October Roundup

October was a whirlwind.

It is my absolutely favorite month of the year and I was determined not to let the baby ruin all the fun! Here's a photo dump and what we've all been up to.

Abbey had a great month at school. I had her conference this past week and her teacher had nothing but nice things to say. She did mention that she likes to talk a lot. I was not surprised at all. Abbey is testing beyond the 2nd grade benchmark for reading and received all outstandings.

We're really proud of her. She ran in the Marine Corp Marathon Fun Run at the Pentagon. Joseph was able to be a chaperon and go with her. She dressed as a Butterfly Princess for Halloween and had fun trick or treating hand in hand with her best girlfriends. She lost her 3rd tooth and #4,5,6 are so wiggly I should probably pull them. She mastered tying her shoes. Who knew something so small could be such a game changer. Now Abbey ties everyones shoes in the morning....one less thing I have to do. YIPPEE!

Jack also had a great month. He finished up soccer and is quite the little soccer player. Joseph would prefer he play something else but not me. :) I had Jacks conference 2 weeks ago and was prepared for the worst and I was pleasantly surprised. Jack's teacher said "Jack is the most charismatic, self-confident, loving child. He is extremely intelligent and he gets it (meaning school), he's going to go far in life but we need to some how harness his energy". HAHA Good luck with that. She suggested that I let him run laps in our yard before school. I just giggled. Jack is just like Joseph. We are trying to get Jack off naps but he is a bear by 5pm. ugh. Jack has finally mastered his writing card at school and that was huge for him. He was so proud of himself.

He loves going to school everyday and has become quite proficient at hammering nails in the real woodworking shop and putting on plays (he got to be the medium billygoat in Billy Goats Gruff).

Jack is awesome. I'm already ready dreading sending him to K next year.

Joshua is now speaking in full sentences! Hallelujah! His OBSESSION with Buzz Lightyear continues. Amelia bought him some Buzz jammies and I cannot get them off of him but maybe once a week for a trip to the wawa-machine (joshienese for washing machine). He loves Eli and has never acted out towards him. He rubs his hair or legs and repeats "ohhhhh baby Eli he's so cute!" all.day.long. He is ready for preschool but I'm not interested in potty training right now. He is obsessed with Halloween and often recounts the night by hiding in the closet, jumping out and screaming "TRICK OR TREAT!!!!!!" He also will tell anyone who will listen "joshie be buzz, jackjack be wolverine, eli be woooody, abbey be fufufly princess". He is hysterical. He also has a creepy habit of seeing alphabet letters and calling out which letter it is. Creepy.

Eli is fat and happy. He was 12lb at his one month appt. He is already in size 2 diapers. So sad. He is a sweet thing and he has killer hair. I'm a bit obsessed. He loves to take a bath and isn't bothered by his loud older siblings.

Heather- I had a baby. My labor was long (typical for me) but easy. 4 pushes and out he came. There was no damage so I came home after 1 night. I loathe the hospital. I have learned that I am not one who can sit around the house and "take it easy". I need to get out of the house and have things to do. Cabin fever sets in quickly for me. So it's been nice that I have to get up everyday to drive Abbey and Jack to school and pick them up, etc. I have the most wonderful friends who brought meals, treats, picked up Jack after school, took kids for playdates, etc. I managed to go to Jack's fall festival, the pumpkin patch and trick or treating. It was nice to be able to do those things with the family. I hate feeling like the lame Mom who just sits at home and takes care of the baby while everyone else has fun. So now I'm making preparations for Thanksgiving and I'm super excited to cook dinner this year. And wouldn't you know that a house seems to have fallen into our laps and we might be taking the plunge just after the New Year. And this house is a mess but the bones of the house are amazing. If it ends up being our home then I will show you before and after. Our kids LOVE the house and are already talking about when they move to their "big house".

Joseph is busy with work, church and family. He has had a few business trips here and there. Work has been crazy crazy busy, nothing new there. He's been out paint balling with the guys and is trying to find time to go shooting at the NRA. He just purchased a large fryer so he can deep fry a turkey on Thanksgiving (we will have a roasted turkey just in case it all goes terribly wrong). He took Abbey, Jack and Josh downtown with some friends last week and they enjoyed the Natural History museum. He makes taking 3 kids to do anything look easy. He chaperoned Abbey's fun run and she suckered him into being the only adult to run it.