Arabella's Loose Tooth

Arabella has had a wiggly tooth since December.  The dentist showed us that it was loose in December, but it stayed put until today.  At her check-up in June, her tooth was still stuck in there tight.  She was so anxious to loose a tooth.  Almost all of her friends have lost teeth and she wanted to loose one too.  Finally, it started to get very, very wiggly and she kept playing with it.  For days, it seemed like it would fall out, but it didn't.  Then this afternoon, I was sitting out on the patio and she came running out, saying "Mom, Mom, I have to show you something!!"  And when I looked up, there was her first tooth, in the palm of her hand.

She was so exited!!  It was so cute!

 She was talking non-stop about the tooth fairy and how she couldn't wait to put it under her pillow,  and would the tooth fairy actually come, and how would she know where she lived.  I loved her excitement and wonder about the whole situation.  I assured her that the tooth fairy would be able to find her and her tooth.  And sure enough, the next morning when she woke up, she had sparkly fairy dust on her pillow and in her hair and underneath her pillow was $5 and a special tooth fairy coin from Canada!  Such a bittersweet moment for me and her.  I loved seeing the look on her face - it was pure magic.

September Silliness

September flew by...we were busy with school, CCD, cheer-leading, tumbling and everyday life.  Maxton keeps growing like a weed.  He keeps me on my toes and is so curious about the world around him.  Arabella keeps amazing me with her quest for learning and her love of nature and animals.

Keeping busy, we saw this HUGE spider web on the neighbor's house.  The picture doesn't do it justice.

Maxton loves playing on Ollie, my childhood toy, just like Arabella did.  It is so cute to see him whizzing around on it.

In keeping with tradition, Maxton kept climbing in the sand and water table to play!

Arabella and Jay built binoculars (that really work) at the September Lowe's Build and Grow.

What is it with kids and boxes??!?!?  Arabella had this silly idea to cute holes into boxes to make it look like TV screens.  They she and max put them on their heads, ran round the house and got to laughing so hard, they couldn't talk.

Uncle Jeff had a big layover in Charlotte and we decided to surprise Arabella when she off the bus.  It was a rainy day and at first she thought it was Jay as he was hidden under the umbrella.  When she realized it was Uncle Jeff, she dropped her backpack and made a bee-line to him.  It was so sweet!

For spirit wear Friday at school, they got to dress up as their favorite storybook character.  Arabella decided to be Anna from Frozen.  She looked adorable!

Maxton loves his Liberte yogurt!!  Can you tell??

I think Jay took this picture, not sure what he was doing, but it is pretty cool that he was able to capture a bee in flight.

And the leaves began to change color and fall from the trees.  I love this time of year.

My Sweet Boy

I just love this little guy.  He is so active, but can be just as sweet.  I loved catching him sitting on this seat so focused on what he was doing.

As soon as he heard the camera go off, he was all smiles.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

I made a trip back to Connecticut to help Aunt Moona go through some of Aunt Rose's things.  She had been asking me to help her for a few years now and it just never seemed to take place when I was back home.  It was something that I needed to do with her so we figured out when Jay was going to be in town so he could watch Max & Arabella - it wasn't something that I wanted to do with kids or could really do with them.  It wasn't easy going through Aunt Rose's things - it feels odd, especially when she is still alive, albeit living with Alzheimer's.  (I visited her and it was heartbreaking.  She looks the same, just a bit unkempt and with a blank look on her face.  She can't have a conversation with you and she had no idea at all who I was, or even who Aunt Moona was, and she visits her a few times a week.  It is a horrible, horrible disease.  She is just a shell of a person and I know understand why people pray to God to have him take her home.)

While I accomplished going through Aunt Rose's possession, I also had some time to visit with friends and family.  On Thursday, I met friends for dinner at Lenny & Joe's in Westbrook.  I hadn't been to the beach in a few years and driving there, was like taking a trip down memory lane.  I can drive Route 9 with my eyes closed.  I looks just like I remember it to and it was the perfect drive on a warm, early autumn day.  The leaves were just starting to change.  I remember when I was younger, it seemed like it took so long to drive to the beach house, when it really only takes about 30 minutes.  I miss that drive and time spent at the beach.

 I planned out my whole life on that beach and it was bittersweet going back.  I always thought my kids would play on "Moona Beach" just like my dad did and how my brother and I did.  I spent at least 26 Summers there.  It is part of my soul.  I find such comfort and serenity when I spend time on the beach.  It helps me clear my head and calm me.

So many things have changed along the shoreline, but so much is the same.  I was happy sitting on the beach wall watching the sun set.  It was magical and beautiful, just like I remember.

Beautiful Skies

I love taking pictures of clouds, sunsets and the sky.  Here are a few of my favorites from this month.

Halloween Sampler

When Arabella was a baby, before we moved to Montreal, we were visiting Dennis & Ricki.  Ricki and I were talking about cross-stitch, which she is very gifted at, and began to look at all her patterns.  I used to do cross-stitch when I was younger and enjoyed it.  She let me take a pattern and I went out and purchased all the supplies that I would need to complete it.  Well, I never started it, it was packed up and moved from Ohio to Montreal and Montreal to Charlotte.  I had good intentions of starting and completing the project.  Well, that never happened and on Dennis & Ricki's visit in October of 2013, the pattern and all the supplies went back to Ohio with them.  Ricki offered to complete it for me since she had no more grandchildren to make samplers for.  I had forgotten about it until a package arrived with the completed cross-stitch inside.  I was thrilled to see it completed and fell in love with it.  Autumn and October are my favorite seasons - I am so excited to be able to display this framed piece with our other holiday decorations and I will treasure it for a very long time.

Riding The School Bus

For the longest time, Arabella has been asking to ride the school bus.  I was hesitant to let her ride it last year - I just felt she was too little to be on the bus alone.  She didn't really know anyone in the neighborhood and I am just super protective.  And there is no way I will let her ride the bus to school - she would have to be awake at 5:45 to get to the bus stop for 6:25...too early to be standing out in the dark waiting for a bus.  I was still nervous to let her ride this year, I just want her to be safe, but since she has been asking to do it, I figured she was ready to try it.  (She also knows a few of the other kids who ride the bus and I figured that was a plus.)   I was so nervous today standing at the bus stop waiting for her to get off the bus.  Max and I were there early and he was so excited to see the bus come around the corner...so was I...and I was thrilled when she had that huge smile on her face.  Her bus driver is great and she is loving it.  It is also nice because it gives be about an hour more time to get things done and we don't have to sit in the silly car rider line.  Max likes it too - he can nap longer!