Hello October!

Here it is, my favorite month of the year, especially since we now have a real fall season. But October started off with a cold and wet weekend as Hurricane Joaquin dumped a lot on rain on us (and you thought we got away from the hurricanes when we left Florida, ha). Luckily, it didn't rain as much as they forecasted but it was still a weekend mostly spent indoors. So when the rain slowed down for a bit, we made sure to get our rain gear on and take the kids outside for a walk. 

And then this happened on Saturday: Out of nowhere, Elliot decided that it is time to show us that he can easily climb his crib and surprise us by coming out of his room on his own. There was no crying or indication that he was working on this new skill, he just did it. And so we made sure to take off the front and put a bed rail on. He seems to like the new arrangement and so far only climbs out of his bed when he is done sleeping. 

I may have cried a tear or two on the weekend, realizing that my last baby is growing up and becoming a toddler too fast. He not only needs the confinement of his crib any longer but also started talking (and voicing his opinion loudly), letting us know what he likes and dislikes and just acting like a normal 2-year old instead of a baby.  I sure tried holding on as long as possible to my baby, but time is evil in that way as it robs me of those last moments and hands me a toddler. I sure love to see Elliot exploring and expressing himself and seeing who this little person becomes but with tears in my eyes. 

While my kids are growing up, we celebrated the new life that is arriving soon in form of a baby shower for our neighbors Megan and Mike. They are expected baby Michael to arrive by December 13th, Elliot's birthday nonetheless. The room was beautifully decorated and the expectant parents enjoyed opening baby gifts and looking forward to meeting their son soon. 

I know I got this baby thing down: 

The mommy-to-be and myself:

The rest of Saturday afternoon was spent at a friend's house, who invited us over to enjoy some homemade chili and apple cider. It was a fun and spontaneous time with good food, meeting new people and just hanging out with friends, just the right thing to do on a rainy day. 

Sunday we made sure to stay in our pajamas all day long while lounging around, baking cookies and taking care of some home maintenance issues. Even the kids found themselves some new entertainment: 

For a while, we all went outside to clean up the yard and raked some leaves. It was definitely a family effort:

Luckily, the rain has stopped since Sunday and we are drying up again, just in time for our visitor. We are counting down the hours (and have been counting down days for the past 3 weeks) till we go to the airport today to pick up Oma (my mom). She is visiting us from Germany and will stay for the next 3 weeks with us. I may be as excited as the kids to have her here. It will be a fun and full 3 weeks and we will enjoy just being together.