The "News"

There have been lots of new things around our house lately.

The New Wheels
We finally outgrew the old CRV. But apparently not the color blue. :) We love our new car.














The New School
Our little G is growing up. He loves his preschool class and his teacher. C still misses him, but we have fun together while he's gone.




















The New Team
They called themselves the Green Machine. It was fun to be a soccer mom, and he loved the games. C loved that the team had a sibling inclusion policy on the after-game treats.




















The New Hobby
The Guy has been trying his hand at cake decorating. I thought he did a fabulous job for a first time cake!



















And the best for last...
A New Family Member
Baby M was born on Sept. 27 at 1:15 pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs and 3.4 oz and was 20 inches long. G and C had been waiting and anticipating for so long. They were so excited! We love our little M!

Puddles

It rains so much here, and is often so warm when it does rain that jumping in puddles is one of our favorite activities. In fact, one particular puddle on our front drive has been aptly named Charlotte's Puddle.
Lest you feel worried that my kids were jumping in puddles this week, these pictures were taken in July. No worry necessary. :)

Past Due

I realized the other day that even with a half-yearly schedule, I'm still way overdue for a post. I should probably just admit defeat, but I'm not quite ready yet. Maybe I'll even post again before sometime next year!
We went to Jefferson's Poplar Forest a couple months ago and those pics are still on my desktop, so I thought I would start there. :)












Here are the kids doing a puzzle of the house at Poplar Forest. I thought it was pretty cool. The base was the floor plan and the pieces were the shapes of the rooms in the house. Then there were pillars and stairs to add in the appropriate places...or where ever you want.















Sitting on an oven in the kitchen. Good thing it wasn't hot! (hehehehe)















We were all getting really tired. G was the only one brave enough to lie down on the roof to rest. We were all jealous.















I don't know why I love pics of C's hair, but here it is.















I love my family!

Doctoral Candidate

Congratulation to the Guy!
He passed all his preliminary exams and is now officially a Doctoral Candidate! We are so proud of him. Coursework down, Dissertation to go!
(We're just hoping to avoid PQS...It sounds pretty serious)










From "Piled Higher & Deeper"

Let the Drama Begin

So, I was brushing C's hair this morning (being ever so gentle, as I always am) and she covered her eyes with her little hands and said, " Ouchy, Ouchy, Ouchy, Help, Help, Help!" To which I responded, "I'm sorry! Did that hurt?"
Then came the real surprise. She looked up at me and grinned while she replied, "No." She was completely fine, she just thought she would test out some theatrics. I have a sinking feeling that it's just getting worse from here...

Milestones, One Foot at a Time

I asked C to get her shoes for me this morning and this was the result. It was her first time putting her shoes on herself! Look at those shoes! I was very impressed that she put them on the correct feet. Completely coincidental, of course, but I'm still proud.
(She was just happy that I was so excited about the shoes that she got to have her pacifier out of her bed.)





















G loves riding his bike and I love that he adores his helmet. He asked me to take this picture. He couldn't be left out.

Conference Cave

G loves general conference for 2 reasons:
1: "I get to eat as many snacks as I want."
2: the "conference cave"

The computer is in the kitchen of our small apartment, so we put blankets under the table and the Whippersnappers get to hang out under there for a couple days. They have tons of fun with it.


















General conference also spurred a funny conversation I had with G:

G: When I go on a mission, I'm going to go far, far away. Farther than President Monson's house. Actually, farther than President Eyring's house. AND even farther than Nana and Papa's house. *pause for thought process* Does President Monson live farther away than Nana and Papa?
Mama: Well, they live about the same distance away. Their houses are kind of close to each other, but President Uchtdorf lives far away. He lives in Germany.
G: I'm going to go farther away than President Uchtdorf's house and I'm going to have to ride on 15 airplanes, AND I'm going to stay for a long time. I'm going to go on 19 missions.
Mama: You'll be gone a long time...
G: Yeah, I will like it.