HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We dressed the little monkeys in their Halloween outfits one more time
and we enjoyed a great night together!

The kids provided many tricks ...

and received many treats (which, of course, A and I are enjoying right now!)

The A's

and the J's.

We started our neighborhood tour in the wagon

but JP and AA quickly learned the ins and outs of filling their pumpkin buckets by foot.

After nearly an hour of trick or treating we returned home ... and JP handed out the candy to everyone else. He did a great job of sharing and telling "Happy Halloween" to each and every big kid!

PUMPKINS

We carved our four pumpkins this weekend. JP actually helped clean the pumpkins out
while AA spread the seeds around the floor.

JP kept busy by "makin' pumpkin soup"

and stopping from time to time to help mamma.

FREEDOM

I'm free.

Many months before I found out I was pregnant with JP in September 2008, I started taking prenatal vitamins. I cut down on Diet Coke; I avoided raw fish and alcohol; I stopped being crazy about exercise. I prayed that God would help me become a more healthy vessel. Of course, once I became pregnant I changed my ways even more ... no unpasteurized cheeses; no cold meats; no diet, fat free, or unnatural labels. I analyzed every morsel of food put into my mouth and every workout routine I endured. And so it continued during my breastfeeding days with JP ... which, ahem, led directly into my pregnancy with AA ... and then my breastfeeding days with AA. I nursed AA for the last time this week. So after a 3+ year hiatus, I am free.

No longer will I feel guilty when I have a cup of coffee in the morning (or two!) . I will go days without even thinking of a green vegetable. I will eat Baked Lays and Chobani Greek Yogurt. I will ask for the hot salsa at Chipotle without worrying how this will impact my baby. I will drink red wine and beer and a diet caffeinated soda with extra carbonation and not worry about baby brains or baby bellies! I will run 3 miles without staying well hydrated. I will dye my hair and whiten my teeth and take Advil without any guilt. I won't need to stay behind in the heated car nursing while A takes JP into a store during long car rides. I won't be hiding out in AA's nursery every four hours while company is over. No longer do I need to stress about finding time to pump between patients at work. I will enjoy the extra ten minutes at night as I no longer need to wash and sterilize all of my pumping paraphernalia. I am free.

But.

With my new found freedom, I carry a bag of new emotions. My babies are growing. My personal sacrifices actually never felt like difficult sacrifices at all ... they were simply maternal instinct. Most of my actions and choices were made without significant contemplation. I wouldn't trade my pregnancies ... or breastfeeding my babes for nearly the entire first year of their lives ... for anything in the whole world. The time went by too quickly ... and I'm already longing for those early days! My beautiful daughter would rather feed a small bottle to her baby than nurse from me!

FALL PHOTO SHOOT

When I was young, I dressed my brothers up like little girls and made them prance around the neighborhood. They happily obliged, as I always had a treat waiting for them at the end of our tour. Thankfully, my kids are too young to even need bribing! I dressed JP and AA in their Halloween costumes and we visited the local pumpkin patch. My mission was to capture an adorable fall photo. Let's just say that it was next to impossible to get both of them to look at me and smile! I kept snapping ... someday they'll come to learn how ridiculous I am!

FOOTSTEPS

AA is following in her big brother's footsteps. Literally.
Emerging as an early and energetic crawler ...

but remaining reluctant to take those first steps until age one!

NIGHT OWL

By three weeks old, AA could sleep for five hour stretches; by six weeks old she slept for nearly eight; and, by three months she reliably slept for 11-12 hours each night. Oh, those glory months ... I thought I was totally home free with this gal.

And then came her 9 month birthday. Since this mark, AA has not slept through the night for three consecutive nights (not that I'm keeping track or anything!). At first she awoke because she had a bad head cold ... I'd nurse her back to sleep in a few minutes. When her cold disappeared, her night owl habit persisted. I just can't figure her out! She is really easy to put down for naps and at night ... she loves to lay awake in her crib and drift to sleep on her own. When she awakes in the morning she doesn't cry out for me ... I often hear her babbling away for quite some time before I go and get her.

