Catch Up

I think I set a personal-fewest-amount-of-posts-in-a-month record this November.

What can I say? It's the happiest busiest time of the year!

Let's play catch up, shall we?

I took a photography class last month. FINALLY! I'm still working on new techniques...but I am trying. Bare with me as I fine tune this new skill!

With the help of Court and my in-laws I was able to get away for a few days! Mind you, I was at a law conference (B-I-G yawn!) but it might as well been an all expense (read: all shopping expenses) paid trip to Paris!! It was the first time I'd been away from home without either a child or a husband in OVER FOUR YEARS!!! I had dinner with girlfriends, snuck out of the conference early to do a little Seattle shopping and was able to visit all those little boutiques that the double stroller can never manage! It was pure heaven....for about the first 40 hours. Then I started missing my little fam and high tailed it home! Mission accomplished! Thank you again Court, Priscilla and Dave!

Snow came a bit early this year for us...November 10.

Luckily, it didn't stick around too long.

These farm girls are opposed to shoes, socks, jackets, hats and gloves - even in the snow!

Oh to be young, right?!

If you are asking yourself if Charlotte's hair really looks green or if that is just bad lighting, the answer is it's most definitely green! 

She decided to paint her hair with the paint from our art easel. And though washable, it definitely left behind some evidence of her "escape from nap time into the playroom without mommy knowing" escapade.

Grace wore her princess dress for a solid week. She even slept in it!

I did manage to get her out of it when we went into public, but the second we were home....on it went!

She is gonna LOVE Cinderella!

That just might be under the tree from Santa on Christmas morning!

Princesses aside, we can really see a flourish in Grace's imagination. Be it the conversations she has with her Barbies to creating Seattle's skyline with her blocks - cannon included of course....Seattle just isn't Seattle without a cannon - she is at a REALLY fun age. It is exciting to hear the new things she thinks of everyday. 

With that splurge in imagination has come the question - why.

I knew it was coming. I thought it would be sooner.

But it is now here and I do my very best - most of the time -to exhaust her curiosities. 

Other times...well you know...other times are other times.

In other news, I have spent an INSANE amount of time picking up leaves, sweeping up leaves, bribing Grace with pennies for her piggy back to pick up leaves.... 

  I just don't understand how we have so many leaves in our house this time of year! ;)

 And then there is Miss Charlotte. I forget she is just two. She keeps up with Grace step for step.

She's so physically tough but just a stern look can send her into cataclysmic tears. 

Don't even tell her - or Grace for that matter - that Mommy is gonna cry because...(insert they won't give me a hug, get dressed, overall cooperate) and it will send them into cataclysmic tears to infinite plus one!

It's unreal!

 Uncle Johnny-roo stopped by for some ball - throwing, leaf - hopping action!

And then it was Thanksgiving!

Grace wore her special Thanksgiving outfit to school before the school break started. 

She was not about taking pictures that morning or smiling or holding still.

These are the best pics I snapped and that is saying A LOT!

Regardless, I am glad I have a picture of the skirt I made her for our big family feast!

Charlotte has one too...not sure if I got a picture of hers...

Grace and I made special treats for her teachers.

A little cinnamon muffin mix just to say thank you and maybe ease the breakfast duties if they had lots of family in town!

Not sure how many pictures I got of our Thanksgiving festivities! I spent most of my day in the kitchen but I will upload them soon and hopefully get at least one post together before 2013!

Northpole breakfast is on deck, a 34th birthday in the hole and a fabulous 4th birthday less than two weeks away!

Did I mention I was busy?!

Bill's Berry Farm: Take One

I don't know what the weather has been like in your neck of the woods but ours has been ideal.

Cool and crisp in the mornings.

90's by late afternoon.

Followed by cool, crisp evenings.

Fall at perfection!

(Speaking of fall...can you believe it is Autumn?!! I think in the 34 years I've been on this Earth, this is the first time ever that I am not excited to leave the blazing, hot summer behind us. I blame this entirely at being able to tire the girls out every afternoon in the pool. Not sure what we I'm going to do once swimming weather is officially over. I usually can't wait for fall - it's my favorite time of the year - but this year, everything has just gone by so fast. I feel like I just got used to our summer routine and BOOM, we are starting the Christmas countdown!! 92 days by the way! If I thought summer went by fast, welcome to the fastest, there-isn't-enough-time-to-get-anything-done-but-you-have-to anyway time of year!)

To kick off fall, we visited Bill's Berry Farm yesterday. I take the girls every year.

For a trip down memory lane visit 2011 and 2010. 

