November Is Here

I can't believe November is upon us! I'm loving the cool weather, all of the rain, and the time by the fire! With the passing of another month, that means I need to put all of the pictures and stories I haven't blogged somewhere! So here you go!

Do these not look amazing? Graham crackers, peanut butter, chocolate chips and marshmallows - baked to perfection!

 

 I'll venture as far as to say the kids loved them!

Listening to my kids singing in our library, I poked my head in. "Hi mama, we're just cleaning... Go on ... Ok, now, MAMA! WE HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU! Close your eyes and come back!"

One of those things I never thought I'd hear myself say ...

"HEY! Get that carrot out of your nose!"

... And yet here I am, having found myself saying that exact phrase.

 My kids had a "I miss Papa" meltdown - they hugged the stuffies he gave them close.

They then decided he was coming and went to watch for him out the window. 

  Whatever's comfortable, I guess! Audrey did away with naps for at least a month causing her to crash in all sorts of weird places, but daylight savings has brought the naps back (along with getting up at 6...). Granted, she wishes death upon the world when she wakes from said naps, so I'm not sure it's worth it...

 

I love when they snuggle with me to fall asleep!

 

 She moves so much that she gets stuck!  Morning snuggles with Daddy before he leaves for work!

 

 My little mini-me!  Audrey loves to cook me food!

 

I initiated a new house rule:

If you ask me anything when I'm on the toilet, the answer is an automatic (and emphatic), "NO!"

We love getting cards in the mail from Nonna!

One day in the car, Audrey cried out, "Hand! Hurt! 'Naid! Need 'Naid!" I informed her I couldn't get her a bandaid because I was driving... So Aaron said, "here Audrey, let me see it." (They sit beside each other in the car.) "Is this where it hurts?" He asked as he pointed to her imaginary owie. She shook her head yes so he kissed her hand and said, "here, take this!" He reached over and placed one of his spiderman stickers on her hand and asked if it felt better. She said that it did and proceeded to pull off the sticker.

"No Audrey! Don't take it off!!!!"

"Want off!!!"

Aaaaand the moment was over... But it was cute while it lasted

I sat at the table tonight, my head in my hands thinking about all of the things I need to do this week ... All of the things I'm already behind on. Eric looked at me lovingly and asked, "do you need a donut?" I started to cry and said softly, "yes." He gently took my hands and said, "come with me." He led me to his car where he magically had 2 donuts. We climbed in, I had a short cry fest on his shoulder, and then feeling rejuvenated, we shared the two donuts. Who knew all I needed was a donut? Not me. But Eric ... Eric knew, and acted. He knew long before I even had a meltdown that it would be a nice gesture to bring me a donut, and that it would mean the world to me.

Helping me fold and put away laundry, the kids spotted my green shirt, a shirt the same color as one of Aaron's. Aaron informed me the shirt was his. I showed it to him and said that actually, it is mine. His reply was, "Come on Mom, there's no way that'll fit you!" excuuuuuuuuuuse me? Audrey then found another of my shirts and declared it to be hers... Maybe, for the sake of my self esteem, I'll do laundry by myself from now on...

 Now that Audrey has her numbers 1-10 down, I find that Aaron is teaching her 11-20! I will hear them from the other room ... He'll say a number and wait for her to repeat it. I love it!

Aaron: Mama, Adelynn's trying to crawl!

Me: Oh yeah? She's pretty smart, huh?

Aaron: Yeah! Like me... And you and Daddy and Audrey and Kelsey. *pauses to think* Mostly like Kelsey...

While cleaning, Aaron stepped on a toy and hurt his foot! Audrey raced over, gave him a hug and kissed it better. I commented to Aaron how nice she was being by helping him feel better. He looked at her and said, "Audrey, I need some cookies to feel better..." So off she raced to gather her animal crackers and share them!

We take our Saturday relaxation very seriously. We also take our responsibility to cheer for Daddy seriously! And we love it! 

We made graham cracker/chocolate frosting sandwiches in honor of my mom! Thanks GP & Grammy for the supplies!

 

Audrey asked to snuggle so we laid down and she fell asleep as we watched Robin Hood. Then, Aaron crawled over to join us, crying as the animals were placed in jail and taken from their families. He asked if someone was going to tie my hands and take me... Never, Aaron! Daddy and I will ALWAYS be here to protect you and your sisters! Now, snuggle in close and know that we love you!

This has since become a thing with Aaron ... he's had nightmares about us not getting on the train with him, or an elevator taking him away. So we've had FHE lessons about stranger danger and how to stay safe. We've also made a point of reminding him that we will always be there for him! He's started coming to me asking me to hold him during the day... just because. I love that he feels safe with me.

The many versions of "downward dog."

Listening to my kids this morning. They were playing fabulous. Then I heard Aaron tell Audrey, "let's be brave and go downstairs! You can hold my hand if you want to..." I called to them and told them they could come see me before they went downstairs if they wanted. They came in and Aaron said, "that's okay mom, we're going down stairs on vacation!" Audrey related him, "yeah vacation!" And they went off to play... I came out to get out Adelynn a little while later to find this. They had gone back in... Audrey had grabbed books and Aaron was reading them to Adelynn. I love it! They are still playing together. I love the days they make being a mom easy!

Whenever Audrey is watching a show and a song comes on, she races through the house yelling, "DANCE!!!!!" She gathers as many people as she can, begs me to rewind, and then dances and sings her heart out with her dancing comrades!

Audrey's favorite movies these days are:
"Snowman" -- Frozen
"Dash" -- The Incredibles
"Momsers" -- Monster's Inc.
"Cropper" -- Planes: Fire & Rescue
"Baymax" -- Big Hero 6
and "Legos" -- The Lego Movie.

And, here's Aaron today, wearing my brother Thomas' old sweater!