Insta-October

I realize that most of my pics are of Charli but she's my constant companion. October was a good month. Chris went back to work and life was looking normal again. Brie started having some tummy pain which we thought was due to an H. pylori infection but she continues to have issues post treatment. Nutcracker rehearsals were in full swing and of course all the Halloween festivities.

It's so rare that she cat naps now

 Showing off the pretty outfit Grandma got her

 Grandma also got Brie a new Lego set

 Getting warm by the fire

 Mrs. Obama

 This girl is always wearing some sort of dress-up

 Braided her hair for the first time. She did good

 She loves them babies

 Isn't he sooo tiny?

 This is how I babysit. Load 7 kids in the back and turn on a movie while I stay up front with the itty-bity

 The teeth just keep coming out

 First snow (none since)

 More teeth

 Containers make the best toys

 Avery killed this pair of shoes

 Pumpkin carving

 About once a year we get a hot air balloon above our house

 She got dressed up for Halloween but slept through the Trick-or-Treating

Insta-September

So now I'm consistently a month behind. Even though it hasn't been that long ago, it's amazing how many things have already slipped my mind. This way I get to remember some forgotten moments. Especially September!!! It was consumed with my convalescing husband and my darn diet (but I am down 25 lbs ;-) Looking back now, I see that September was peppered with some fun moments. Like......

A sweet baby blessing

 A messy baby after spaghetti

 Quality cuddle time with the big girls at school

 That perfect toothless grin that I missed with Avery

 It's been nearly 7 weeks and she's still toothless (+1)

 Nutcracker auditions

 Playing dress-up with friends

 More lemonade stands to help the hermit crabs

 And the biggie..... She FINALLY did Locks of Love!!!!

 Yup, there's a piece of food tucked into that bed-head

 My mommy and I have matching cars ;-)

 Some older girls made these hamburger cupcakes with finger lady fries for the first day of rehearsal. Clever!

 Visiting with sisters at lunch time

 Blanket Baby

 Brie gets to almost kiss a boy in The Nutcracker. The awkwardness is adorable.

 My ballet buddy hanging out in the rosin box

 Monkey Baby

 The Tooth Fairy has been frequenting our house as of late

Eloquence

A trait I often admire in others is the art of being well spoken. A person who is well spoken comes off as educated, refined, respectful, and confident. I have decided that this is going to be something we are going to focus on this year and the girls know that the word for this year is "Eloquence".

The Meriam-Webster definition of eloquence is:
speech or writing that is forceful and convincing; also : the art or power of speaking or writing in a forceful and convincing way 

I'm not sure I'm aiming for "forceful" or "convincing", what I do hope is that my children choose their words carefully, think before they open their mouth, and can effectively communicate what they want to say.
So when trying to drive this concept home I have taught them 3 mantras:

1. Think before you talk.

2. Know what to say, when to say it (timing can be crucial), and when to hold your tongue.

3. Don't talk just to talk.

I think being able to listen to others without interrupting is a very important part of it. It shows respect and allows you time to formulate your own words. I think this can be hard for children who feel like the more you say, the more important you are even when your words have little or no substance.

So how fortunate was I that the epitome of eloquence decided to pay our town a visit.

I love that my girls were able to witness this wonderful woman in action. She is so much more than someone who has mastered the spoken word. She's humble, accomplished, and she practices what she preaches. She's beautiful!!! And what makes her beautiful to me is her perfect mix of confidence and humility, how natural she is (she's polished, not materialistic and embraces who she is without augmentation), and you can see that she does live a healthy lifestyle (hence practicing what you preach).
I know these ideas were not running through my children's minds as they watched her but I'm sure they could tell that she is special; admired and respected. Hopefully they will remember being in her presence, pick out the qualities that set her apart and try to emulate them in their own lives.

Insta-August

Whoops!!! It's almost October and I'm just now getting to this.

Let me apologize to all my friends I've been slacking on this month. September has been a whirlwind of completely non-eventful, time consuming stuff. Nothings has been accomplished yet I have NO time to myself! There is an end in sight. October 8th will see the end of one of my bigger issues yet there are plenty left to take his spot. So sorry to anyone I may have offended by my retreating into this bubble.

August was enjoyable with back-to-school, birthday, loosing some teeth, but ended with surgery ;-(

As usual, here are some of my favorite Instagram moments:

Her BFF Barney wore her out

Probably should have kept a closer eye on this situation

Dental hygiene is important to this one as demonstrated here (unfortunately teddy bear has no accessible teeth so she settled for his nose ;-)

Was forced to finish my mural 15 months after I started due to the fact the we put our house on the market (hence one of the time suckers)

Birthday treat with friends. S'mores cake yummy!!!!

Possibly the best bday present ever was an assortment of mini-bundt cakes (too bad hubby ate the majority)

Fun convertible ride with Oma

Animal sanctuary cool but perhaps not on a hot August afternoon

Followed-up by swimming with Opa

I know these cat-nap days are numbered so I tend to photograph every opportunity I get

Summer afternoon in my alcove

First day of 2nd and 3rd grades!!!

Big sisters back at school means more quality time on the playground

This is how we roll

Just a pretty sunset

Has not mastered eating pizza yet

Teddy Bear has been her constant companion

Took our out-of-town guest to the forests behind our house (They're from Vegas so it was a novelty for him)

My snake charmer

Frogs galore

Baby BUTT!!!

Groggy hubby and the beginning of a high-maitenence month! (biggest time sucker)

This girl is a champ at getting her teeth out!

That was August!!! I'm not sure I'll want to recount September but there were a few special moments worth sharing ;-)