Fall Fun & our sweet 17 month old!

Another busy week in our house but I wouldnt want it any other way, I've been wanting to update all week but havent had a chance til now! Andy and I flew home late last Sunday evening from an amazing & relaxing weekend in the Florida Keys. We were only gone 3 days/2 nights but it was just enough and it really felt like we were on our honeymoon all over again. Such a fabulous weekend & we are so thankful my mom was able to come up and help out with the kids so we could escape.

Noah had his 17 month birthday this week & I cannot believe the changes over the past month with his talking! Lots of new words every day, some new favorites are tuck (truck), chooo chooo, cooo-kie (cookie), nana (banana) & bye-bye Daddy is a new phrase he says whenever Andy leaves for work. He is definately getting more opinionated when Bella takes a toy away from him & he will chase after her and scream "Nooooooooooooo!" He knows where his nose is (and says "noo"), eyes & mouth. Loves to stick that finger up his nose when showing me where it is, haha! And he is definately into EVERYTHING & drives us crazy at times with pushing the power button on the tv, pulling the laptop cords, opening up the plantation shutters and then slamming them shut, pulling plugs from the sockets, pushing the kitchen chairs all over the hardwoods, climbing on top of the train table & dancing....this kid is definately a boy & likes to make a mess & a lot of noise doing it! I keep telling myself that this is all just a phase & it'll stop (sooner than later, hopefully!)

Bella is still doing really well in preschool & tells me every day as we leave, "I have so much fun at school today" So sweet! She has really matured & grown into this sweet little girl over the past 6 months or so..she is easy to reason with now that she understands rewards/consequences & most of the time listens really well! Not that she was this horrible child before BUT she really has grown up & become so much easier on us! Her speech has improved so much as well - sentences galore & her imagination has just taken off. One little thing that concerns me is that she adds a "th" to the end of a lot of her words. My teacher friends assure me that she is fine & it's something she will outgrow & not to be concerned but I have noticed it more and more over the past few months. She has an imaginary friend she calls "Mic" & "Dominic" - he sits next to her in the car, eats lunch with her, goes to school with her & watching her favorite shows with her. It really is so sweet to listen to her talk to him. We are working really hard on training her to go #2 on the potty. After not going #2 on the potty since July, we've had 2 successful trips to the potty the past 2 days...I'm really hoping it's gonna stick this time!

Only 4 more weeks and we'll be down in Disney for our big family reunion with my side - I've been showing Bella a lot of the Disney YouTube videos to prepare her for the rides, parades & fireworks. She seems really excited & I can't wait to see the look on their little faces when we go! We have a busy week ahead with a last minute Halloween/Cast Signing Party at our house on Monday, Noah gets his cast removed on Tuesday, Bella has her class Halloween party on Thursday & then lots of Halloween activities next weekend! I'm sure the kids are gonna be so over their costumes come Sunday but oh well! They are gonna be soooo cute! I'm sure I will be posting lots of pics - in the meantime, enjoy the most recent pics!

a beautiful Islamorada sunset with my amazing other half!

self portrait at the resort!

old roomies at Crystal's wedding!

another self portrait on the beach at night!

I could of stayed in this spot all day - so peaceful!

Berry Patch Farm Visit, 2010

in awe of the tractor

my 2 sweet lovies!

Bella's 1st face painting, she picked out the kitty cat!

fam pic!

sipping her apple cider!

Noah's new fav game - just like his shirt says!

such a stud!

modeling her new winter hat & showing off those baby blues!