Halloween

I let the kids pick out their costumes this year.  Dane picked out Captain America, but it was a bit big on him.  Fortunately, he got a really cool Batman costume for his birthday that he was happy to wear.  Maddie loved her pirate princess costume, probably because of the weapon.  Oh Mads!  The weekend before Halloween was beautiful.  However, it was freezing on the actual day of Halloween.  The kids didn't seem to mind!

 No traditional Jack for us this year!

 Emmie was baby Ariel.  Happy 1st Halloween Charlie!

The kids trick or treat, then come in to eat, then head out for round 2.  It's become a tradition!

Fall Fun

Emmie is 1!

My dear Emerson, Emmie, Ems, Baby Goo, and Umi (Dane's Nickname for you),

Where did this last year go?  You have been a true joy this past year and I can honestly say that I enjoyed nearly every single second of it!  You fill my heart with so much love and I simply can't get enough of you.  You are a mama's girl and you should be, considering how much time we get to spend together!

Your words - Mama, Dada, up, baba, all duh (done), book, ball, (ba)nana, night-night

You love to eat!  As soon as you are over what you are eating, it goes onto the ground.  You've been a  mess maker lately.

You are like a little bird who loves their nest.  You will climb into any laundry basket or toy bin that you can find.  You love to dump things out, and often put them back where they belong (partially).

Every morning we wake up, pull open the shades and say, "It's a beautiful day!"  You like going over to the window again at night when we say goodnight and shut the blinds.

You love the song "shake it off" and do your cute little shake your hands dance.  Maddie and Dane often sing the song to you as they think it is so cute.  Ever since you were very young, you hum/sing along when we sing to you.  Grammie loves singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" with you - especially the "up above" part  - that part is clearly your favorite!

Stats:
Weight - 18 lbs, 13oz. (33%)
Length - 28 1/2" (24%)
Head 43.4 (13%)


Ems loves baths!

 My little birdie!

 Ems LOVES pushing things around, but isn't walking yet on her own.

 She likes to brush her hair, but DOES NOT like bows!  (Or shoes and socks)

Oh how we love our little miss!

Dane's 4 Year Old Stats!

Weight - 34.2 (34%)
Height - 40" (44%)
BMI - 15.03 (28%)

Dane was such a trooper with his shots.  He let out a slight wail and then was back to normal.

Dane is 4!

To my Dane Train, Daney, Bro, Bro-Bro boy on his 4th Birthday,

I can't even begin to explain how much I love you.  You can be the world's sweetest boy.  You have a way of melting my heart with the things that you say and do.

Things You Love: You have always been my little sports nut!  You love to play sports and would play all day, every day.  As soon as dad comes home from work, you ask him to play sports with you. You have learned to catch with your thumbs together and love when you crush the ball.  You rarely use the baseball tee because you'd rather be pitched to.  You love learning about different sports teams and players.  You are interested when watching games live and on television.  You are also quite a good little golfer!  Your recent trip to the golf center was a highlight for you - you LOVED it!!  You learned to ride a 2 wheeled bike a few months ago and it came quite easy to you. However, you would rather cruise around town on your scooter these days. You've recently gotten more into cars and legos.  You love fruit, particularly blueberries and your meal of choice is mac and cheese.  You are surrounded by girls at home and at school. Although you play well with the girls, you really enjoy the friendships that you've made with other boys.  You have become good at making friends when we are out and about.  People have made recent comments that you are "all boy."  You do seem to have gotten a bit more aggressive recently (Maddie and Allie would agree).  You do well in school and we always get a good report! :) You are also very interested in knowing what Maddie is learning in kindergarten.  Something tells me that you will be very prepared once it is your turn to go.  I know that day will be here in no time.  Dane, I love you so much and it's been a true joy watching you grow these past 4 years.

Love you forever,
Mom

Bear Down Birthday Boy!

 Breakfast on the red plate for the birthday boy!

 Off to EP Church to sing with the kids choir


PARTY TIME!  Dane wanted a BEARS party and they just happened to be playing the Jaguars on his 4th birthday.

 Showing our BEARS spirit!  Unfortunately the Bears just couldn't pull off the win :(

 Bears Huddle

 The kids did warm ups and had the most fun running through the banner.

Dane's gift from Aunt Tami.  He loves it!

 

Aunt Tami's Visit

We all enjoyed visiting with Aunt Tami, who came in for the Green Bay game.  What a beautiful, fun weekend!  

 Sporting Carl Bradford's jersey.  What an awesome gift!

 Maddie needed to get in a picture too!

September

September came and went much too quickly!  

We had a fun-filled month with a lot going on.  

Maddie really wanted to have a bike parade this year.  The kids decorated wagons, scooters and bikes, lined up and threw candy.  They loved it!  Maddie also brought back her lemonade stand and was very into face painting.  It was a good time and feel blessed to have such awesome neighbors!

 Dane and Allie started preschool.  Here they are on their first day...

 We headed to the beach on Labor Day and had an awesome time!  The kids just love the beach and Emmie took her nap listening to all of the fun and serene sounds.

 After dinner on the water, we headed to Lickety Split for frozen custard - YUM!  This will definitely be on the books again next summer!

My birthday with my amazing kiddos whom I love SO MUCH!

 Matt took the kids shopping and they were so excited about everything they picked out for me.  They were so cute and they made my day!  We all headed to Grammie and Papo's for dinner together.

Maddie is now an official Indian Princess!  She did her part for the canned food drive.  Dane helped collect food.  By the end, the wagon was overflowing with canned food!!  (Once again, awesome neighbors!!!)

We headed to our first Purdue game of the season and Emmie isn't sure what to think!

 They beat SIU and it was a beautiful day!  We had a great time tailgating after the game.  Dane had  a blast playing football with some friends he made.

 We headed to Wrigley as we try to hit up one game each season.

They couldn't pull off a win, but we had a great time.  Dane was especially into the game.