The Chronicles of Emery and Elle: October is flying by...

My, it's been too long since last posting! I don't like that I haven't had time to write good posts on the blog, because it's something that I really enjoy doing. What happened to the time that I used to have? Maybe it's because we've been enjoying the beautiful fall weather so much lately, and have been busy outside. I'm not quite sure! Either way, my goal today is to get a blog post done. Emery has already proven to be difficult. He hasn't wanted to nap much today. Elle, on the other hand, has been sleeping for the past 1 1/2 hours without a peep. Usually it's quite the opposite!

To catch up on what you've missed while I've been away, we made a lovely family trip to Arizona the first week of October to visit my brother Eric. It was Elle's first time on an airplane, and Emery's 3rd. They traveled very very well, even with the time change. I was nervous about it at first, but just going with the flow worked and they both got in naps and slept pretty well each day. We also went on a fun morning visit to Tanganyika Wildlife Park the day after getting back from Arizona. It was chilly that morning and actually ended up raining on us while we were there! But, had fun while it lasted. Patrick had to work all weekend, so Elle & I took a girl's trip up to Kansas City to meet up with my friend Suzy and my cousin, Lauren (Elle's Godmother), last weekend and Emery got to spend some time in Osage City with all four grandparents. It was a blast. Emery did great staying without us...I don't think he even asked where we were the whole time because he was so busy having fun and being spoiled! Elle did wonderful. She is such an easy traveler and goes with the flow so well. This past Saturday, we took a trip to the Klausmeyer Dairy and Pumpkin Patch. The day was beautiful. Emery ran around and played, we watched the pig races, and we had a fun time picking out a few pumpkins. We have also enjoyed lots of outside time playing, taking walks, going to the park, and taking trips to the zoo. As you can see, October really has been pretty busy!

In addition to all of that fun stuff, we've also had a bit of a tough time needing to find a new daycare provider. Emery and Elle will transition to their new provider this Friday. It's a hard thing to think about, but also we are really looking forward to this new opportunity for our family. Their new provider, Carrie, seems wonderful, and we can't wait to see how well Emery and Elle enjoy their new friends, toys, and activities there. God blessed us and answered my many many prayers just in time. It was a long 2 month hunt for just the right fit, but I think we found it. We are blessed.

Halloween is quickly upon us, and Emery has been so excited about his costume. He's going to be a KC Royals baseball player. And, if you ask him, he's going to be Melky Cabrera, his favorite player!

[Edit to add...this sat unfinished from 3:30 pm until now, 9:30 pm...once nap time was over, so was my "free" time...so that's what happened to it!]

Elle is all set to be the cutest bumble bee around. She has a yellow and black tutu, a striped diaper with a stinger, wings, and an antennae! I'm so excited about her little costume. I've had it planned for probably 3 months!

We plan to take the kids to Old Cowtown next Saturday morning for their Trick or Treat event. We also get to wear costumes to playgroup this Wednesday, Saturday night is a Harvest Party at a local church we are going to with friends, and Monday afternoon we're going to a little party at daycare.

In kid updates, Elle will be 6 months old on Nov. 5th. I cannot believe it!! Time flies by and she's already half way to being 1. It just doesn't seem fair that our baby is growing up so fast. Last night we fed her her first baby food: squash! She seemed to enjoy it, but if you can tell from the photos, she is a fan of food! She loves to eat. She is also starting to really sit up well! So well that I was able to take Halloween photos of her tonight without fear of her falling flat on her face! She has yet to roll from her back to her tummy, as she has always hated tummy time. But, it doesn't seem to be delaying any sort of progress. Emery is talking and talking and talking. I got an email from Babycenter saying "Your 33 month old should be saying 4-5 word sentences." Well, I'm here to tell you, Emery's sentences are usually 16-17 words! He doesn't stop! He often talks in sequences: Emery woke up from his nap, then he went outside, and then he played baseball." He always always talks in the third person. I'm not sure why. Some of the things he comes up with often surprise Patrick and I. A good one recently when we were in Arizona, we were driving by some fruit trees and I asked "Are those orange trees?" and Emery mater-of-factly said "Those aren't orange trees, their GREEN!" There is never a dull moment with that kiddo!

Patrick and I celebrated our 6th anniversary on Friday. We were lucky enough to go out to a movie and dinner that evening. It was a wonderful time away for a few hours, just the two of us. This year marks twelve years together. Time has go so fast and we've been through so much together. It really is amazing to look back and think about all the steps we've taken right next to each other. Wouldn't change it for the world.

Well, hopefully I'll be able to post another blog post before too long. I at least hope I can do more than one entry the month of November! I'll do my best to get on here and update with Elle's 6 month stats in a week or so!

Until next time, I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful fall weather! Enjoy the photos!

ARIZONA