But because I know you are too lazy to click on the links, humor me for a minute.

Grace and Charlotte - 2010

Charlotte wasn't even a month old!

Both girls last year...

and here they are in 2012!

Bill's Berry Farm is our local pumpkin patch/family fun place.

They offer hay rides, pony rides, train rides, cider making, berry and apple picking - anything farm related all through the harvest season! They even sell Christmas trees.

While they offer all these activities, they are especially known for their homemade doughnuts...at least in my house!

While we normally go to Bill's late in October, we have quite the lineup of activities in the next few weeks, so I thought we'd go a bit early this year. You know, to take in the doughnuts fresh air!

So off we went!

Seeing these pumpkins got me excited to decorate for fall. 

I love knobby pumpkins!

The doughnuts weren't ready when we arrived, so we killed time.

Just as I thought, they are growing like weeds!

Funny. Charlotte wouldn't use a binky the first year of her life. The second year has been dramatically different. 

We noted the first signs of fall and what's that? Rain drops you say?

Impossible. It's supposed to be 80 something degrees today!

Finally! 

Seconds after this pictures, the sky burst open.

 

And we ran - doughnuts and all - to the safety of the car!

So this visit was a bust in the pony and train riding department.

But our doughnut timing was perfect!

Luckily, Grace gets to go on a field trip with her class in a few weeks so there will be more to come from Bill's Berry Farm!

Big Weekend

Family over for dinner on Friday. Dinner with more family on Saturday night and a Halloween party on Monday! Busy, busy, busy! I didn't know how I was going to get everything done! There was decorating, and cooking and baking...oh my!...to do. But then, this little miracle happened.

Grace climbed into bed with Daddy - who was already napping - and fell asleep all on her own volition.

No prompting, no pleading and no bribing.

I looked up from a pile of cookies yet to be frosted and thought "uh oh!" The house is awfully quiet...that can only mean one thing. But I was wrong. Soooo wrong! Nothing could have made me happier!

The house was quiet. Everyone was sleeping. I had two hands AND my mind all to myself!

I happily and quickly plowed through the cupcakes and cookies needing frosting and thoroughly enjoyed every second!

Unintentional Break

I think this is the longest stint I've gone without a blog post since I started blogging in 2008. All I can say is that this is a hectic and busy time of the year!

The weather turned a few weeks back to rain and dreariness!

Luckily, we had hit the Nordstrom sale a few months back and were prepared with some bright and warm  outfits.

Not matching...

but they do color correspond. 

We had Uncle Johnny-roo over for dinner! The girls love him

and he is beyond good with them!

Notice the art in the background?!

I am happy to report that things are going much better with Grace at school.

I think she is still shy and a bit reserved at times - there are no more tears at drop-off! 

Progress!

She is talking and singing up a storm!

Singing is probably her favorite thing to do!

She does it before falling asleep, in the shower (yes, she has decided that she will no longer take baths) and when she is playing by herself. 

Some of her songs are the usual suspects - Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, etc. - but others she makes up. Usually, they are some new word or phrase she's picked up. Which is completely scary because never have I been more aware of how much she is listening and hearing EVERYTHING I say.

It all gets regurgitated in her little "songs!"

I really need to get it on video!

We snuck in a jaunt to Boise. The weather was phenomenal. We spent lots of time with Grandma and Grandpa and knocked lots of errands off the list...including hair cuts.

If it weren't for the bottle she would look completely like a kid! Like a switch, the baby seems just about gone. It has been crazy fast!

Grace's new do. Lots of volume!

About a month ago, Charlotte started a new trick. I got it on video back then but haven't gotten it up on the blog until now. It seriously is one of my favorite things!

In other exciting news, while out on a run I ran over a snake with the Double BOB stroller. I couldn't figure out what was brushing my leg until I looked down and saw a snake recoiling.

There aren't words to describe the sound that I made or the fear. All I can say is that I haven't run that fast in a long time. Every leaf or branch or twig that I brushed into along the way only sparred me to run faster. Everyone asks me what kind of snake it was...as if I had time or the where-with-all to study the markings and colorings on the snake so as to identify it later on. 

All I know is it was a snake. It touched me. And I ran like a bat out of hell!

In honor of the fast approaching Halloween holiday, we had Charlotte wear her little pumpkin hat. Adorable!

Last but not least, Grace has mastered her tricycle. So we've been getting outside everyday and enjoying the crisp fall days. Have I mentioned I love this time of year?

Won't be long until this one has the trike all figured out!

That is all. Just a quick little post about what we've been up to.