Halloween

My girls just left to go trick or treating. I wanted their grandmas and grandpas to see pictures of them so here they are. Emma is a vampire, Ella is tinkerbell and Kate is a lady bug.

This is at the pumpkin patch.

Kate loved to carve pumpkins with us. She tried to cut the pumpkins with a pretend knife and throw crayons into the pumpkins.

Right before it was time to go trick or treating Kate decided to grab "something" out of her diaper and spread it all over her body and crib. What a treat for mom!

Sam the fighter

I had to post this picture of Sam. I can't believe how far this little guy has come! I can't also believe what this boy has gone through to survive. He is such a fighter. When I feel like I am having a bad day I look at him and realize my problems are pretty small.

Soccer, Harp, and Birthdays

I have to be honest, there has not been anything real exciting to blog about in our family. Lately, no news is good news. Our entire family, except for myself and Ella has strep throat this weekend. That is as exciting as it gets. Somehow we always seem to catch what is going around. I am just waiting for my throat to start hurting.

Ella turned four. She could not understand why she couldn't have a friend's birthday party this year. She did get to go to kangaroo zoo, Cheesecake Factory with Stella and Lara, and have a family party. She had a Mermaid cake. She's already planned her next birthday.

Emma had her Book 1 Harp Recital on Sep. 13th. She did such a great job. She practiced so hard to be able to play her songs in front of her family. We were so proud of her. The hardest part was picking the dress. We went to three different stores, and every dress had something wrong with it. My mom started to laugh because I used to be the same way when it came to clothes. That night I called my mom and apologized for every single time I gave her a hard time about clothes. I guess what goes around comes around!

Soccer has ended. I can't believe how busy soccer can make your life. We tried once again to get Ella into soccer. Her favorite part was to run really fast with her arms while smiling at the crowd. We did get one or two kicks out of her this season. It makes me smile, while testing Chris' patience. Emma has found her passion. She loves soccer. She had to play against 3rd graders, which was a challenge. She arose to the challenge. She stuck with them the whole season. For some reason Emma is totally different on the soccer field than at home. She can get smacked in the face with the ball and it doesn't phase her. I wish it could be like this at home:)

Chris' new office finally got started after 9 months of a nightmare. It will be so nice to have it done.

Ella started harp lessons. It has been so much fun, but a challenge for mom to practice with 2 girls. It takes all of my patience to do this. Ella is all about the treats and prizes. A little bribery never hurts!

Kate is now standing and taking 1 step. She still prefers to crawl. She LOVES animals, especially dogs. She calls them boo woo's. I am amazed how many times she can watch Baby Einstein animals and not get sick of it. She went on her first boating trip and amazingly did okay with the suffocating life jacket.