Costumes

 Natalie loves Angela. Like, so much. I can't leave them alone without Natalie climbing on Angela.

This is Natalie making Angela 'smile' for the camera.

On Saturday, we enjoyed our church Halloween party. Natalie looked fantastic in this Minnie Mouse costume passed along from Darlene.

And Angela sported this wig that I made with some pink overalls to be a cabbage patch kid. 

I was surprised by how well she handled wearing the wig. She kept it on the whole time (even fell asleep in it) but Natalie would only wear her ears at the very beginning and then when trick or treating at people's cars.

Angela is generally pretty good, though lately she has had some moments of untypical fussiness. She seems to be teething. Or she's possessed. She randomly cries and cries until I nurse her even though I know she's not hungry and she hasn't been a comfort nurser before. She is also oozing quite a bit from her face. And chewing on her fingers. We've been busy with all kinds of fun stuff and it has messed with her nap schedule, so she is sometimes super cranky and tired but won't go to sleep. Which is hard, with Micah being gone all the time, because it mostly happens in the evening when Natalie is also cranky and overtired and I'm hungry and tired, too and wah, wah, wah. 

But there is some happiness, too!

Crawling!....almost

After pushing herself backwards for weeks, she is now up on her knees, rocking back and forth. She just doesn't have a hang on how to move forward. 

Job Hunt and Haircut

First off, some glamour shots

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Micah wanted a current picture for his resume on linkedin. He is finding out about new job opportunities almost every day, so it's still totally up in the air where we will end up. Micah is weighing the various merits of quite a variety of different positions, trying to project what he wants to be doing in 10-15 years and generally sizing up the potential for professional satisfaction, intellectual and social stimulation and monetary compensation in a dozen or more opportunities.  I just hope that it's somewhere we can have indoor space and a yard for the girls to play and where traffic doesn't prevent me from leaving the house between 4 and 7 on weekdays.

Angela likes food. And she likes eating it almost as much as she likes wearing it.

 In other news, we have been working hard to fill the time while Daddy is putting in long, long hours at school. Natalie's playgrounding skills have improved- she can now climb the rock wall and the rope web at out local playground, feats which she never even attempted before last week. We rented a carpet cleaner to prepare for Angela to crawl- a milestone that she is getting dangerously close to. I gave Natalie her first hair cut.

 It's crazy how much shorter it looks considering how VERY LITTLE I actually cut off.

This is seriously ALL of it. IT was so thin and scraggly on the bottom!

Here it is fluffed out.

Natalie loves to snuggle Angela. And by snuggle, I mean glomp, roll on, smush and generally harm. But she does it all with a grin and the greatest affection. As a friend put it while Natalie was hugging Angela a little too hard the other day, "that is the cutest, saddest thing ever."

How Second-Borns Deal With Abuse

Came out to the living room after getting dinner ready to find this. 

Glad that Angela is less fragile now so I don't live in constant fear for her life.

What really impressed me was how Angela was just sitting there, chill. Natalie would be screaming bloody murder if someone sat on her...

Photos

Seasonal attire!

Angela always has her eyes on our food! She's a champ at solids so far, but we're introducing new things slowly.

Natalie has to try SO HARD to make a thumbs up.

Putting together a puzzle!

Natalie gave Angela these tutus to "play with"

And, a few weeks ago we took a whirlwind trip to Michigan for my cousins wedding. Not only did I get sick and miss most of the wedding, but I hardly remembered to take any pictures! Here's a fun day on the bay at least.

Sister love

Hair accessory!!!

Natalie saw Angela's onsie on the floor and thought it would be fun to try it on. I was shocked she could even get it on, even though it was tight. It's a 3-6 month size! Here is what it's supposed to look like: