Autumn Adventures

Can't let another month go by without an update on your life. First of all, you're totally into Disney princesses. One of your favorite things to do is sit on our laps and look at princesses on the computer. You love hearing stories about Belle, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel. In fact, we recently moved you into your "big girl" room with princess sheets and princess decorations. Your daddy spent a whole afternoon decorating for the big move and surprised you and your mom! You're also really into the characters from Disney's "Cars" -- another favorite computer activity. Other favorites of late: meatballs, STILL peanut butter toast, dum dum suckers, broccoli, graham crackers, M&M's, juice boxes and rice. You have this thing with snacking in the car (probably get it from your mom.) Whenever i pick you up from school or we get in the car to go anywhere, you say, "What do you have for me in the car?" Speaking of cars, we've taken some great road trips and have more planned for November. Close to home, we joined Gma and Gpa DeRuyscher, Uncle Doug & Aunt Sue in Leavenworth for Riverfest in September. You loved walking around and playing games to win candy and other little prizes. We went to Minneapolis in early October to see the Royals close out the baseball season against the Twins in the Metrodome. They were the last games the Twins will ever play in the Metrodome, so it was cool to be there. Some nice guy sitting behind us made balloon animals for you and some other nice guy gave you a foul ball, which will be a real keepsake. You loved getting to stay in the hotel and visit the pool with your Dora swimming suit on. You still aren't sure about getting all the way in the water, though. You were officially "potty trained" in October, always getting excited to add another sticker to your Potty Chart. However, in the last week, you've decided to ditch the potty and go back to diapers. We're told we should not panic about this -- that you'll come around. We're waiting patiently and trying not to nag you too much! We took you to World's of Fun on a very cold day for mommy's Camp Quality reunion. The three of us walked around for a bit, took a train ride, shared a hot pretzel and headed home. It was SO cold but fun to be bundled up together! You got your 2-year shots (a little late) and you were VERY brave! You are now a healthy 30 lbs. and full of energy. Instead of walking or running to go places, you sort of skip and hop around. It's very cute. We think this might be influenced by the dance classes you're taking at Fairy Tale Ballet. You and your new friends Emmy, Aubrey, and KiKi are so very cute in your tutus, dancing around with Miss Bobbi. You wanted to be Cinderella for Halloween, so Daddy bought you a Cinderella dress and won you a wand at Chucky Cheese. You were so excited to wear your costume. We went trick or treating with the neighbors a bit. Daddy carved us some pumpkins. You enjoyed some candy. We made a great memory. Oh, a couple more things -- you are really excited to be a big sister in February and you've named your brother Grommit. You like to pat him and you sometimes try to feed him through mommy's belly button. You also request his help in brushing your hair and teeth and other things like that. You're going to be a really helpful big sister! You continue to LOVE to read and Thomas the Tank Engine is a new favorite. You like reading books that your mom and dad loved when they were little. You are still hooked on Diego and you're allowed to watch him in the morning and sometimes at night if you've made good choices during the day. Your daddy is delighted that you've taken a liking to the song "Angel Eyes," which he used to sing to you in Mommy's tummy. You can sing along now and it's so cute listening to you two and your 80's music. Probably our favorite thing you do right now is to say out of the blue, "Mommy" or "Daddy" -- "I love you." November is going to be a fun-filled month. We're traveling every weekend! Having you around makes everything an adventure!