Happy Fall!

Livy and I have visited a couple pumpkin patches lately with some dear friends and family. The first visit was with Aunt Becky and our little friend. Our cousins Jessie and Jackson met up with us for the second one. Jackson is almost 8 weeks old and is as sweet as can be! He didn't make a peep the entire time, and he let me hold him as long as I wanted (which was quite a while because he decided not to join Olivia in the bounce house this year).


Olivia just loves her Aunt Bucky, unless she's asking her to smile for the camera.


Peek-a-BOO!


Jackson posed with a pumpkin that outweighs him and his Mommy. We won't talk about how unbelievably amazing she looks, especially for having a seven week old. And if we do, we won't be jealous at all. (So this is what one can look like when they don't put on 67lbs. during a pregnancy.) I just joke - way to go, Girl.


"Please don't lay me in the baby pumpkin bin again. I do have an image to maintain, you know."


This is the best shot I got of Liv with her baby cousin, "Dackson." Oh, how she loves him. I'm a bit afraid of her being around him, but she is so gentle. She'll make a great big sister one day.


Olivia, I'm afraid you are actually attracting birds to the patch. You are too cute, My Love.


When Aunt Becky asked her to smile, Livy gave her the most irritated, snobby scowl I've ever seen. I just caught the tail end of it on camera, but it was hilarious! Hopefully it's not a glimpse into our future, say, 11 years down the line.


We tried to duplicate it. We could scowl and eye-roll with the best of them.


No pumpkins here, well, other than those two - just a sweet picture:

Aaron can't take a Sunday afternoon nap without Livy wanting to "go to sleep" with him. Funny, she never actually goes to sleep, but she does have a fun time giggling with her Daddy. I don't think he minds. Not too much, anyway.

Potty Training Experts?

Any experts on potty training out there? We've been prepping for a while and officially started (then stopped) the other day. Olivia never went in the potty. I even set the timer to beep every thirty minutes to take her in to try, but she wet before the timer went off after 22 or 26 minutes. Does this mean she's not ready? I took it to mean that. Back in diapers, but she seems to keep them dry longer than panties. I'm sort of wondering if she was just in a hurry to change panties so she could try on the next princess. Maybe I should look for a pack of black and gray panties that aren't as exciting. I know I should read a book or two about potty training, but honestly, I know I'd read a few pages and lose the book for a few days. It takes FOREVER for me to get through a book. I blame my ADDOS: Attention Deficit Disor-OH, Sparkles! So, any thoughts from the experienced ones?

Back in business

After what seems like a very long time without "working," I have a job again! I've spent three months in limbo now. The plan was to teach four days each week at a private school, but enrollment didn't make, so now I plan on watching a few kids at home to bring in a bit of moolah. Unfortunately, Haltom City is not at the hub of an affluent area and is kinda far off from everyone I've talked with thus far. This time has been a tremendously amazing blessing since I've been able to spend it with Livy, but bills still need to be paid here! (I've given up on winning the lotto; perhaps my chances would have been greater if I bought tickets.) While I'm still unsure what the work week will look like for me, whether I really will be able to watch children or will go back to work, this is a great start!

Starting this weekend, I have the privilege of watching a darling four-year-old girl on the weekends while her mommy works for USPS. Last year I had a blast watching a four-year-old boy and one-year-old boy. Our days were filled with lots of playing, answering questions, singing, outings, sibling rivalry (my girl thought she had two brothers!) and all kinds of other fun stuff, and I can't wait to have another kiddo around again. Many, many thanks to God for this!

Since I'm unable to post new pics these days, I looked through some oldies and found some from a day in our lives last year. They kinda tell their own story.














He, he, would you let me watch YOUR children?