Bear's Birthday Party...

Why not have a birthday party for Zoe's favorite stuffed animal "Bear"?? I thought it was a great idea when Zoe suggested it. Turns out bear was turning five...who knew?! So we spent the entire day celebrating for bear. We got dressed in our special birthday dresses, we made decorations, we invited all the stuffed animals, we made cupcakes, we wrapped presents, and we sang happy birthday. It was quite the fun, except for the part where we totally trashed the house...and the part where Zoe told me at the end of the day, "Momma, tomorrow is bear's wedding!" ;)

Better late then never....Halloween

So cute trick-o-treatin' with friends! Gage was hysterical and surprised me with how quickly he figured it all out. He insisted upon doing it himself, and if we walked by a house the didn't look "open", he still tried pulling on my arm as if saying, "Come on Mom, we forgot this one!!" He even managed to master saying "Trick or Treat" and even thank you.

The two cutest mermaids ever! I actually made the girls costumes, Zoe and her best friend Emily decided together to be Mermaids (complete with their seaweed feather boa), and I decided to make their costumes which of course had to be an exact match.
My little Lizard? Dragon? Dinosaur? Gage. No matter what you thought he was, he was cute!

At Zoo Boo with Mimi! So cold and rainy, but so fun to all be together!

Fall Fun with Preschool...

Zoe has such a special preschool, one that meets in our church building one day a week. She absolutely adores it, and has so much fun each week.
Earlier this fall Zoe's school took a field trip to a pumpkin farm and we had so much fun. It was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g cold and rainy, but it kept the crowds down so we essentially had the whole place to ourselves.

We had fun on a hayride, and fun picking out pumpkins.

Fun at the petting zoo

And fun in the corn and straw maze!

My sweet muffin...

Gage is 18 months now, and I have plans to take some bear pictures, but until then I can't resist posting just how stinkin' cute he is these days. It seems like within the last few weeks he has really come into his own, and is so full of personality. He is my little wild man and I love him wildly. His newest favorite thing is to splash and "piddle" in water. So much so that he can't hear running water without dropping whatever he is doing so that he can play in the water. He can see me reaching for the faucet and he already is dragging chair across the floor. He is so cute about it, and I really don't mind since he (for the most part) is really good about keeping the water in the sink! He loves turning lights on and off, and lights up (no pun intended) when he sees a light switch.
He still sits in his high chair for most meals, but has started to enjoy sitting at the table eating off a plate occasionally. He loves his Bible story at bedtime, and reading his Bible throughout the day. His vocabulary is totally taking off, he now regularly says, Momma, Daddy, Bella, More, Milk, Bubbles, Bible, All Done, Thank you, Elmo and Water. There are many words that he has said once but hasn't started using on a regular basis. My heart melted on Sunday when I heard Gage say Zoe for the first time. He demonstrates a clear understanding of the things we say to him, and of our expectations for him. When we pray for dinner, he sits and hold hands with us. He follows commands, (for example he is able to go get his shoes when I ask him or put something back/away), and he continues to use the toilet. Gage is adventurous, sweet, passionate, curious, and a problem solver.We adore this sweet little guy SO much!

Momma and Zoe...

This past Saturday Zoe and I had our first Momma and Zoe date. It was such a special day. It was such an incredible blessing to spend the day having fun together and focusing on only Zoe. We woke up early and spent the morning getting ready together, doing all sorts of girlie things like painting our nails, and dressing up. Then off we went for the Circus. We got there in time for the pre-show and was able to enjoy meeting all the stars of the show. Zoe got to try on some Circus clothes, and see all sorts of fun things up close. The whole experience was incredibly over stimulating. When we first walked in, Zoe was so mesmerized, although clearly overwhelmed. It was too much for her little nervous system, she was totally shaking at first. Although I was a little worried at first, she quickly warmed up to everything going on around her. I haven't been to the circus in forever, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was totally and completely unprepared for how hard they would be pushing the hugely overpriced junk food and toys. Even with all the peddling of junk, Zoe didn't once even ask for anything, she was sweet and gracious. During the show the main clown/MC came out and sat down right next to us. The spot light came on and he tried giving Zoe a high five, although she just stared at him like he was crazy. Her favorite part was the high wire act, and the elephants!
After the show we headed to the store to buy her the new Barbie she has been saving her money for. (As a side note: We are working with Zoe on learning the concept of money, and giving. So in order to do this, we have to give her money. So we give her our loose change, which she puts in her bank. Each Sunday she takes out money to put in the collection, and she can save the rest for things she wants to buy. Ever since she bought her cousin her birthday present, she has been saving for a princess Barbie doll). I decided it would be fun to let her buy her doll as part of our date, and I actually let her upgrade and got her the matching horse too! It was the cutest thing ever to see her interacting with the cashier, to see her pride in her new doll, and her gratitude for getting her the horse too. She was SO excited, it was almost too much!After buying her the doll, we were off to lunch at the restaurant of her choice. We had such a special time, laughing and playing at lunch. It was such a great day, and will be etched in my memory forever. Especially Zoe's sweet words uttered on our way home, "Momma, thank you for such a special day. I love you".

Fall and the Leaves...

We had SO much fun jumping and playing in the leaves with Zoe and Gage. The kids and I left the actually mulching and cleaning up part to Rob, but had so much fun being his awesome helpers. It has been nice to actually enjoy some warm fall days lately. It has been a nice blessing to the depression that the time change brings. The time change is such an adjustment to me. The days become so short and it is so challenging to not allow it to mess with my thoughts and attitude about the day. The fall is such a fun beautiful time (minus the stinkin' time change of course), so we have tried to make the most of enjoying it.

Where has this month gone?

I feel like I just can't quite catch my breath. I am so tired of being so tired and busy. This month has been no exception. I find myself cringing when people ask me how I am because I know my instinct response is, "good...tired, busy" and I am SO tired of just hearing myself be tired. As a result of the pace of our lives I haven't blogged as often as I would have liked to, and so this week I will attempt to catch us up on some of the major happenings, starting with celebrating Rob's birthweek. Rob's 31st birthday was earlier this month. He was out of town on his birthday, so we celebrated a week later. Each day during the week we surprised Rob with meals out, decorations around the house (and at his office), presents, homemade (beautifully decorated) cupcakes at church, and a quiet dinner (after the kids went to bed). We threw Rob a party and had a lot of fun celebrating with dear friends. My favorite day though was when we left the kids and headed downtown to the House of B to see Rob's favorite Band in concert. It was SO much fun. We discovered an awesome new bbq place, and had such a great time. Overall it was a great week, to celebrate my great husband's life - I would be lost without him! Regretfully, the only picture I have to show from it is Zoe helping Rob blow out his candles, pictures were a last priority in the midst of all the partying.