sleeping in a big girl bed

this picture pretty much says it all. i cannot grasp that my little baby girl is sleeping in a big girl bed. she's doing beautifully with it too! she doesn't even try to climb out (i need to prepare myself now, that when isaac gets to this stage, he probably won't be so content to stay in!). we are going to be getting all of my old furniture set, that i had when i was growing up. so this bed is a stepping stone to prepare her for the big bed she'll get down the road. unbelievable how quickly they grow! (thanks to our friends, kim and jason, for giving us this crib/toddler bed...it's been a Godsend!)

lisey's first real hair cut!

in light of the number of times we've commented on lisey's "crazy hair", it seemed time to get her a trim. and thanks to my mother-in-law's timely and gracious encouragment to do so, lisey got her hair cut last saturday. she did great! she was stonefaced the entire time, just soaking it all up. tricia was great with her and went above and beyond to make her feel comfortable. of course, lisey had bumma and kitty cat in her arms under the gown :)

oh how i love her curls!!

a day at the park

last friday, our prayer and play group went to julia's house. what a great time we had catching up with one another and enjoying the park together. i am so thankful for these ladies, their hearts for the Lord and for eachother. this group has been such a blessing since last year. how grateful i am, that God has given me so many moms to walk through this season of life with. julia, thanks for hosting us all! and to all of you ladies, thank you for how you've poured into my life and now my kids' lives as well.

halloween

despite this first picture, we had a very quick but nice halloween due to the rain.

isaac was a pumpkin and elise was bumma (her bunny) enjoy this progression of this photo shoot...she had just recently woken up from her nap and didn't want to wear her ears...be sure to note when the cookie shows up in her hand and how her expression changes...

(i told her isaac had just made a stinker, in this one...hehe)

trick or treating with the cousins

watching the parade

pumpkin picking

this past rainy saturday, we decided it was time to get pumpkins. you have to love local roadside stands...we got a great deal! i just love fall...the colors...the sounds...it's my favorite time of year (along with Christmas). anyway, here are pics from our not-so-traditional pumpkin picking event! here's daddy choosing carefully...

here's daddy and isaac...can you believe those eyes?!

and here's our little artist hard at work painting her pumpkin. daddy's old shirt is her new painting smock (poor thing was sweating in it though, while she painted). she was so meticulous while she painted. it was so neat to see her enjoy this so much. i need to get over my dislike for messes and let her do this more. can't you just see the little artist budding...

i liked how cool her palette looked as she was finishing...abstract art right here...wonder how much this would sell for!

rainy saturdays & vanilla pudding

seems like we've had rainy saturdays lately. and on one recent rainy saturday, justin was at his soccer game, so the kids and i were playing a good ol' fasioned game of make believe. the kitchen chairs became our car, we made fake money out of index cards, and lisey and i took multiple "trips" to the store and mimi's house. each time, she'd bring her purses (thanks aunt mary!), money, bumma (of course) and even occasionally, her binoculars! even isaac got in on the purse action, though for him they seemed to be nothing but teething relief :)

then she pulled the ever famous "try-on-daddy's-shoes"...every kid looks adorable doing this!

can you tell i've been trying shoes on her lately...she's feeling her toes in the shoes to see if they fit!

more recently, we made pudding. trader joe's makes an all natural pudding...any excuse i can get to have pudding, i'll take! anyway, here we are making pudding. she's wearing her daddy's old smock from when he was a kid (thanks oma!)...and she even got to lick the bowl.

lisey here, izie here, daddy here, mama here, bumma here...

lately, whenever we get in the car to go somewhere, we do "roll call".

"lisey, are you here?" i ask...

"lisey here..." she says...followed by, "izie here...bumma here...blankie here..." and anything else we've brought along with us! don't know if any of you out there can relate, but my daughter is a walking packrat...she has to have both hands full when we walk out the door...or even just to walk upstairs for that matter!

she's growing up before my eyes and it blows me away. there are moments when i just sit and look and both of them and realize just how quickly it's going...i try so hard to hold on to those moments and really soak it up...but it seems nearly impossible to fully grasp the process.

in one pic, lisey is eating cereal at her table with daddy...moms and dads out there, did you ever see a picture of your child and sit back blown away because you feel like you've caught a glimpse of what they will look like when they're older? the cereal pic did that for me...every time i look at it, i stare until i have to force myself to look away, because i can't shake the feeling that i'm looking at my daughter's face years from now...

isaac did this to me today too. he was taking a nap on our bed and i walked in to make sure he was alright. and as i looked at his long self, laying on his belly, face turned toward me, in his blue pants and maroon hoodie...i felt as though i was looking at a toddler or little boy laying there on our bed! i couldn't believe that's my baby!

here are more pics of the kiddos these days...i am more and more thankful that i am a stay at home mom. every day there are moments that God uses to remind me what a privilege and joy this calling is, that i call my everyday life.

i couldn't resist taking a picture of this early morning get up! (and for those who may not know, that is "bumma" in her hand)