Happy Halloween

             

                  

                    

                    

 

                 

                   Tess’s first Halloween-2010          Abbie’s first Halloween-2008

Happy Halloween from our sweet little cow and supergirl!  Our halloween didn’t quite turn out the way we had planned which was to spend it with our friends, the Criser’s like we did last year, since Tess had a stomach bug, but we did manage to make it out to the downtown Culpeper Halloween fest.  The girls had a great time—Tess got to try her first sucker which made her feel much better;-)  Abbie had a great time trick or treating with her good friend Landon, and mommy and daddy had a good time catching up with friends, Jason and Jen!  Another successful Halloween in the books!

Halloween Playdate

            

 

          

 

                                   2009 (Owen, Katie, Henry, Abbie, Joshua)

2011 (Wythe, Ainsley, Tessa, Nicolas, Abbie, Henry, Natalie, Joshua)

 

My girls and I are truly blessed to have our moms group.  This group has been together since our first babies were only a few weeks old, some of us (Jill and I) have been together since Abbie and Henry were in our tummies.  We may not be able to get together weekly like we used to, but we still manage to make time for our group at least once a month or so.  Jill graciously hosted our Halloween party again.  I love that we have pictures of these guys growing up together, of siblings joining the group.  My hope is to always keep in touch with these girls and their kiddos, it’s a rare but special bond to be friends with someone from birth and I want that for my girls! 

A Perfect Fall Day!

  

           

As I’ve gotten older (and wiser), Fall has quickly become my favorite season.  The weather, the beautiful colors, the smells, pumpkin pies, football…there’s just nothing bad about fall.  Abbie has been asking when we could jump in the leaves, so we took advantage of a non-rainy day (it’s been the rainiest fall I can remember) and headed to our neighbors to rake up some leaves.  They had a great time and once again, I got to sit back and enjoy watching my girls delight in the rite of passage that is Fall.  I remember doing the same thing as a kid with my cousins in my Nanny and Pop’s front yard; and watching these girls today brought me back to that simple time in my life.  I wish more than anything that my Nanny could be here to see her great-grandgirls.  Nothing in the world made her happier than having her family around and she would have been tickled with all of her great grandchildren!  I miss her more than words can express.

Puddle Jumpin’

What else is there to do after a nice fall rain but go Puddle Jumpin’??  Abbie LOVES puddles and mommy LOVES to watch her excitement as she jumps into them and gets soaking wet.  Nothing makes me happier than to watch my girls get so excited about something so simple.  To some people, it may seem silly, but tonight was one of my favorite nights with the girls.  It was one of those nights that I want to remember forever.  That I want my girls to remember forever.  It was a great family night, a long walk after a long couple of days of rain where everyone was happy to just be together.  I love my family more than words can express! 

Tessa’s Birthday Party

   

What a party!!  Our little Ladybug had a great first birthday party…all of her favorite things-family, friends, pizza, and her newest favorite thing—cake!  She was so good for the entire party (which if you’ve been around Tessa for more than 1 hour, you know that being good isn’t her strong suit most of the time).  She enjoyed eating her pizza, then really enjoyed eating her ladybug smash cake—and smash she certainly did.  Abbie barely stuck a finger in her smash cake for her first birthday party, but Tessa did it right—both hands in, up to elbows in cake which required a bath in the middle of the party—but oh well, that’s what first birthdays are all about, right!  A huge thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with her!  Happy first birthday sweet Tess!

Happy Birthday Tessa Jayne!

My dearest sweet Tessa,
I can't believe it's been a year that you have been in our lives.  The time has really flown by and nothing makes me happier than watchng you change from a sweet, tiny newborn, into a fiesty, beautiful 1 year old.  You already have so much personality.  You let us know exactly how your feeling at every moment.  You're still quite fussy but I'm quickly learning, that's just you.  Before you came along, I couldn't picture in what way you would fit into our family.  Now I can't picture a single day without you in our lives.  You make our days bright.  You make us smile all the time.  You're a sweet little sister and your Abbie just adores you.  And you her.  You both look for the other when you wake up in the morning.  You can't wait to go into her room to wake her up.  My hope is for both of you to always be this close.  Even closer.  I can't wait to watch the two of you grow together, be each others best friends, depend on each other, make each other laugh, wipe each others tears away, just be sisters.  Thank you for making our family what it is today Tessa, we love you so very much!

Love, Mommy

First Field Trip!

I can’t begin to describe how crazy it feels to go on my first field trip as a parent.  I’ve had many moments where it hits me “i’m a mommy” and this was one of those moments.  We went to Round Hill Pumpkin patch and all the kids had a great time (Tess stayed home with Megan).  They got to play for a little while before we went on the wagon ride to pick out pumpkins.  Abbie loved the rope swing and the combine slide.  She wasn’t too thrilled with the lose corn because it was getting stuck in her shoes.  My first field trip as a mom and Abbie’s first field trip was a huge success.  Here’s to many many more before she grows up so much that she doesn’t want her mommy tagging along!

Farm Tour 2011

 

Our first Culpeper Farm Tour.  We only went to one farm because it was a bit chilly but it was so much fun.  They had a scavenger hunt set up for the kids, face painting, pony rides, wagon rides, and lots of other things to do.  Abbie rode her first pony, she was so brave!!  Tessa just rode on TJ’s back and took in the sights.  As long as she’s outdoors, she’s a happy girl!  Perfect family day!