Worth Celebrating

Hello, hello.
By way of an update, I thought I'd share a few things from these last few weeks at our house that I think are worth celebrating...

Brian's parents came to visit! 
It really was sooo wonderful to have them here with us. They stayed for a couple of weeks, and just had a lot of every-day moments with us. We read stories, took walks, went to the park, went shopping, made crafts and projects, etc... all the normal stuff we do around here. We also had a few outings, to a museum, to Stew Leonard's, across the Tappan Zee Bridge and around the countryside, etc. One night when Brian was with us, we got in the car as it was getting dark, and drove downtown to see the lights. We drove in the city, and went across six bridges and one tunnel. (It only cost us $40+ in tolls, for our two-hour tour!) I really wish Brian could have spent more time with them while they were here. He was swamped, to say the very least. But we made do with what time we could snatch from his sleep.

Some fun pics the kids took with Grandma and Grandpa...

Natalie is walking!
It's not official yet, because she still crawls when she really needs to get somewhere. But she walks clear across the living room, or clear down the hall, or clear across our bedroom rug. It's adorable, as you may have seen in our cute video post. She is soooo pleased with herself; she claps lots of times when she finally topples to the floor. Yay for Natalie. Grandma and Grandpa Bishop got to be here to see her take her first steps, which was an extra special treat.

Blurry, I know. But she was walking toward me, so cute!

Spencer is potty training! For real!! FINALLY!
We have Grandma Bishop to thank for this one. While she was here, she was able to work with him (and me), and give us the extra courage to make it happen... First pee and poop in the toilet during the two weeks Grandma and Grandpa were here. We have a ways to go (like, the fact that he has only officially pooped in the toilet one time, sorry for the detail, if you're not used to potty talk). But if we're "baby stepping" then this last two weeks we went leaps and bounds.

Here's his "smile," if someone actually tells him to smile. So funny!

Samantha is reading!
Basically, she'll read anything she can get her hands on. We've been to the library for new books soooo many times in the past few weeks. She is supposed to keep a reading log and have us read at least one book to her every day. Well, she's advance far beyond that, and usually reads three or four books to me -- or to Spencer -- to pass off her log. It's sooo nice to have another reader in the house, especially when she decides to read bedtime stories to Spencer! (not so nice to have her reading email over my shoulder, sigh.)

Here she is, putting on a puppet show for Grandpa and Grandma...

Henry is gone!
Those you who know our history, know that Henry is the mouse that's been in our house. (Spencer is sure the mouse was actually named Peanut, not Henry, btw.) Well, I am happy to report, Henry -- or Peanut -- is no longer a household resident. His last sighting was more than a week ago. Hooray!! I don't know where he went or what happened to him. We never caught him in a trap, and I'm doubtful he ate any poison (yes, I caved and put decon behind the stove), because I saw him several times AFTER there was poison out. I think I'd start smelling him, if he really ate the poison. At any rate, he isn't coming out to say hello in our kitchen anymore. And we aren't finding any more "mouse evidence" around where it was before. So... yay! whew! good riddance! etc.

No pictures of Henry, after all. (Thank goodness!)

Brian's deal is close to launching!
Whew! This has been a doozy of a deal, for sure! He's been coming home so very late (I won't even post the times on here, for the shock it may cause). Then, he just gets up in the morning with the rest of us, and hits it again. I have to say, it was especially hard while his parents were here, just because we wanted to have some time ALL together, ya know? Well, anyway, it looks like things are finally winding down -- after three (or more?) weeks of work-to-death time. We are happy to look forward to a break! yay!

We got family pictures taken!
Those of you who go through the yearly ritual of family pictures know how crazy it can be, picking out the perfect outfits, getting everyone ready, hoping everyone cooperates, timing it between naps and meals, hoping for good weather, etc. Well! We did our family pictures today, and I think everything went quite well. The weather was GORGEOUS -- a real relief. And the fall colors were perfect. yay! I'm not sure I totally love what we decided to wear, but all in all, it wasn't so very stressful, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out in a few weeks or so. I'm sure I'll keep y'all posted. For now, I'm celebrating the fact that they're DONE for this year, eh!?!

That's the wrap for today, folks!
Bye!