Announcing........

In case you didn't know, we had a baby!! Obviously if you read this blog, you know that happened about 2 months ago. I had Sharon at Redbud Designs create this adorable invite for me, and Sara McDaniel of Beloved Photography took the precious photo. I sent them out a little late, but I think for a third child it was miraculous to get any sent out at all. The bad news is, several have come back to me because I either forgot the stamp, mixed up the addresses, I couldn't find your updated address or whatever other reason you can think of. I apparently wasn't thinking clearly as I was rushed to get them out before it was time to send out Christmas cards. So, if you didn't get one and thought you should have, please don't think ill of me. Just know that I don't currently have it together, and at the rate I'm going may never get it together!

You're Invited

We're having the holiday shoppe again this year for those of you interested. So, if you're looking for a unique holiday gift, or would like to treat yourself to something new you'll have to come check us out. Join us Monday, December 14, for food, fun and shopping! We had a blast last year, and anticipate that this year will be even better.

I Made It!

As most of you know, I'm not really the crafty type. Just like with anything I do, I have to know that it's going to be easy and not require a lot of skill, time or patience. But, I really like applique style stuff, especially for the holidays, so I thought I'd try to make Christmas shirts for the girls. It was a super cheap project, so I figured if it didn't turn out it wouldn't be a big deal. For once, I was actually pleased with the results.

8 Weeks

Yet again, I can't believe how fast time is flying. It doesn't seem like Lincoln can possibly be 8 weeks old already. He is quite the strong little guy, and still an easy baby that just takes it all in. It's been a while since I last posted, so I just thought I'd leave you with a couple pics of the little guy. He seems to change daily, and I'm not doing a very good job of keeping up.

Of course, one pic with his sidekick. If she can help it, this girl is never more than an arm's length away from her little brother.

Bike Ride

Londyn tried to ride her bike this afternoon with no training wheels, and was quite successful. (for a short ride anyway) As you can tell, she's a little excited! Perfect timing since she has asked Santa for a big bike for Christmas:)

Star Wars

The girls were invited to a Star Wars party tonight. We had not yet introduced them to Star Wars, so they had no idea what to expect. I wasn't going to get them costumes, but Kevin found a 75% off sale and purchased a couple of costumes, including one for himself. (child size might I add) However, two girls and only one Princess Leia costume didn't go over too well. With much bribery, Londyn agreed to be a storm trooper and Skylar got to be Princess Leia. Neither were thrilled with their new look. Skylar made the comment, "I thought the princess would be prettier." Londyn said, "Will you make sure no one laughs at me?" If you look closely into the eyes of the storm trooper, you will find a very disgruntled little girl.

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with the post, I just didn't want him to feel left out. Now that I think of it, he was wearing his Darth Vader shirt today. That would've been more appropriate.

S-p-e-l-l-i-n-g

The days of spelling things so that your kids don't know what you're saying are over at this house. As Skylar has learned more and more at school, her newest love is spelling. She likes to spell things out to us in conversation, and of course, if we spell anything out, she usually figures out what we're trying to say. I'm r-e-a-l-l-y e-x-c-i-t-e-d t-h-a-t s-h-e l-i-k-e-s t-o p-r-a-c-t-i-c-e h-e-r s-k-i-l-l-s, b-u-t q-u-i-t-e f-r-a-n-k-l-y, m-y h-e-a-d h-u-r-t-s f-r-o-m- w-or-k-i-n-g s-o h-a-r-d t-o f-i-g-u-r-e o-u-t w-h-a-t s-h-e i-s t-r-y-i-n-g t-o s-a-y!

A Beautiful Day

The colors of leaves this year have been amazing, and until today, I hadn't taken a single opportunity to get a picture of them. I was nearly too late, as most of the beautiful leaves had fallen, but at least the girls had a great time playing in them. It was an absolutely beautiful day today as we entered November, you can't beat 70 and sunny. The girls had the best time running, fighting and playing in the leaves. It was the perfect Sunday afternoon in the park. As usual, Lincoln slept through it all.

