Happy Halloween!

We ventured to our favorite pumpkin patch today since it is beautiful outside! I don't think I can recall a Halloween in my entire life where the weather was 70 degrees out!! Unfortunately they were OUT of pumpkins, except for these large ones in front of an old truck! Nana and Papa T accompanied us, so we were able to get some photos of the 3 girls in their fall sweaters!! The girls got to play in the corn bin, launch gourds from slingshots, go through a maze, and play with the tricycles. And the highlight (and purpose) of the trip was to play with the incredibly kind cats, and any kittens available. They only had one kitten, about 6 weeks old that was so tiny! The girls had a great time playing with it, well at least until it scratched Emery on the face :)

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe Halloween, and that you see some great costumes!!

Shots, shots, and more shots.....

Between 2 of the girls, we've had 7 shots in the past 6 days. Ella got her kindergarten shots last Friday- 4 of them!!! YIKES! Plus she had her finger pricked for a blood test. She was incredibly brave up until the nurse came in. Then she got tears in her eyes. The finger prick was first, and probably hurt the worst. Then came 2 in each arm. She was crying 'NO' the whole time, but didn't struggle. I was surprised at how difficult that appointment was, I wasn't expecting it. It was gut and heart-wrenching to see your child scared and in pain.

Thankfully, an ice cream cone and an afternoon at Nana and Papa T's made it all better. She was calm, and proud of her shots by then. She feels like a big girl now!

Everett got her 2 month shots today, 3 of them and an oral medication!! And boy was she unhappy! I haven't heard her scream like that ever! She was already worn out from crying during the exam, that the minute I picked her up after her shots, she was immediately calm. We're home now, and she's had her Tylenol, but still pretty unhappy. I'm hoping she falls asleep soon, and the nap will help.

We still have 2 shots to go, flu shots for Ella and Emery. Hopefully that will do us for a while, well at least until December when Everett gets more!

Hope everyone is safe and happy! Talk to you soon!

"Look, there's Tinkerbell!!"

"Where, I don't see her", says Ella from the back of the car. "Right there!" ,pointed Emery excitedly out her window. "Where Emery?", asks Mom while driving through the McDonald's drive thru. "Right there!", she says impatiently pointing out her window. "Oh", said mommy, "that's not Tinkerbell, that's Taco Bell!"

Another proud mother moment I experienced yesterday that I thought you would all enjoy!

Bing, Bling........who's there?

My 10 year anniversary present!! Tad and I have never been big gift givers to one another, well at least not surprise gifts anyway. So imagine my shock ( and embarassment- I only gave him tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld Live and I couldn't even go with him!) when he surprised me with this at dinner!!

Before:

After:

Isn't he sweet?! I'm one lucky lady!!

Everett cocoon

Hi everyone!! I survived 3 days with Tad being out of town for work. Wow- I was beat by the time he got home. Being by myself with 3 girls wore me out! And I had a lot of help from Nana and Papa T! They were a huge help! They took the girls to school and watched them for a while during the week while I helped my photographer out with taking preschool pics! I didn't do much but try and hold a reflector (for lighting purposes), and try and get the kids to smile and look at the camera. It did make me realize how difficult being a professional photographer truly is. I don't think that career path is in my cards anytime soon, but maybe someday... I have a lot to learn yet.

It did inspire me to get the camera out again today, something I haven't done in a while. Mostly because I'm exhausted, or have a child needing something- shocking I know. I knitted a cocoon a few weeks ago- the hot new phase in the photography world. I tried making a matching hat- but I made it too small and haven't had the time to make a bigger one. I figured I better take pictures of her soon, before she outgrew the cocoon-which she is close. I feel much better about taking photos after today. I think I've inspired myself again. mostly because I took about 50 and I got these 2, I forgot to change one setting, and it ruined most of the pictures for today. It made me determined not to let it happen again, so be looking for more pictures soon!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy weekend!!

10 years ago today.....

It's hard to believe that 10 years have already flown by. I made the biggest decision of my life 10 years ago today, and married my best friend Tad. It was the smartest thing I've ever done and the greatest thing.

Our 10 years hasn't been all peachy, especially when numerous family members were going through cancer, but we've made it and have come out stronger. We started out as 2, and are now a family of 5 with 2 chocolate labs. Amazing how a family can develop in just 10 years. I don't know what the next 10 years will bring, but I look forward to them. I look forward to the experiences we will have with the family we have created. I look forward to another 10 years with my best friend.

Hope you all have a great and blessed weekend!

Outnumbered

Gee, it's been a long time since I posted last! I thought things were going pretty well, but I think the lack of sleep caught up with me! Everett isn't sleeping quite as well as she was the first couple of weeks, hopefully that changes soon! I think the hardest part is adjusting to being outnumbered!! I didn't realize how easy we had it with 2!

Otherwise things are going fairly well. Everett is eating (a lot) and growing bigger. She's starting to fill out a bit. I fondly call her the 'toot monster', she toots all the time!! Some would even make Uncle Kent proud! She's even woken up Tad at night with them!! Emery loves going to school on her 1 day a week, and enjoys spending her other days with mom and Evie. We go to the mall to walk, or shopping, or to Costco/Sam's. She even got to eat pizza at 10 in the morning one day! Mom caved easily at Costco when she asked for a snack! Emery's newest tag line is 'whatever'. It's hilarious to hear her say it. She says it in context and with the funniest attitude! Ella is LOVING pre-k!! We can't call it preschool, she's very specific that it's pre-k! She loves to spell words and practice her upper and lower case letters! She's growing up so fast!!

As many of you know Tad's sister is going through a divorce. It's been a trying time for her, and we are doing our best to support her as much as we can. I ask that you give her your thoughts and prayers as she goes through this difficult time. This is causing a huge strain in the 'R' family, and relationships are very fragile. We can only hope that when it's all over that those relationships can be repaired.

The past couple of days have not been that great in our household. I've had the flu, and I think Evie wasn't feeling that well either. She didn't sleep more than 20 min at a time yesterday and was extremely cranky. I struggled throughout the past couple days with aches and pains, along with a fever, and cold/hot sweats. Nana and Papa were to the rescue yesterday by watching the older to E's for us. Today is going much better for me at least. The jury is still out on Evie!

I don't have any new pictures of my own to post, I haven't downloaded any from my camera from all the family visits yet :( However, my photographer has posted our newborn session on her website. To view the pictures go to:

http://cynthiagullett.com/

click on client, and then the password is 'baby'.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!! I think she did a great job!! She was extremely patient, as Evie was not having a great day!

I hope all is well with you and your families!! I hope to post more soon!