#4

Hey there, Emma, just so you know I'm already planning for you- I have been for a long, long time. Your very own Christmas stocking and initial will be waiting for you when we bring you home someday. And since you now have quite a few "E" items around the house I'm hoping Daddy will sort of just go along with my name choice. The strategy has worked before (ah hem, Jonah...). Love you, baby girl. 

chief jackson.

Yesterday, Audrey, Jonah and I were able to join Jackson and his class for a few minutes of their Harvest Feast. His (amazing!) teacher, Mrs. Mansfield, goes all out to teach them about the meaning behind Thanksgiving for the month of November, ending in a big celebration, including a complete feast. When we walked in the kids were all in costume- pilgrims, Native Americans and fur trappers- and were enjoying their meal by candlelight. Adorable.  

jonah daniel: NINE months!

We're a little late getting to Jonah Bear's 9 month update, but our little guy has been sick for the first time. It ended up being nothing but a bad cold, but it made for a lot of sleepless nights and some nasty sounding coughs. He's slowly getting back to himself... his lovable, crazy crawling, can't stay still for a second self. 

Here are 9 things about Jonah at 9 months:

1. He loves. LOVES I tell you. Food! Don't even try to eat around him unless it's something he can have or he will give you the most pitiful look. He still mainly drinking bottles and eating purees, but has also begun to eat diced up chicken, veggies and fruit.

2. It is no exaggeration when I say that he cannot sit still for a second. The boy has his daddy's energy and goes goes goes. He continues to crawl everywhere, pulls himself on every thing (and everyone) around, is cruising around the furniture and last week we found him at the top of the stairs. So, you know, up went another baby gate. I've yet to figure out a way to get him to quit standing up in his high chair - yes, his high chair- the seat belt can't hold the bear back. 

3. He now has 7 teeth... 4 of which, all on the top, all decided to come in at the exact same time which was... fun? 

4. Overall, he is still so sweet and laid back. He's more playful than the other two ever were at this age- he loves to play with his toys, wrestle with anyone willing and overall just have a good time. 

5. Jackson continues to be such a help with Jonah, always helping him, protecting him and teaching him things. Today on the way home from church they both fell asleep holding hands- it was the sweetest. 

6. Jonah finds Audrey to be especially funny. It takes very little out of her to get him laughing hard. And she continues to be nothing but sweet and affectionate with him. I can think of zero times when she has been rough or anything but nice to him. Which is a lot considering her personality at times this past year!

7. Jonah bear reminds me of Dan in so many ways- from his facial expressions to his curiosity and playful personality. I think we have another little mini me in the making.

8. He continues to be easy most all of the time to put down for bed time and he is getting better at sleeping most of the night. We've been off the past few weeks from being sick, but I still see progress and overall I just don't mind it that much when he does wake... who wouldn't love extra cuddle time with a Jonah bear? 

9.  I'm a little bit in shock that he's already 9 months... I know every mom says that, but we unfortunately won't know our 4th baby when she's actually a baby so realizing that Jonah is the last one to be this tiny is hard to swallow at times. I love my chubby, cuddly babies. 

Jackson at 9 months HERE.
Audrey at 9 months HERE.

an interview with a peanut.

Here is Audrey's 3rd birthday interview...
Jackson's interview from his 3rd birthday HERE.

a frozen birthday...

mommy, audrey day.

Friday was Mommy-Audrey Day and I was reminded once again why having a daughter is a must. I think we maxed out on the amount of glitter, twirling and princess-talk allowed for one day, but the peanut was in heaven. We started out with a trip to The Disney Store to pick out a new princess dress. She inspected every option before deciding on the Cinderella dress. We did a little more shopping with Audrey shuffling through the mall in her "glass slippers" and balancing her tiara. Every where we went people called her "princess." At first she was shy, but fully embraced it by the end of the day, normally waving back like she owned the place. 

After having lunch we went to the Dazzling Dolls Kids Spa. Yes, I said it... a spa for kids. Ridiculous and awesome at the same time. We had mommy/Audrey pedis and manis. At one point, she had her feet propped in the warm water, laying back on the comfy pillows propped up behind her and mumbled, "mommy, I am so excited, I am not tired." We left the spa two very happy girls with extra sparkly toes.  

happy birthday, peanut.

My peanut is 3 years old today- THREE! How did that happen so fast? A full post on all things Audrey and her birthday weekend to come, but for now, I loved this random photo I found on my phone from her party... because every princess needs a pink cupcake bigger than her head.

Her birth day HERE
1st birthday HERE and HERE and HERE
2nd birthday HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE

star struck: disney on ice.

On Friday we had tickets for Disney on Ice: Princesses and Heroes. Audrey is what you might call obsessed with all things Princesses right now so to say that she liked the show would be a severe understatement. Our seats were only a few rows back from the ice and at one point Elsa waved at Audrey... I think that pretty much made her life. Jackson was a big fan of the treats and especially liked the Frozen part of the show but having a princess-obsessed little sister has him over anything sparkly and pink at the moment. On the way to school today Jessie overheard him say, "princesses are so annoying"... he must have been trying to get a little understanding from Canaan. Boys!

life lately.

Life lately has been just living life- the good, the better and the sometimes not so great. Thankfully we have moments like these- with a Daddy and his babies on a perfect fall day- to make up for some of the in-betweens that don't feel nearly as peaceful. 

This is the scene every single night before bed time. It's their ritual. A little friendly checkers action followed by some heated tic-tac-toe with the peanut. 

The babies have also been soaking up the fall weather with Amy while we're working. I love getting updates throughout the day to see their smiling faces having fun. 

And speaking of work... fall in the city outside my office is pretty great too. I've also been making a point (thanks to my fit bit which I might be somewhat obsessed with) of getting up and taking brief walks throughout the day to help with my back situation. And I struck gold with finding this stand-up desk to work at in between meetings. It has made a big, big difference so the medical team at my office is working on getting one installed at my actual office space. 

The not so great side of work lately has been the continued changes happening- one of the most inspiring leaders I've ever worked with left the company last week. He was a legend at P&G and I'm so thankful I was able to learn from him, even for a short while. 

And life lately has included a lot of these little faces which I can never get enough of. Well, except when I see too much of them in the middle of the night, but even then they're pretty sweet.