I ♥ Halloween

We had SO much fun this year!  Tons of fun parties, play dates, boo at the zoo, trick-or-treating and the best treat of all, a visit from my mom, sister and niece!

                The boys dressed up as fireman, and to go along with the theme, baby girl was a Dalmatian puppy.

{Excuse the picture of a picture, it was the only good one I had of all tree of them!}

Fall Funfest at church was every bit as much fun as had been promised from our very first visit! Every classroom in the preschool department had a different game and prizes, there was yummy food, and every square inch was beautifully decorated!

The boys loved playing the games

We braved the crowds at Boo at the ZOO, and it was worth it.  Completely over the top and so fun!

The kids loved dancing with the DJ {can you tell how much rhythm my children have?}

Piper was so cute and is a much better dancer than my boys!

My favorite part was the carousel!

Baby girl stayed cozy in the stroller

Halloween morning…my little munchkins in their skeleton jammies

 

And finally, we ended all the Halloween festivities with trick-or-treating

We only went to a few houses, but the boys got tons of candy!

Happy Halloween from the Pierce Family!

Fall La La La La

I love this time of year, the leaves starting to change, cool mornings and evenings, pumpkin spice lattes, pretty much anything fall related makes me a happy girl.  For now everyone is healthy {poor McLean had strep throat and our first time for any of the children to have an antibiotic} and now that he is well we have been busy busy busy with all of our fun fall activities. 

Friday afternoon was our first chance to put on the Halloween costumes and we headed to a fun play date at a friend’s home.  I left baby girl at home with Daddy and the boys and I had a fun afternoon, just us!  I couldn’t believe that I forgot my camera, but since we will be wearing costumes multiple other times I will post many more pictures soon!

We headed to two different birthday parties on Saturday and the boys had a blast at each one!  The first party was at an inflatable play place and my whirling, jumping, crazy preschoolers never stood still long enough to take a picture {Oh well!}.  From there we headed to the pumpkin patch and although it was a million degrees outside, we had a wonderful time! 

This was likely the best pumpkin patch I have ever been to……

Pick your own pumpkin….

Ride the cow train….

Big or small!

Swings…

A petting zoo..

Wagons {in case you get tired}…

Pumpkins…

Pumpkins…

And more pumpkins!

Oh yes, we were there for a birthday party.  Happy birthday Abby Anne!

Two Months Old

Fall is here, another month has flown by, and baby girl is two months old!  Although she had three shots, her two month appointment went really well and at 11 lbs, 3oz she was in the 75th percentile in weight as well as height and head size.  She has consistently been sleeping through the night and for that I am so thankful!  We fall in love with her a little more everyday!

She is cooing and smiling at us now and it just melts our hearts!  

Bath time is still her favorite time of the day!

All dressed up for her first trip to church

“Look Mommy, I can hold Sophie!”

Sweet girl!  We love you!

Home Again

Hello from Little Rock!  We are back home and getting somewhat settled. It has been a busy two weeks since our return from our trip back to the East Coast and we have hit the ground running with our new fall schedule.  The boys are in “school” two days a week, Bible study for me  Tuesday mornings, Wednesday night church, plus all of the day to day things that makes life with three children crazy!  I have to admit that I was intimidated to return home to no help.  For the previous 6 weeks before that, I had a least one other person here to help out.  But, we have survived.  Some days I just manage to make it until Gene gets home, but we have also had a few successful days where he will come home to dinner cooking, everyone cleaned up and dressed, the house in order and no one crying.  {Well, to be honest, I count it as a success if he comes home to no one crying!}

We had a wonderful time during our two week stay in South Carolina.  Going back home made me realize how very much I miss my friends and family.  It’s so funny how I can get in my crazy day to day routine here and not really think about it, but being back there, and spending time with so many special people made me homesick even though I was at home!

We filled every second of our time there with fun trips, visits with friends and family and lots of fun in Mom and Dad’s backyard.

My sweet friend Julie’s family owns a farm in Blythewood that is heaven on earth for little boys.  We had a wonderful visit with Julie’s mom, and a great time at the farm!

Their favorite thing to do was play on the tractor {they are still talking about it}….

…but they loved seeing all of the animals as well.

With Mom and Ms. Susan’s help, they fed the goats and horses

McLean was chased by a goat

Ben found an egg in the chicken coop {then dropped it about two seconds later}

My grandparents came from Indiana to meet their 8th great-grandchild.  It was so great to see them! 

                                                                  I loved our time with our wonderful family and friends                                                                   

{and I didn’t even get pictures of half of them}

One Month Old

Sweet baby girl, you are one month old today! It is so hard to believe as the time has flown by. It has been so busy at our house as we adjust to being a family of five, but your Daddy and I are enjoying every moment!

You are growing so quickly and were already 8 lbs 10 oz at the doctor two weeks ago. In his words, you are "thriving"! You eat every 3 hours like clockwork, except at night, when you sleep so well and usually only wake up once to eat. You are already becoming attached to your paci and love being swaddled as tightly as possible. Now that you can have real baths, you love to soak in the warm water. Your big brothers are fascinated by you and love to point out everything you are doing. Ben is especially fond of you and although McLean has taken a little bit longer to adjust, I know he loves his little sister.

The day after you were born, your Nonna, Pops, Aunt Paige and cousin Piper came to meet you and the next day your Mimi and Granddaddy arrived. It has been such a blessing to have your Nonna and later your Aunt Patty stay with us to help out. They have kept your big brothers busy and Mommy has cherished the one on one time that we have been able to share.

On Saturday, you made your first road trip all the way to South Carolina. It was a long 15 hour drive, but you did such a great job! I am so excited to introduce you to our family and friends!

We love you so much baby girl and are so thankful to have you as part of our family!

Bath time makes baby girl so happy!

"Playing" outside with her big brothers

Baby Girl Makes Her Debut

We welcomed Mary Elizabeth Friday, July 23 at 10:28 AM.  She weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz.   and was 19.75 inches long.  We are so blessed to have three beautiful and healthy children!