New bed

Traeger is loving the new (to us) loft bed that a dear family from church shared with us.

Last minute trip home

Due to an unfortunate circumstance, the kids and I headed home for the weekend to attend a funeral. While we were in town we thought we'd stay awhile and enjoy some time with our Grandpa Bruce and Nonnie. We're thankful our time was sprinkled with some time with the P family too!

Traeger and Melia bonding.

My parents have a beautiful nature preserve near their house. Somehow 31 years passed before I would get the chance to enjoy it. Who knew such a treasure was just minutes from where I grew up?! It was fabulous!

Grandpa Bruce, Nonnie and the grandkids...minus Melia.

Ataly holding her own as we climbed up the hill.

Grandpa Bruce giving the kids a lesson on acorns.

The boys yelling their motto..."boys rule, girls drool."

The boys continued to shout their motto with an exclusion to sister's and cousins...how sweet is that!

We came upon a really cool fort made of sticks, branches and logs.

Taking a moment to rest.

My parents rock!

Horrible picture, but it was great to connect with Jimmy while we were in the area. He loved on the kids Friday night so I could attend a funeral. Then on Sunday the kids, my mom and I picked him up and went to church in Ripon, really close to campus. Dad met us in Ripon and we all had lunch and then it was time to say goodbye.

On Monday before we headed out of town we had a picnic lunch date with Nonnie...it was the middle of November and the weather allowed for this. It made my heart very happy!

Blast from the past

Minnie Mouse 1989

and she returned in 2010.

Baking time

Daddy caught us whippin' up some apple crisp and wanted to snap a few pics....

The kids both helped out...cutting apples, measuring the ingredients, and eating some of the goods of course :O).

Say cheese.

Yes they are both armed with knives, but I promise they're not sharp.

Just sharp enough to get the job done.

There's a first time for everything

The kiddos playing computer games for the first time together. Traeger set up the mouse, on his own, so Ataly could reach it too and they took turns playing.

Peaceful playing...a mother's dream :O)

Woohoo for firsts!

Moving on...

Ataly taking her last nap in her crib before we took it down

2 years, 7 months.

It was a bittersweet moment when we took the crib down. Ataly cried the whole time, but had made peace with it when she realized we were going to share the crib with her cousin, Melia. The transition to the big girl bed has been way easier with her than with Traeger. I'm thinking her age has a lot to do with it. We transitioned Traeger way too early, 18 months, to make way for his sister's arrival. If I were to go back, I wouldn't do that again. How am I doing? I'm mostly surprised (for lack of a better word) that we are already done with the baby season of life. Time goes so quickly. At times the baby stage seemed like it was going to be never ending. But here we are, already done with it. It's a gentle reminder to soak up each day and live it to the fullest, because this time too shall pass.

A family of "Supers"

I know it's cheesy to have us all matchy, matchy, but while I can pull it off I went with it. So we were the family of Supers this year. The kids thought it was pretty fun to all be matching. Ataly made sure to tell everyone we met that we have a

"Super-dad, Super-mom, Super-brother and a Super-girl."

Ataly wasn't thrilled to get into the costume, but once it was on she was all smiles!

Woohoo for dressing up!

Getting ready to leave for the night of festivities at the church.

The "Super" family taking in the fun fall festival.

Ataly helping Daddy hand out the candy during the trunk-r-treating.

The girls

Trying for a photo op out by the awesome fall decorations at church, but there wasn't a whole lot of cooperation going on...I guess they were ready to go home and dig into their candy.

The best part of the night was getting to make memories as a family and with our sweet friends Morgan and Hudson.

Port Hatfields visit

6 kids all under the age of 4...need I say more?!

It was such a treat to have the Port Hatfields visit for a couple of days at the end of Oct. The cousins played non-stop, while the adults tried keeping up with the little ones and snuck in lots of enjoyable moments along the way.

The kiddos zoned out to a morning show.

A sign of the times.

Thankful for awesome cousins.

Next year Ellie will get to be in on all the action.

I soaked in every minute I got to snuggle and kiss those irresistible cheeks!

Ataly smothered baby Ellie with lots of lovin'...

I don't think Ellie minded too much.

While the little ones were down for naps, the big kids went out and did some work picking up sticks.

Thankful for the fun memories that we made!

The joys of work...

Working in a pre-k classroom this year has afforded me several opportunities to dress up for different themes. I went all out for Halloween and dressed like Minnie Mouse. The Minnie Mouse ears that my mom made for my costume when I was in 4th grade were my inspiration.

Maybe when I get a free moment I'll pull out the old pictures and humor you.

(for those wondering...I share this with permission)