--Thanks & Giving--

It's been a while since I've blogged & I'm sorry for that! I suppose it's easy to get so caught up in *living* that you forget to update everyone.

October came & went. We filled our days with Halloweenie Arts & Crafts and various activities around town. I threw Ava a Halloween Party at the park with a couple of her little friends. They all had a blast & I thoroughly enjoyed preparing all of the themed decorations & goodies for the big day. I also took Ava to the Pumpkin Patch Party at Christ's Church, a Halloween Party at bank of America, and a few other small events. This was the first year that I was able to bring Ava to little events & do activities with her and have her actually enjoy them. We visited the Pumpkin Patch near our home 3 TIMES! It was probably the best patch around town with multiple photo opp areas and little things for the kids to play with.

I took Ava, dressed as tinkerbell, trick or treating in our neighborhood. I wasn't sure that she would be into it, but she loved it. She helped me ring each doorbell and actually said "trick or treat" and "thank you" at every stop along the way. I skipped quite a few houses as my child would not be eating even 1/4 of what she received anyway. No need to waste the candy :)

On to November...
This is a month of *thanks & giving* and I'm thrilled to go through this month and introduce Ava (and Bella too) to the story of Thanksgiving and what it's all about. After all, we've got more than enough to be thankful for. Not only is it important to give thanks, but to give period. Give of ourselves, our time, etc. and give others something to be thankful for as well.

God has blessed me with an amazing & courageous husband and has entrusted us with two beautiful baby girls. We are all happy & healthy. We are all safe. I do not deserve what I have been given, but I am so appreciative of these many gifts. At church a few weeks back, I was taught that "We are blessed to be blessings to others." That is our family theme this month as Thanksgiving draws near.



Chic-a-dees updates:
Ava: Miss Ava is a counting fool. She counts anything & everything. If there's nothing to count, she just counts to count! She is also into singing more than ever before. Anything long that can be grasped with one of her little hands, she uses as a microphone. A week or so ago, she put on a full concert for her daddy during one of our video chats. It was the most precious thing! She is cutting all 4 cuspids. I can't believe it! She always gets 4 teeth at a time. After these come through, the only teeth left are her two year old molars. She is putting sentences together with more and more words. It truly is my favorite stage thus far. I really enjoy actually being able to have a conversation with her!!

Princess Bella is already 4 months old! Where has the time gone?! She is sleeping roughly 7-9 hours through the night and taking naps in her own bed now. She has recently started rolling over from her belly to her back. I'm convinced her hatred for tummy time is her only motivation! ;) She grabs at anything she can get her hands on and laughs and laughs for us. Her eyes stay glued to Ava. You can see it in her face that she is aching to run around with her. Bella is exclusively on formula now and doing better, although I'm giving serious thought to starting to at least pump again in hopes of more success with nursing to get through the peak of flu season. Otherwise, she is 14 lbs 10 oz & 24 3/4 inches long as of October 22nd.



I will upload pictures in a seperate post soon so that you will be able to see a few things we've been up to the past few weeks.