October

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. 

- Lucy Maud Montgomery

October was a month of adventure for us. We welcomed friends whenever possible, and we flew across the country to see another dear friend marry her beloved. Our trip to New Jersey was filled with, well, lots of praying Daniel would make it on flights (he was flying standby), entertaining our darling third wheel, and soaking in time with my college roommates. We are so lucky to get time with almost all of them (one of our honorary roommates lives many countries away). We've all changed, but stayed the same even more.

Then came our first snow of the year! It was heavy and wet, and Mlada refuses to wear gloves. We had 95% of the necessary snow gear... so really not too bad! 

In the proper Colorado way, the weather almost immediately became lovely again... at least lovely enough to go wandering out in the almost-melted snow in jammies.

Our reading and snuggling time has also ramped up in a perfectly wonderful way. Emílie's quilt gets pulled off the back of the couch a hundred times a day, and I love it. 

 Oh, and of course: dance parties. Mlada has been breaking out the moves. The time change and lack of light in our day puts us all in a mood at least a few times a day, so books and music are our go-to mood lifters. If all else fails, it's naptime or an episode of Little Bear.

We also said good-bye, or rather, see you as soon as physically possible, to one of our favorite families. As hard as it always is to see friends move away, they are going somewhere so wonderful that makes it a bit easier. 

We attempted the traditional pumpkin patch visit, but oh my, it was cold! We waited a bit too late in the month, our early freeze had destroyed most of the poor pumpkins, and the wind went right through these little sweeties. We came home with one lovely misshapen guy and a little one for each kiddo.

Anni had a two day "autumn intermission", so Daniel took the same days off to give us some extra family time. We made it to the zoo and it was really the best time I've had there in a long time! We explored some areas we hadn't been to, and with Mlada's newfound recognition of animals, it was just all joy. 

And finally, the month closed out with Halloween. Anni gets to dress up for school as anything they had studied, so she was autumn. The tattoos were probably a poor choice since we are still trying to scrub them off a week later, but it was such fun at the time!

Miss Mlada spent the day dressed up as her Aunt Tinie in one of  her namesake's shirts from her own toddlerhood, which was just fun.

The crowning jewel! Our little Moana (dressed for a chilly evening in Colorado rather than a tropical climate), a wee little elephant, and our very own Space Cadette Colette. 

And that. is that. Here's to the next month of adventure!

Snow Day

7 Quick Takes Friday

I decided I'd join in on the "7 Quick Takes" this week.  Easy way to share our week without too much brain energy...

1. Anni is POTTY-TRAINED!  I'm not saying she'll never have another accident, because, well, I just can't promise that.  But we're on our fourth day (and soon to be night!) in panties only.  Thank goodness we ran out of diapers and just decided to grin and bear it.  That being said, I'm really glad we took the slow train and let her do things her way... we definitely don't need one more reason for tantrums and tears (from any of us) around here.

2. Colette sleeps sometimes... this is a big, happy deal.  That's all.
 

Oh, and then she wakes up like this:

 So, pretty much, life is good.

3. It's still snowy... stillllll.  I'm really grateful for the precipitation (for our state, not really for me, I have no yard, therefore no garden that notices that we're in a drought), but I'd love it if we could transition into a nice spring rain now.  Maybe? 

Maybe I should drop the dreams of Anni's 3 year pictures having any sort of green in them... cuz it doesn't look like that's happening quite yet.  At least I've been trying to get creative with snow-y crafts so we aren't so bored being trapped inside (well, Anni, I'm an introverted introvert of the homebody type and it takes some serious prying to get me to leave my cozy little home... disaster that it is).  Anyway, Anni got her first go at scissors annnnd we brought some snow inside. 

4. Oh, yeah, Anni is turning THREE in less than 3 weeks.  eek!  When did this itty bitty baby

grow up and become, not a baby, not a toddler, but a little girl?!  I'm not sure what our birthday plans are for our sweet gal as we're leaving for Kansas the next day.  Thoughts welcome.

5. Daniel and I celebrated 5 years since we started dating this week... and by celebrating I mean that he completely surprised me flowers by sneaking them up from the car after I'd gone to bed and then we skipped going out because I'd already been out in the freezing snow/rain with girls the entire afternoon and while we had a babysitter for Anni, Lettie is still definitely in the "mommy is not letting you out of my sight" phase.  Soooo... we ordered pizza and didn't go straight to bed the instant Lettie was down for her longer stretch... nope, we watched Dr. Who... romance at its finest :).

Us... just a couple of weeks after we started dating... it's a good story, someday I'll tell you all about it.

6. I love my sister's homesteading life. It just makes me smile every time she tells me about their new adventure (and... I love mooching off of her delicious produce!)

7. We're still house hunting!  I'm accepting the fact that I may need to keep practicing patience for several more months... things are just not easy for buyers in our area!  Here's hopin'!

Find more 7 Quick Takes at Camp Patton.

Pregnancy Questionnaire

I decided I'd round out my due date week with one last silly little pregnancy questionnaire.  Really, I'm just too lazy to form enough thoughts of my own for a well put together blog post.

How far along: 40 weeks, 4 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: It has ended up being around 30 pounds - a number I'm totally okay with :).  It's stayed pretty steady the last couple of weeks, though, and I'm just glad that my little gal has gotten relatively good nutrition this pregnancy (although my occasional obsession with pizza in the last trimester may beg to differ...)

