colleen writes: WE LOVE OCTOBER!!!!!

October was such a great month!!!! It felt long, and there were so many beautiful weather days. October ranks right up there in my mind with June, July, and August. During the month, we had 7 play dates, 3 birthday parties, 7 preschool sessions plus a field trip, we bought 1 cottage and had 2 trips to Houghton Lake, 2 trips to the cider mill, 5 different Halloween festivities, and 5 trips to the library. Adam and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Gabrielle turned 3 1/2 this month and Carter was 4 months old. WHOA!

A few updates on Carter: He is over 16 pounds! He continues to be the sweetest baby ever. He's a really snuggly baby, and I can pretty much guarantee a big toothless grin if you were to see him in person. If you ever need a "baby fix" come visit and hold him. He is very interested in his surroundings now, so if I take him into a new room in the house or into a store or restaurant, he likes to look at everything. He also likes colorful shirts that have writing on them or sparkly jewelry. He is getting very good a grabbing, too. He likes to reach for whatever might be in your hand. He also likes to reach into my hair and pull it:) I taught him to kiss already (something I taught Gabrielle when she was 8 months old, but I figured I'd start earlier with him) so when I say "kiss-kiss" he leans in with his drooly open mouth which are the best kind of baby kisses. Those of you who have gotten those kisses from your babies can probably attest to that! Other than that, he does all the things that a 4 month old baby should do, but most notably, he melts my heart on a daily basis!! For Halloween this year he was both a chili pepper (for Adam) and a pea pod (for me). On Halloween, I let Gabs choose and she picked the chili pepper costume. Oh well.

Now a few updates on Gabrielle: She is having a really fun time at preschool and suffered from no separation anxiety at all. When we walk into the building she wants to throw her backpack and quickly wiggle out of her coat and run down hall to her classroom. I'm glad she likes it so much! She has a lot of friends and is quite the socialite. This year for Halloween she went trick-or-treating with her friend Daniel. They are quite the pair. Even Mrs. Peckens noticed that they are buddy-buddy at school. She went rip-roaring all around his neighborhood and had a HOOT of a time. Last year she would barely say "trick-or-treat" and this year I could barely keep up with her! She has more candy than I know what to do with too! Other than that, Gabs is funny, friendly, sassy, inquisitive, moody, lovable--everything a 3 year old should be. She is making connections and has a memory like an elephant. For Halloween this year she was Sleeping Beauty.

We have lots of pics this month, and we are looking forward to the upcoming holiday season. If you have read all of this blog post, I thank you, and I hope you are well and happy.

Until next month, enjoy the moment!

COLLEEN