Fall Fun!

Isabel all dressed up for "Orange" day at pre-school!

Caitlin had a class Halloween party. They made bat fridge magnets, lollipop ghosts, paper plate pumpkins, decorated sugar cookies and goody bags! She had a blast and I enjoyed helping out her classmates with making their goody bags!

Isabel and I went on a class field trip to the pumpkin farm! This is Isabel and her pumpkin!

Caitlin's school has an annual Fall Carnival. This year they had an amazing face painting artist! The girls LOVED their butterflies!

Happy Halloween

The girls had a great Halloween! Caitlin was Sleeping Beauty, Isabel was Cinderella and Ava was a black kitty cat!

Caitlin and the Tooth Fairy

October 14th
Caitlin finally lost her first tooth! Well her first teeth...with some assistance from her daddy and some dental floss! The tooth fairy came and she got a whole two dollars in "real" money...quarters!

5 months...Already?!

Ava is 5 months old today!
She weighs appx. 17lbs, and is appx. 28 in tall!
She is a growing girl!
Today she had her first jar of baby food...SQUASH! It went a lot better than when she first tried the rice or oatmeal cereal! I was so impressed...she actually finished the entire thing. Ava is gooing and oooing like crazy...talking is most definitely her favorite thing to do. She graces us with her beautiful smile all day and you can't help but to smile back! She has started to show interest in some of her toys now. She "plays" the piano on her entertainment center table and likes to watch the flashing colors. She is still really into the t.v. Her favorite toys are her baby Einstein teething ring and her red teething hoop....Needless to say I think we might be starting to teeth, everything she gets goes in her mouth! She can roll over form her front to her back, but just as Caitlin and Isabel did she refuses to roll back! She is getting lots of sleep heading to bed at 8/8:30 and sleeping until anywhere from 5 to 7 in the morning! Plus her cat naps and a good long nap or two! Having a baby again has been an adventure and I am trying to enjoy every moment! Ava is a light of joy and one of the many blessings God has given us!

God's Painted Canvas

Michael's parents were in town over the weekend and we took a drive up to Clingman's Dome. These are some pict's of the beautiful Tennessee foliage!

Oh...How they bounce back!

Yesterday Caitlin informed me that her "neck" hurt, so I told her it would be ok and sent her back on her way to play! It was one of those oops moments as a mommy...Where I should have asked a few more questions. Well a couple hours later I noticed I hadn't seen or heard her, so I asked Isabel where her sister was...To my amazement Isabel informed me that Caitlin was in bed asleep! I immediately knew something wasn't right....So I went to see my sleeping child, taking along the thermometer, flashlight and butterknife! Temperature 100.9...throat red with pockets on her tonsils....Time 4:45 (Doctor office closes at 5!) Speed dial #3! Praise the Lord they were willing to stay to see her!Michael had gone by the library on the way home, so I loaded up all 3 girls and off we went! Sure enough the poor child had strep! Next step of course was to fill her antibiotic... so off we all went to Target. Finally arriving back home and giving her her antibiotic and some tylenol, she went on to eat 2 adult size portions of spaghetti (her favorite)! Now here we are today and the child has informed me that she is all better! I know it has been said time and time again, but I have to say it! Children are so resilient! As an adult there is no way I could bounce back that fast!

Our Little Helpers

Yesterday the girls wanted to play outside...so we dressed them up in their play clothes and out they went. Michael suggested that they do some "work" while out there and to our amazement they did! With broom in one hand and the dustpan in the other they actually went out and swept! Even though dad went behind them with the leaf blower, they did a great job! I am so proud of my little helpers!

Ava's 4 month Stats

Ava Maxine
Weight 14lbs 5.6 oz 65th percentile
Height 24 1/2 in. 58th percentile
Head Circumference 42 cm 76th percentile

It's hard to believe my baby girl is already 4 months old! Time has flown by. Ava is now very vocal and loves "talking" and laughing! We started her on rice cereal and she is not too keen on it! She is still nursing and refusing the bottle. I love our special bonding time when she is nursing though. She is really starting to develop her own personality. Her favorite things to do right now are smile, laugh, "talk", suck on her hands, watch the glowing box as we refer to it (t.v.) and she loves to look at the "baby" in the mirror. She is such a wonderful addition to our family and I feel so blessed to be her mommy!