It was a happy Halloween!

This year our crew went with the Wizard of Oz theme... so much fun! These kids (not kidding) have been planning this and talking about it since the summer, I think. We are slightly obsessed with the Wizard of Oz! We made a couple of stops to trick or treat, then went to two church festivals... one at Sandersville Baptist and then at West Ellisville. Fun stuff and LOTS of candy! I think these pictures speak for themselves...

Pumpkin Patch '12

We are having such a busy fall that there is very little time to blog about it! But before I get too far behind, I wanted to post about our trip to Mitchel Farms, a tradition and one of our favorite things to do in the fall. They had a blast and the weather was perfect!! I've said this the past two years, but THIS year I think they enjoyed it the most.

 Except for the corn maze. I took Collin and Brantlee through it while Kyle stayed with Ty. Won't be doing that again, ha! Let's just say it wasn't B's cup of tea (or mine for that matter). I am challenged in the area of directions and B doesn't really like to walk, so there you go :/ Collin loved it and if it were not for him, we might still be there!

 Here are some pictures from our day!

A very rare family photo. I cherish these. Ty woke up and made it out of the stroller for the last 30 minutes of the trip. Maybe next year he can participate a little more. It was a very fun day!

Brantlee turns 4

We celebrated this momentous occasion for a solid week I think! This little girl was so very excited about her birthday. We have been talking about it since, well, July. HA! Ever since Collin's birthday. She wanted a Rainbow theme, which was just flat out fun to plan honestly. She wanted a "girl" party, so we let her have some friends over to decorate cakes.

Here she is on the morning of the 9th, her actual birthday. She was very easy to wake up on this day.

Of course we had to celebrate with cupcakes at school. Her teacher loaded her up with fun birthday loot. 

Party time with lots of rainbow food.

The treat table with rainbow straws, lollipops, pinwheels, and of course the pot of gold! 

I forgot how fun and sweet little girls are. These girls were simply adorable...

 Lolly and I whipped out some homemade aprons for the girls. 

Blowing out her candles for the 3rd time :) 

We finally broke down and got this baby a bike. She isn't big on pedaling her tricycle. We are hoping the baby basket on the front of this one will get her interested in actually riding a bike, ha.

Big brother had no shame sitting at the girl table decorating a cake. When he finished that, he and Dad headed off to his friend Colby's party. It's a tough life to live. 

On Sunday we had family over. Everyone got to decorate a cupcake. In terms of children, this means MOSTLY boys, and I had forgotten the tremendous difference between boys and girls. On Sunday, there were soccer balls flying through the yard, boys jumping (literally) through the little jump house and hanging from the monkey bars upside down. Love it! Fun times! 

Ty enjoyed the extra company this weekend. Enjoying some lap time with Mimi.

Brantlee blew threw her gifts like a tornado, so excited about each one. 

And now that she's 4, she tells me she won't need to go back to her class at school because "that's 3 year old kindergarten!" This has been sort of tough to explain :) 

We are loving raising this sweet little firecracker! 

3 Months

Our Ty is growing so fast! This month it really seems like he has come alive. Those newborn days are long gone, which is bittersweet I guess. He is becoming so interactive, and we can always get a smile out of him, even if he's sleepy or hungry. He is just the sweetest little man and he certainly has our heart.

Here are some things I want to remember about Ty at 3 months:

• He is smiling TONS and even "talking" back to us some, which makes my heart melt!
• He can grip the toys hanging from his playmat and has started putting them in his mouth. 
• Hands must taste good because he will just about put his entire hand in his mouth to chew on it!
• He is about 50% formula fed (hypo-allergenic) and this combination seems to be working out great.
• His head control is sort of impressive for this age and he does NOT like to recline back in his bouncy seat anymore. He prefers that we hold him in a sitting up position, which is hard to accommodate all day, ha. 
• T.V. is already his friend, he LOVES some Mickey Mouse Club House just like his brother and sister did & still do :) 
• Naps are for the birds, unless someone is holding him :/ He takes cat naps in his swing. And he immediately passes out when we ride in the car.
• He sleeps an average of 10 hours straight at night, usually from around 8:30 to 6:30. We are so incredibly grateful, and therefore I do NOT complain about the nap situation, ha.
• He still sleeps in his nap nanny which is still in the co-sleeper still next to our bed. I'm just not ready to move him yet :) 
• He loves to rock and cuddle, and I love it just as much. 
• He spits up a little more now than he did, but nothing that seems to bother him. 
• He got his first cold a few weeks ago right before we left for the beach :( :( No fever, just some congestion.
• I have no idea how much he weighs, but he mostly wears 3-6 and just now 6 months clothes. 

1st time in the Bumbo seat. It was short lived but made for a cute picture :) 

We just can't get enough of this little crooked smile!

September

I feel like we have been in constant motion since I last blogged... maybe stopping to sleep here and there ;) Life with three is SUPER busy as it is, and when you throw in extracurricular activities, church, school involvement & meetings, and just life, there isn't much time for blogging. Or house cleaning or laundry... but we won't dwell on that :) Here some pictures from our month.

School is going great for these two. They (so far) are very excited to go to school everyday, and they almost always rate their days as "great!" at pick up.  We have needed a sweater a couple of mornings lately. Yay for fall!

Soccer season is well underway. Brantlee and Collin are both playing. This means we have 23 soccer games to attend this season, which ends the first of November :/

Before B's first practice. Collin had to be supportive... in his rubber boots and shorts :) 

My boys before church.

Taking a few moments for some silliness

First game of the season!! Many more pictures to come as the season progresses.

I'm waiting a few more games before I give a report on B's true feelings about soccer. As of now, she likes to wear her gear, is excited that her team is the "Tigers", and most importantly that she gets to wear a tiger ribbon in her hair for games. That's enough to be excited about so far, right?!

Collin is doing really well so far! He seems to like it more than last season, and he scored a goal this past game! Go Panthers!

Ty (bless his sweet heart) just hangs on for the ride and does whatever and goes wherever. He is almost 3 months old, and that deserves its own post. He and daddy have been especially excited about football season!

Life with three has brought many changes. I have said and done things I said I would never do. I am now the owner of a minivan. It is the most practical thing we've ever spent money on. I love it. Honestly and truly love it. For those mommies still fighting it out in cars and those big SUVs, my advice to you is do NOT test drive one of these things unless you plan to trade in your vehicle and purchase one. I'm telling you it is a game changer. 

Moving on.

This weekend has been exceptionally busy. Daddy has been "under the weather" and out of commission. On Friday, Nana and I took the kids to get out of Daddy's hair. We ran an errand, went to Target, and ended up at Chuck E. Cheese. Brantlee playing skee ball is worth the trip. It takes her FOREVER to finish one game and refuses any help. You really had to be there, ha.

The picture below brings tears to my eyes. Months back I posted about a girl from church being in an ATV accident.  Sweet Katlyn has spent the last three months literally fighting for her life. This picture is nothing short of a miracle. Through her life and testimony we have seen God's miraculous healing power. Saturday morning our church sponsored a 5K to benefit her and her family. It was a tremendous success!! Katlyn and her sweet mother ran across the finish line together. Amazing! Brantlee asks to pray for Katlyn constantly. Our pastor's wife tagged me in this picture on Facebook. What a blessing!

We left the race and headed to the soccer fields for a few hours. We came home and changed clothes and headed to Lexi's 2nd birthday (no pics). This morning we had church and kept the nursery. I am tutoring a friend's daughter this afternoon. And after that, I am officially calling it quits for the weekend. 

Before ending this post, I need to give a quick shout out to Baby Ty for sleeping 11 hours straight last night. We all needed it :) :)