Yet, somehow, she insists that I pay her a visit in the middle of the night. When I least expect it, AA will sleep through the night beautifully for two nights at a time, and then ... waaahhh!!! she's awake for night #3! I've tried everything from giving her Tylenol before bed for her potential teething to dressing her warm to dressing her cool ... I've tried to give her lots of food before bed and tried to keep her tummy light before sleep. I've tried a fan in her room; a night light; and toys in her crib. I've read that this could be a form of stranger anxiety or even night terrors.

I keep telling myself that this is just a phase (yep, one that JP never went through!) ... and I hope I'm right!

WILD ANIMAL

We went to the zoo this weekend. I must have been careless in packing up the car when we left the zoo. Because, apparently, a lion came home with us ...

and he's living in our basement

(well, at least according to JP!)

Q & A

The drive from Miss Emmy's house to ours takes about 12 minutes without traffic*. In those 12 minutes, I probably answer 112 questions from JP. (*Traffic, of course, being a relative word for the city we live in).
Our drive home today went something like this (okay, I'll spare my answers):
"Mamma, what's over there?"
"What's that guy's name?"
"What's that noise?"
"What's that birdie's name?"
"Where you goin', mamma?"
"What's that tractor doing?"
"Why Addie makin' that noise?"
"Where that car driving?"
"What those boys doin'?"
"What that girls name?"
"Who in that truck?"
"Why's that light flashin'?"
"Mamma, mamma, where's my teddy?"
"What's this car's name?"
"What's in that waterfall?"
"Where you goin' mamma?"
"Why Addie do that with her shoes?"
"What's that house's name?"
"Why that truck making' that noise?"
"What that flag doing?"
"Why does that guy make noise?"
"What's that motocycle's name?"
"What Addie saying?"

I really wanted to answer that last one truthfully ... Addie's probably telling you to shut your little mouth for one sweet second, Jackson so Mamma's head doesn't spin off ... but instead, I smiled and replied, "Oh, she's telling you that she loves your questions!"

BIG TRANSITION

Last year at this time, A and I were quite busy preparing for AA's arrival. One of the big decisions we faced was to move JP into a toddler bed or purchase a second crib. After polling some friends with older kids and reading a few articles, we decided to buy a second crib. After all, JP showed no signs of trying to crawl out of his crib at that age (16 months), and we didn't want to disrupt his normal routine right before he had to share his world with a new sibling. At first I was worried that we spent our money foolishly ... I had imagined that JP would start crawling out of the new crib shortly after we purchased it. As the months passed by, we became more and more confident in our purchase. JP easily passed by the 20 month mark (the average age when a child is moved out of a crib). At the ripe age of 28 months, we decided to make the Big Transition this weekend. It's not that JP has exhibited any signs of trying to crawl out ... but we've come to realize that he probably never will. With potty training around the corner, A and I decided that we should allow him some independence.

His crib converts to a toddler daybed without any side rails. After talking about the transition all morning, JP helped A make the conversion.

And voila ... in a matter of minutes JP's crib became a toddler bed ... JP gained a whole new level of independence ... and I suddenly lost a whole level of independence! (So far JP hasn't realized that he can come and go from his bed freely ... he still calls for us to help him in and out. I'm sure that will change soon.)

And JP's initial response to seeing his new bed? "Daddy, you break-a my bed!!!"

WEEKEND PLANS

For the first time in as long as I can remember, we had zero plans headed into this weekend.
So far, we've had such a relaxing weekend ...

trying to savor every morsel of fall weather

before it's time to hunker down

for the long winter.

BIG RED ENGINES

It's Fire Safety Week. The local Fire Station
hosted an open house tonight.

Firefighters, big red engines, tall ladders and free cookies.

JP was ecstatic

and AA just went along for the ride.