October 2013

Things have continued to go well for us in October.  We are able to get both girls to head to bed at a decent time to allow for us to clean up from dinner, do our daily chores and prepare for the next day.  We have been getting more sleep which has allowed for us to have some more time together or simply go to bed early! 

Deb and I aren’t typically the biggest fans of Halloween, but we busted out one of our old costumes this year and attended a party.  Yep, we went as Buddy the Elf and his lovely wife, Jovie.  At this party, all we kept doing was taking pictures because people were saying, “my kids love that movie.”  Umm, I love that movie…so what does that say about me? 

Each October we usually participate in a fundraising event called “Light the Night.”  This fundraiser was special to us because it helps raise money for blood cancers, which is what my dad was diagnosed with.  The Caslers, Mark, Wahmans, Beth and Matt were in attendance with us and it was a great night for the walk.  It is always a little sentimental of a night, especially when you get a great picture of Allison holding a star with my dad’s name on it (see below). 

Randy and Anna came to visit toward the end of October in preparation for his shoulder surgery in November.  They will be heading back this way for surgery on Nov. 11^th.  Everything looks like it should go well, so hopefully he won’t have any more pain in that shoulder.  While they were here, they helped us make a dent in the fall yard-work we have to do along with babysitting so we could head to the Halloween party mentioned above and go buy some new appliances.  

Allison seems to be changing each month.  She is talking so much now that there is rarely a conversation I have with her that I have to pick my words so she can understand what I’m saying.  She had her 2 and a half year appointment and she is 37 inches tall and 29 pounds.  She is continuing her potty training and doing OK with 1-2 accidents a day and no real success with going #2 on the potty.  She is transitioning to the 2.5-3 year old room at school.  It is going well as she has plenty of friends in each room.  She was Minnie Mouse for Halloween and Deb’s mom made the costume, which looks great! 

Sarah had her 6 month appointment this month and she is 15 pounds and 9 ounces.  She was 27 inches long.  Deb is starting to slow down her feeding schedule so we can switch her to formula here soon.  This will allow for me to spend some more time with Sarah and Deb to get some one-on-one time with Allison.  Sarah was a ladybug for Halloween, also a costume made by Deb’s mom! 

 

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah eats so much better than Allison in regards to solids it isn’t even comparable.  We used to have to play and coax Allison to eat food, but Sarah is ready to roll most times.  I can’t tell you if Allison ever ate 3 “jars” of food, but Sarah will do that a few days a week.  

Allison’s Things of the Month

            Most the time, I put things on here that are funny or cute.  Not this month.  We are in the middle of dealing with some pretty tough times from about 2:30 until 5 each afternoon on the weekend.  When Allison wakes up from her nap, and if it isn’t long enough, she is pretty grumpy and short tempered.  We do our best to be patient, as we know she is just tired.  We try to leave her in her room, but she has gotten so worked up at times she has gotten sick.  We hope this phase goes by quickly, because she is so much fun in the mornings. 

A few more items from this month:

·         My mom’s knee replacement has been causing her some issues this month. She has some swelling and bleeding and we are trying to head over there when we can to help out. 

·         Deb enjoyed some drinks with Amy Gellert at Macaroni Grill this month. 

·         Deb and Beth took the girls to the Zoo and Allison enjoyed the carousel while riding the ostrich!

·         I went to the Colts vs. Denver (Peyton Manning’s return), with the Colts winning an exciting game! 

·         We went to a fundraiser called “Superbowl for Saturday’s Kids.” 

·         We have been trying to go swimming a little more often, so Allison and I went once on our own and we went another time with the Vandervaarts while they were in town visiting.