Pawpaw time

Anastasia is pretty clingy these days...well let's face it, VERY clingy to me. But Pawpaw managed to entice her away for some play time when he was here this weekend. He managed to get some pretty sweet smiles. We had a great time celebrating their anniversary while they were here!

Bike rider

We received this bicycle from some friends, and Stephen has been dying to ride it. But it is too big for him.
Allia was helping him, and he finally managed to pedal and steer it some on his own! He was sooo proud.

Purposeful speech

In the last week, Anastasia has started speaking with a purpose, as opposed to baby babble. She is using Mama or Uhma to refer to me, usually when she wants to be held/picked up. She has also started using uh-oh, which is actually uh-uh for her, very liberally. So she uses it when she drops something but also when a loud noise starts or stops, when she sees a toy she wants or if someone is crying. It is really cute! :)

Piano Recital

Yesterday we had our fall piano recital. Both Allia and Mariana played two songs, and Austin sang while their teacher played for a grand finale.

My trio all ready to go

Mariana's first official performance!

 Allia played beatifully

The great duet...it was wonderful

I only videoed one of each of the girls' songs. Here is Mariana's first song (her second one was actually better, but oh well!)


Here is Allia's second song, All Things Bright and Beautiful

Children's Barnyard

It is that time of the year again...we enjoyed the children's barnyard this morning with friends and fellow HSers, although there made quite a few changes this year much to Allia's chagrin. (including that they didn't let them hold the baby chicks OR sit on the tractor!)

So studious

Future librarian or professor? Not sure, but she looked so cute chewing on the end of these potato head glasses I had to snap a picture.

My Scooter

If there was any doubt, here is Anastasia scooting in a sitting position. She is very careful not to get on her hands and knees! Cute girl!

Our Living Room transformed

It is amazing how a relatively small change can make such a difference! We traded our old entertainment center for the two big bookshelves Lito brought last weekend, and voila! We really like how it turned out...it really makes the room feel so different (just awaiting some minor finishing touches)! Thanks, Lito and Lita (and Tia!). It's perfect!

Church Festival

Yesterday we enjoyed the children's choir (to which Allia and Mariana belong) singing at mass followed by our annual parish festival. Lito was so sweet to join us for all the fun. The children had a great time, and we all teamed up to play the cake wheel and won two cakes!


It is always so fun to pull out the cold weather clothing for the first time. I had this gang at home while everyone else went early to mass for choir.

My sweet horseback riders (Stephen decided he didn't like the helmet and therefore forfeited his ride)

Mountain climber (she is really dressed for this, right?)

Trying to win a goldfish like big sister Allia did

Fun times!

Race Day!

We were the Riddle family runners this morning, tackling the Buffalo Stampede. The girls and I ran the 5K, and Lito ran the half marathon!

Before...

After - They ran so well. I was really proud of my girls.

Much to her pleasant surprise, Mariana was 3rd in her age group (females under 12) and won a medal!

 And Allia was 1st in her age group! She won a trophy of a buffalo head!

Proud sisters

A hug after Lito crossed the finish line. We were so proud of him. He ran it in only 2 hours...so fast that Daddy and Tia Nana had not even made it to the race to see him finish yet. We were lucky to spot him coming around the bend to the finish line.

Happy Riddle Runners :)

Then right after Lito finished, Allia was off to soccer. What a girl - that was quite a morning!

Lito is Here!

He brought some bookshelves that the girls turned into benches

And asked Mariana to read out loud to him, which she did from this stand he also brought

And then Anastasia woke up. She actually let him hold her without fussing...wow! It helped that she had a really long nap. :)

Tomorrow we run the Buffalo Stampede together!

National Night Out

Last night was our annual neighborhood block party. The children have been looking forward to this! Here are the girls with their painted faces (and a rainbow in the background!) along with a little girl that befriended them and insisted on being in the photo. ;)

Stephen was so proud to ride this pony by himself. The girls rode too, but it was before Austin joined us, so I had my hands full with the 2 little ones and missed photos.

Stephen also really enjoyed the little train ride, and the girls had fun in the giant inflatables. The mayor was there (and actually talked with me unbeknownst to me...what a bad citizen not recognizing my mayor!). She said we have the best neighborhood party in town, and we agree!

Pumpkin time

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch yesterday to pick out pumpkins after Mariana's dance class. Now to get the scarecrows out and decorate the porch...

9 Months old!

Anastasia is 9 months old today and growing fast! She goes to the doctor tomorrow to find out how much she has grown (and will probably get a few shots). What a sweetie. She scoots all over the place these days, is trying to pull up on things, and I think is working on her second tooth. She is also waving and starting to clap. She is sleeping so much better, putting herself to sleep in her bed for naps. Yay! She has also started sucking her thumb, which may be the reason for the sleep improvements! We love you big girl!

Little friends

Anastasia had a playdate this morning with her little friend Magdalene. I am so excited for her because quite a few really great families had girls around the same time, so she is going to have an awesome little group of friends, including Maggie. :)

More birthday stuff

Amidst Mariana's birthday party we were also celebrating Pawpaw's birthday this weekend. Sunday Jared, now a new Aggie, came to join us in our birthday lunch. It was a fun afternoon, and apparently I was enjoying it too much because I hardly took any photos! Happy Birthday, Pawpaw!