Cousins

While we were in Atlanta for my nana's funeral we got to see my brother and sister-in-law for the first time in several years. All the kids enjoyed meeting their cousins, and they promptly encouraged one another to run around, play, and laugh together.

Between our two families there are 5 kids ages 5 and under. It makes me look forward to more family gatherings as our kids get older.

Autumn leaves

The girls have loved playing in all the leaves lately...

Throwing them up and burying each other!

And here's a much delayed photo of Penny's birthday cake. We celebrated several weeks ago (on the 21st), but I never got around to mentioning it yet. I guess that's how adult birthdays go with so many little ones around!

Happy Halloween!

We traveled on Halloween this year, so we did our trick-or-treating a few days early in downtown Kirkwood. The kids had fun going store to store and wearing their costumes.

Laine was an autumn princess, Mead a monkey, and Cole a race car driver.

His "helmet" kept him warm on a chilly night!

Here are Penny's pumpkin carvings for this year. The one on the left is an original scary face with fire eyes, and the one on the right is Tinkerbell, a sweet pumpkin for the girls. Penny's carving skills continue to amaze me!

Happy Birthday Cole!

Cole turned one yesterday. It's hard to believe it was only a year ago that he joined our family - it seems so normal to have him here!

We gave him a blueberry muffin for his first birthday celebration - a tradition for our family.

At first he wasn't so sure what to do with it!

Once we broke off a bite for him, he figured it out. And then he dove right in!

Afterward he got to open a few gifts - look at that excited face!

I also took him for his one year check-up yesterday. He is doing well now that he has recovered from getting tubes put it. Here's his stats: 27 lbs. 7 oz. (95%), 31 inches long (85%), and 48 cm head (90%). He is a big boy! We love you, Cole!!

Nana

My sweet Nana went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, October 23, 2011. She was 89 years old and had touched so many lives with her gentleness and kind words. Nana and Granddad lived just a few streets away from me as I grew up, so they were both very special to me.

Nana spent countless hours picking me up from school, driving me to piano and ballet lessons, and caring for me in the afternoons. I could always count on her to share a stick of gum or a delicious meal whenever I asked. And she created the most comfortable home to rest in whenever I stayed home sick from school.

I took my girls to see Nana in October 2009, and that is the last time I saw her. Her faithful letters and cards allowed us to stay connected regularly though. I am so thankful for everything she meant to me. I sure will miss you, Nana, but look forward to seeing you again in glory.

Smiles

Here's a few recent ones...

Amazingly enough, this was taken shortly after Cole had tubes put it. You'd never know he just came home from the hospital.

Our girls love giving silly smiles!

Neighborhood fun

One of our neighbors also attends our church, and they have a trampoline and tree swing in their backyard. They've given us an open invitation to come play at their house any time we want, so we've been taking them up on it lately.

The girls love to jump and run around on the trampoline.



And Laine especially loves the tree swing going as high as she possibly can.

What a fun way to spend some time outside during these beautiful fall days!