Amri's Second Birthday and More

My blog experience has just been revolutionized! I just figured out how to switch to the new interface, and I can upload more than four pictures at a time!!! And they actually uploaded! Hooray!

This is the last two weeks of fun stuff:

We have really gotten into hiking starting September. There are a zillion hikes within 15 minutes of our house and this is the first full hike we did (we attempted another one the night before, but it got dark and we had to head back early).

The hike was kind of funny. . .it just ended. No view, no sort of end point, just ended.

Anne U. White Trail. It should have ended here--at least it was scenic!

Jeffrey actually walked the whole 3 miles. He was tired at the end, but we told him if he was a little bear and walked, he would get honey when we got home. It worked. I also let him get in the backpack the last fifty feet from the end of the trail to the car.

Amri turns 2!

Amri. . . the best word to describe her is happy. Her favorite phrase is "I funny" or "Jeffrey funny" or "Mommy funny". For a long time when I would put them in time out, I would always ask them if they were ready to be happy when they came out. I don't anymore, but the last couple weeks, whenever Amri gets up in the morning, or from her nap, she marches out of her room and announces, "I gonna be HAPPY!" It's so cute. And really, it's a cute reminder that we DO get to chose our attitude. She's got a super happy-go-lucky personality (which drives me nuts when I'm trying to discipline her and she's laughing) but she brings a TON of joy into our home. It's kind of funny, but I remember before she was born it was SO hard to get Jeffrey to laugh. But after she was born, he was so happy all of the time. No one can make Jeffrey laugh like Amri can.   I also remember when she was as young as six months old I would be holding her or something and whenever I made eye contact with her she would start laughing.She can talk like she's 3, and it's a relief that I can finally tell people that she's two because it's felt like she has been acting at least 2 years old for months.

For Amri's birthday I gave her her first mani/pedi. We did a little shopping trip and
she picked out the color of the nail polish for her birthday.

Best birthday picture. She was a little tired and wouldn't smile for the camera that morning.

Showing off her fingers

cake

I know poor Jacob is totally neglected in the picture department (I've missed several times to take pictures on his exact month birthday. . .like six months, nine, etc.) so I'm trying to make up for it.

The crawl master

he also loves climbing up EVERYTHING. I keep wondering when he'll start walking.

One of his favorite activities is climbing under the chairs. He LOVES it.
Occasionally he scavenges for food crumbs that he stashed under there.

Someone at church today described Jacob as a "Fraggle"
I didn't know what that was. Tyson had to explain it to me.

We voted he looks like the one on the bottom left.
What do you think?

Jeffrey decided that if I was taking pictures of it, it must be a pretty cool thing to do.

Jacob thought it was the perfect headlock/pulling hair position for him.
He LOVES pulling hair and I can't hold him without him pulling mine.
Poor Amri can't ever sit in front of him in the stroller--
we have to put Jacob in the front at all times.

Trip to the zoo. We combined Jeffrey/Amri's birthday money from Grandparents and got a year pass. They love it.

Silent Disco at the zoo?

We did a little birthday BBQ for Amri yesterday. But she was too popular to get in the picture.

The kids all loved throwing the landscaping into the creek in our backyard and making fishing poles with our extra greenery. 

This is Huck. We added him just for fun;)