Happy Halloween from our Frilly Fairy!

We had a really fun evening with friends. We had some friends over for dinner and then went to the University and walked through an indoor kids party they had. Faith loved it. She was brave and went through blown up "scary" houses and kissed many a huge inflated pumpkin. As you can see, she was a fairy. Maybe wouldn't have been our first choice, but we found a great deal and couldn't resist the frills :) Her friends, Mattias and Hamilton were a lion and a turtle. They were quite the crew :)Hamilton the turtle and Mattias the lionUm....didn't you hear me? I am ready to go!!!!!Mattias getting his whiskers painted. I was amazed at how still he and Faith sat for this. It was like they were mesmorized. Facepainting may become part of our daily routine? :)Faith getting a cupcakeFaith and her wondeful cup cake artist :)The fairy has landed safely in her bed and we're hoping she stays there until 6:30...including the time change :) Happy Halloween!

Say Cheese!!!!

Faith cooperated with me this morning and said "cheese" when I asked her. So, we got this great picture :) It's hard these days to get smiling pictures b/c she's VERY busy :) I also got her on video saying cheese. It's a little dark again....sorry about that. But, I think you can still see her "winking." She's started initiating the winks which is pretty funny.

Have a great day :)

Oh the Beauty of Fall

I know, I'm on a roll tonight with posts, but we've got to catch up :) Fall here is BEAUTIFUL this year. We moved to the other side of town this past summer, and our new duplex has a beautiful view out our back porch. The leaves are turning and thier colors are truly brilliant this season. We are reminded of God's creativity and beauty. Here are some views out our back porch:

Faith and Daddy spent the morning together so that I could get some homework done. They went to the park and had a great time. Faith was too cute in her camo and pink:

This afternoon we decided it was the perfect pumpkin-carving weather. So, we took the pumpkin to the back porch and cleaned it out, then back inside for some carving. Faith was interested in helping get the gooey stuff out, but a little too interested in the carving tool....so we distracted her while Daddy carved, and she "carefully" examined the finished product...

Our one-toothed jack-o-lantern!!!! Great carving Daddy......Uh-oh. There goes the tooth.....
Let's just say we now have a toothless jack-o-lantern....but it's cute all the same :) Happy Halloween!

Faith's Wedding Dance :)

At Mallory and Zach's wedding, they had background music playing before the actual dance began. This provided the perfect opportunity for all the kids to bust a move on the dance floor....and bust a move they did. Faith was in heaven. She loves to dance, period, but add other dancing kids to the mix and life can't get much better. We couldn't resist taking a little video. It's dark as the lighting was low and we just had our digital camera to take the video. But, you can still see her dancing. Enjoy :)

Lost and Found

Our camera was lost....but was it really? It was "misplaced" by a certain 17 month old...and recovered by her as well. I knew she was playing in my purse right around the time of the camera's disappearance....so we searched everywhere in the vacinity (or so we thought). Then a couple days ago Faith and I were again in Mommy and Daddy's room making the bed, putting away laundry, etc....when a certain camera magically appeared on the floor. Faith had been playing in a couple of my empty purses that I keep hanging on one of our door knobs. Apparently we didn't check there! So the camera is back! Never a dull moment :)

Here are some pics from Mallory and Zach's wedding. I wish I had gotten a good one of Mallory and Zach, but only Mallory. Know that Zach looked so handsome and was wearing some sweet Converse tennis shoes :)

The glowing bride.

High school besties reunite :)

(I swear I am not pinching her leg off....it just appears that way. The girl is squirmy!)

Chels and Faith were fast friends :) Couldn't believe they hadn't actually met yet!

We had a wonderful time at the wedding, and getting to stay with Uncle Dan and Aunt Der. The wedding was beautiful...Fall colors with an outdoor ceremony at dusk. Mallory and Zach were floating all evening. All God's blessings to Mallory and Zach. Thanks for a great celebration!

Exciting News!

So, after typing the blog title, I realized that not everyone may find this exciting....but Faith's mommy and daddy sure do. Are you ready? Yesterday Faith peed in the potty for the first time!!!!!!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!! We recognize that this is just the beginning of a (most likely) long process, but yeah for Faith :) She earned a sticker and a new Elmo potty seat to go over the big toilet. She went again last night before bathtime. She is not using the potty every time she needs to go, but this is a HUGE start :)

As for pictures....well, our camera is offiically MIA. We have searched everywhere and cannot figure out where it is. We travelled to our good friend Mallory's wedding this past weekend and got some great pictures of the beautiful couple, but cannot find the camera! The only thing we can figure is that we lost it on one of our stops home...which is a MAJOR bummer. We'll figure something out and get some new pics/videos up sometime in the near future. Just had to share the good news :)

A girl among pumpkins

This past weekend we made our first family trip to the Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival. Hartsburg is a very small town nestled among fall foliage and HUNDREDS of pumpkins. It was a very charming place with tons of good food (I had the best corndog of my life! They even brushed ketchup onto it for me! Who knew?), arts, crafts, musicians, etc. Faith enjoyed it for the most part....but we had the brilliant idea to go right after church....which coincidentially coincides with Faith's nap time. This made for a somewhat grumpy little girl....hence the "serious" photos :) But, we got our pumpkin and got to see the festival.

