More fall fun, and introducing Nowayjose.

Fall carries on with warm weather and mellow weekends. It is a nice break to have minimal agendas around here on the weekends as we are able to spend lots of time as a family, something Sully requests daily. Dave's schedule continues to be demanding, but with each day that passes, I find that managing the kids on my own is getting better. I have the occasional melt down, but overall, we are finding our groove, it has nearly taken me 12 months ;). I can't for one minute imagine going back to life one year ago. I was days from delivering a baby, had a massive construction project in full swing, and was trying to manage two toddlers.

We have had fun watching Isaac play football and many of the Connelly cousins play soccer. It is a great way to enjoy the mild temperatures as well as connect with family in a very informal setting. Sully and Greta have a great time with all of their cousins and Piper is so antsy to be one of the big kids. If it wasn't for the distraction of those tasty leaves and wood chips, we would let her be on her way.

Our big project this last weekend was constructing our own scarecrow. The kids love driving around looking at 'pooky' halloween decorations and we felt like we were lacking around here. Don't get me wrong, we have gone overboard with pumpkins, picking up pumpkin craft kits here and there which has been loads of fun, be we wanted a 'wow' factor. Dave did the youtube homework and on Saturday after Isaac's game we went on the hunt to Home Depot for lumber, Savers for clothes, and Landscape Garden Centers for the hay bail. We got home and Dave went to work while I managed the kids (with the help of our neighbor boys). Fortunately, he turned out almost perfect. We will make a few tweaks for next year, but we are happy with our first go. The pumpkin head even has a light bulb in it, so at night we are able to illuminate him, which takes him over the top. When we were constructing him, the neighbors kept teasing Sully and Greta and their response was usually 'no way Jose,' so that became his name. We love him. The kids run out multiple times a day to see if he is awake or asleep (wether or night his light is on), and every time we drive up the house, we say hello to Nowayjose.

An afternoon walk. Sully beams with happiness, Dave too. 

Maggie snuggles Greta. Mutual admiration. 

Birthday party fun- a green robot. 

Hello Kitty. 

Football game fun. Greta dressed as a princess :).

Date night with Maggie and Anna- this ended poorly.
Thirty minutes into the movie following dinner, Greta tossed her cookies,
too much chocolate :/.

Posing with the pumpkins.

A rare quiet morning with only Piper. 

Owen, Greta, Sully, and Capri watching Isaac play ball.

Sweet Piper. 

Sully, Aidan, Nowayjose, Piper, Greta, and Landon. 

Nowayjose.

Greta does preschool, Piper does the slide, Dave does NYC.

October brought new routines, growing kids, a change in weather, and an unexpected trip for Dave. 

Greta started at Miss Jean's and as I had expected, it has been a great fit for her. We head right out to her house after we drop Sully at school and she talks the whole way about how excited she is and about the things she hopes they do that day. I generally walk her in and she talks a mile a minute to Miss Jean about all of the important things (i.e. "Can we play play doh? Can we paint? Where's your puppy? What's your mom's name?" and that is word for word what she said on her first day). I get numerous photos during the day with captions like 'We are two peas in a pod.' We are so lucky to have Miss Jean. 

Piper mastered the slide at the park. She pulls herself up the equipment and steadies herself on the slide before letting herself slip down. She is so brave and such a big girl. She is turning into a toddler right before my eyes. I can hardly believe she is almost one. We are dabbling into her Miss Jaspers' mornings and while it is bittersweet, I'm ready to have a morning to myself. She continues to sleep through the night and we are talking about weaning as soon as she turns one. It is a one sided conversation, but I am definitely ready, I hope she is, too ;).

Sully continues with his weekly routines. We added Miss Jean to his preschool agenda so he goes full days on Wednesday between preschool and Miss Jean in the afternoon. We are struggling with some growing pains and hope he settles into his new routine soon and that we are not taking on too much for him. Time will tell. He is definitely our routine oriented little boy who doesn't like too much change. 

Dave was disappointed when Green Day announced a short tour and it seemed all of the dates either fell on a weekday or a call day for him. After learning the venue was very intimate (1,500 people), he was set on making something work. Fortunately for him, he has some great partners (and a great wife) and was able to make a trade to get to their show in NYC. He and his concert buddy, Paul, left on a Friday and spent the evening wandering the streets of Manhattan and did more of the same on Saturday before the show on Saturday evening. They had a great time exploring and concert going and made it home safe and sound on Sunday. Wouldn't ya know, Green Day has miraculously announced many many more dates this spring all over the US. I'm sure you can imagine who is trying to find dates to get to more shows...

Greta's first day of preschool.

All three.

Halloween crafting fun. 

The end result. 

Piper masters the pout/tantrum.

Bestys trying to nap together. Haha, I'm too smart for that.

Group selfie for Dave while he is in NYC.

Piper helps me plant tulips.

Post-tubby fun.

Green Day!

Celebrating six years.

