October at Our House

Back when we were a one-child family I found myself with lots of time on my hands and enough brain cells left over to create a bi-weekly newsletter filled with updates on life for our close friends and family. And then we had baby #2. 

Sleep then seemed like a thing of the past and with it went what little creativity I had. In a half-hearted attempt I pursued blogging, which went fairly well until we decided in May 2010 to make a 400 mile move... followed by baby #3. 

But in the back of my sleep-deprived mind, I've missed those newsletters... and I think others have too. They serve as such special portholes into our life and times and I can't help but wonder how many memories have since fallen by the wayside because I forgot to write them down. 

All that to say... here we go again. There is no creativity - or even time - to publish my little family newsletter, but I do think a monthly blog post updating the interested public is in order. With no further ado, I give you Vol. 1 No. 1 of the new and improved life and times of our family of three, four, five... six!

 October 2012 found our family composed of a 4 year old, an almost 3 year old, a 16 month old and a one month old. Suffice it to say, this month has been a bit of a blur.

Outings:
 
The fall foliage that adorns the trees here in the Mid-West has been unusually brilliant this year and long-lasting. We made use of the beautiful and warm weather by a few fun family outings including apple picking at a local fruit farm, a bonfire at my parent's house, family pictures, a backyard camp-out and a fall festival at our local metro park.

The apple picking would have been a huge success, had it not been for my... you guessed it: sleep-deprived little brain. I'm rather picky when it comes to apples and Jonathan's are my favorite. Although my dear husband questioned my tree selection as we began to pick our 20 lbs, I hurriedly dismissed him in order to pick as many as I could before the baby started wailing and MJ had ingested any moldy apples off of the orchard floor. Long story short... we ended up with 20 lbs of Red Delicious apples. Yes, I somehow mistook a big round red apple for a small squatty reddish-green apple. Ridiculous!

The bonfire was a more enjoyable experience, although Matt was unable to join us. The girls always look forward to the treat of glow-in-the-dark bracelets during our fall bonfires, but this time around we surprised them with glow-in-the-dark nail polish. I thought their little bodies were going to burst in their excitement. MJ was the typical little boy, fascinated only with scaring the adults by teetering around the fire-pit and running off into the darkness. Jordynn seemed unimpressed with the great flames.

While the fall colors were vibrant, Matt and I attempted family portraits. We knew better than to expect great things being a family of littles, but we had hoped for a few happy poses. Jordynn participated by crying for almost every picture, while MJ was anything but interested in sitting still. He only wanted to "stop and the smell the roses" of his choosing. My mom had made matching shirts for the older girls and thankfully they were more obliging to sit pretty and say "cheese". You can view the fruits of our labor by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Stephanie Barnes Photography

http://stephaniebarnesphotography.com/

One of Matt's wishes was to take the girls camping this year. Obviously I was none too anxious to attempt something large with a newborn, so we opted for a daddy/daughter camp-out in our suburban backyard. It was a huge success and the girls were SO excited to announce the following morning that they had slept outside all night with the wild animals. They weren't too far off either, seeing how a few days later we discovered a raccoon in our trash can!





For our last hurrah for October we attended a family fun day at our local park. It was a beautiful day and the kids enjoyed having their face painted, petting baby pigs and jumping in a leaf pile 3 times their size. Matt and I were envious of their fun in the leaves.








Out of the mouth of babes...

Morenna: Mommy, can you come run with me?
Me: No, not yet.
Morenna: Oh, that's right... because you've got birth. (She meant that I had had the baby recently)

"Penelope" n., (penn-el-o-pee): our children's word for a "centipede"

What's New 

• Morenna (4.5 years) is growing like a weed and continues to be my biggest helper around the house. She often asks if she can "babysit" her younger siblings and does well watching them for brief periods while I do a chore around the house. Both she and Jadyn do their daily work duties with happy hearts (most days) and their responsibilities are increasing. Morenna starting attending a weekly bible study called Kids4Truth where she has been learning catechism and bible verses in return for badges on her sash. She's been working so hard and really enjoys the rewards for her efforts. We're so proud of her! She continues to be a lover of all things girly: hair that "flips", manicured nails and shoes that tap when she walks.

• Jadyn (almost 3!) has been the best big sister to Jordynn. She's been on the fringes of potty-training, but is still learning to know when to tell us she needs to go.
• MJ had one of his top molars come in this month, poor dear! He's adjusted well to his little sister, though, and loves to hang on my pant leg hollering "bab-bee!!!" if I let Jordynn fuss for too long. He gives her lots of juicy little kisses, too. The love of his life? Tomatoes! He would eat them until he was sick and is often found teetering out to our now-dead garden to look for them, rotten though they now are. Using an adult fork has been his biggest accomplishment this month and he refuses to eat unless he can use one. His vocabulary has grown to include: baby, cracker, water, Momma, 'enna (Morenna), peez (Please) and brush (toothbrush).

• Jordynn is definitely our biggest baby yet. At nearly 2-months she's already outgrowing her 0-3 month clothing. She now weighs 11 lbs and is over 21 inches long. We had a rather fierce battle with eczema this month, but thankfully it's been clearing up. Her temperament thus far is very calm and peaceful... unless she's in her car seat. This infant will cry indefinitely whenever we go somewhere. She d-e-s-p-i-s-e-s her seat, moreso than any other baby I've ever seen. Matt and I have so enjoyed our rare quiet moments with Jordynn this month. She's beginning to "talk" and "coo" and we just lose ourselves in her precious blue eyes.

• Matt spent a week this month diligently studying for a certification exam for work. He passed well within the range and we were happy to have him back with the family. He continues to really enjoy the new project he's heading up at work and we love having him work from home where we can bug enjoy him all day long. :-)
• I continue to push forward on my book project. This month I was able to re-establish some dedicated writing time each week. It feels good to be back in the saddle writing again!
• October also brought Hurricane Sandy to the East Coast and even as far inland as where we're at in Ohio. It struck our home in Virginia with 60 mph winds but thankfully we had no damage sustained to the house.

Overall, we're thankful for a month of health and protection and fallish fun for our family. Hope your month was as enjoyable... what did you do?