you.are.my.sunshine: November 2014

as most of you already know...we're not typically finder-outers.

we enjoy the suspense.

but, we're also prone to getting wild and crazy and doing things differently when the mood strikes us.

so when J and I had gone back and forth about whether or not to learn the gender at the 20 week ultrasound, we decided to let Peach make the call.

she was like....is that actually a question?

duh!

let's find out!

she came with me to the appointment and some of the first words out of the ultrasound technician's mouth were..."Norah, how do you feel about a little brother?"

Her first reaction was to scrunch up her little nose at it.

But when she saw the little guy waving at her, I could see her heart melt.

She's been proud as punch to tell everyone she meets about her baby brother and I'm glad we went this route for our final bambino.

This will be something that she remembers.

And while the suspense and the wondering was indescribably beautiful the first three trips around the block, this time the knowing is its own special gift.

I'll admit that I got a little teary going through the girl clothes...deciding which special pieces to keep forever and which to give away.

I've never had that "no one will ever wear this in my house again" moment.

But there's an excitement about planning for something new, too.

Here's to switching it up and impulsive decisions that bring us to new places.

ahem......where has October gone?

it doesn't seem quite right that November is all up in my face, reminding me that my firstborn is about to turn six.

that's right.

have i actually been a mom for that long?

wowza....well, for today she's still five and i need to get caught up on all the festivities of October

we filled up some goodie bags and boo-ed our favorite friends

i will never, ever tire of watching them tip toe up to doors and run like wild chickens, tongues hanging out and arms flapping in the most ungraceful way, screaming and slobbering and thinking that this is all secretive and no one will notice....geesh!

and, of course, the biggest kid in our house got in on the action

after the excitement of boo-ing and being boo-ed, we had some days to enjoy the cool breezes and sunshine after school before daylight savings robbed us of our backyard play times

who doesn't love a good game of hopscotch while wearing a sequin party skirt?

pony beads are at the top of our fun list lately....these girls can't make enough bracelets.

lucky me...i get to wear one to work almost every day and pretend like the wire poking me is really enjoyable. ;)

no worries...sparkle has only spilled the bead bucket ~~three four~~ five times now.

there are a few crumbs and broken noodles in the bucket, but no one seems to mind.

i finally had the hubster drag his old desk up from the basement so that this little chickadee had some space to get her school groove on.

it is all i can do to keep up with the reams of paper this child is going through to practice letters and words. wouldn't surprise me one bit if she writes a book someday.

october presented some fun play dates with old pals

finally, the crescendo of the month led us to halloween.

cold, windy, dark

but fun nonetheless for little red riding hood and her crew.

is this not the most adorable little hunter you would ever care to meet?

grrrrr....she practiced her growl for a month...no joke

our church does this fabulous trunk or treat thing where all the fam decorates their trunks and parks in the church lot for kiddos to pop in, play games and get some candy.

it is such a blessing for families like ours as we don't have to deal with the buckling/unbuckling, in and out of carseats, etc.

we can get the vast majority of the trick or treating experience done in one stop and i'm down with that

after trunks and tricks and treats and chilly toes, we stopped at a grand total of one house before skeedaddling back to our home for hot chocolate and a movie with friends

grandma....what big chest hair you have!!!

which brings me to November....why, hello there, i wasn't expecting you so soon, but come on in and let me put a pot of coffee on!

we kicked it off right with a trip to the children's museum to see clifford

this is really one of our most favorite places

when the kids ~~ask~~ beg to go, J and i are both looking at each other like....really?

i was envisioning a quiet saturday at home not running anywhere

but then we come to our senses.

who are we kidding?

it doesn't matter if we stay home or go out, quiet is just really not part of our home life right now.

we either go to the trouble of packing snacks and lunches and diaper bags and hauling the kids up to st. paul or we stay home and clean up after them all day!

once we're there, it is fun, fun, fun and we never regret the trip.