Emma has been SO excited about Halloween.  This is the first year that she really got into deciding what she wanted to be.  We looked at pictures of costumes in magazines and she really liked all of the kitty cats.  Then Nana found a cute pink tutu and we decided that she would be a princess kitty cat. 

Tonight when we got Emma all dressed up we realized that a cat really fits Emma’s personality well…  She is very independent, she can be “too cool,”  and sometimes plays hard to get!

I’m so thankful that Nana was able to come over and help Emma get dressed.  Getting Emma dressed is becoming harder and harder as my belly gets bigger and bigger!

After getting dressed, Robin put Emma’s make up on.  In my family, my dad was the one who put our Halloween make up on- he got very very into it and he always did a great job.  Robin offered to put on Emma’s whiskers and nose and I was pleased to let him do it.  She sat very still while he made her kitty face come to life.

Emma taking a look in the mirror:

Taking pictures in the front yard:

Nana and Emma

Mommy and Emma

Sweet little kitty… all ready to go!

After getting all dressed up we went to our church’s Halloween event, “Noah’s Ark.”  Emma had a blast with her good friend Aubrey.

This picture cracks me up… Emma would not hug Aubrey back!  Just like a cat would act- playing hard to get!

Playing games…

Mackenzie, Emma, and Aubrey

Aunt Judy helped Emma make a shot with the ball… “They shoot….”

…. and they SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Riding cool bikes…

Eating some candy…

Nana teaching Emma to play golf (now that’s scary!)

Love this pic… two princesses just chillin’ sucking on their suckers!

Taking a break to eat some popcorn

Back at home, winding down.  What a fun evening!

What an exhausted little kitty cat

Emma- mommy and daddy LOVED watching you come to life tonight and have so much fun.  You are such a precious girl and we love you very much!

When we bought our house, we loved that it had so many tall trees… we have now learned that along with the tall trees comes LEAVES, LEAVES, and MORE LEAVES!  Thus, we have one more home ownership chore!  However, it’s a chore that I don’t mind.  There is something so therapeutic about raking leaves and they are so pretty!

Today, Emma was ‘helping’ rake the leaves with a broom while talking on the phone (walky-talky) and carrying her purse.  Talk about multi-tasking!

Taking a quick work break to talk on the phone:

When I asked Emma who she was talking to on the phone she said, “Oh, my mom.”

These next pictures will be hard to explain.  For the past 8 months we have been telling Emma that mommy has a baby in her tummy and when we found out it was a boy we told her “Baby Foster” is in mommy’s tummy.  She frequently asks if she can take him “out” of my tummy to play with him.  She pretends to take him out of my belly button and walks around holding him on her shoulder, in her hands, and talking to him very gently.  Talk about an imagination!  We hope she is as sweet with him in person as she is when she is pretending.  Here she is holding baby Foster today:

I’ll start this post with a picture of  Emma (as a teaser) but then I must begin with a funny story.

For those of you who don’t know, I LOVE photography.  I am so jealous of people who have the natural talent to take beautiful photographs.  One of my goals as a mommy is to capture everyday “moments” of Emma.  I often go back and look at pictures from my childhood and they bring back so many wonderful memories.  I want my kids to be able to do the same. 

I have been following Ashley Ann’s blog for a while (maybe a year and half) and really love her work. She is a local photographer and mom of 4.  Ashley captures her kids doing everyday things and I love that she uses mostly natural lighting.  Several months ago she stopped scheduling photo sessions for other people but began having SnapShop classes for moms like me who want to learn to take better pictures.  I  tried to get into her first 5 classes, but they always filled up too quickly.  Two weeks ago she e-mailed me that she had an opening in her Oct. 24th class and I quickly said, “Sign me up!”  I then called Robin and said, “Would it be ok if I take Ashley Ann’s photography class for my birthday present from you to me?  It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”  Being the  sweet husband that he is, he said yes.  Then I followed that statement with…. “And a requirement for the class is that you have to have a Digital SLR camera so I’ll be shopping for that this weekend.”  Wasn’t that sneaky of me?  (honestly, we had planned on buying one before Foster was born anyway.)

So I got the camera, got a spot in the class, and I loved every minute of it.  It was 8 hours of hands-on photography with other moms.  We even got to practice on real life kids and babies!

Then I came home from the class and said, “Robin, thanks for the class and the camera, but I also realized today that I need a new house with more windows for natural light.”  That’s where he drew the line and I don’t blame him.  I’ll just have to find creative ways to use the lighting in my house. :)  Honestly, I love my house and was really only kidding.

SO, all of that to say… I have been very anxious since taking the class to take some pictures of Emma before Foster arrives, practicing the skills that I learned.

The Fall color here has been amazing for the past couple of weeks so I decided to venture to Woodward Park to take some pictures of Emma with the beautiful leaves.

‘I’ll start by saying that I broke 2 important rules that Ashley taught us:

1. Take pictures when your child is in their best mood.

I took Emma 1 hour before naptime… she threw a massive fit right before we left, laying on the kitchen floor crying because I wouldn’t let her take her shopping cart with us to the park.

