The Jordans- Cherish, Sean, Autumn and Emelia

Autumn climbed up on the table and got into the candy (this is the day before Halloween) and I was able to catch a few shots on camera. Tongue girl! What a great smile! Then, this afternoon (before all of our Halloween festivities) Autumn, all dressed up and wearing the shoes she picked out decided she needed to make a phone call. I cannot explain it, but this picture tickles me. So we finally get Autumn in her costume: And she was completely unhappy about it! Up close and unhappy. We made our way to the Arctic Oasis for the Halloween party (that was nice and warm!) and let me tell you, it was a MADHOUSE in there! Autumn of course had to work on her fitness. Sean helping her hone her climbing skills (thanks Sean!). Going up! Now for the more serious workout: Lifting weights. You don't get to be the toughest baby in Alaska by taking a night off to trick or treat! Penguin Squats. Getting ready to jump off! Then Dylan arrives dressed as a horse and with cowboy boots on. He is so cu...

OK, I won't finish that!! We took a short drive up to Alpenglow today. We knew there would be snow up there and I'm so glad we did. We had an absolute blast. I think tomorrow we are going to don some snow gear and go back. I was wearing tennis shoes (duh! Not a smart idea) and my feet got wet! Sean and Autumn (and the ever rare smile from Sean). Two peas in a pod. Autumn didn't seem to enjoy sledding all by her lonesome. Sean, on the other hand, did! Cherish and Autumn. Checking out the snow up close. I like that you can see the snow flakes. Autumn likes saying the word, "snow." Checking out a snowflake up close. I don't know why this was so upsetting for Autumn. It wasn't like I was going to have Sean hit the tree and make all the snow fall on us (insert evil laugh here). What on earth possessed Sean to put Autumn on his shoulders like that and sled down is beyond me. Autumn was scared out of her mind and grabbing his face with a very tight g...

As Autumn continues to grow, she continues to push the boundaries and limits. I have found that spanking is not an effective form of punishment for Autumn, she laughs and quite frankly, I can admit that I have a short temper sometimes, so spanking is not a good thing for me either. I have been working on time out. When I can get Autumn to do her time for her crime in time out, it has been very effective. This evening, Autumn kicked me (on purpose because I wouldn't give her my camera) and ended up in time out. At first, Autumn pretends to be so upset and completely distraught, but then..... Two seconds later and she is all smiles. Anyway, it is a work in progress for both of us. It has, for the most part been an enjoyable weekend for our family. We are spending as much time together as we possibly can, but it feels like there is this great big cloud over us. Autumn does not realize it yet, but Sean is leaving soon, for awhile. Sean and I know it is coming, Autumn can probab...

Sean's mom and dad sent some Christmas gifts for Sean since he will not be on this continent for Christmas. Autumn had a great time opening the gifts. Sean kindly allowed Autumn to open up the gifts and boy did she have a good time of it! She is much better at this than last Christmas! Reading The Skeptic's Guide to Conspiracies by Monte Cook. Where is Sean? He is underwear!!!! OK, so we all know by now that Autumn's help is questionable. I have been searching high and lo for an all wood step stool so that when Autumn "puts" the silverware away, she can see in the drawer. Well today, Autumn solved this problem her self. Check it out: Just when I think it couldn't possibly get any worse: WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sitting in the drawer! Moving right along, yesterday, Sean made us the most delicious dinner: Pan Seared Loin of Lamb with Port Reduction Sauce and Garlic butter Sauteed Green beans, paired with a Merlot. It was delicious!! I ATE all the green...

Thursday, October 15th is National Pregnancy Loss Awareness day. It isn't an easy subject to talk about, but I have found over the years that opening up and discussing it not only helps me, but helps others who have experienced a loss as well. I have had two miscarriages, one was ten years ago, the other nine. There is no way to describe the way you feel when you see or hear your baby's heartbeat for the very first time to only have that feeling taken away the day you realize you are having a miscarriage. You have all these hopes and dreams and suddenly, they are just gone. For a long time, I was angry at God. I felt like he did this thing to me, that he could have saved my babies, but he let them die. I remember praying like crazy that everything would be OK, but to my dismay, I lost the babies anyway. To add insult to injury, friends and family with well meaning intentions say the most insensitive things. "God must have known you weren't ready" or "i...

Autumn got really sick on Friday- she was diagnosed with croup most likely caused by swine flu. Sean came home late Saturday night and I was so glad! I was sleep deprived and really needed the support of an extra person to look after Autumn while I got caught up on some rest. Autumn is still coughing and running a fever off and on, but she is doing much better. We are planning to stay in this week just to be sure that neither one of us gets exposed to anything else! So, on to the fun stuff! Autumn acquired a new skill today. She climbed the baby gate that is on the door to our bathroom where we hide the cat food and water. We have to hide it because like most toddlers, Autumn cannot keep away from it. She got this idea: She dumped the cat food into the two smaller water dishes as well as all over the floor. Thanks. Now what to do about this situation? I am concerned she will go over that gate head first. Turning it around is not going to do much for us because there are foo...