is as his favorite, Obi Wan.

He's still just a little guy though! Every once in a while he needs a nap!

This picture cracks me up. A friend was over and he wanted me to take a picture of his lego ship. Bryce wanted a picture of his face to send also. 

Snuggling!

Audrey Adores Bryce!

We love him!

Six Months of Audrey!

5 months!

Audrey has had a big couple of months! At around four months she got off of one of her heart meds. Wahoo! Right around 4 months she also started saying Mama (more like mamamamama). Recently it's been replaced with a screaming dada- which is equally adorable. She also like to growl, and sometimes makes noises that sound similar to Chewbaca : ).

Her tummy time is going well... She gets up all the way on her hands and moves her knees. She also can stand up holding on to things, and looks so proud of herself. She loves kisses, and tries to give her own, but they're kind of big slobbers on your cheek. She does huge squeals, and when you give her raspberries or tickle her. Audrey can sit almost unassisted, but topples pretty quickly. She started eating right around 5 months. She's had avocado, pears, zucchini, cantekoupe, peaches, & sweet potatoes. She'll eat a few bites and then is over it. She does like sitting at the table with us. Her sleeping is pretty terrible- but we've done this before with Chris & Bryce, so it's really no surprise there. 

She loves the alphabet song, and she does the biggest smile you've ever seen every single time she sees her brothers. We still just adore every second with this sweet girl, and look forward to learning more about her personality as she gets older! 

Sweet baby

I just can't get enough of this sweet girl! She's napping on me at 7 am. She was up way too many times last night, and got up way too early, but I still don't mind. We love this little angel to pieces! 

The Good Stuff

These 3 have sure made this an eventful summer! The boys have had some epic battles, but we've also had a really good time. We were making waffles together this morning, and I think it might have been one of my favorite summer of 2015 memories. Love these little ones!

Twins

Here's a picture of Baby Chris and Audrey. It's a little scary how much our kids look alike, isn't it?

Audrey at 3 months

These are some of my favorite pictures of Audrey at 3 months old. I just love this sweet girl

Happy 3 Months Audrey!

Someone was asking me the other day about the difference between having 2 and 3 kids. I thought about it for a little, and all I could say was that I just had more joy because of sweet Audrey. She is still such an easy and happy baby. She talks a lot more now. She has all sorts of new sounds that she makes. Her new favorite is when Dad buzzes his lips together, and then she does it right back. I think that's their favorite daddy/daughter activity. She's gotten super excited about her gym. She moves her hands and legs and bats around the toys. She hasn't quite grabbed one yet. I just noticed today that she holds her hands together now, and grabs on to her clothes when I put her in ruffles. She loves to watch the boys. She just stares at someone until they make eye contact with her. The boys still absolutely adore her. She sits well when we're holding on to her, and people comment all the time about how strong her head is. My favorite milestone is the laughing. She's done it a couple times. It took lots of raspberries on her chin to get one out, and was one of the most precious sounds. We just love, love, love you, Audrey Elizabeth!

Rolling baby

One more milestone... We all watched Audrey roll from her tummy to her back today. It proves you can do anything if your parents make you mad enough (sorry, you have to do tummy time!). Good job Audrey!

The zoo

We had a great morning today. We started with breakfast at our favorite restaurant, Maggie's. 

We all devoured our breakfast, and then headed to the imax at the zoo. 

We saw Under the Sea, and it was amazing. We all learned a lot about ocean life. Then we got to check out the animals. 

The Bears!

Audrey could relate to the napping tigers.

Such a fun day!