November Already?!

Wow! It's almost Thanksgiving and I haven't even posted for Halloween! Poor Aric is only going to have a few postings for his baby book, and Avery will wonder what happened after she turned two? Well, brother happened, so that explains a little. Adding to the brood makes things busy, but well worth it, of course.

Justin...is doing well. He loves his job, and we continue to be proud of his accomplishments. He works hard for his family, and though schooling took some patience and sacrifice, it certainly has paid off.

Tiffany (me)...is almost finished with my job share! Wow! Time does fly, but I wondered if I would get to the point where I am ready to stop. I think this was perfect timing. I have totally enjoyed teaching this year; I adore the kids. My kids have done really well with daycare, and (knock on wood) have been fairly healthy, which has made working the year so much different than when I worked with Avery. Everything just seems to have fit together!


The house...is such a blessing. I know we thought the opposite for some time, but I just had to add how much we have loved being here. They layout is awesome, and it truly is a comfortable home. It fits our family perfectly right now, and I already can't wait until summer again, so we can take walks to the park and play outside in the backyard!


Avery...Wow. She's growing so fast! At night (yes, there are certainly nights when Avery sleeps snuggled next to Justin and I), she randomly wakes up and whispers, "Mom, I love you so much" in my ear. Then she turns and goes back to sleep. It seriously makes me want to cry. She also asks Justin and i to "hold her" at night. "Snuggle me" "Hold me" "Scratch my back". Some nights we are so exhausted, and I just want to be alone on my side of the bed, but I keep reminding myself that these are moments that I'll never get back...so I have to take advantage of them. Avery is loving preschool. She is ready for me to take her and pick her up, which I look forward to after January, but she has done great adjusting. Pick up and morning are her hardest times. She's just so emotional, which makes her SO much fun and yet SO frustrating at times. She freaks out about her hair if it looks messy (try dealing with that and curls), and has decided she hates turtlenecks. When I bought her some non-turtleneck shirts she complained that the sleeves were too long and begged to wear a jacket to cover up the shirt. Where does she get this self consciousness? Every day when I pick her up from work she goes through about a 45 minute emotional meltdown...then, she's wonderful. For that reason, I'm excited to be finished with work. I know she will still have meltdowns, but she's so wonderful for everyone else, I think she holds in any frustrations and unleashes them on me in the evenings!





Aric...Oh My Gosh! He's sooooo stinkin' cute! His personality has totally blossomed! He has now become our entertainment. Opposite of Sissy, he is not a very emotional child; however, he is crazy in his own ways. He sky dives off of our furniture, tries to play with outlets, climbs in the dishwasher, tries to climb in the oven, and does about every other naughty thing imagined. He has lots of energy, and listens to Daddy much better than Mommy (he just laughs at me...even when I'm really serious). With that said, he has the sweetest nature. He hates to snuggle, but gives us "mooches" and short hugs. He says "Mommy" like a broken record; sometimes it makes me hate that title when he follows at my feet whining "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy". Aric absolutely LOVES puppies (doggies), and enjoys any sort of family activity that involves action (peek a boo, hide n seek, etc). He is obsessed with sitting in my lap (he backs his body up to sit in my lap), and it's so fun to have a little buddy. Aric loves his Sissy and she loves him. He calls her, "Sissy". Too cute.

Activities...Wow! We've done a lot since my last blog.

We went to the pumpkin patch with Sandy and her family in October. It was so much fun, but VERY hot! We were pouring water on Aric's head just to cool off his flushed cheeks. Avery had a lot of fun with the boys and Savannah!


Jim came in town and we wish he would come back! Justin accomplished so much around this house with his dad, and we loved having him around! We went to boo at the zoo, which was a lot of fun, and Jim made us his special spaghetti dinner on Sunday. He even helped in the nursery. The kids loved seeing him, Avery was always making attempts to grab "Papa's" attention. She even woke up at the 3:00am one morning and whispered in my ear, "Is Papa coming today?" We can't wait to see them at Thanksgiving!



Santa's Workshop! We spent a Saturday at Santa's Workshop with all of the cousins....thanks Grandpa and Grandma! The kids had an incredible time, of course!

Halloween was a lot of fun. It was much warmer this year, so we went the trunk o' treat at the church, and then went trick o treating around my parent's neighborhood with Quinton, Stephanie, and Sydney. The girls loved wearing costumes, and really enjoyed eating their candy. There is one scary house on their street (we saved it until last) and both girls were slightly traumatized by the experience. Justin and I loved watching the kids enjoy themselves; we feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family!