Spelling Tuesday

Tonight was the Boo Bash at church and so I went ahead and took some pictures of the kiddos in their Halloween costumes! Princess Jasmine and her pet tiger Rajah!

Tonight we took the kids to the nature sanctuary for an enchanting and freezing walk in the woods! The local high school students had carved hundreds of pumpkins that lined the path and we were greeted by friendly Forrest creatures who passed out candy to the kiddos. Roman was bundled up like the kid from "A Christmas Story" (I can't move my arms!!!). Fun night!

Last night Caleb and I went to a grown- ups only costume party. I was a flapper and he was a gangster. While I was getting ready Loralie was pretty excited about my sparkly dress and jewelry but kept giving me tips like "I like your lipstick better than your eyes" and "you look better from the front than from the back". Gee thanks. We had a conversation about backhanded compliments... Then the babysitter arrived and said "So, are you like supposed to be an Indian?". "uh no. Google 'flapper'". Teenagers today...

Today she is a super hero. Keeping the world (Roman and I) safe from evil (bad guys, bears, monsters, an big bad woofs). She tells us to watch out and be careful an call her if we need a super hero. "Oh No!" I say, "there's a bad guy over here and he's trying I get Roman! Help us Wonder Woman!". Loralie swoops in with her golden lasso (tassel from my graduation gown) and saves the day. She puts the bad guys in a cage. "Thank you Wonder Woman!" I say. "Yeah, I saved you." she says. Not bad for a rainy Thursday before nap time.

Oh what to say about Loralie Lenz at the sweet age of four?!?  We had her four year old photo shoot wearing my wedding dress.  Remember when we did that at age two?   This time she was more than a little bit excited about it, as she is super into weddings right now!  I just look at her and think of how beautiful she is and how lucky I am to get to be her mom! Okay, Statistics.  Loralie is sharp as a tack.  You have to watch what you say around her because she is always listening and she has killer recall.  That can be a really good thing, too.  Last night we read the story of Adam and Eve, and when she said her prayers she reminded Jesus about "Adam and Eve was in the garden and what they did was called disobeying and that is not nice so sorry about that." One of the things that I love about Loralie is she seems to have skipped some of the bratty things a lot of kids do.  She is very grateful and appreciative of things that you give her....

Our little princess celebrated her (gasp) fourth birthday today with, you guessed it, a princess party!  The menu included Tiana's Froggy Lime Popcorn, Jasmine's magic carpet roll ups,  Cinderella's shoes for take home treats,  Chip's veggie cups with dip, Aurora's True Loves Kiss cookies, and Snow White's poison apples,   and Cinderella's Fairy Godmother wands.  Princess Belle came and had the girls thouroughly entertained!  They played with bubbles and did all kinds of songs and games!  Then they decorated crowns and got to pick out the the treasure box.  Belle also did all the girls' make up!  Loralie wore a beautiful dress that Grandma made her, and she got to go get her hair done with NeeNee.  Daddy made some cool decorations too, and he even dressed up like Prince Charming!  Time to blow out your candles big girl!  Here's our whole family!  Mommy was snow white and Roman was Gus-G...

Tonight was my last night snuggling with my sweet little three year old! Tomorrow she turns four! It is so hard to believe. I have loved this year so very much. She is so funny, smart, and helpful. Can't we just stay three a while longer little one?

Today I got to go with Loralie's preschool class to the Shatto Dairy Farm. We got to see some cute cows, learn about the dairy and taste some yummy milk!

Guess who is four days off of his $50/month acid reflux medicine that he was supposed to outgrow at four months... Roman dean!!! So far so good! No more puking than usual and he hasn't been crying in pain or anything! This would make mommy and daddy VERY happy!

Last week passed in a blur! Caleb's squad went away for training and I scheduled myself silly to try and make it go by faster! Pumpkin patch with the kids? Check! Playdate with the Mcgregors? Check! And of course some preparations for Loralie's big birthday party next weekend!

Who's got two thumbs and is officially in the 10th percentile for height and weight??? This Guy...

I ran my second 10K today (that's 6.2 miles for all you 'MERicans). My neighbor Carrie and I ran together and we finished in one hour and thirteen minutes- a personal best! Didn't have to stop once! It was freezing cold so we were all bundled up- hence the "fluffy" appearance in this starting line photo!

Roman Dean is already nine months old!  Can you believe it?  I will have to start birthday party planning soon!  Roman's biggest accomplishment this month is consistently rolling over.  He still hates tummy time, but now he can fight back by rolling quickly onto his back.  Roman has two little teeth bumps poking through on his bottom row.  He has been a little cranky but usually gets happier if he gets his Motrin.  He loves to play with his squishy blocks and his nesting blocks.  He still loves his jumper and swinging outside.  He can pick up teeny little cereal but he still can't get them into his mouth.  He LOVES music and he is working really hard on clapping his hands.  His most favorite thing of all?  Tickles!  Maybe a tickle monster themed birthday party...