Ballerina Girl

About three seconds after the ultrasound tech told me Brooke would be a girl, I imagined a little preschool ballerina dressed head-to-toe in pink.  Dance recitals.  Tap shoes. One day that would be my child.

Oh yes, that would be my child.

The day has arrived and I'm pretty stinkin' excited.  And don't you know when "parent watch day" rolled around at Brooke's ballet studio I was on the edge of my seat, camera in hand.

Yipee!! 

 I think she likes ballet.

A lot.

She smiled through the whole class. 

By the way, when do kids get the concept of personal space? Not at four. 

Anyway.  I'm in heaven. :-)

A Best Friend and a Trip to the Zoo

This weekend my very best friend brought her family up to see us.  So exciting!!

The weekend kicked off with a big man hug.  Is there a better way to start a weekend? 

We got to go to the zoo.  In the middle of November.  Can you believe it? 

We hit the butterfly house first.  You know I love butterflies. 

So much for little eyes to see. And what beautiful little eyes they are. 

This picture makes me smile. :-) :-) :-)  

I only took a couple of pictures of the animals.  But really, who wants to watch the animals when you can watch kids watching the animals?

 

Even though 2 out of the 3 little stinkers boycotted sleep for the weekend, it was so good to see my sweet friend and her family.  It was fun to finally get the kids together, too.  I'm so glad they braved the trip and I can't wait to see them again and SOON!  

Fall Leaves

I love red trees in the fall.  And taking pictures of things that stand still every now and then. 

I haven't taken many tree pics this year, but I finally took a few before it was too late. 

Happy Halloween!

We had a such a good time trick-or-treating tonight!

Meet Jessie and Buzz Lightyear, ready to go.

We picked up a neighbor along the way...

...and off we went.

These two are like old pros. 

After two hours buckets were filled, kids were tired and blood sugars were crashing. 

So good night.  :-)

Storytime

You know how you and the grandparents buy your kids all kinds of toys and crap and then they like the stuff you found at a garage sale for $.10 the best?

Totally happening here.  My mom found some I Spy books at a garage sale.  Not only do the kids love them, they look at them together.

Like...share them. 

Somebody get the camera.

Autumn Bucket List

This weekend we headed down to see the grandparents. On the agenda: a parade and a trip to the pumpkin patch, all in the same day. 

I thought the kids' heads might explode.

Brooke loved the parade.  She stayed glued to Papa's side.  Because she loves her Papa.  And also because Papa's not shy about helping his granddaughter rake in the parade candy. 

 

They were quite the pair.



Nathan decided sleep was for the weak on Friday night, so Saturday morning was a little rough.  Even the excitement of a parade didn't perk him up much.  He got some major Daddy snuggles in, though.

After we loaded up with tons of pre-Halloween candy, we were ready to do some pumpkin picking!  I love going to the pumpkin patch.  Love it.

Nathan finally woke up and decided he needed to pick him some pumpkins. He was all business.

But every now and then you have to rest, you know.

As if that wasn't enough "fall" for one weekend, we also made apple pie, carved a pumpkin and raked and jumped in the leaves. 

Our Autumn Bucket List is officially complete, people.

Brooke demonstrated the face she wanted on the pumpkin. 

I drew and Scot carved.  Not bad, huh?

A new fall hairstyle...

A lovely fall weekend.  Thank you to the g-parents!! 

A (Big!) Little Announcement

So I've been MIA the last couple of months.

It's just that I've been a little tired.  And a little nauseous.

Because...

 Me at 21 weeks.  Official due date: February 27.

YIPEE!!!  We are thrilled to be expecting baby #3!  Here's my goofy attempt at a belly shot.   

And some other news:  It's a BOY!!!

(A certain little girl wasn't thrilled about that part.  Thankfully, all was well after dinner at her favorite restaurant and a promise that she could help name and feed the baby.)


I might be slightly biased, but I happen to think he's awfully cute. 

And check this one out!  An ear!  He's sleeping on his tummy with his little legs tucked under his little bottom and you can see his ear.  I love this one.  I can imagine holding him just like this.  Plus...it's an ear. I haven't even thought about how he's going to have cute little ears.  But there it is.

There's a real little baby in there.

What an amazing blessing.

I can't wait until February to introduce him to his big sister and big brother.  And to hold my new little guy that has at least one ear.  :-)