Big accomplishment!

More leaf fun

Yesterday I convinced the children that a leaf pile is no good if you can't play in it, so they did! They had such great fun!

Favorite passtimes

Anastasia's two favorite things to do are to explore the pantry and pull books off the bookshelves. Although these do tend to cause messes, I just let her because it is worth the hands-free time! She is quite the Mommy's girl. :)

More decorating

We brought back some items from Lolo and Lala's house this weekend. After we added the bookshelves last month, we painted this accent wall in the living room and hung the painting on the left. Now we have this end table, lamp and small painting to complete the room. I am really excited not only because it looks beautiful but because I really prefer having hand me down furniture and artwork with sentimental value rather than something purchased at a furniture store. We now have lots of reminders of our loved ones to fill our living space!

Fall fun

This morning the children and a neighbor decided to rake leaves. Stephen was so excited because he was able to use his new rake from Lolo's house. He previously had to talk one of the girls into sharing theirs, so he is thrilled to have is own rake now!

Sleeping Beauty

I peeked at Anastasia during her nap this afternoon, and found her with her leg sticking out. Mariana used to do the same thing! Birds of a feather I guess...So sweet.

We're Back!

We were gone for a week to attend Lolo's funeral and celebrate Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Anastasia did not like being in a new environment so much. Since I had to hold her most of the time I barely took any photos! After saying farewell to our dear Lolo, we spent time with family, Lito took Austin and the children fishing, the girls played piano at Lala's place, Allia had a special piano lesson with Tia Nana (below) on the Charlie Brown theme song, which Tia Nana plays very well, and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner together. It was a wonderful trip, and we came back with many parting gifts from Lolo and a little something else...

GINGER!

This kitty had been abandoned in Lito and Lita's neighborhood. She is super sweet and gentle (a little unusual for a cat!) and stole Austin and the children's hearts right away. I was a little tougher to convince ;) but gave in at the end. So she made the car ride home with us quite peacefully and is here to stay (we hope!). The children are thrilled! It sure helped ease the pain of leaving Lito and Lita's after a week of enjoyment for them!

Belated All Saints Party

This morning we went to a belated All Saints party at a friend's house. It was postponed due to illness. It was tons of fun, and the children welcomed a chance to dress up again. Everyone but Allia chose to be a different saint this time. They were Agnes, Mary Magdalene, Joan of Arc and George. Thanks to Larkination for a great time! :)

Rest in Peace, Lolo

Austin's grandfather, Lolo, passed away this morning. Please pray for the repose of his soul and for the family left behind. He was much loved and will be much missed.

Lolo with Stephen at 2 months

Fun moments

The children love to play in our old entertainment center which resides in the garage waiting to be sold. They decided Anastasia needed a turn.

And some trike and bike riding

Soccer finale

Gloria had her last day of Hot Shots Soccer today...oh sad day for her. She has really loved it!

Soccer baby

Soccer girl

The whole group with Coach "Canada"

10 months old!

We almost missed it with another busy weekend. Anastasia turned 10 months on Saturday. She is doing a lot of scooting around, but now she is also pulling up and cruising. She says a few words including Dada, Mama, Ah-buh (Allia), and uh-oh. Such a sweet girl, we are loving every minute!

Redheads sticking together. :)

Thankfulness Tree

We got this idea from a friend of ours and put it into action this week. Each night the children pick a leaf and put something on it they are thankful for, so that by Thanksgiving we have a whole tree of gratitude. :)

Lito Impersonator

All dressed up

and ready for the All Saints Party last night!

We have St. Faustina, St. Therese, St. Agnes, St. Stephen, St. Josemaria Escriva and baby Mary eating my camera case. :)

And a little funny moment:
As we were praying our litany of the saints on Halloween before bed, Austin interjected "Saint Josemaria Escriva pray for us," and Mariana shouted, "Oh, I know him...he's in the bathroom!" We couldn't help but laugh. His holy card is on my little prayer card holder in the downstairs bathroom. :)

Happy Day!

Happy All Saints Day and Happy Baptism Day to our Allia! We are doing our best to celebrate despite the fact that Daddy and Mommy are still puny from being sick earlier this week. So I will leave off with a photo of Anastasia and her first ponytail. Her hair is starting to hang in her face, but I can't do bows or clips because of the choking hazard, so we bought her some baby hairbands today. What a cutie. I think Stephen will have to start calling her "sprout" instead of Annie! :)