Chicago notes

So, in an effort to get the post in, I totally forgot to put anything about our trip to Chicago in my "October" post. Aaron had to go for a conference and since I have been itching to get out of town, Ellie and I decided to go with him. She was FANTASTIC on the plane both ways and was a doll the whole time. We had time to do a little site-seeing and got to check out the Museum of Science and Industry, Navy Pier, and the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). That was a ton of fun, although the glass "ledges" that you can stand in and be literally over Chicago were a little nerve-racking for me. We did, however, spend most of our time wishing that the boys were there with us - they would have had a blast! In short, we can't wait to get back on a real vacation!

Life...

...has been extremely busy - I just can't seem to keep up! So, to go back and play catch up, here's our month of October...We began the month with a trip to the doctor for check-ups all around.

Sam - 46" tall and 47.6 lbs; Jack - 40" tall and 36 lbs; Ellie - 25 1/4" long and 14 lbs, 9 oz. She's hit a pretty average size and seems to be staying there. After some traumatic shots and blood draws, everybody is healthy and now very happy (Jack's no longer anemic so no more yucky iron drops!).

The next day we left for my Dad's to visit over fall break. We had a fantastic time - most of these pics are from a great place Sandy found called "Monkey Joe's" that was full of big inflatables for the kids to jump on.

The whole gang with Papa

Coons

We also got to visit with Great Grandpa Dave - his first time meeting Ellie.

We went on to celebrate Sam's 7th birthday. Coincidentally, this is a picture of my second Wilton cake - Sam picked out all the colors and even helped me with the decorating.

He also lost one of his front teeth on his birthday - he wiggled and wiggled all the way home from church and then pulled it himself - a job that usually falls to Mommy! He then proceeded to lose the second one the very next day. He also had school pictures just a few days later, so we'll have Mr. No-Teeth pictures for the yearbook too! (Another side note - those were actually the make-up pictures at school - we had him skip the first ones because his face was covered with poison ivy...ugh...boys!)

Finally...Halloween! I had fun getting Ellie all dressed up in her orange and black and then again in her orange and blue - War Eagle!

We had two Skywalker's this year - Anakin and Luke - I have a feeling they'd be Star Wars characters every year if we let them! Aaron mentioned dressing Ellie as Princess Leia, but I refused to put her in a Star Wars costume her very first Halloween - maybe next year!

Chicago

Here are some pics from our trip to Chicago - more info to come!

The Cake!

Some of my family and I love to read the Jan Karon Mitford Series - it's basically the evolving story of a small town preacher, his life, and the lives of those around him. It's very entertaining and always very funny. One of the revolving themes in the book is the food - what people bring to the potlucks, what the reverend himself cooks, etc. One of the most famous dishes in the series is Esther's Orange Marmalade cake - it's always chalked up as one of the most decadent cakes ever and typically gets the reverend (a diabetic) in lots of trouble. After she began the series, the author was getting tons of requests for the recipes, so she decided to put together a cookbook which I was fortunate enough to receive as a gift from my father-in-law a few years ago. I immediately looked up the cake recipe and wanted to make it, but it's one of those absolutely from scratch, lots of ingredients, triple-sifting types of recipes and I just kept putting it off. Well, this year for my birthday, I decided to try it out. I didn't get it done by my birthday, but I did finish it up on Sunday - AMAZING!!!! The recipe is lengthy, so if you want a copy, send me an email or post a comment and I'll get it to you. Until then...let your mouth water away!

What We Believe

My girlfriend Becki posted this link on her blog yesterday, and after taking the time to read through, I felt impressed to add it to mine as well. This blog follows a family that is enduring a most difficult trial and the blessing that their faith has been for them. It will take some time to go back and read all posts from the beginning, but it will not only give you a sense of some of the basic precepts of our faith, but also a greater appreciation of the love our Heavenly Father has given us through our family and friends. I am so grateful to have the knowledge that my family is forever. For my family, I love each of you more than words can say and feel more than blessed to have you in my life.

http://nelsonsforever.blogspot.com/

First Days and Check-ups

In trying to yet again play catch-up, I thought I'd combine a few of the things we've been into the past few weeks! The boys had a fantastic first day of school - Sam is in 1st grade and is officially too old for Mommy to walk him to class - at least he let me get a pic at home before we left. Jack is in Pre-K and while we debated about whether to do a half-day or full-day, with Ellie at home and with Jack's high-energy personality, we figured the structure was better for both of us! We absolutely love his teacher (she was Sam's Pre-K teacher too) and he is truly thriving

Next up, Ellie officially turned 4 months old and had a fantastic check-up. She weighed 13 lbs, 1 1/2 oz (up to the 40th% from the 10th) and was 25 inches (up to the 75th% from the 10th) - that's four inches in two months! Her hemangioma is already fading and everything else checked out well - the doctor said she is absolutely perfect!

Along with that milestone came another one - solid food! We started out with some cereal, but

the doctor gave us the go ahead to start with 1st foods, so we're slowly introducing all the fun stuff - we've tried sweet potatoes, prunes, carrots, green beans, and bananas - so far so good! We also got a brand-new, girly girl high chair - thanks Grandma and Papa Coons!

Conversation II

Preface: The first Sunday of each month is "Fast Sunday" at our church and we fast for two meals and take that time to pray for and focus on a need in our lives. Here's a little something from our last Fast Sunday.

Sam: Mommy, why aren't you eating breakfast?

Me: Daddy and I are fasting today.

Sam: Oh, I know what that means.

Me: Really Sam, that's great - what does it mean?

Sam: It means that you eat really fast so that we can get to church on time. :)

Conversation

Sam: Mom, do you know what I want to do when I grow up?

Me: Nope, tell me.

Sam: Well, I'm going to work with Daddy most of the time, but then I'll spend the rest of my time driving monster trucks.

Me: Are you REALLY sure that's what you want to do?

Sam: Yes mam - if I work with Daddy I'll have enough money to buy my monster truck!

Oh, heaven help me with this one!