this is Halloween

wow, i love Halloween. it was all i could do to contain the girls until the afternoon. they dressed up in their halloween hair accessories and carried their candy collecting jack-o-lanterns all day. we went to the park, and played dress up just waiting to don our costumes. this year, we continued a fun tradition of having a neighborhood chili party before going out trick-or-treating. it was yummy, and a lot of fun. i couldn't wait to stuff Madeline in the octopus costume, it's my favorite. i'm so glad she fit! and Anna was thrilled to wear her "lumen fairy" costume. she pretty much designed it herself, and i think it turned out great. the "lumen fairy" is the fairy that lives in Anna's room. our littlest pumpkin wore this cute halloween onesie, as i didn't have the heart to put her in a costume, i was afraid it would swallow her up! here's a pick of just a few of the kids on our street. we've welcomed a new family to the neighborhood, bringing our kids on the street total to 25! i caught Anna with just a couple of her cute friends. so much fun. this year it was the moms' turn to take the kids out. i took all three girls, and it was a breeze. mostly because Anna and Maddie were a little scared of the more spooky costumes and decorations out there and had more fun at home by the fire, riding bikes and passing out (and eating) candy! we made a quick loop around the block and headed home.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

carving pumpkins...is so fun

this year, Jason had a pumpkin patch at his office. so, the girls got to go to two places they love in one trip! hurray! then it was carving time. i was surprised to find out that Anna can draw a great face all on her own. usually her drawings are faceless. Maddie was a little more interested in this jack-o-lantern. and Daddy dedicated his pumpkin to our furriest child, Nalu, by carving a lab into his pumpkin!even Avery and i got in on the fun!

bed time

it may be busy, but it sure is a sweet time of night!

life with Avery

so we are generally settled in with our three little girls. Anna and Madeline are absolutely loving their roles as biggest and big sisters. Jason and i are getting more sleep than we expected (however not enough) and feel blessed and content. life is good!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

this is amazing! wow!!!!!!!!!!!
Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

going to the hospital.....again

so, Saturday night, i went to bed like any other normal night, and woke around midnight with contractions, like any other normal night in the past 2 weeks. this time though, they stuck around and took on a consistent flow that made me get all the way up and time them. sure enough they stayed 5 minutes apart for over an hour and by 2 am i was in some pain and ready to go. i told Jason, "they will not send me home tonight, i won't let them." well, i'd say are new eager little girl had more to do with me being admitted. when we arrived, they said they'd monitor me for an hour to see if i progressed, not liking that prognosis, the baby kicked it up a notch and was born less than 2 hours later. good girl! oh yes, she is a girl. another pretty princess to join the Earl family. at 8 pounds, 7 ounces at 20 1/4 inches, she is our tiniest little bundle of joy! after 2 days in the hospital, with everyone breathing down our necks, we finally named her Avery Nicole Earl. she is a beautiful clone of her older sisters, and let me rest while we spent some alone time. the other girls were sick, so they didn't meet Avery until we got home. they are both enchanted with her, especially Anna, who can't even sleep at night from excitement. here she is making some important calls while caring for her new sister. Madeline can sit and pet Avery's head for hours.

and she loves to help in all aspects of caring for a newborn, especially this crazy concept of nursing! both girls are suffering from some short term memory loss, and cannot grasp why this baby needs to eat THAT. we are thrilled to welcome our new baby girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

poop

so, Jason enlisted some day laborers to help him reseed the lawns. these kids worked hard slinging manure all afternoon. after such a tough day's work, they were treated to water and otter pops, followed by a good hot bath.


this is what every mother wants to see: her daughter licking otter pop off of her manure covered fingers. gross!

'tis the season

the girls and i got the house decorated for Halloween. this year, Anna was much less afraid of my black crow, hurray! the mice were a treat to make, and the girls get a kick out of them every time they go up and down the stairs. and for extra fun, we got "boo-ed" by some neighbors, receiving a plate full of goodies and this fun ghost to signal our good fortune to other would be "boo-ers", oh what fun. i love Halloween.

soup

so, i have never really been a soup person. not that i don't like it, it just never sounds good to me as a meal, and i prefer salad as a starter. anyway, my neighbors all make great soups, and when i smelled Mary's minestrone it actually did strike me as a meal i would enjoy. so, tonight i made it. i enlisted Anna's help, since she is a little wary of new foods, i wanted her to see that all the ingredients were things she liked. we chopped carrots and said, "ooh we love carrots." we chopped celery, "oooh, we love celery," we chopped onions and Anna said, "mom, i don't like onions.........................or human flesh." what? i was floored, this sent me into fits of uncontrollable laughter. "don't worry," i said, "there's no human flesh in this soup."

i guess the unicorn in Barbie of Swan Lake makes a joke about a troll eating human flesh. too funny! good thing she likes ice cream though!

leaving for the hospital

so, we take a picture of my belly every month of each pregnancy, and when we leave for the hospital. this is my 3rd baby so, Monday morning after a whole night of contractions, we knew we were having a baby shortly. here i am, bags packed, laid the girls clothes out for the next couple of days, pulled out unisex onsies, did some last minute cleaning, took one last picture of the belly, and waited for my water to break......or something.....anything more to happen. about 10 hours after this picture was taken, i went over to the hospital knowing full well they would send me home but just wanting some answers, tips, any reassurance that i would in fact be having a baby sometime in the near, i repeat NEAR future? no such luck, the nurse said, "well i can't see you going another week like this." what? exhausted and defeated, i went home. now, almost 48 hours since i woke up in the night IN LABOR, i am still IN LABOR. i guess it is increasing my appreciation for the 7 and 12 hours i have spent previously in this condition. anyway, wish me luck, and hopefully my next post will be pictures of our new baby?

dance take 4

i was so proud of Anna today in dance class. she has improved so much i wanted to dance myself. of course it's just for fun, and who cares if a 3 year old can kick ball change, but i was really wondering why she wouldn't follow some of her teacher's directions. i guess today it all clicked, because her eyes were glued to the teacher and she did so well doing all the moves to their little routine. even her teacher told me how much she improved this week. good job Anna, i can't wait 'til the recital! outfit #4: