Thankful

I love this little man.. so thankful for him.

Owen, you are growing so fast, you say new things everyday and pick up a new skill every week... you blow my mind. Your obsessions right now are pirates, scooters, Cars (as in Lightning McQueen), coloring, rock and stick collections, and collecting odd assortments of toys in bags and suitcases around the house. You just got a balance bike and a week later you are racing around on that thing. You love to tell jokes, make up silly words, and be with your friends... you are such a social bug. You are nothing if not passionate about everything in every way, so excitable and so volatile. You keep me on my toes little man, but I love you so much it hurts. Your smile and your snuggles melt me.

So thankful for this little miss, she is such a joy.

Peyton, Peytee girl, Miss Thang, Diva... you amaze me. You are the funnest ever to watch... your Dad and I stare at you all of the time and just look at each other and start laughing. You are an absolute peanut... so small, so ity-bity, with such a big person inside. I dont know what it is, but your little way is so ridiculously cute. You are amazingly sweet..you give kisses and blow kisses, hug your babies, and just love to be held. In the same moment, you are headstrong, determined, and tough as nails.... you wrestle with your brother, you play independently, and you want to be in the mix with the big kids. I dont know what my days would be without you, you are my little buddy and I just love being with you.

Fall Highlights

Our fall was a major whirlwind... after O started school, and we were trying to adjust to the new schedule, life got a little nutty. Lots of new changes and adventures, visits from family, started a small group, 2 out of state trips, and a wedding.

The major highlight of September was our visit from Bella and Papa. We were missing our loved ones in California and so ready to see some family, so Bella and Papa came to Colorado to give us all some R and R. The kids were spoiled by a whole week of long days with Bella's undivided attention.

She makes my kids so happy...

She has a way of making them understand how loved they are.

While Bella and Papa were in town, I slipped away for a couple of days to meet up with Mark in Chicago and celebrate our 6th anniversary. Mark and I love experiencing new places together, and we had an absolute blast in Chicago. We bashed around town, trying to take in as much of Chicago as we could. We hit Wrigley field for a day game...

And ate a ton of amazing food in downtown...

The trip was short and sweet, but it was a great time to just be together, reflect on our year, and really focus on our marriage.

I love this man, he is my home.

One really amazing thing about living in Colorado is experiencing the changing of the seasons... it is incredible how quickly things change here. In our last days of September, we headed up for one last trip to Rocky Mtn. National Park before the winter to see the leaves change their color...

and to see some of these guys... wow.

Me and Bub enjoying the downtown lights on a night out with friends...

The majority of October was spent in California celebrating my little sister Emily's wedding... it was an amazing two weeks with lots of fun and little sleep, a bachelorette weekend, wedding madness and projects around the house, tons of time with family, and a few evenings catching up with my girls over dinner. The kids and I stayed busy during our days, enjoying all of our favorite places with our favorite people.

Here are the two little divas (my niece Stella and Peyton) at the Long Beach Aquarium. Rascals.

My little man and I had a date at Disneyland... he drove.

And any chance we had, we were meeting up with old friends...

love them, miss them.

Speaking of the quickly changing seasons...when we arrived back in Colorado, it looked like this, 75 degrees, gorgeous colored leaves everywhere...

The next morning, we woke up to this!

(I have to admit I love a snow day, but this California girl is scared to death of surviving the winter here..)

Peyton's first day in the snow, little Diva! At the end of October, our cousins came to visit...

and these little best buds were in heaven.

To finish up our month, Halloween was amazing... Owen seriously LOVES Halloween. My favorite thing about this halloween this year was that Owen learned the word spooky, except he says "SMOOKY" and it became his favorite adjective for everything...I couldn't bring myself to correct him, I love hearing him say it so much. Owen is going through a serious pirate obsession, so dressing up with his hook, cutlass, and eye patch was such a happy moment for him. He keeps telling me that we are having another Halloween before Christmas...

Costumes, running around the neighborhood, lots of little friends, candy...

this little cupcake...

and some fun treats at home. Such a great night.