Dave and I were lucky enough to celebrate six years of marriage last week. Its been a whirlwind of babies, kids, trips, house projects, a little stress, and a lot of fun. We told the kids we were celebrating the birthday of our wedding, so we made a cake and decorated it with six candles. They loved it, we all did.

We have had some mellow evenings, which has been good for all of us. We spent last weekend close to home with a trip to pick out pumpkins, a couple of park visits and group (family) party for Dave's work group last evening which was a lot of work, but completely worth it. Sully was mostly excited about renting a Spiderman bounce house which was a hit all weekend long.

Family time is the best time. We love our couch snuggles, date nights, movie nights (we have managed to get about 45 minutes into a movie before everyone has lost interest), evening walks to the park, bedtime routines with 'daddy dinosaur,' and 'mommy monster,' quiet nursing sessions with Piper, stories with daddy, and waking up in the morning to a bed full of kids. Although the daily grind can be daunting at times, I am so grateful for what we have. Thanks Dave for making it a great six years!

Greta and her pink pumpkin. 

Sully gets a green one. 

Piper is more interested in chewing on her stem ;).

All smiles at check out. 

Picking out a leaf blower for daddy's anniversary gift. 

Anniversary party! 

Piper was 11 months on Friday!

Party decor. 

Cookie fun (notice my medical theme).

The guest of honor at the party :)

Anniversary trip to Europe.

Dave and I had initially planned a trip to Europe last fall when I was very pregnant with Piper. A couple of friends went last summer and I was so envious of their ability to go, so we put it on our calendar. Maggie and Jeff were also going for their 10 year anniversary, so we planned to overlap at some point. The planning had begun. I was excited and apprehensive as the dates neared. Little by little things fell into place and after loads and loads of prep (trip planning, child care coordination, pumping enough milk, etc.) we were on the plane. Yay!

We were greeted by Maggie and Jeff in St. Mark's Square in Venice, we had a great first couple of days with them. I had a pump malfunction immediately which sent Dave and I to pharmacies to find and buy pumps to get me through the trip. Once that was accomplished, we were on our way. We walked and shopped and ate and drank (too much!!) our way through Venice. We spent Monday morning perusing designer shops, trying on the latest, ridiculously expensive, fashions and laughing our way through. Mag and Jeff left on Tuesday morning and Dave and I hopped on a train to Milan and then to Monaco to our final stop in Eze-la-mer.

We spent one day in Beaulieu wandering and eating followed by dinner in Eze Village which was so charming. It is an old walled village full of history and views. The following day was spent in St. Paul De Vence for lunch and exploring followed by a rickshaw tour and dinner in Nice. What a pleasant surprise Nice was. After the recent terrorist attacks, it was not on our list, but due to time issues, we ended up following our noses and ended up in the Old Town which was unique, lively, and had so much culture. We spent our final day in Cannes which included a boat trip to Il St. Honorat which is a private island that houses a monastery. It was calm and quiet and had killer sea views. It was a great final day.

Dave and I had so much fun exploring, relaxing, appreciating long lunches and dinners, and taking in the culture. We really tried to focus on our ability to do that as it is so far from our current reality at home. But under it all, we completely missed the kids. The first pains set in on our long train travel day on Tuesday, we tried to focus on the positives, but we missed them SO much and had to carry each other through when the sadness set in. The pains eased as the week went on knowing we would be home soon. We are so happy we did the trip, but feel like it may have been a little too long of trip and maybe too far away. Lesson learned. It will be awhile before we try anything quite that huge again, until then, Canada will do ;).

We had major flight delays on our return, including a six hour delay in Munich before our 10 hour flight home. Needless to say, we missed our connecting flight in Denver and didn't return home until Sunday. Fortunately we had amazing child care set up between Janet and Courtney with help from my mom and sister, so the kids didn't know any different, but we ached incredibly to be home with the kids. They are our world.

Courtney and my parents surprised us at the airport with the kids which was so good. Sully and Greta went to Dave first and I couldn't let go when I was finally able to squeeze them. Piper was slightly hesitant to come, but once she did, she wouldn't let go, and still hardly has. As long as I'm in the room, she needs to be in my arms, which fills my heart. Our child care providers will never fully understand our gratitude toward them. Thank yous definitely don't cover it.

Drinks in Venice. 

St. Mark's Square.

Too much fun near the canal. 

Twin pic.

Dave and I in the Square. 

Dave catches a freaky bird. Yikes. 

Jeff does Versace!

Lunch with a Duomo view. 

Eze Village Botanical Gardens. 

Waiting on trains. 

Lunch in St. Paul de Vence. 

The Promenade in Nice. 

Old Town Nice. 

My dinner date. 

The Cannes Harbor. 

Il St. Honorat, the original monetary remains. Dave takes in the view.  

Messy hair don't care.

Sad about delays in the Munich airport. 

Ready to catch our flight in Denver,
36 hours in to our journey home.