All things Fall...

So it was almost 80 degrees on Wednesday. Then it was in the 40's on Thursday. That's Fall in Indiana for ya. Since the weather has officially changed and we have had to find the boxes labeled "hats & scarves" we decided it was time to start in on some typical Fall activities. Like pumpkin carving...

 Grandma Laura helped Izzy with her princess pumpkin while I helped Laney Bug with her Mr. Moon pumpkin. Lane loved the innards.

 We scooped enough out to roast a large batch of pumpkin seeds!

 Our sod in the front yard has taken very well and has started growing...meaning Mike was able to bust out his mower for the first time since we moved in May. The backyard was seeded and is starting to show some green peachfuzz. Mike was so overzealous with the mower (and the fact that his cigar wasn't gone in the 10 minutes it took him to mow the front yard) that he decided to mow a few of our neighbors' lawns as well. He's gunning for neighbor of the year :)

 We had a very lazy morning today; we started a fire and snuggled in for movies and cat naps, all four of us. I love mornings like today. The girls started getting restless so we decided to get some fresh air by crossing the street (literally) to Cool Creek Park for 2 miles of hiking. The girls did wonderfully (so did Katie dog and Mikey with their bad backs!) and it was refreshing to get outside and feel the cold air in my lungs.

 And it wouldn't be Fall without a house project on Mike's list. This time: kitchen backsplash. Mike's dad came down on Thursday to help Mike with the project and it turned out beautifully. Since our great room is the family room, kitchen and dining room combined, the backsplash really breaks it up and showcases the kitchen. Mike picked out the subway tile because he said it matched the plates we hung a few weeks ago. That guy, he's got an eye for decor.

 Close up of Bob & Mike's work

Halloween is in a few days and I can't wait to share pics of the girls in their costumes. I also can't wait to get all of this candy out of the house...it's too tempting!

It's Fall Y'all...

It's Fall. And I love living in the Midwest this time of year. The leaves changing. The boots and sweaters coming back into rotation. Birthdays. Tailgating. Halloween. All of it. I love it.

We have celebrated this little girl's birthday about three times...

 Complete with Ken & Barbie singing her happy birthday

Sisters snuggle sometimes...

My early riser

Lots of baking - with a very large zucchini

Halloween festivities start. Izzy was proud of this mask she made as school. The teachers even commented on how symmetrical all of her stickers were. Budding artist?

We conquered some serious house tasks this past weekend. Mike re-landscaped our mulch beds and Izzy & I planted some mums. Then we made two frame collage walls upstairs. This took a little time as I wanted to plan it out with templates first (which included where the nail holes were so as to avoid measuring of any kind).

Love how it turned out. We also did one in the girls' hallways with white frames and all pictures from when the girls were babies.

Mike and Jason have been brewing up some delicious (and seriously strong) beer. This one is a double IPA...give them a few weeks before you want to come over and pop the top on one of these bad boys.

We celebrated this little guy's birthday on Saturday...

And we took a long walk along the Monon last night. It's beautiful this time of year and the girls loved running (and being pulled via wagon).

Happy Fall Ya'll

Cinco de Izzy

Our little Izzy turned 5 last weekend. I can hardly believe five years have passed since she made Mikey and I a mommy and a daddy. She gave us the best gift…parenthood.

Five years ago on her birthday it was 90+ degrees. In October. It was marathon Sunday in Chicago and they called off the race when our buddy was in the middle of running it…it was that hot! So when Izzy asks me to tell her the story of the day she was born I always start it out with how unseasonably hot it was.

The story begins with how long we waited for her to arrive. Years before she was born we longed for and dreamed of her. And when we found out we were pregnant with her we cried tears of joy and couldn't wait to meet her.

I then fast forward to her kicking, hiccuping and growing in my belly until one day I woke up and just knew it was time to meet her! I explain in detail the story of us going to the hospital and pushing her out on the second push. How Izzy cried when she was born into this world (she loves hearing the crying). How the doctor placed her on my chest and I just stared at her crying. Until my sister Kim said, “Well say hi to her!” My heart was bursting with so much love that I was rendered speechless.