Concentrating very hard on touching the pumpkins "gently"


Amazed at the sheer number of pumpkins. Have we mentioned that Faith can almost say "pumpkin?" It's pretty cute :)

"Seriously Mom? Does it look like these pumpkins are comfortable?"

The only complaint from the festival....PARKING! We walked at least half a mile after parking on this gravel road to get to the town. While this could be a fun "adventure" with older kids....we were wishing we had packed the jogging stroller :)

We haven't carved our pumpkin yet, but when we do we will be sure to share :)

Marathon Details (finally :) )!

So, we actually ran a half marathon! I was wondering if we were actually going to go through with it as our schedules got so busy once school started....but we finished it!

Nate and I ran the Omaha half marathon with my sister, Danielle. We thought we had left PLENTY early from Dan and Der's, but aparently not as parking was pretty bad. So, we started the race a little late. Thankfully, that didn't matter for our final times (not that Nate and I really cared, but Danielle ROCKED it!!!). Danielle ended up placing (we think) third in her age/gender division!!!!!! Did we mention she has a two and a half year old and a four month old? Amazing. The reason we are not 100% sure exactly where she placed is b/c we got our numbers and tags all messed up....so the wrong times were associated with the wrong person. Oh, well. We'll know better for next time (b/c there WILL be a next time!).

Though our joints were very sore by the finish, and our time was compromised by my uncompromising bathroom break, Nate and I had such a wonderful time. We saw people of all ages, shapes and sizes running for various causes at various lengths. It was a great encouragement for me to be part of it all. But, the greatest encouragement was my husband (sappy, I know :) ). At one point during the race I joked that it would be sweet for us to hold hands crossing the finish line. He just sort of laughed, so I didn't think he was too into it :) But, as we approached the finish line together, he grabbed my hand and we crossed at exactly the same time. It was an experience we will always cherish...and one that we hope to repeat with a better time :)

And, MANY thanks to Dan and Der who bravely watched Levi and Faith. They were naturals, and it meant so much to see them all at the finish line (including Danielle who finished about an hourish before we did :) ). Just imagine going by the crowd and hearing a very distinct, high pitched and excited "Mama! Mama! Mama!" It was a blessing.

Crossing the finish line together

Woo hoo! The finish is in sight!The runners and our babies :)The always brave and wonderful Aunt and Uncle with thier crewHappy fam...pretty sure Nate has some food in his mouth :) We were starved by the finish and they provided a pretty good selection!Sisters....did I mention she's my inspiration? :) Danielle and Levi. Great picture.

5:00 am. Ouch.

Our sweetie dancing while she was waiting for Daddy and Mommy to finish.

So there's the half details :) If you're thinking about doing it. Do it. Good luck to Mom and Danielle (and maybe Kristy) who are running in the Des Moines Marathon next weekend. Mom will be running the half!!! And Danielle will be running the FULL!!!!

Comments for Anyone!

Hi blogger friends! I know some of you have told me lately that you are not able to leave comments. Well, I finally took the time to adjust my settings...and now anyone can leave comments! Yeah! :) Just thought I'd let you all know.

Laughing and playing peek-a-boo with her reflection in the bathtub

Walking her baby in the neighborhood

Daddy walking the baby in the neighborhood. Couldn't resist snapping this one. (notice the coffee in hand as well....and this was in the afternoon....)

This girl is ready to roll!

Riding the carousel with her daddy. What a big girl!

Big Girl Sliding...

Ok, we (Nate was in agreement) couldn't resist posting another video. We realize these aren't incredibly exciting, but they are fun...and we know the grandparents/aunts and uncles enjoy them :) So, here's another video taken today. Faith has gotten so good at going down the slide. She wants to do it over and over and over and over again.

She also made a friend today at the park. He was older and wiser. When Faith tried talking to him (in her baby language, of course) it sounded like this, "Abelabelapelabe?" Or something like that.... It was so sweet. In his five year old wisdom he looked at Faith and said, "Oh, You have to pee?" I assured him that she was okay for now :) Anywho. On to sliding....

An Autumn Sunday.

Today was the perfect autumn Sunday. Sunny, cool, a little breezy. Church this morning was a blessing. Our church is undergoing renovations and so we are all "stuck" in the small sanctuary for a time. Is it strange that I LOVE this? Maybe it's the small town girl in me who likes the bright lights and cramped space. I actually get to see everyone and notice when someone needs to get up to use the bathroom. Feels like home :)

We spent time outside after Faith's nap this afternoon. She would be outside 24/7 if this were possible. Our neighbors seem to really enjoy it. I am convinced that the couple across the street have decorated their home with lots of sparkly Halloween things just for Faith's enjoyment (and she does enjoy it!). Nate also had the chance to go hunting today with a friend. They saw "sparing buck" which made Nate's day. He had a great time (thanks Kyle!).

So, here is a video of Faith blowing bubbles this afternoon. She can now say "bubbles?" and it's always with that questioning intonation...."bubbles?" with a pleading look in her eyes. Who can resist that? Usually not me :) Enjoy the video. OH! We made it through the half marathon. More on that with pictures soon. My sister should be emailing them any day (or yesterday...or the day before, but who's noticing? :) ).