Halloween Eve

This post is a little out of order, but I'm sure you'll get over that:) Considering that Friday was the last school day before halloween, both girls had events going on in which they had to dress accordingly. Miraculously, I remembered, and had the correct attire without having to purchase a thing. (I know this doesn't mean much to you, but is very exciting to me!) Londyn dressed and ready for the pumpkin run. (Londyn came home and informed me that there were tons of other people wearing her shirt. Sorry honey, it's the $5 shirt from Target that they have every year. Of course, there were other kids wearing it, but I'm sure you were the cutest!)

Skylar dressed and ready for the harvest festival. (I'm totally getting my money's worth out of this western wear I purchased last year!)

Lincoln has been an amazing addition to our family, but we still love our girl time. Londyn has been driving me crazy all week, so I thought we probably needed to spend some quality time together. One of her favorite things to do is paint her nails, so we started out our evening with a visit to Target to purchase some nail polish, and snagged a hot chocolate at Starbucks.

We chatted over chocolate,

and painted nails for Halloween.

HaPPy HaLLoWeeN!

We had a busy but great day today celebrating Halloween. Everyone, of course, had to sport a Halloween themed shirt during the day and costumes at night. We made a Halloween cookie pizza, Carved a pumpkin, (I just realized I didn't take a picture of the finished product.)

(We're a little late on the pumpkin carving, but better late than never, right?)

and went trick-or-treating!

Lincoln missed the whole thing, but did sleep in his skeleton costume in honor of the occasion. In between our mini Halloween adventures, we managed to get the house cleaned up and ready for a busy week ahead as I will be back at work Tuesday. All I have to say about that is BOO!

Dreams Do Come True

Really, does it get better than this?

(Sara, thanks for the beautiful picture.)

Because..

Costumes and Carnivals

The flapper,

the bumblebee,

and the skeleton that looks more like a bag of bones. ( I think he likes his costume.)

After getting their faces painted at the church carnival

All three kids in costumes, eyes open and looking in the direction of the camera, a nearly impossible feat!

A Bad Idea....

Agreeing to chaperone a kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin patch with an infant on the most freezing day of the year was indeed a bad idea. I feel that I'm pretty well aware of things that will stress me out and I usually try to plan accordingly. However, sometimes I let what I want to do get the best of me. Skylar actually wanted me to go on the field trip with her, and considering that I teach, this opportunity doesn't come along very often. So, I couldn't resist. I don't know why, but I didn't ask anyone to keep Lincoln. Thank heavens he is an amazing baby, and just goes with the flow as long as he is fed, but at the patch, it's not like I could put him in a stroller or do anything with him besides hold him. I'm sure the teachers and every other parent thought I was a complete idiot and a useless addition to the group as the saw me show up with a baby bundle, but somehow it managed to work. No one wandered away from my group (of course, I had an easy group thanks to the teacher), and I even got a few pics of Skylar on her first field trip. I overheard a mom saying she forgot her camera, so I told her she could use mine to take pics of her kid if she would snap a few of mine considering I didn't have a free hand. Under most circumstances, I probably wouldn't have begged someone to take pics for me, but there was no way I was going to spend an entire day lugging a baby around in the freezing cold and not come back with a picture. So, here you go, Skylar with her kindergarten class on her first ever field trip! Mrs. Goss's Kindergarten class

Skylar with her friend watching the video presentation

Milking a cow

Riding the tire swing horses

On the hayride

The perfect pumpkins

One Month

I can't believe how quickly the last 4 weeks have flown by, and this little guy is already growing like a weed. Lincoln is a great baby, and we are all head over heels in love with him. He's starting to be awake a little more, and take everything in. This isn't the best picture, but I love his shirt and cargo jeans. ( I thought I wouldn't be as tempted to buy boy clothes, but so far that isn't the case.)

Lincoln in his button up, just like daddy.

Kickin' it in spiderman onesie and sweats. (purchased by his father I might add, it's not all me this time.)

This is him about 5 minutes ago. Love those big dark eyes and full cheeks. You may also notice his hair is falling out. Between that and the absence of a neck he slightly resembles a little old man:)

The worst part of this one month birthday is that it means I have to go back to work in two weeks which I am so not ready to do.