We tell Izzy everyone she met that day and who held her and how many visitors she had. At this point she just wants me to start over again from the beginning. It’s so sweet to see her eyes widen at certain parts as she is just amazed as I was when it was all unfolding.

Love that she wants to know her story…as I love reliving it.

Days like today when I hear of a friend’s cousin who is going through egg retrieval for her first IVF I am reminded of the long road we traveled  And it makes my heart ache. For this gal. For us. For anyone that has to go through infertility. Allowing my mind to revisit that time hurts so much. The anticipation of what’s to come, the hope that maybe this time it will work, the devastation when months of preparing was all for not. But then the elation when it all finally did work; our little miracle Izzy was conceived in a petri dish in a lab on Meridian Street. Then she was returned to me to incubate her for 10 months until we met her on October 7^th, 2007 and our lives were changed forever.

Five years ago our Izzy entered our lives and our hearts and we celebrated her with a huge party…

Bounce houses galore!

Laney and Izzy with their friend Audrey

Do you think Izzy liked being the center of attention?

Buggy can play just as rough as the big kids!

These three little boys are some of Izzy's best buds: Caleb, Luke, Greysen

Thirteen kiddos celebrated

Monkey Joe even made a special appearance!

Birthday girl!

Best buddy Sammy Fred

Took forever to get them all into one picture

Daddy Jeff with Maggie

Izzy scored some major loot and was in heaven being the center of attention (shocker).

Besties!

Happy Birthday sweet Izzy girl!

Little of this, little of that...

Not really much to blog about but wanted to share some pictures. This past weekend we stayed home as Mikey has been sick and quite simply we enjoyed having the down time. No plans. Just relaxing. And lots of snuggling.

The Ryder Cup was on all weekend (and Mike attended a practice with clients last week in Chicago) and Mike was starting to feel better...so he decided to hit some balls. In our front yard. Into the old horse field. As I've mentioned before, our neighborhood used to be a very large (330 acres) horse farm owned by the family of Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. There were two tracks for training/running the horses and our street is part of the inner track. We are the last house built on our street and it'll be that way for another year or so. In the meantime, Mike is clearly taking advantage of the wide open space. Hitting balls. Little girls running after them. Why wouldn't you?

Can you see a little Buggy peeking through?

Mike and I also got the itch to start hanging more decor. I have been collecting plates over the last year with visions to hang them on a wall...and my idea came to fruition with the help of my handyman Mike.

It took some time planning out where I wanted everything to go (placement, measuring, et al). Then more time to prep the plates with the wall hangers. Once they were all hung I was more than happy with the final product. I wanted it to look very unplanned (even though it took forever to actually plan it) and I think we succeeded in that.

Truth be told, the smallest oval plate popped off within an hour of completion. We were just standing in the kitchen and POP off it went. I'm now in search of a miniature sized plate to replace the fallen soldier. Sigh.

My dad and step-mom were in town for a night last week on their way down to French Lick and they shared just a few of the professional pictures from their anniversary party. Love them...

My 92 year old Grandfather Keel

Colorful group we are

And this picture of Izzy and I? It truly captures my love for her. Both of my girls are big time snugglers and nuzzlers. Let me tell you, I take it all in and can't get enough. I know there will be a day when there won't be this level of intimacy in our daily lives. I tell Izzy every day that she'll never be too big for me to snuggle her even though I know that time will come. So in the meantime? I take all I can get. And bask in every eskimo kiss, neck nuzzle and smooch fest the girls offer. Because this picture is how I want to remember my girls' love...always. Be still, my heart.

My two little dancing queens

And this little girly will be turning FIVE in just a few days. Can you stand it?!?! I cannot. We've had a daily countdown going for a few weeks. And we're ready to rock this weekend in celebration of Miss Izzy Lou!