Most of October – Trav and Erin + 3

Seeing as today is the 30th, this will be a summary post of most of the month of October at our house. It’s officially fall, but it sure doesn’t feel like it yet! I packed away most of the girls’ summer clothes several weeks ago, and I’m regretting that decision ;) I’m going to make a separate post about all of our fun fall/Halloween activities that we’ve already done and will do soon. But, first—a recap of what we’ve already done this month!

We love going to the Creekwood playground! There’s plenty to do, but it’s open enough to where I feel comfortable letting Brooklyn go to the “big kid” section by herself.

Savannah was worn out by the time we left. She climbed the stairs so many times that day!

Thinking about going down :)

Savannah loves to swing like Brooklyn does!

This is Savannah climbing the stairs on the big kid section…haha

Whee!

We packed a lunch and ate at the playground before heading home. After lunch, the girls played for a few more minutes before we loaded everything up in the car. I told Brooklyn she could pick one more thing to do before we left. She chose to do one more thing and then came running up to me and said, “Okay, I’m ready to go now!” Who was this kid??? :) Age 3 has brought with it so many meltdowns, fits, and bad attitudes, but then there are moments like this that happen occasionally and make me so proud!

Sometimes we’ll make pancakes for breakfast as a special treat. Brooklyn LOVES to help as much as I will let her.

Craft from story time at the library – on that day, they read books about transportation :) Notice the extra wheels B drew on her firetruck and the firefighters all around the top!

Cool kids!

Savannah has gotten really interested in sunglasses lately :)

Glad we are getting more use out of this rockin’ giraffe! Brooklyn will even still ride it sometimes, although her legs are really getting too long for it.

We watched the Arkansas game at Matt and Maggie’s house this month! Maggie had a lap full of kiddos in the 4th quarter :)

Looking at library books together. On this particular occasion, there was no screaming, hair pulling, or fighting…haha. It was so nice!

Notice anything funny?

Haha! This is what happens when I let Brooklyn put her pants on “all by myself”!

Savannah is so brave going down that slide like a big girl! She goes super fast and usually catches some air at the bottom…haha. Doesn’t seem to faze her though; she usually just gets right up and climbs the ladder to do it again!

It’s so fun to tickle Daddy’s toes!

Part of the hinge on this toy box broke several months ago, and Daddy just got around to fixing it recently. It was funny to see the girls go through the toys in there; it was like Christmas and everything was brand new! :)

It also makes a good hang out spot once you clear the toys out!

See what I mean? :)

Carter came over to our house twice this month to spend the day with us. We spent a lot of time outside both days! The kids enjoy being outside, and it’s nice for me too—less toys to fight over ;) We even figured out out to pile all 3 of them in the wagon for a ride down the street!

One of the only times they are quiet all day is during lunch when they are eating :)

Brooklyn can be pretty possessive of “her” toys, but I happened to catch this moment where she was actually sharing nicely.

More outdoor fun!

They all have their own swing that they use each time Carter comes over :)

They had fun swinging on the tire swing together one morning too!

Carter loves to watch “Donald” when he comes over! It’s a Baby Einstein DVD that we’ve had since Brooklyn was a baby. B still loves it too!

It’s not fun unless you drag out ALL the toys ;)

Block building with Carter and Savannah

Carter did a good job with his tower!

On October 15th, we ran the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run 5K. This was the 6th year I’ve run it! This year, we dropped the girls off at Cici’s house before we headed downtown. It made things really easy on us! They got to eat breakfast and hang out in their PJs, and we were able to enjoy a couple of hours kid-free. It was a win-win! I was hoping to finish under 30 minutes, but my time ended up being 30:31. Oh well! I hadn’t been training too seriously, so I was pretty happy with it :)

We found Matt near the start not too long after we got there! He and Travis finished within 15 seconds of each other!

Next year I need to remember to stand closer to the start line. I got behind so many people who were walking from the very beginning. I hated to start too close to the front and get in the way of faster runners, but apparently I was too far back this year.

As always, I ran for my Mom—a true inspiration during her fight with breast cancer!

Savannah loves her newest cousins, Luke and Barrett! She always wants to check them out, rock their car seats, and try to touch them. I think she is more interested in them right now than Brooklyn is. All Brooklyn cares about is whether they can chase her or not…haha

The sweetest little Alabama fans!

Of course, they never look and smile for the same picture ;)

Look closely! You might miss them, but check out Savannah’s little pigtails…haha. They are probably the smallest pigtails there ever were :) I fixed her hair like this before church one Wednesday night, and all night she kept pulling one of the rubberbands out. The hairdo didn’t last long!

Of course, when I pulled out the camera to take Savannah’s picture, someone ELSE wanted her picture taken too!

