October Add-On

Since I have problems remembering my camera, my friend was nice enough to take these pictures and send them to me. It's a few of the other things we did last month.

Though you can't tell in this picture, we both took part in carving our first jack-o-lantern. (I know, hard to believe, in over 4 years of marriage!)
The kids were all dazed and confused because we were practically standing on our heads to get them all looking in the same direction. And yes, Carli has no pants on. Somehow her pants got soaked - pretty sure she thought it would be a good idea to try sitting on the potty when no one was looking. So glad we will always have that memory.

This is Carli's good buddy. He lives in our complex and they play almost everyday.

This was a fun trip to the arboretum.

They had lots of fun little houses for the kids.

Carli knocking on the Hansel and Gretyl door.

It was a beautiful place.

I have been feeling really grateful for my blessings, and one of the greatest blessings I have is Carli, so I have to make a proud mama list, just 'cause it's been awhile. So, beware, this is a lot of bragging that you probably won't be interested in, but I will be later on.

- Carli has decided it's time to start the potty training process. We got a potty for her several months ago which she liked to sit on, but this week she started asking to sit on it when I change her diaper or get her dressed and she's gone on the potty about twice a day since! Yay Carli!
- She is the cutest little singer. She LOVES music and has it on in her room and in the car all the time. She also loves to sit on my lap while I play Primary songs on the piano. She has memorized which songs are on which pages and picks them out and sings them with me. (And yes, she knows every word to most of them.) Some of her favorites are I am a Child of God, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, Once There was a Snowman, When We're Helping We're Happy, Hello Hello, I Feel My Savior's Love, I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home, and lots, lots more. In the car she prefers music with a strong beat and has no patience for country. Who knew such a strong opinion about music could form at such a young age!
- She LOVES to read! You can almost always catch her reading her books and she has memorized several of them. Unfortunately, she also becomes extremely attached to the library books we get. She especially loves "She Bear", which she says to refer to any Berenstain Bear book.
- She knows her numbers and the alphabet and recognizes them all. In the car and in the store she'll pick them out on signs and say "5, Mom!", or whatever it is. Her favorite game is to bring all the number and letter magnets from the fridge to me one at a time, say, "What is it, Mom", so I ask her, "What is it, Carli?" she'll tell me then she'll make designs with the magnets on the table.
- She wakes up every morning and from every nap with a very cheery, "Hi Mom! Good morning! How was your nap?"
- She gave us absolutely no problems transitioning into a "big girl bed".
- She loves to eat mostly everything we give her and she's so obedient when we tell her she needs to take a few more bites before getting down.
- She LOVES all her new friends here and when I tell her we're going to see friends she asks, "Purple Slide?" because we usually play with them at the park with the purple slide.
- She has a memory like I've never seen! It is a blessing and a curse - but mostly a curse. For example, today we went to story time at the library, which we haven't been to for a few weeks. When we got there she remembered that I'd taken a banana in my purse the last time and was not happy that I didn't this time. And often something will remind her of her friends from our old home or her cousins and there's no distracting her. There's no such thing as "out of sight out of mind" for this girl.
- My favorite phrase of hers is "Come 'ere, Mom". She says it when she's sad or tired or when she just wants me to hold her. It makes me melt every time, and she knows it and uses it to her advantage.
- She has gotten really good at asking for the things she wants. Instead of crying or whining, she now says "Juice please, Mom", or "Read please, Dad". I can't believe how much she's growing up!
- She loves to help clean up, which is in stark contrast to her past preference of everything on the floor.
- She has been SO good about her glasses and patch. Tomorrow we see the Dr. about it and it will be interesting to see what this one says, as the past two had very different opinions.
- When we leave the house she has to have her purse, an animal and oftentimes her Easter hat, so she looks a little like an old woman and, much to my dismay, attracts the attention of everyone we see.
- She loves to pray. She makes sure we kneel before she goes to bed and she says the prayer. "We're grateful for the temple, grateful for Mom/Daddy/other family members, grateful for blankies/books/songs (and names them specifically)..." Then she proceeds to name everything around the room.

Can you tell I love this girl!