Fall is here!

 We went to pumpkin city this last week on the most perfect October day.  Ollie decided to wear his tron costume and Amelie wore her Halloween dress.

 This little face is 5 months old now!

 Nora trying to stay warm in her stroller

 There were lots of animals to see including ducks, piglets, cows, chickens, goats, horses

 These were my attempts to hold Nora while also getting some cute pictures...haha

 This face is the best

Hmmmmm so I might as well give a little update on everyone:) 

Ryan is crazy busy at work.  He thankfully got taken off most of his facilities duties to focus more on construction which was a huge blessing because the facilities stuff was just getting ridiculous.  He is doing more construction which is what he likes to do anyways.  Commute is still going good.  There are days I wish he wasn't a 2 hour train ride away but he gets so much done on the train and is all unwound and ready to play with us when he gets home.  Plus we love living here close to family, friends and the beach:)

Oliver is doing great in 1st grade.  We are working on memorizing words, reading, and math.  He picks up on things pretty fast.  We've been reading Charlotte's Web and he's loved that and giggled through the whole thing.  He still spends most of his spare time drawing.  He's constantly coming up with new ideas for pokemon characters, movies, and video games.  He has an amazing creative mind.  He is always striving to be sweet and helpful.  He is in OCMCO this year and is gearing up to sing in their holiday concert.  He has a great voice and perfect pitch.  He is famous for his high, perfect vibrato to Disney songs in our house.  He is still rocking gymnastics and is really good.  His coach already wants to talk about him making team so we are trying to figure out if that's something we all want to do. 

Amelie is loving time at home with Nora and I, playing playdoh, dolls, making forts, baking, painting and coloring.  She has recently gotten really good at drawing and is making cute pictures with little bodies and long blond hair.  She is a good independent player which makes life much easier when I've got Nora to take care of.  She is going to preschool twice a week and really loves her time with her friends.  She is learning her letters and numbers and is spelling her name and getting very curious about lots of learning.  She's been in ballet but may not want to continue so we are trying to find something else she'd like to do.  She still constantly talks about her Hawaii home and will not put warmer clothes on. She things life should be an endless summer in sun dresses.  My kind of girl:)

Nora is 5 months now and getting more and more fun.  She is so smiley and just waits to catch anyone's attention so she can flash that gummy smile.  It seems she's been teething for a while but who knows.  She has a cold right now and hasn't been feeling like herself but is still pretty happy.  She's been waking up at night almost every 2 hours which has been really hard on her and me.  I'm trying to soothe her and enjoy the quiet time at night with her but it's hard when it's so exhausting.  I actually walked into a wall last night after putting her back down because I was so delirious.  I'm ready for her not to be sick and for sleep to get better.  She is rolling over like crazy and is pushing herself up with her arms.  She can make lots of sounds and enjoys hearing herself loudly "squawking" as we call it.  She also loves to make a really low long sound and hear the vibration.  I love to watch her feel so impressed with herself and all the cool things she's learning.  You can just tell she's proud.  She is still a lightweight as far as I can tell.  I'm guessing she's 14-15 pounds from what my scale says.  She still has strawberry blonde hair, some would say red :) It looks like her eyes are turning green but it's still hard to tell.  As far as I can see, she's my baby twin through and through.  She especially loves to watch Oliver and laugh at him when he gets into his giggling fits (which is often). 

Other than the sleep deprivation I am loving life with my 3 kiddos right now.  I've even had moments, dare I say, that I've wanted 3 more.  For some reason having 3 kids has made me want more, but who knows if that is a fleeting thought.  We are immensely blessed with these 3 beauties.  Days are busy with activities and friends to meet up with, and I am enjoying my mandatory home time while Nora takes her naps.  Getting things structured isn't something I'm great at but it does give me a sense of accomplishment.  Nora is still nursing which is a love/hate thing for me.  Sometimes I want my body back to enjoy a little freedom, but other times, I love the convenience and bond that it gives.  I've never made it past 8 months without feeling over it so we'll see.  I'm getting out and exercising whenever I have the time/motivation/strength.  So yeah, it's a slow process.  I'm learning a little humility this time around because the baby weight has not come off like it did before.  Learning a little patience and keeping expectations reasonable.  I am looking forward to the day when I feel comfortable in my body again.  I am lucky to have a husband who tells me I'm beautiful everyday no matter what.  Seriously what would I do without Ryan.  He is my favorite and I love him more and more everyday.  When days are hard and long, I want to run away with him for a while.  Soon enough.  Feeling blessed that my parents are close and help so much.  It's so fun to live by both our parents and watch them with our kids.  I wish all our family could be close.  Life would be better.  We get to see all my family in Feb as we are all planning a trip to Disneyworld which will be super fun.  The kids already can't wait and talk about it non-stop.  We are blessed more than we know.