A little bit of October and some of November...

These are all over the place - a little bit like us these days...

 We attempted to introduce solids to Matilda and while she was happy to sit at the table with us, every single bite came out just like this.

Pop playing "get my hat" with Matilda in the shop. 

Designing a Thanksgiving light box that won't make it into production until next year...

You can't seem them very well, but Uncle Jason took Shelby, Wendy and Galina on the Ferris Wheel at a County Fair...

 ...while Johnny rode the Carousel because he wasn't allowed to squish into the Ferris Wheel car. 

All three kids + me and my parents (no Brian this year) drove up to the State Fair and had a blast. A long day, but fun.

We took the kids to Aunt Kerriann's elementary school Fall Festival. They got to go trick or treating and play lots of games.

My dad bought his first feeder pig. This is Sausage. She'll be "processed" in Jan/Feb. I have not gotten to know her...it's best that way...

Matilda discovered looking at the world upside down, and in a mirror. She's a mess and we love LOVE her!

  

At the county fair we put the kids on this kiddie coaster and it took OFF! Their faces were hilarious when it zoomed out of the gate and whizzed around the track. The kid in the last car was really getting tossed around, but when they got off they were all smiles. It was funny :) 

Swings at the state fair. Everyone but me, my kids and my mom, went to the Tractor Pull. I couldn't see me sitting through several hours of that, so I took the kids to kiddie land and we had a blast. 

Matilda has made this surprise face since she was born and we love it! She makes it anytime she is intrigued, thinking, happy, determined. Her little expressions are perfect. 

Bought the kids some Halloween houses to paint because they were so excited to decorate the house for Halloween and when I got out my decorations Galina said, "Well, this is depressing." Figured I'd let them add to my apparently very sad collection. 

She's getting so much hair!

A few months before Halloween, we let the kids watch the old, old Star Wars (don't ask me what # they are...it doesn't make sense to me) and they were hooked. No surprise that's what they chose for their costumes (although Power Rangers almost won) and it was convenient since the new Star Wars came out and the stores were filled with SW junk...I mean stuff...Wendy snuck into this shot :) 

She gags every. single. bite.

 Bath time helpers. All of my babies have loved bath time and I'm so grateful for that!

 Her check-up. She's super tall (98th percentile) but skinny, skinny. Only 14 pounds at this one. They made us come back a month later and she had only gained one pound. Doc said he's not worried, she's just skinny. Of course, it doesn't help that she won't EAT! 

 Johnny has developed a love of fishing. Not sure why or where it came from since he'd never been, but on Veteran's Day, Brian finally took him fishing for real. The water was way, way up though so it wasn't very successful. One day he'll go and get to actually fish and actually catch something. 

Why sit on the couch when there's a perfectly good desk? 

 Matilda gives kisses now - she is quite a lovey little girl. 

 We're dorks, but I do love this crazy man. 

 ALL of my family (minus one sister and her husband and four kids) drove the four hours to Virginia to see my Dad's side of the family for Thanksgiving. It was the first time in a LONG time that we had seen them (almost 7 years for me and Brian!) and it was awesome! A lot of the family from his side was missing (about 15 people), but we had fun.

 My Uncle Steve, who hosted it at his house, is quite an artist and craftsman. He made this lamp from various items that he salvaged. He sells on eBay and other places. I've never met anyone else like him for creativity. In fact, most of the walls in my house have some of his artwork on them. I grew up thinking that he was the greatest artist ever, and still believe it now. 

 This is him, Uncle Steve.

 My cousin Cody made this amazing Black Forest cake. Delicious!

 So this little shirt was mine as a baby. I love it. And her.

 "So Big!"

 Knuckle-heads.

 Johnny pretending to fish in the ditch behind the house. 

These are the very same woods I played in as a kid. I had so much fun back here. An occasional crawdad can be found in the water, turtles, snakes, etc. We had time machines back here, we salvaged a slide and found some old bowling balls to make our own bowling alley. We found tadpoles, and had so much fun back there. In the winter, Brian takes the kids walking through it, but I played in it every summer, winter, spring, fall. So grateful for that childhood...

 Not the best picture, but they were happily sitting outback, talking away in the sprinkling rain, pretending to fish. We fenced in the back yard this past summer so that the dogs could stay out when we were gone all day, but there was never a fence when I was growing up. We just got lost in the woods and came home when we were hungry or thirsty. It was...magical and I love that my parents now have 33 acres for all of us to adventure our way through. To let the kids go play and run and build things and dig. It's just awesome. 

Well, I still have a little bit of November left to add, but not tonight. Enjoy :)