Which day will it be?

Just wondering when we get the joy of meeting baby #6. Two weeks to go (or maybe less...time will tell). I feel good, not anxious, but just excited. Thanks to some strong nesting instincts and help from Grandma Donna & Grandpa Jerry, we whittled down my to-do list around the house. Not much more that I hoped to have done before the big day. Patrick is still working on the garage so we can park in there again - that'll be nice as it's starting to cool off! And he's also working on the basement storage - we've cleared out quite a bit and look forward to it all being in better order. The kids rooms are all settled & finished, so that's also a relief.

From the physical standpoint, baby's head is down & I'm 3cm as of today - not the start of labor, but at least things are heading that direction!

Soon and very soon...

Leah the runner - a Second Hand Story

Yesterday, Beth, Robert, & Mya kindly let Leyton, Nathaniel, Leah, & Anne come over to play while I took Jacob to a birthday party. They were all excited to go play at Mya's house. So Beth told me today that they went over to the high school track and they ran a lap or two. Apparently as Leah approached the finish line of her second lap (which she'd pretty much ran the whole way), the bystanding family members started to cheer for her. Beth said you could tell a very obvious look with Leah that she was really kicking it up a knotch - that the cheering really got her going. She buckled down and ran in an all out sprint. I wish I could have been there to see it.

Then back at the house, Beth said Leah was running circles in the yard. She ran around Robert and came to report, "Beth, I just ran around your husband!" Then she ran off again saying, "I'm going to go run around Mya's dad."

I tell you, she is a free spirit. It doesn't at all surprise me, but I would have loved to have seen it!

To top it off, we all got invited to stay for Chicken Pot Pie dinner which was enjoyed by all - especially me since I got a night off cooking when Patrick was out of town already! Thanks, Beth, Robert, & Mya!

Anne's commentary

Lately Anne has been big on possessive pronouns...she's always talking about what is hers and such....

About Leah: "This is my sister."

As we approach the house: "This is my house."

Around mom: "This is my mom."

About shoes, etc.: "These are my shoes (shirt, etc.)"

Just a funny little girl. She & Leah are sure becoming closer & closer pals. We've actually moved them into a room together and I think they'll really enjoy being together. They've moved into the boys' old room - which has fittingly gone from orange room/blue bathroom to a nice pink room/purple bathroom. One thing about Leah with the new room was that when the bathroom wasn't quite finished, she went in while Patrick was working on it. She looked around and said, "The bathroom is purple; well, it's mostly purple, but a little bit blue, but that's ok."

Patrick told her that he'd definitely finish the touching up and that it would be all purple and she said, "OK." I just thought it was so cute that she was clearly acknowledging how the color wasn't quite done, but she was just fine with that.

Happy Halloween! 2011

Well the weather was beautiful this year for Halloween. We spent some time at a neighbor's house for dinner & snacks before heading out to trick or treat with them. It was a lot of fun. The kids did great - more walking this year than last, but still were content to head home before 8pm - which was great since we had school the next day! Everyone got a good dose of candy. Probably one of my favorite things was how Leah wanted to really give out candy at home. When we arrived home, she sat on the steps with the big bowl of candy and was "waiting for customers." Then when someone came, she would give them their candy, then return to the steps to wait for the next "customer." She did tire out, though, but we knew she was really hoping for more people to come. We let her lay on the couch and wait for a few more customers. It was just the cutest thing seeing her so excited about it. We didn't have a uniform theme this year, but that gets a bit challenging with more & more people to plan! As far as all the jack-o-lanterns, we probably had 8-10. The kids had drawn faces on all of them and Dear-ol-Dad carved them all - probably about 4+ hours on Sunday. The carving was followed by him making pumpkin soup, toasted seeds, pumpkin bread, and later pumpkin pie. We had PLENTY-o-pumkin! Great job, Patrick!

Soccer Pictures 2011

Leyton & Nathaniel played soccer on one team, 4 on 4, and then Jacob played his first season this fall, 3 on 3. They had a lot of fun. Everyone had goals (even though we don't keep score), they were all pleased with the season. It is neat seeing the older boys actually start really playing these games! I must say, though, that Blue Valley Soccer Complex is enough to drive me crazy on the weekends - it gets very busy and hard to get in and out of. Yikes. Just so many people all over! But, so goes the way of soccer around here. Basketball starts at the beginning of December and all three boys are going to do that as well. Should be fun!

I wasn't able to get a picture of Leah at the games, but Anne sure is a cute cheerleader!

Fall Fun in the Leaves!

Every year since Leyton & Nathaniel were about 20 months, I've managed to at least take a few pictures of the kids in the leaves. I think this year is probably fewer than I typically get, but still managed a few. We have plenty with this yard given our nice, huge, leaf filled oak trees in the back plus plenty of other trees and such. I enjoy them most of the year, but the leaves sure are a lot of work! We get a pretty good carpet multiple times per season. Oh well, all ways to enjoy the beauty of every season, right?

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We made it to the pumpkin patch in October and we went to the one out in Gardner this time. Amazing to me that it costs $10 per person to get in, and that doesn't include any pumpkins. Sor for our 7, the coupons were very helpful! And, we did, however rack up some pumpkins - about 21 including some small ones. Each kid picked about 4 and Leah wanted to bring one home for the new baby. The weather was beautiful and we all had a great time.