Fall Fun Part 2

Still waiting on the baby to come. Raking didn't help. :-)

Another comparison. Eloise last year and this year. The Lambie costume has served us well.

Halloweens Past and Present

Halloweens 2007, 2008, 2009. It's fun to see how Eloise has grown!

Single Digs

Today we hit single digs to our due date!! 9 and counting. She's welcome at any time though.

Cute Lexington Photo

Fall Fun

The leaves are falling and the air is crisp. We are getting out as much as we can while it's still nice outside. One of Eloise's favorite afternoon activities is to play with Oliver, no, really, play with Oliver's toys. She's perfected the art of luring Oliver out of the house, baiting him to bring his toys out, then whining loud enough that he gives her what she wants. Once she's happy (usually cruising down the hill on his plasma mobile), he returns inside to finish watching his television program. We finish riding and return the toy to Oliver. This happens multiple times a week.

Let Halloween week begin! Eloise has lots of opportunities to wear her cute Ladybug Princess outfit (and lots of opportunities to eat candy). Here we are at the neighborhood party.

After being turned down for seconds...

There was a saucer full of melted ice cream left under the home made ice cream bowl. I rounded the corner and caught Eloise on the table on all fours lapping up the leftovers. She impressed our friends that were over for dinner. And she made her daddy proud.

The Eloise Collection

Can't think of a title

There's not enough brain juice left to think of a title. Finished our Mark study in my mothers' Bible study today and overall, it was wonderful. After teaching, I'm always left with exhaustion. It really takes a lot of extroverted energy. Hopefully the pumpkin pie I just consumed (without a fork) will perk me back up.

Eloise is sick. She as the croup. Had anyone else heard of the croup before 2 years ago? That's when I first learned of it and its funky symptoms. (She sounds like a barking seal or dog when she coughs.) I swear the croup does not exist in Texas. Am I wrong?

We had a great trip to Lexington this past weekend. Unfortunately my hands were too full to take any noteworthy photos. I'm hoping to get some passed along to me and I'll post some then. Some highlights: a LONG drive from Dulles to Lex with Jen and Maury, sitting in Diggers just as we did 5 years ago 2 nights in a row, that means, being anti-social and not going to the Palms, Aunt Sarah's Saturday morning, coffee ice cream punch at the Srat house, eating in the dark on the front lawn Saturday night (NOT). It was wonderful to be with my clan again! Thank you Alex for taking one for the team--Eloise duty all weekend.

Aunt Lemma and Uncle Bob

Or, should we say "Grandma and Bob" came to DC. Eloise LOVED meeting her "Grandma and Bob" as she affectionately calls them. They showered her with the sweetest gifts and treated us all to a yummy dinner. It was so fun to visit with them even if it was for only a few hours.

Daddy-Daughter Hiking Trip

Last weekend, while I was away for our Mothers' Retreat, Alex and our friend Greg took the girls on a hike to Cunningham State Park. They had a wonderful time, and I was proud of our men's adventurous natures. The 3rd photo is of Eloise, Madeleine, and Claire sleeping on the rock. Eloise loves playing with her sweet friends--and their Mommy is pregnant with another girl too!

40 is Biblical, right?

Today my ticker tells me I have 40 days left of pregnancy. It's a special day. I know 40 is significant in many instances but the only one that immediately comes to mind is Noah's Ark. (Plus it's round, even, and relatively small!!)

A Sundry of Things

"A sundry of things" is something Bishop Salmon frequently says. Both Alex and I have really enjoyed working with him.

Yesterday was our Mothers Retreat. We went to a farm in Virginia which was beautiful and relaxing and enjoyed some great teaching and time away from the kiddos. Alex took Eloise hiking with Maddie and Claire's dad and had a great day too.

Here are some random photos we've recently received from my Mom.

"Family Dynamics" I like this one because my pregnant belly looks so cute! I think we've moved beyond the cute phase and in to the big phase. Plus, any picture taken with Moraine Park in the background is a winner.

Isn't this a great one? Do you think we're related? Hmm...

Change is in the Air

Change is in the air, indeed. Eloise is not only LOVING school and our new busy Fall schedule, but she's also greatly anticipating the baby's arrival. She talks about her and to her as if she's already here. It's really sweet. The baby is doing well, PRAISE GOD! We had yet another slip-up this week. The doctor forgot to give me my 28 week rhogam shot and a nurse discovered it at 33.5 weeks. There was a small chance I could become sensitized during the elapsed time but thankfully I was not. While I knew the chances were very slim, I was still a little anxious. I've had no major complaints in this pregnancy but quite a few minor scares. Such is life, I suppose, whether in-utero or out, children will always give us little scares.

There is also a literal change in the air. It's cool outside! And we love it! We headed to Homestead Farm today to pick apples and gather pumpkins. Eloise loved the "cute" animals, picking apples (you do this with a lacrosse looking stick), and picking out pumpkins for the family. What a Fun, Festive, Fantastic Friday.

The Bounty.

Daddy's pumpkin, Mommy's pumpkin, Eloise's pumpkin, Baby's pumpkin

My Birthday

I had a wonderful birthday--thank you to you all for contributing to such a wonderful day. Alex invited our neighbors over Thursday night for cake and homemade ice cream. Check it out--we've become such ice cream snobs that we now only want to make our own. We love it!

First Day of School

Today was Eloise's first day of school. She had a great day. Her teacher even said she was the "model student." We're so proud of our little, or not so little, girl. (Too bad our camera has a smudge.)