November

November was a busy month to say the least. Here are some highlights from the month. (I did not have my camera in Denver or St. Louis.)

It started off with Grandma going home to be with Jesus and an unexpected trip to Denver. We were blessed to be able to fly to Denver and spend time with the family and celebrating Grandma's life. Mike flew out with us and came home after the funeral while the kids and I stayed for a few more days and came home by ourselves. The time in Denver was tough but also so much fun. I was able to introduce my kids to the New Jersey family and enjoy watching Emma play with Tante Lil and Aunt Barb. I talked with Emma before we went about her "job" while there being to love on people. And, she did that so well! She totally came out of her shell and entertained everyone and sang songs for the while room and would walk up to someone and say, "Hi, I am Emma. What is your name." So much fun to watch her. Jonah was well behaved, but 15 months old. He was into everything and that was exhausting. Thankfully he did not destroy anything, to my knowledge. It was wonderful to have unexpected time with family although the traveling was a stretch and I have no plans to fly with the kids again for a very long time!

Jonah was supposed to be an elephant for Halloween but I forgot his costume, so Noah shared and he was a monkey.

Emma insisted on being a ghost. She had so much fun trick-or-treating with Noah.

On the plane...I don't know what we would have done without Susan's dvd player. Jonah was absolutely awful on the first flight and the returning flights...see the video below for a snapshot of his screaming. I always have been convinced and am now certain that the worst age to fly with is a 12-18 month old. Just awful. I am glad that is behind me.

Cliff built a snowman with Emma. She had so much fun!

Just after getting home from Denver we celebrated Mike's birthday. Emma was so into his birthday this year.

Decorating Daddy's birthday cake

She did most all of the piping by herself

She was so excited to tell Daddy all about the picture she painted for him. She was ecstatic about his birthday and helped decorate the kitchen and make his day very special!

Making coffee for Daddy

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Thanksgiving was a fun week in St. Louis with Grammy, Poppa, Uncle Ben, Aunt Erin, Uncle Andrew, Aunt Abby, Sam, and Leah. It was a 15 hour drive from Charleston which was actually not too bad. We spent the night in Knoxville both ways and the kids were about as good as we could have asked for.

Bubbles with Grammy

Love those cheeks and lips

Cousins and best buddies. Emma is not that much taller than Sam...bad angle.

Snuggling and reading with Poppa

Jonah climbed into this box to hang out and suck his fingers at Grammy and Poppa's. We especially love that he sticks his puppy's tail in his ear while sucking his fingers.

Random moments around Charleston

My kiddos snuggling with each other and their lovies. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a child that is not a finger sucker with a strong attachment to a lovie. They love to spend time together and play together a lot. Emma is so sweet with him and he loves her to pieces. Notice the shorts in late November...we didn't turn the heat on until December and did have the air on one day in early December.

Jonah watching Daddy use tools.

Love that face!

Enjoying a cupcake from our local cupcake store. She sent this picture to Sue-Sue who is her cupcake partner in crime.

Ducky comes along to BSF and Dance class every week in the pocket of the backpack.

Classic

Just one picture of the enormous amount of painting we have done. These are the doors on the first floor. I still have two more on that floor to do. Every surface in the house must be painted...and I mean every surface...ceiling, molding, doors, etc. While I spent the day painting I listened to the canons fire from the civil war reenactment happening a mile away at the plantation.

Along with working on the house, we have just been making the most of the weather with bike rides and trips to the park. Mike also had his first business trip and we survived! We are enjoying the lack of bugs as we enjoy cooler weather.

Emma is just loving BSF and she pretends to be her teacher Ms. Beauford. As I was laying on my bed trying to survive the afternoon, she was teaching me. I was Emma and she was Ms. Beauford. Towards the end of it I realized that I could capture some of it without her realizing what I was doing. She is so funny. She just lines up her babies and teaches them every day.







Jonah on the plane...yikes