3 months

Oh my sweet Emeline is 3 months old already! Oh my how this time with has has flown! I'm so loving having a little peanut again and adding two big ones to the mix actually has been really fun. Don't think there are not moments of crazy, but seeing the big girls grow in their new roles has been really entertaining! Watching them both "nurse" their baby dolls has been hysterical and we have regular baptism services around here...the most interesting ones are the ones that take place while they are taking a shower!

Emeline is has become a very predictable and content baby. She sleeps 12-13 hrs at a time and eats 4 times a day about 6 oz. each feeding. She is very temperature sensitive with her bottles. SHe likes them HOT which can be a challenge when we are out and about... (so if anyone has found a bottle warmer that plugs into the car or a can coozie for avent bottles, point me in that direction!). Emeline smiles often and easily and hands out a giggles every so often, but you have to work for them a little. She rolled over tummy to back at 2 months, but doesn't do it very often. She likes her tummy time and has a very strong neck and back. She is slowly creeping towards 6 month clothes which is way sooner than my other girls and makes me sad that she's getting so big so fast, but such is life. At the same time I'm daily thankful that she is a good eater and is growing healthy and strong! Such a blessing!

Tomorrow will be 5 years ago that I became a mommy, (Woah.) and my middle sister is looking ahead to starting this phase in her life in April. Each time I see her and her lil belly bump I cannot help but be so excited for her to experience the richness that children will bring to her and her husbands life. I think In some ways I didnt really become "me" fully till I had children. You finally let o of some of those selfish and childish pieces of yourself and begin to really examine what you want to impart upon your children and what parts of yourself need to me "refined" so you dont pass those parts along. Sure its hard, unglamorous, and chaotic at times, but oh my. Wouldn't trade it for the world. So thankful that God gave us Eme to savor this experience one more time!

Lil Turkeys

Oh how I love my lil turkeys and Thanksgiving! It just may be my favorite Holiday for oh so many reasons. Our day usually goes like this...huge lunch with the Knotts, some family bonding, then heading over to the Hooglands for some bowling, leftovers and then BINGO as a appetizer for Christmas! Its lots of food, family laughs, and tradition. All things I am so thankful for! :)

The big surprise this year was how much ANabelle LOVED bowling. Not too much gets a huge rise out of this one, but she has caught the bug! She was giddy EVERY time she went up to bowl and would shake and dance the whole time it rolled down the alley and then huge Celebration when it hits...no matter the pin count. It never got old!
I tried to capture it a bit on "film" but even pics wouldnt do it justice.

Baptism

November 20th was such a special day as we promised our sweet girl back to the one who knit her together! :) We were so blessed to have so many family and friends around us!

Saucy!!!

What a difference a year can make! Last year we picked apples in the FREEZING cold and this year we were all..."glowing" by the end of our trip to the orchard on an 80 degree day! Two other differences this year, Emeline and Auntie Kate! We are SO SO happy Kate and Austin that they are living close by now so that she can join us on all our fun excursions!





We picked and picked...and overshot a bit on our haul this year. We maybe misremembered what we had done in the past and got 3 bushels this year (6 bags!!). It didnt seem like that much, until we got home and started making the applesauce!

But of course we had to make a pit stop at the pie pantry before we began all the hard work!

I didnt post any pics of the process because its a heavily guarded family secret...

no really it is!


Or maybe we all were so gross after 6 hrs of steam in our faces and 57 containers of sauce that I thought some of the ladies may shoot me if I posted them!

Pumpkin Patch

This year we took the girls to a patch not far from our house to choose their pumpkins. It was a little muddy and cold, but we got the job done and the girls enjoyed looking for just the right one.

We all worked hard to carve them...the girls drew the faces they wanted or (used stencils for the shapes) and Brad and I cut them. We teamed up on Emelines pumpkin, but I'm sure next year she'll be able to get more in on the action!

Fall Fiesta

The last couple years, our friends the Anemas and ourselves have thrown a fall party at our barn. This year, we had all the kiddos dress up in their costumes which made it that much more fun :)


We started the night with a hay ride from "Farmer Tim"...one of the perks of living in the sticks!



Then we had pizza and a bunch of fall treats.

Then we had a candy hunt outside and a fire out by the fire pit. The we brought the kids in to do some fall crafts...A ghost and a spider :)


At the end of the night, the kids were so hopped up on sugar they began an impromptu dance party :)

We're so lucky to have such a fun group of friends (with some awesome kiddos) to spend time with! Can wait till next year!

Fall Camping at RIver Ridge

Brad had a great idea a few months ago...he planned a fall camping weekend for after the baby was born. He was going to take just the big girls so I could have some time at home with just the babe. So sweet, right? Well, Emeline came and we all adjusted pretty well and when it came right down to it, it seemed silly for us all not to go! We packed up and headed to River RIdge which hosts a Halloween weekend the first week in Oct. The weather was in the 80s in the day and 50s at night which was PERFECT! We had such an awesome time! There were tons of activities and everyone was in the Halloween spirit! All the campers decorated their trailers and participated in the pumpkin roll. The pumpkin roll involves each lot bringing a pumpin which bears their lot number and putting it into a trailer. All the pumpkins are then shoved out of the trailer at the top of a huge hill and sent careening down the hill while everyone lines the street! The first pumpkin to the bottom wins a free nights camping! Then the kids find theirs back and climb back up the hill to trhow them down the grass hill which ends in a parking lot and tons of smashed pumpkins! The kids run down and make sure every last one is broken to bits! We also went to the craft barn and did some trick or treating! Anabelle was so cute, after I painted her face, I was her looking at herself in the mirror and she started to cry! She was scared of her own face! What a sensitive soul! Emeline did great the whole weekend, she only woke up once a night and slept in the closet right next to our bed :) Cant wait till she can join in the fun!
















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