Whirlwind of a Week

It has been a crazy week!! Anthony has been working away from home the majority of the week. So it has been me and the kiddos. I had a last minute newborn booking for Tuesday so that was nice. I know I said I would get a blog up and running for my business. I will. I just have not gotten there yet so here are some adorable pictures of this little girl. She modeled some headbands that I made. She has a head full of hair and is absolutely prescious. She was a dream newborn to work with as she slept pretty much the entire time..............



We also go the proofs for our family pictures back. I was so pleased with them. Shelie did an such a great job. Here is the link and password to them(Click on the "Here"). The password is Alexis10911. Now I have to choose which ones I want.

On top of Anthony working and me working the one day  and then all my work at home with editing pictures poor Lilliana has been getting a ton of teeth. She has been up all week at night with fevers. They have been so bad I took her to the Dr. Wednesday morning thinking she was really sick. It is just her teeth though. She just crys and is miserable. So that has made this week a little more challenging. She is starting to get up on all fours to crawl though. She also has been saying, "dogs." She loves the dogs so it is hilarious to hear her say it.


Eli has been quit the character lately. He is beyond mouthy and we have been having to work on it. I told him to get up to the table to eat the other night. He said, "I play for a few more minutes." I told him, "No. It is time to eat get up to the table." He says, "That's not necessary. You don't talk to me that way. You talking naughty." I proceeded to tell him that was not ok to talk that way and it was time to get up to the table. Where I here, "Mom you talking naughty. Don't talk to me that way!" Seriously the kid is full of it. I caught him doing this the other night before bed........

Yep on his dresser with his pajama pants on his head reading Curious George. Seriously the kid is just well my kid. I can't describe it any other way. When I caught him he took his pants off.


We were supposed to go out of town this weekend to make up for a couple weeks ago. I am so behind on house stuff and Anthony has a lot to do once again we canceled this morning. We decided to be responsible. Instead we hung out in our pajamas and got things done around the house. Eli decided to go get the mail with me and well he thought my shoes were appropriate to wear. He walked all the way to the mailbox like this......


We also found a really big leaf.



We decided this afternoon to have some fun. We still had not been to Uncle John's Cider Mill as a family. It was a typical end of the fall weather for Michigan....Rainy, Chilly, and windy. We wore our hoody sweatshirts and enjoyed the afternoon eating donuts and cider.


It must have been the happening place because for it being such a crummy day there were lots of people just sitting and enjoying themselves. I love going. It is in an old old barn. Some days you can actually watch them make cider. They have wonderful big round wooden tables complete with gingham tablecloths. Its just perfect.

Lilliana was way more interested in everybody else than us. She sat in her own chair and ate a donut though.

She adores her daddy. When he finally got home this week she was so much happier. She is going to be a daddy's girl!

We went outside to look for a big pumpkin. Unfortunately did not find what I was looking for but the kids had fun while I looked. Eli was very helpful and had all sorts of ideas about the pumpkins.

We even went for a wagon ride.

It was chilly but fun.

On the way home the sunset was absolutely amazing. It was just so beautiful with the clouds and then the sun just bursting through.......


We ended the night with wrestling and well Lilliana being a clown! She has not chewed on her toes much but tonight I happened to capture this moment. Eli always had them in his mouth so this was fun to see her do.



I think our wonderful weather for this year is probably done. So it is time to officially break out the winter clothes. Our big plans for tomorrow include insulating our attic, getting the house ready for winter, and I have some editing to do. What are you big plans? Enjoy the weekend!

Reconnecting............

This weekend was absolutely amazing! We may not have done anything very exciting. In fact we really did a whole lot of nothing but reconnect on all levels of our family. Sometimes Anthony and I get caught up in the day to day living plus video games, scrapbooking, camera, internet, tv and texting. We didn't really do it on purpose but we kept it pretty much did not do much. I did do a little scrapbooking. Anthony did play a game on the internet for a bit. We also both texted at one point but for the most part it was just us and the kiddos. Sometimes the weekend comes and we just take turns having down time while the other watches the kids. It can be nice but many times we disconnect. It may not always be technology related either. I get busy with crafts. Anthony will get busy with household projects, but this weekend was not one of those!

The weather was absolutely amazing and it really helped so much. I had to do a little shopping on Saturday so I got some much needed time away and to myself. I got up very early to do that though. I was home by 10. Saturday we played with the kids. We all took naps which was pretty amazing. It was beautiful and Saturday night was one of those nights where kids play outside late, the crickets and toads make wonderful music, the air smells of fall but it is still amazingly warm, and the sun sets giving off a warm wonderful glow. We all sat in the back yard and enjoyed it. The kids played in the sandbox. It was one of those nights where no shirts were needed and babies can wear just a diaper.


Said baby also eats lots of sand and is in love with Daddy while he plays with the dogs getting them to bark and run and jump and anything else they will do.



The sandbox is a magical thing. It is where said baby's brother insists baby join him to play. Brother is not interested in anybody else though. He only wants to fill his trucks with sand and dig to China.

...............But don't take that baby out of the sand box because he will insist she needs to sit in there and play. They will make a huge mess of your bathtub when they come in, but it will be so worth it because they will be warm and snuggly when they get out. They will snuggle and hug and laugh with their parents.