2. Take pictures when the lighting is best.

I went at high noon- the worst time of the day for lighting!

HOWEVER, my disclaimer is that I’m 8 1/2 months pregnant and I had to go when my body would let me.

I took 259 pictures (no joke) and I got about 7 that I like.  That’s the great thing about digital pictures.

Here are some of my favorites.  It was not my plan for Bubba, the baby doll, to be in the pictures.  However, one thing that Ashley emphasized is that the details are important- Emma carries Bubba with her everywhere so why should he NOT be in the pictures? 

Love this one… she is so dramatic!

This was a great practice session and something tells me I’ll have many more opportunities to practice with my new camera in the near future!

This picture was taken on Monday, when I was exactly 36 weeks pregnant.  36 weeks is very significant to me… that means that Foster is “term” and as a NICU nurse, “term” is a miracle. :)  I’m so grateful and in awe of God that I have been able to carry both of our kids to term.  Just last week, we lost twin babies in the NICU- they were born just shy of 23 weeks and they only lived for a day.  Life is precious and I do not take it for granted that God allowed us to have 2 healthy pregnancies. 

We go tomorrow (Thursday) for our first weekly Dr’s appointment.  He said that we would talk induction dates at this appointment so I’ll be sure and update.

I can’t stand to see pregnant pictures of myself but someday I may want them.  I can’t see why, but just maybe! 

This is also a sneak peak at Foster’s room.  I’ll do a full post about his nursery this weekend because it’s finally DONE! 

Last Saturday we got together with my brother, Kim, Isabella, my mom, and Judy to hang out and watch the OU/TX game.

This has been a ROUGH season for the Sooners!  I keep telling Emma that OU is the BEST team (besides Baylor) and they keep losing so I think she is very confused.

The important thing is that we had fun as a family.  We ate chips and queso, mom’s famous chili, and brownies.  At half time we carved pumpkins. So despite the loss to TX, it was a good time had by all!

Chowing down on chips and queso:

Don’t they look like a happy bunch?

Judy and Emma holding up #1 signs:

Emma loves Aunt Judy:

Half time = Pumpkin Time:

Emma dove right in to get the pumpkin seeds out:

Watching Uncle Brandon carve the pumpkin:

I love this picture- Robin is rolling his eyes at my brother because my brother is trying to show Robin how carving a pumpkin is “really done.”  Male egos at work!

Daddy and Emma carving their pumpkin:

Brandon and Robin at work:

We lit the jack-o-lantern that night- Emma loved it!  IT’s a kitty cat and moon, can you tell?

Pops and Gigi made a special trip to Tulsa last weekend to see Emma one last time before baby Foster comes.  She was SO excited to see them and she demanded quality time from them the entire time they were here.  She loves them so much.

Here are some pictures from our weekend.

Playing Candy Land with Gigi… according to Emma’s rules!

2nd trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

Last meal together at McAlister’s

We hope to see Pops and Gigi when Foster arrives!  Love you both.

I took Emma to the dentist for her first exam on Wednesday, October 7th. 

It was a very surreal experience for me because I took her to the same dentist (Dr. Winder) that I went to from the time I was 2 to 18… now I was going there as a parent!  Weird.

I was very nervous about Emma’s teeth.  She sucked on a pacifier for 2 years, still drinks from a sippy cup, loves apple juice, etc., etc.  Also, I have very bad teeth.  My mouth is probably worth a million dollars due to all of the dental work I’ve had done over the years.

Back to Emma…  her appointment went great!  Emma sat in my lap while Dr. Winder looked in her mouth with a special tool and light.  He said her teeth look perfect- no cavities.  He does predict that she’ll need braces later because her mouth is very small and her teeth are very close together.

Daddy is in charge of brushing Emma’s teeth every  night and obviously he is doing a great job!

Emma loved going to the toy box after her exam.  Dr. Winder said, “Emma, your mommy can show you where the toys are- she used to get one each visit too!”  I did remember right where it was- but the toys are cooler now.

Here are some pictures of Emma before her appointment and one after.

Here she is holding her new fancy toothbrush!

The beginning of October means one thing… Fall is here!!!

Fall is my absolute favorite season… football, apples, pumpkins, beautiful fall leaves, cool weather, family time, Thanksgiving and the list goes on and on. You just can’t beat this season. 

I’m beginning to think Fall is Emma’s favorite season too- she LOVES pumpkins!  They are learning a lot about them at school so I think that really sparked her interest.

Last Friday night we headed to the Pumpkin Patch with my family to pick out a pumpkin for our front porch.  Emma could have stayed there for hours- she loved all of the pumpkins, even the white ones!

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Kind of looks like a have a pumpkin under my shirt, huh?  Nope, it’s just baby Foster.  Next year he’ll get to take pictures with the pumpkins too. :)

She has been walking with her hands behind her back a lot lately- such a grown up!

See ya later everyone! 

I have a feeling we will be going back to the pumpkin patch very soon because she has requested to go every day since last Friday.