Miscellaneous October Happenings - rewind

October flew by for me.  I was asked back in the summer to be in charge of the ward's Road Show.  Yes, they still do road shows and they do them every other year in our stake.  October was the month of the performance.  I spent September meeting with some of the youth to come up with ideas, write a script, etc.  October was spent practicing and preparing.  My weekends were either spent at a soccer field or at the church. The day came and the youth did an amazing job!  I had so much fun with them!  (We did a Phineas and Ferb spoof).  I guess I did a good enough job that I was then put in as a Laurel Advisor to only three weeks later be put in as First Counselor when they split our ward.

Also in October, Mike Hicks came to do a youth fireside, which was so beautiful.  Mike and I go way back to my EFY days. We were EFY counselors together for 5 years.  He's a great guy and his sister is also in my ward - small world in the church.  It was so fun to see him again.

 Abby had a field trip with her third grade class and I was chosen to be a chaperone.  It was great to spend the day with Abby and her friends.  We visited the Heritage Village in Dallas and were able to go into old homes, a hotel, see a blacksmith.  After visiting I told her we need to go back to Nauvoo and see that.

 Field day was also at the school.  We do it early in the year so the kids don't die of heat in April.  I was only able to watch a little bit but it looked like the girls had a fun time.

The other big thing that happened was Alec getting his first visit to the ER.  Over a weekend we noticed his man parts were a little misshaped.  One side was much larger.  I took Alec into the Dr. the following Monday morning thinking he might have a hernia.  My Dr. told me to quickly get to the ER because we were thinking he'd need surgery right away.  Alec and I spent the rest of the day in the ER which it's really hard to entertain a little 18 month old in a tiny room and no toys.  And I wasn't allowed to give him any food until we knew exactly what we were going to do.  First we had to wait forever to get an Ultrasound to make sure what it was.  Then it was waiting forever to get the results.  It ended up being a hydrocele - a collection of fluid.  No surgery was needed at that point, just a follow up with a pediatric urologist.  The follow up Dr. then just said, let's wait and see what happens because most of the time these things correct themselves on their own with children under two.  And as I type this, Alec's hydrocele corrected itself on it's own within the next month.  Hooray for not having to have surgery!

October - Pumpkin Patch (Rewind)

 

It's that yearly tradition of going to the pumpkin patch.  Since the pumpkin patch is only a couple miles away, we try to go at least twice.   I think the girls are starting to get a little bored of it though unless they run into friends.  We still enjoy our time there but we don't stay as long as we used to.  Alec's favorite thing to do was get hauled around in a wagon and climbing in a wooden train.

Alec refused to stand against the sign - this is also his measurement.

We measure every year to see how tall the girls are. 

Olivia is quickly catching up to Kaitlyn!

Abby decorated another shirt for the occasion.

We got there early enough in the season to enjoy jumping off the hay bales. 

When we went a second time, the hay bales had been destroyed by all the many visitors.

Olivia's Boyfriends

Olivia and L

There is one particular boy, L,  at Olivia's preschool that has liked Olivia from day one.  Says he wants to marry her.  His mom tells me they use Olivia to get him to do things - brush teeth, eat veggies, go to school, etc.  They tell him things like, "Olivia would like brushed teeth."

The other day L had B over to play.  B is also a friend of ours and they had a conversation that went a little something like this, according to L's mom:

B:  Olivia is my girlfriend.
L:  No she's not.  She's my girlfriend.
B:  No she's mine.
L:  Has she kissed you?
B:  No
L: Yeah, me neither.  Let's go play the wii.

Alec at 18 months

This little boy is a joy to have around!  I could kiss his cheeks all day. He has such a happy go lucky spirit and his personality is really starting to come out.  Alec has joined the ranks in nursery and will be with Olivia for a couple months so the transition for him is pretty easy since Olivia loves taking care of him.

Favorite spot in the living room- looking out the back window for a squirrel.

 
At his 18 month check up, Alec is finally on the charts with no adjusting with his prematurity.  He's in the 70% in height and 50% in weight!

You can usually find Alec carrying around his love-y, a raccoon (thanks Kerry!) and hates to give up his pacifier and doesn't like to drink his milk from a cup.  He loves to dance to music, loves Mickey Mouse, and playing on my phone.  He knows which apps are his and when he wants the phone, HE WANTS the phone - there is a lot of screaming about it.  Speaking of screaming, he has a loud scream.  I think he picks that up from his sisters.  He doesn't talk, he can say 'hi" and wave good-bye. He can point to what he wants and understands pretty much everything we tell him.  Alec also loves to color and draw, especially on the walls.  Some of his other favorites are playing outside on the slide and swings, pushing a little wagon around, driving his cooper car, "playing" on the computer and piano.  When we do catch him with something he's not supposed to have, we say no to him and then he throws whatever it is on the ground.  Alec is great at turning on and off the lights, closing doors, sweeping, climbing on things,  and folding his arms for prayers.  I absolutely love it when he holds my hand, gives me a hug, and gives me one of his great slobbery kisses.  Alec you keep me so busy and on my toes but I wouldn't have it any other way.  We love you little guy!

When I Grow Up

School project by Kaitlyn:

Job Title:  Teacher
Is it a goods or service job?  Service
What skills do you need?  Read, write, teach and learn.
What do you spend most of your time doing on the job?  Spend time with kids.
Where would you work?  School
How do you dress for your job?  In nice clothes.
What needs or wants do you provide for others?  Smart board, chalk board, books, computer
What is the most fun part of your job?  Help learn and write well.
What's the hardest part of your job?  Bad kids.

September

September brought us Todd's birthday!  Happy Birthday Todd!  Abby created a large card for him.

September also brought us soccer!   Abby was once again on her Hot Shots team.  This year meant a bigger field and more players.  Abby got a lot of playing time in - striker, left/right mid, and goalie.  Her favorite position is striker.  It was probably the hardest season to date and there was tons of running.  

We tried the player pool again with Kaitlyn so she was on a new team, the Dragonflies.  She was the only one who had played before and she was the super star for her new team.  Kaitlyn grew in confidence an average game would have her score 5-7 goals.  She loved this season and loves her new team.

Also in September, Kaitlyn was invited to a birthday party at a roller skating rink, her first time ever skating and she loved it!  She has been asking for roller skates ever since.  She took so many falls but never complained and just kept getting right back up and trying again.