Mom and Dad will get a great idea to go look at the stars and have a night to themselves away from the house. It is something they have done since they began dating 4 years prior. Their first official date was gazing at the stars and just talking. Thank the Lord for Grandma's who are willing to come over at 8:15 at night to watch a little boy who is so excited to see her. She must endure Thomas the Train.

Anthony and I enjoyed our night together. It may have been brief but it was so nice to get away. We won't talk about the fact that it was none too quiet but it was still nice to get away. The lake hosts a halloween night every year and of course we always pick that night to go so it is loud. It was beautiful though. Even if Anthony said the moon was too bright.

I found it wonderful. Staring out at the lake, spending time with my wonderful husband made it all worth it.

If you look real close you can see the big dipper. Who knew I would be able to photograph the stars. It was much easier than I guessed it would be.

We reconnected even more. Sometimes the kids, chores, and work get between us so it was nice to spend some time just enjoying each other.

Unfortunately I was up pretty much up all night with Lilliana. I am doing the same tonight. Her poor teeth are bothering her. She is so uncomfortable. Anthony was gracious and let me sleep in and made me a wonderful breakfast.

We managed to get ready for pictures with minimal mishaps and away we went. I left the camera at home although I would have loved to have it. It was about not being behind the lens today. There were times I really wanted to kick myself for not having it, but I really enjoyed my family and loved having somebody else do the work. My midwife who did my maternity photos did our family ones. I can't wait to see them.

We went out to dinner. It was a bittersweet night. Anthony's youngest brother will be leaving tomorrow for Boot Camp. He has joined the Marines. The whole family got together to tell him goodbye. I have had the priviledge of getting to know him the past year. I think he only comes over to eat my cooking:) Really I know that is not the case! We love having him and I always offer for him to eat. I am thankful Anthony got to work with him most of the summer. He is a wonderful uncle to Eli and Lilliana. We will miss him a lot as he has been a huge help to us on our house and just over all company too. We are very proud of him! He has grown up so much from the first time I met him. I know Eli will miss him dearly. He always talks about his Uncle Steven. Eli is probably closest to him out of Anthony's and mine siblings. Really truly as far as seeing Steven is the closest to any of us. We don't see anybody else much. I do talk to my sisters frequently but there is something to be said about actually seeing a person. All that to say we are very proud of him but will miss him very much!

It has been an amazing Fall Weekend!! We truly are blessed. I may not get a lot of sleep because of my beautiful little girl but I am BLESSED to have her and blessed in so many other ways.

It is a tradition!

The year Eli was born I started a tradition of taking his picture in the leaves. I have continued it every year. This year Lilliana got to join in. I have to say I either had very little patience today or Eli was extra crazy. It was a tough time trying to get ones that I wanted. We made it work though. Lilliana gets outside and nothing else matters but everything on the ground. I did not get all the ones I wanted of her but that is ok. I have enough to keep up a tradition. This weekend we have family pictures so I don't want to over do it with. No other plans other than to rest, relax, and enjoy the warm weather.


Eli has grown so much. This is each of his pictures from the past three years. First one he was 7 months. The second one he was 19 months and the last one is today at 2 and half.






I love this last photo.........except the leaves coming out of Lilliana's mouth. She just loves to eat them along with grass and sticks. Silly girl!

Enjoy the weekend!

The Little Red Wagon

This week has been absolutely beautiful. It has been sunny, warm, and the trees are giving us a stunning show like they do every fall. I love all seasons for different reasons, but since moving to Michigan Fall is by far my favorite just because of the beautiful colors.

A week and a half ago I took a picture of our maple right before it was to change. Well it has not disappointed this year. Here is a comparison from that first picture to today............


I had great plans to find some leaves and play in them this afternoon and maybe find a good pumpkin patch. Unfortunately the leaves have not fallen all the way yet so we just got to enjoy a good long walk in the evening rays with the beautiful colors. I decided tonight we would pull out the wagon. It has not been used much this year and since Lilliana can sit up now we used that. We went to the park because it was Eli's request. The sun was wonderful and the kids got so excited when we got there....


Eli played on the swings for a long time. They have become the favorite thing.


Lilliana sat and watched. She did not want to leave the wagon.



Eli saw me taking pictures and insisted he come get some with Lilliana so that is what they did.


It is amazing how much they kids have grown since our last wagon pictures. Lilliana now can sit up on her own and sits above the back rest. Eli just looks older..............


Eli insisted on pulling the wagon there and home. He wanted to pull "Lydiana." He is such a good big brother. I could not believe how well he did. I kept asking if he wanted help but he insisted he could do it up hills and all. At one point there were some girls running and he saw them and started running while pulling her.

She enjoyed her ride.

As we came up to the house Anthony was home from work waiting for us. The Maple was brilliantly lit by the evening sun and I could not resist................



Fall is glorious!

We enjoyed a night of quick baths, pillow fights, Curious George stories, and a little girl snuggling with her daddy.


Chubby cheeks is what she is!  I was calling he that today and she thought it was hilarious. She was giggling and laughing so hard. Of course I got the camera and it was not as much but it still happened. The girl is so much happier now that her teeth are popping through. The girl loves to dance too. I have been trying to get a good video of it lately and finally did yesterday. She will just dance anytime there is music. So here are a couple videos of her.

Tomorrow is supposed to be wonderful for weather so I am sure we will be back outside enjoying it!