Maternity clothes: Honestly, I only wear my maternity pants when I go out now, because the elastic bands tend to slip down now that my belly is, well, huge :).  I'm loving my comfy sweat/yoga/pj pants and my hubby's big t-shirts.  As you can see by the photo (which I'm a little embarrassed by, but also love at the same time), I don't even own a coat that fits me (maternity sweater, yes, which I wear whenever I won't be out too long).

Stretch marks: Oh, yes!  I had several already from my first pregnancy, but the last few weeks I've added some new ones... lots of itchiness, but I know they'll fade somewhat and be much less itchy once this little one comes along :).

Sleep: I've really hit the "it's really hard to sleep" stage in the last couple of weeks.  Between having to go to the bathroom often and needing to switch sides as each one starts to get sore after an hour or so (rolling over is a big production now), I'm definitely feeling a little sleep deprived.

Best moment last week: hmmm... I think just anticipating.  It's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster as our doctor mentioned that he would like to induce when I reach 42 weeks (or before, but, despite my timidity with doctors, I was able to get across that I would really like to give her as much of a chance as possible to come all on her own).  We also thought we had found a house on my due date (the sellers apparently really wanted us to have it for a variety of reasons), but then lost it in the same day when another bidder offered far and above the asking price (to the excess that we definitely couldn't compete).  I have loved Anni loving on her baby sister.  Today, I was putting some things away in her room while she worked on her breakfast and she called out, "Mommy!  Can I say 'I love you, big sister?"  (She mixes up who is the "big" sister and who is the "little" sister.)  I came out and she gave big kisses and hugs to my belly... I just love it!

Movement: Oh, so much!  This little girl is a squirmer.  I can tell she's a little restricted on space, but she makes the most of it.

Food cravings: Fresh fruit and pizza-like things :). 

Gender: Sweet, sweet, baby girl!

Labor signs: Lots and lots of pre-labor, even a night of consistent contractions where we thought "this is it", but hasn't advanced enough to head to the hospital. 

Belly button - in or out? It's sooooo close to being out, we'll see if it makes it out before this little one does!

What I miss: Mobility, sleep, and my patience :).

What I am looking forward to: Holding this sweet girl and officially giving her a name!

Milestones: It's time!

I wasn't planning on joining Daniel and Anni in the snow yesterday... but then decided I better just do it while I could!  So, here I am in sweats and a winter coat that doesn't fit, coming in from the snow with my chilled little girls! 

Changin' Fast

I feel like we've been in a bit of a twilight zone for the past couple of weeks.  I mean, has it really been two weeks since our day at the corn maze?!  My brain can't seem to wrap itself around that fact.

Two weeks ago it was warm, fall-ey, and can I just mention that I think my husband is super handsome?

Mentioned.

Following Anni's little, erm, overflow on the way home from the corn maze, we didn't leave the house for nearly a week. 

And then, just as she stopped waking up in the middle of the night to share whatever we had attempted to satiate her "hungee" tummy with, I joined the club.

Pregnancy and stomach bugs are a strange, unhappy combination.  I would get sick if I didn't eat (pregnancy) and would definitely get sick if I did (stomach bug).  Luckily, a couple days of Anni getting to watch way more of the PBS app than she ever has, Daddy coming home early when he could, and me lying as still as I could, and we were kind of back in business.

Because, you know, two days after picking up the bug, I had my last wedding to shoot and an engagement the next.  I think I'm still recovering from that weekend... luckily my clients are amazing and I'm ever so grateful I get these chances to document their lives.

The following days were full of editing, mommying and more editing and then some extra toddler cuddles to make up for all of the working.  Knowing that this season of being able to concentrate so fully on our sweet, quirky, happy, little two-year-old is quickly coming to an end, I've been trying to take more time to breathe in those happy little moments of right now.

Recently, our "little" Nugget's personality is shining through loud and clear.  She spends nap time singing, usually her own made-up songs.  She loves to sit and read not only her own books, but mommy and daddy's as well (it works well for her that we just leave piles of our books on our nightstands). 

She gets me moving more than anything else could during this pregnancy.  As much as my mind does a little tired yelp when she so sweetly requests, "Mommy, dance wif me?" I know there isn't anything, anything at all, else that I should be doing at that moment.

Just shy of two weeks after that warm fall day in the corn stalks... we had our first big snow!  It actually started the evening I had safe environment training and I felt like a little kid who didn't listen to their mama when I walked out into several inches of snow and had to brush off my car in short sleeves.

Luckily, oatmeal cookies and homemade hot chocolate were on the menu when I reached home, so it all balanced out.  

I am definitely a fall/spring girl, but the cold is worth it to see Anni's pure excitement at the snow (especially that it was "in the twees").  When we first peeked outside to look at it yesterday morning, she informed me, "It's so booo-tiful mommy."  I've heard "I wuff the snow," more than once in the last two days... I think it's going to be a good winter (though I will quite, quite happily welcome fall and it's more temperate beauty back for a few more weeks with our warm spell next week).

One downside to our little winter storm has been that the moon is hidden by clouds in the evenings.  In the past week, Anni has added to our nighttime routine by requesting to go out on the porch after prayers.  She'll point out all that she sees (cars, trees, clouds, moon and lights) and then tell each of them good night before we head back in to bed.  The last night we could see the moon, she informed Daniel, "I want to hold the moon, Daddy."

 I am continually amazed, and humbled, by this sweet girl growing up before my eyes.  I am so grateful to have the chance to grow and learn with her.    

Have a beautiful weekend, my friends!