{Our THREE Weeks} - 10/21/13 - 11/10/13

Just when I think things might slow down, they get busier!  Can anyone else relate? :)

I'm going to switch things up a bit and recap these past few weeks with photos!

Let's see - where shall we start.... Well, we had a family photo shoot in downtown Davenport in late October.

It was seriously the last not-so-darn-cold day of the year, so (minus the wind) it was perfect!

  We got some great pictures in the first 10 minutes, and then when the kids got restless we captured some action shots as well :)

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We also got Mariah's pre-school picture :)

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Next up - Mariah's FIRST dentist appointment!

I was a little nervous about how this was going to go - but this girl never ceases to amaze us.  She did AWESOME and loved every minute of it!  She continues to ask when she gets to go see the dentist again. :)

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Before we knew it, Halloween was approaching.

So, naturally, we carved some pumpkins! (Some more sensible than others, ahem, MIKE)

Mariah got to bring treats to preschool on Tuesday, October 29th.  We decided something healthy and Halloween themed would be perfect!  We put together these cute little "pumpkins"!

Remove the peel from a clementine and stick a celery stalk right in the middle :)

We also made some cookies for day care!

Despite the rain on October 30th, our little superheros enjoyed trick or treating and passing out candy.

They even shared their hard-earned treats when our supply ran out. :)

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On Thursday, October 31st Mike and I left for RIVIERA MAYA!

A well-deserved vacation as a late celebration of our 5 year anniversary.  It was so wonderful!  We loved having the opportunity to relax and have adult conversations.

We even did a little site seeing and exploring, complete with a tour of the Mayan ruins (Tulum), snorkeling, zip lining and cliff jumping!

We also spent PLENTY of time in the sun, at the pool and on the beach.

The kids enjoyed a WHOLE WEEK with Grammie and Grampi Hopper.  They enjoyed many fun activities - the park, Chik-fil-a, sleepover party, crafting and running around like they owned the place! :)

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On Sunday, November 10th I became a Godmother to sweet little Katherine Anne.

I am so honored to be such an important part of her faith life.  The whole family came to celebrate!

She was the perfect baby during her baptism and threw a great after party complete with cake and cookies :)

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And that rounds out our festivities these past few weeks.

Now the countdown is on for THANKSGIVING just a couple short weeks away :)

{Our Two Weeks} - 10/7/13 - 10/20/13

Madden is really making us laugh lately.  His favorite word is "OK", but how he says it is too funny.  It comes off as an annoyed, "Ohh - KAAYYYY".  For example:
"Madden, it's bathtime"
"NOOO"
"Come on, you can have the shark towel :)"
"Ohh - KAYYYY!  Ohh - KAYYYY!"

Mariah's favorite activity lately is writing letters and drawing pictures for her daycare friends.  She spends many hours with her paper and markers creating some pretty cool art :)

We also had conferences for Mariah last week.  She's doing so good!  Her report card was great - she knows all her shapes and colors, it starting to recognize some letters, follows directions and plays well with her friends!  We couldn't be more proud of her :)












Mariah also wrote her name by herself for the first time this week!

Not much new with Mike & I.  I am in the process of recovering our kitchen table chairs - and thankfully Mike is handy with a screwdriver and could assist me in this project that I know he is SO excited about ;)

Mariah's best quotes seem to come when we are all in the car.  This week was no exception!

Out of nowhere Mariah said "Guys, this is just NOT my day."

:)

Weekend of 10/12 to 10/13

GETTING ALL HALLOWEEN-Y!

On Saturday morning we gathered up a couple superheroes and brought them to the Mel Foster Pumpkin Day.  They had fun checking out the petting zoo, playing games, getting candy and of course picking out some pumpkins!

Sunday we painted our pumpkins and also made some fun "SOCK PUMPKINS"!

We ended the weekend with some cookie baking - the little monster eye cookies were so fun and easy!

Weekend of 10/19 to 10/20

PIRATES, PRINCESSES, PARTIES & PICTURES!

Friday afternoon we saw Disney Pirates and Princesses at the iwireless center.

Mariah was the perfect age and really loved it!

Madden got a little stir-crazy in the second half (once the food ran out). :)

Saturday we headed to Dubuque for Hunter's 4th bithday party!  The kids played hard and had fun!

Sunday we got our fall family photos done!

Here's an out-take for good measure :)

MOVIE NIGHT! :)

{Our Two Weeks} - 9/23/13 - 10/6/13

Madden must be going through a growth spurt lately, or maybe it's just the fact that the sun is coming up later in the morning.  Typically he's the first one up, but lately we've had to wake up the little dude when he's sound asleep in his crib curled up with his favorite blanket.  Kids are kind of like dogs though, they just pop right up and are ready to take on anything! (I wish I had that same capability...).

Mariah has decided that jumping off of a stool in the living room into a pile of blankets and pillows is a great activity.  She's currently working on trying to "stick the landing" without letting her hands touch the ground.  We will see how that goes :)

She's also into Doc McStuffins lately.  Our neighbors gave us a pair of scrubs for dress up and she can't get enough of them!

The past two weeks in school Mariah got to be a chef and bake cookies!  She also learned about fall and leaves! :)












Mike and I are keeping busy as usual - although we are sad that Dexter is over!  That was the one show we watched... so now we need to find another one.  And, unlike most people, I actually thought the ending was good!  Very true to Dexter :)

Mariah woke up on Saturday morning around 6:30 and came running in to our room saying she was hungry.

Mike: "OK Mariah, you can have ANYTHING you want for breakfast.  What would you like?"

Mariah: "MAC & CHEESE!"

Ha... ok... so maybe not that...

CHALKBOARD TABLE - COMPLETE!

And the kids are loving it :)

(Mariah and I drew a penguin family!)

NEIGHBORHOOD BONFIRE

EVAN'S HOMECOMING

My little brother is growing up so fast!  A junior already - on his way to homecoming :)

Me and my favorite little (big) girl! :)