We have had quite a fun filled fall! September and October were crazy! We are ready for Winter fun and all the wonderful feeling the Holidays bring. I will update by person starting with the youngest! Some fun pictures will be last.
Alexandria
Much to her Daddy's dismay, Baby Alexandria started walking at about 8 1/2 months and is now a pro at 10 months. Daddy was hoping to put off the walking until as late as possible but she couldn't wait to be on the move. She also experienced her first Halloween, and while she did not do any Trick or Treating, she did get to dress up as Princess Snow White - and boy was she cute! She also finally started getting her two bottom teeth! I was wondering when they were going to come and they have. She is now starting to cut her top two teeth. It definitely doesn't seem like fun, I'm glad we don't remember what it is like to have our teeth come in. :( Alexandria LOVES her big sister! She has such a great time playing with Brooklyn. Whenever she hears her sissy come into a room she jerks around looking for her and practically jumps out of my arms with excitement. She loves to listen to her sing too. She tries to copy so many things that Brooklyn does which I find adorable. I hope they will be close as they get older. Alex is a pretty easy going baby, she will go to just about anyone as long as she has decided she doesn't have anywhere she wants to go....if she is on a mission somewhere - watch out! She doesn't want anyone to get in her way....very determined little thing. We wondered if our second child would be a little more mild since Brooklyn is so spirited but it doesn't look like that will be the case. She is definitely a snuggle bug....She has loved to be held since she was born. Its funny because you would think that Brooklyn would be the one trying to get attention all the time with a new baby, but most of the time she is fine....it almost seems like the baby is the one worried she won't be given enough love and affection so she makes sure to remind you (as if we need reminding) that she is there and wants attention! We all love our little Alex though - and are so happy she is apart of our family now! I can't believe she is already so big!
Brooklyn
Wow! Brooklyn is sooo big! She is talking a mile a minute! She seriously says some of the funniest things! Just tonight Bryan said she asked, "I wonder what Jesus Christ was for Halloween, maybe a cat or a ghost or something." Haha! What?! Where did that even come from?! She is so beautiful inside and out. We can hardly go anywhere in public without someone commenting on how beautiful her hair is, or her face or whatever....who am I to disagree! For Halloween Brooklyn decided last minute to go as Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony (we are currently obsessed with that show - which is rather good even I do say so). We colored her hair in rainbow colors, tried to be as rainbowy as possible and called it good. She got to Trunk or Treat and Trick or Treat so she had a lot of fun! Grandma Torre even got to be here for Halloween with the kids which was fun. Part of the reason there was a last minute change in costume was because Brooklyn is having a hard time with clothes right now. Everything "goes sideways." What is that you may ask? Well we basically take it to mean that her clothes just don't feel right on her skin. It started with pants - she wouldn't wear them at all....then even skirts were a problem and before you know it - all clothing, even underwear "goes sideways." We had to draw the line somewhere so she always has to wear underwear - even at home. However, I have decided to pick my battles, and unless we are going out or someone is coming over - you will be sure to find a mostly naked girl 3 year old at our house....she is willing to wear daddy's shirts, so we usually do that now. How tough it is to be 3 years old. As mentioned above, Brooklyn is a GREAT big sister! She LOVES Alex which I am very grateful for. She is rarely jealous and is a great helper. She even sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Alex when she is upset to try and help her calm down (usually in the car), and it actually does work! Another way she helps me is that there are those days when they wake up early and I just can't do it! So I will (or daddy will) put on a little show for Brooklyn and the baby can play with toys and just hang out with Brooklyn so I can sleep just a little longer. She is well versed in what the baby is not allowed to have (small objects she can choke on) and will come get me if there is a problem....many times I am actually sleeping on the couch in the same room - but still she is a huge help. She is also my diaper and wipes runner! I cannot state the love I have for both of my children! I'm so happy to be the mother of two wonderful girls!
Felicia
A lot less to report on my front! My main world is the girls so now you know what I do most days. I basically didn't work for the whole months of August and September because the hospital was soooo slow - but I knew we would get through it financially just fine and work would pick back up and I really enjoyed being with the girls. Work is CRAZY busy now all the time so I am definitely making up for it now! I Love the Fall and am excited for this Holiday season to come. We are hosting the Torre's for Christmas which I'm excited about because it will be my first major holiday to host at my house! I hope it all turns out okay. I can't say enough how much I love having this house to call our own and I just hope that one day we will get to improve upon it before we out grow it. My girls are so wonderful and keep me busy. On the church front, I am the choir director and finally got things underway in September. My small choir has about 8 regular people (when they are all there) and I am always trying to get more people to join. I have every section represented, and luckily they all sound good and can learn the music super fast, it would just be nice to have a "fullness" to the choir. I've got a YW who is willing to stay after church for 30 min to babysit for families that claim they don't come because of kids - so we will see if that gets anymore participants. We are prepared to sing the Sunday before Thanksgiving and are preparing for the Christmas Sacrament program. Luckily, in this ward, all I have to worry about is Choir - and am not the ward music director as well! I think i'm starting to get the groove of this choir so I hope things go smoother from now on. I have a GREAT pianist which really helps out!
Bryan
Again, there are a lot less changes going on. Bryan is still working for PWC and so far continues to like it. He once again went out of town during the fall for a couple of weeks so got to have a little change of pace which I think was good for him. He is about to enter into busy season for the client he works on, so we are prepared to be without daddy on many a workday. He is still working on his '68 Camaro when time and money allow. He actually got it started a few weeks ago and was able to move it out of the garage so he could work on the Camry, but for some reason it won't stay running anymore - always another challenge, but I'm not sure it bugs him - just helps him learn. Its so awesome being married to someone who is so handy...he seems to know how to fix so much stuff from cars to house stuff - who knows where he learned it all, but its nice for me because all I have to do is tell him - this is broken, and he usually will get it taken care of fairly quickly if possible. He also is still preparing to take the CPA exams. With work and a family, he is finding it hard to find time to study, so I am going to try and be "better" and pack him a lunch and dinner so he can stay at the office after work and study. We have tried the study at home thing and it is just too distracting. We will both be SO HAPPY when these exams are done and out of the way! Bryan continues to be a great father and husband and has 3 girls who love him to pieces. I love to watch the relationship he has with his daughters. It melts my heart!
If you can't tell - we are at Dave's Pumpkin Patch
Had a lot of fun there - all sorts of activities including Pig Racing!
Alexandria's first time to Apple Hill!
Family photo at Apple Hill
Yay for Rainbow Dash and Snow White! Yes Alex's hair is sprayed black.