I also turned THIRTY this month! Still sounds so weird. My birthday was just another ordinary day. We went walking with Britni and Emily and their babies in the morning (and got caught in a monsoon at the end), did a bunch of laundry, and cooked roast in the crockpot for supper. The girls went over to Cici’s that night, so Travis and I got to eat in peace. It was a good day! :)

The girls went to the dentist this month also. It was Savannah’s first official dentist appointment, and I was a little nervous about how she’d do. They both enjoyed playing in the waiting room before we went back.

Savannah liked brushing the big stuffed animals’ teeth with the toothbrushes…haha :)

Brooklyn went first and did great! She sat in Dr. Curtis’s lap while he brushed her teeth, “painted” her teeth with fluoride, and checked them out good. No cavities! Savannah went next, and she sat in his lap too with no tears! (I didn’t get any pictures of her, unfortunately). Dr. Curtis definitely has the touch and knows how to make the girls comfortable. We’ve had great experiences both times we’ve seen him!

Time for a prize at the end!

Funny story: Dr. Curtis asked if we had any questions after he was finished looking at their teeth. I hesitated for a second, and Brooklyn spoke up: “Felix has been tinkling all over the floor!” Haha…I think my face turned bright red :) Then, we had to explain who Felix was and what his problem is (he is currently holed up in our bathroom on antibiotics and in isolation from Gabby because she’s not getting along with him anymore). I’m sure that won’t be the last time Brooklyn says something like that out in public!

Last week, we had breakfast for dinner one night, and my little helpers were right there by my side. Savannah has found the silverware drawer, and her new favorite activity is getting in it and making a big mess :)

Brooklyn and I had a “picnic” on the patio one day for lunch while Savannah was sleeping. Thought this was cute even though I caught B with food in her mouth ;)

Brooklyn made her very own “not-so-scary monster” at story time on Wednesday. I love the crafts they do each week!

The edge of the coffee table makes the perfect perch for watching TV shows!

I remember Brooklyn going through this phase too, but Savannah has recently discovered that it’s fun to wear Mommy’s shoes all around the house. In the last few days, I’ve caught her trying on my flip flops, high heels, boots, and tennis shoes. It’s pretty cute and funny!

It’s even fun to try on Brooklyn’s shoes!

My ankle boots are knee high on her…hehe :)

Savannah is looking a lot like her Da-Da these days—with crazier hair!

Speaking of Da-Da, I was about to tuck Savannah in bed tonight, and I asked her to wave night night to Daddy. Well, that wasn’t good enough apparently. She squirmed out of my arms, got down, hurried over to Travis, gave him a hug, and then wanted to climb up in his lap to give him another hug. Talk about melt your heart! She definitely has a soft spot for her daddy!

Today was a big day for Savannah because it was her first day to go to Bible class. I didn’t have super high hopes for it going well because she can be pretty clingy to Mommy and doesn’t go to others very well at times. But, the past couple of weeks, I took her into her classroom just to check things out, and I think that helped. Today, Vicki and Gena said she never cried! She apparently thought about crying a time or two, but never actually did. Hopefully, she will keep doing that well! We were proud of her!

Brooklyn Says & Other Notables

A prayer that Brooklyn said before supper one night: “Thank you, God, for the food we have to eat. Thank you for this wonderful day. Please forgive Nathan and my family. In Jesus name, Amen.” When we asked her what Nathan and we had done wrong, she said…”I don’t know!?!” :)
I accidentally popped Brooklyn’s free balloon from Publix before we even got our groceries loaded in the car. Mom fail. Later, I was telling Travis about what happened and how it made a loud pop and hurt my ear. Brooklyn asked, “Did the balloon go in your ear??”
Travis was tucking Brooklyn into bed one night, and she told him she wanted to meet Jesus. She wanted to know “When can I meet him? After my nap?”
During Brooklyn’s bedtime prayer one night:
- Brooklyn: “….and thank you for Mr. Allen…..In Jesus name, Amen.”
- Travis: “Why are you thankful for Mr. Allen?”
- Brooklyn: “Who’s Mr. Allen?”
That same night, she wanted me to sing some songs after we did a “story”. We have graduated from Bible class songs to made-up songs. Brooklyn picks the topics, and I make up songs to go along with them. Her 3 topics that night were:
- Brooklyn is sleeping in Mommy’s lap.
- Dump Truck doesn’t want to go to his birthday party.
- Felix pooped on our legs.
Tonight, Travis was reading a Bible story with Brooklyn. They were talking about how Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem for the Passover.
- Travis: “The Passover was a reminder to the Israelites of the time when they were slaves in __________.”
- Brooklyn: “Japan!”
Brooklyn loves to explore dark rooms with a flashlight right now. Not sure what she’s looking for exactly, but it’s a favorite activity of hers after supper. She likes to ask for a flashlight and then ask Savannah: “Sabannah, do you want to go in the dark-ess with me?” Then, they both walk off together to explore. It’s pretty cute!