Happy Halloween & GO BLUE!!!

This posting (along with most of mine, I know) is WAY overdue, but still wanted to get a few up of our crew on Halloween! Jed is a huge Michigan fan, so it was only fitting to have our family represent with a football player and squad of cheerleaders :) The girls loved it and Emma made up a cheer that stuck...all 3 girls shouted in unison: "S-T-O......Go Ty Boy GO"!!!!!!....no idea what that means, but it was catchy & they got the rhyming thing down :)...Ty would just beam when they yelled it!!!! Anyhow, he was adorable....all padded up with sponges! My favorite pic below is the one of him from behind in that sassy little stance......Ha! I can totally picture Jed doing EXACTLY that in his high school football days :) Anyhow, the cousins all had a blast together & trick or treating in Sigel was a big hit...Ella's face says it all!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

We love you so much!!!

Pumpkin carvers....

...atleast for a minute! This scene didn't last too long.....



Before I knew it, Boo had my camera and was taking pictures of her shadow, the worm on the sidewalk, and anything else of interest to her......while Ella grabbed my cell phone & was chatting it up!

Eventually, Emma and I got the messy job done,

& she was oh so proud of them :)

Octoberfest at Mema's!

The kids all had a great time celebrating halloween at Mema's Octoberfest! Not only were there cousins, costumes (even Aunt Weez and Mema dressed up!), & great food...but also tons of festive activities with pumpkin painting, treat-bag decorating, "spooning" for apples (yes, an original!), a scavenger hunt, cookie decorating, and the crowd favorite: charades!!!!!!!! Thanks for putting so much time and thought into creating such a memorable day, Mema :)

Naptime in the big girl bed........

.......hmmmmm, not so much!

Ella's naptimes in her big girl bed have been hardly that. The first few times she just couldn't contain her newly found independence, so she quietly got into everything she could get her hands on (socks, wipes, diaper cream, toothpaste...you name it) repeatedly....and I was always amazed that Ty was able to sleep through it all. I was forced to "Ella proof" their room (or so I thought), leaving only their books. I was so sure I solved the problem, so when I heard them "wake up" after their nap, I was so surprised to find...

....this one, looking oh so guilty.....



....and this one, ultra-excited about his crib full of books (I couldn't help but laugh!)!!!!!

Better luck next time, Mom!!!!!

Our 20 week ultrasound...

Here's Baby #5 at 20 weeks & 3 days! This glimpse of our tiny baby has me in complete awe.....such an amazing view of baby's profile, but it's that strong little beating heart that really struck me...


We are in L-O-V-E with this little guy or gal.....sure to be known as the "Baby" of our family :)

Getting into the spirit!

Aunt Lara and Uncle Jeffey brought over some Halloween fun to share with (and help occupy) the kids!!!! Judging by their orange & black stained mouths and hands....they thoroughly enjoyed themselves :) We're ALL enjoying participating in its destruction...I don't think it's gonna make it to Halloween! Thanks so much for thinking of them and helping us too...we really appreciate it :)

The Monkey is ONE!

Hard to believe that cousin Nathan is already a year old! We all had a great time "monkeying around" at his party :) Nate loved his cake....I didn't capture him even approaching his messiest!!! The kids all enjoyed the monkey theme.....Lisa went all out with the details and really made it a special day :) Happy First Birthday, Nate!!!!!

Alivia's 3rd b-day at Port Farms!

The kids AND adults all had a blast celebrating here :) As you can see, my girls totally wore themselves ragged playing with the birthday girl!!!!! Happy Birthday Alivia!!!