Pumpkin Patch

We headed to the pumpkin patch on October 24th with our neighbors the Barrett family. It was really windy, so we didn't stay as long as we would have liked, but Ella still had a lot of fun. We even tried out a corn maze with the kids.

Bedtime

I just had to share the MOST ADORABLE picture of my two beautiful babies at bedtime tonight. Aren't they the cutest!? Thanks to my girl JV for sending them the most adorable matching jammies! :)

I'm feeling a little emotional this evening for a few reasons... which is maybe why I have the urge to get all sappy... but I just feel so blessed to have such an amazing family and such wonderful, beautiful and HEALTHY babies. If you asked me 5 years ago, I never would have been able to predict this, and I don't even know if I would have said I wanted it... but I couldn't imagine a more amazing life. Wonderful husband, kids and life. I thank God everyday for all my blessings.

Charlie=3 months, Ella=2.5yrs going on 16

Charlie's third month has been filled with lots of smiles, sweet baby noises, rolling over, and some great sleep habits. I'm happy to report that Charlie has been sleeping through the night for well over a week. The worst is behind us! He is a good baby with such a sweet temperament and we feel so blessed to have such a happy, healthy baby boy.

Ella has such a funny little personality and keeps me on my toes, she can be quite a challenge at times! She tells everyone that her favorite singer is Lady Gaga... and she even knows some of her songs! She signs and dances and plays pretend. She is a wonderful big sister, so attentive to Charlie. On the flip side, just the other day she pulled her curtains off the wall in her room (drywall anchors and all!) in the middle of a major meltdown. Little stinker!

Ella is continuing her swim lessons through the winter this year- its hard to believe how much she has progressed. Sh's been in lessons for over a year now and is such a little fish! Ella also seems to be liking school, although she still cries when I drop her off. The teachers tell me she is fine as soon as I leave, I'm just hoping she warms up eventually. The gym is another story... she SCREAMS and chases me out when I leave her there. It's heartbreaking. And when I pick her up, she exclaims "I'm SO glad you are back!"

When we aren't watching MU football and cheering them on against Colorado, we've been out and about quite a bit this last month, trying to enjoy what's left of the warm weather. Pretty soon we'll be in winter coats and boots for a while. We are excited for our upcoming trip to Washington DC to watch Mark run the Marine Corps Marathon. Wish me luck- traveling with two kids and trucking them both all over a marathon course to watch Dad should be interesting.

ARMY OF WOMEN

The Army of Women initiative is recruiting ONE MILLION WOMEN of all ages and ethnicities, with or without breast cancer, to sign up and participate in breast cancer research studies. If we can get ONE MILLION WOMEN involved in research, we are one step closer to understanding the cause of breast cancer and how to prevent it.

The Army of Women campaign is an online initiative, where women can sign up at www.armyofwomen.org. The members are then contacted via E-blast to participate in groundbreaking, breast cancer prevention research studies. They can either sign-up for the studies online, or if they do not qualify, they are encouraged to forward the information to a friend or family member. Every woman over 18 is welcome to participate, whether a breast cancer survivor or someone never affected. In many breast cancer research studies, recruiting women is the biggest obstacle, and our innovative program is working to virtually eliminate this hurdle.

We are dedicating ONE day to reach ONE million women to sign up for the Army of Women. We are declaring October 1, 2010 the official Army of Women Day. We beseech all bloggers to blog about the Army of Women and empower women to take the next step by signing up and taking part in breast cancer research studies. Together, we can move breast cancer beyond a cure and eradicate it once and for all.