Fall Pictures!!!

There is no secret that I adore the fall. Cool weather, hot apple cider, pumpkins, I love it all. But the thing I love most is my silly kids outside with pumpkins! We met our kind photographer at the Arboretum (where else?) and she captured some wonderful pictures of the kids.

 Doesn't he just look like a stinker?

 Hugs for brother!!

 And more...

 still more...

 Too sweet!

 Peek-a-boo

 Gabe thinks the best thing about the pumpkin patch is throwing them. Go figure.

Yeah for fall!! We are ready.

First Days of School...

We were so excited to start school again this year. We love our little preschool and I am so glad the kids get to see their little friends every week. Here is sweet Emory's first day. Such a big girl, I remember her first day ever going to preschool...

 Brother is never very far away...

 Gabe asked for "Eddy" about 20 times that day. He missed her so much!

Then on Thursday, it was Gabe's first day. Gabe is in the same class that Emory went to when we first started going to CCDC, which is sweet.

Gabe is not for sure about this whole school thing. Once he gets there, he holds on to me for dear life. But hopefully things will get better.

Trip To California...

We were fortunate enough to take a trip to San Diego at the end of August. It was amazing! We stayed in a wonderful hotel right on the beach which was so fun to just run down there with the kids to play all day. Here is our view....

We didn't waste anytime, right after we got checked in, we went to the beach. This little girl was very happy to be playing in the sand!

 And this little guy was super excited to be outside and see so many airplanes!

 The kids got right to it, there was digging to be done.

 Emory did not want to get into the ocean. The kids have never seen the ocean before, so it was not familiar to them. But she warmed up quick!

 Gabe giving it a try...

 Now she was ok with the ocean. She is also in a different set of clothes because she got knocked over by a wave and was soaked.

 The next day we started off early at the beach. That is why we went to San Diego!

 Grant found an amazing seafood restaurant (called World Famous) that was right on the beach. The lobster bisque, mmmmm. We got a hostess to take our picture after dinner, not a bad family picture.

The only thing that we had planned for our vacation was to take the kids to the San Diego zoo. Our vacations are very laid back and easy. We know what we want to do and that is to relax. We had high expectations for the zoo and it did not disappoint.

Here is Emory helping us with the map. She is really into maps right now, thank you Dora.

 Our little "pups."

 After lunch we decided to take the tour around the entire zoo. It worked out perfectly because both kids ended up taking a nap on the bus. We even got off the bus, walked through the crowds, found a restaurant and sat down for awhile. Guess they were tired.

The last day was followed up with more beach play time!

 Sweet Gabe. This is his whining face. I see it often right now, but he's still adorable.

 There we go.

Thank you San Diego. We needed a break. We needed time together away.

Our Summer...

We have had a very fun summer, without many pictures to show for it! I am so thankful for the summer break with the kids, they can be so silly.

The kids got a set of legos this summer. Emory was a pro and knew just what to do and Gabe is learning but LOVING them.

 We had Gabe's 18 month check up this week and he is just trucking along. He is 26 lbs (50%) and 32 3/4 inches (50%). Perfect!! He sat still for his vision and hearing tests and passed both.

 Here is a picture of our normal lunch at home. Gabe dumped everything off his plate, Emory in ballet attire. They keep me on my toes.

Sweet Ella Grace, these cousins love jumping in the crib. Lately they have gotten into chasing each other, which is cute to watch.

We were fortunate enough to get a pool membership this summer and our little timid girl has blossomed into a swimmer! She now goes down the slide by herself and swims to us. We are so proud of her.

Happy 18 Months!!!

My baby boy is a year and a half. He is just a joy! Gabe is all boy and is so much busier than I remember Emory being at this age. He climbs, he jumps, he hits balls with bats. All boy! Take a look at Emory at 18 months, such different kiddos!

Gabe says da da, ma ma (finally), Eddy (Emmy), tiger, juice, pizza and milk. He recently started nodding yes, which makes our lives so much easier. He had been able to tell us no for quite awhile now.  ;) Gabe runs everwhere and will copy everything Emory does, even the bad behavior. He is still a HUGE mama's boy, which I love (most of the time).

Here are Gabe's stats from his 15 months check up. Weight 25 lbs (50%) and height 31 1/4 in (45%). Such a healthy little guy. When people pick him up they always seem to say how "sturdy" he is. We always joke that his little hands are like mitts.
I guess 18 month old little boys are too busy for taking pictures!

 Elmo will bring on the smiles!

 I'm outta here.

 Got one!!!

Sister was there, supervising. Such a pretty girl.

 Twirling her hair, getting too big.