6 Month Belly

Well, I've officially hit the 3rd trimester... I can't believe how close Feb. is getting! It seems far away with holidays coming up, but I also know that the holidays will fly by... My biggest challenge now is getting ready for my maternity leave. This week has been pretty exhausting trying to get ready for Kinnick's 1st birthday, but I'm SO excited! I can't wait to see friends tomorrow at the missionary convention and we can't wait for the Colorado cousins (and other family) to arrive on Saturday! It's going to be a *FUN* week!

"You are my brother, and I LOVE you!"

I just adore watching my kids interact with one another. I believe that Kinnick is going to be very tough thanks to his big sister, but I also know that he has a big sister that loves him a whole lot! Bathtime!

Baking with Mom...

Sit & Spin

Kinnick's 1st wagon ride

Kinnick first learning to crawl...

Growing Up

This park is just down the street from our house... When Sadie was one we went here a few times to play. Last summer was a much different story--if I didn't want to stop I had to re-route my walk in order to not go near the park! Sadie loves going here--we ended up here at least every other day over the summer.

Back in May we started going after school ALOT to pass some time before Marc gets home from work. On one of these occasions, there were three 5th or 6th grade girls here playing. As I overheard their conversations and watched them play, it was good to see that they still had somewhat of an "innocence" about them. As I watched, I couldn't help but think, "Did their moms bring them here when they were little?" and "Do their moms know exactly where they are right now?" It got me thinking... How old will Sadie be when I let her walk down the street with a friend to the park? Will I secretly watch her to make sure she's safe? When do you start letting go and trust your child to make her own decisions? WOW--being a parent is really hard. I'm glad I still have time left, because I'm not at all ready to start handling these thoughts!

Although Sadie is years from going to the park by herself, I witnessed huge changes in her in just one summer. All of our first trips to the park were filled with calls of "Mommy, help me!" I can't pinpoint exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the way those calls turned into "Mommy, watch me!"

Don't get me wrong--I'm glad my little girl is growing up and I'm so excited she is becoming more independent and learning new things every day; however, it's sad to know that "Mommy, help me" will be used less and less as she continues to master so many new things.

(Don't even get me started on the little guy--he's growing up WAY too fast! With Sadie, I was so excited for each new milestone. This time around, I've continually thought, "Could you wait just a bit longer before learning that?" I can't even imagine how I will feel with baby #3 knowing that it may be our last!)

As Sadie continues to grow, I'm continuing to pray daily for wisdom, patience, and an abundance of love to give her. I know that our relationship will continue to change throughout her whole life and I'm excited to experience each new stage.

But for now, I just want to capture this moment in time...

By the way--just for the record: Sadie told me yesterday, "Mommy if you turn that water off again and I don't like it, I am going to tell you to go to timeout!"

Trick or Treat..

or "trickin treatin" as Sadie called it. We had a fun night... Sadie was very excited when Marc got home from work. "Are you going trickin treatin with us Dad?"
My two Monkeys!

Sadie's friends Carson & Megan stopped by earlier in the afternoon. (They wore these monkey costumes two years ago!)

Before we left, we gave the kids there Halloween presents. Sadie got her first pez dispenser. She had to carry it w/ her in her bucket. She was a big fan, but she continues to call them "Fez".

Kinnick is checking out his new Halloween book with dad.

Before we left, we moved our pumpkins to the front door--Kinnick kept dropping the little one, I'm surprised it didn't break!

Headed across the street... We took the kids to two neighbors houses before we went to the church (kind of ridiculous how much candy (and other goodies) we ended up with from only two stops!)

Our church's Halloween alternative this year was a continuation of our VBS from summer. We started with family photos and dinner and then got to visit different rooms. Each room had a VBS character and a game. After each game, the kids got candy and collected Bible verse cards. Sadie really enjoyed it and was able to do most of the games.

Carrying an alligator egg to the nest.

Playing the spider game...

Making a craft--she LOVES stickers!

This pic is after a few pieces of candy...

When we got home, Sadie wanted to dump all of her candy into the Hawkeye bowl (w/ her candy from the morning.) Kinnick wanted anything he could get his hands on!

He kept trying to put candy in his mouth that was still in the wrapper--it was pretty fun. Since last night, I think Sadie has had more fun sorting and organizing her candy then eating it!