I think I'm FALLing for you

It's the coziest time of year again!  You know, the time for sitting around the fireplace, drinking hot beverages, wearing sweaters, eating pumpkin everything.  Or, if you are Liam, eating everything, pumpkin or not.

I love this time of year.  And this year has been especially nice for two reasons: 1) Liam has joined the family, and I must say, he is a great addition; and 2) Erik has been on day shift.  (Soon to be back to night shift in a couple weeks. Waaaah, waaaaah. Someone was on maternity leave and Erik was able to move to day shift for the entire summer and most of the fall.  I hate him working the night shift.  But enough dwelling on the unpleasant.  It's fall!)

Now for an update on the kiddos:

Elliot started Pre-K in September and is LOVING it.  She comes home with all kinds of facts about what she has learned.  Her favorite was learning all about bats.  "Mom, did you know bats see things with their ears?"  They celebrated her "un-birthday" today, which is what they do for kids whose birthdays are in the summer.  She was quite excited about it.  Last night I asked her what she wanted to wear for her un-birthday and, as if she had already been thinking hard about it, immediately responded "probably my Zootopia shirt and my Halloween skirt."  She loves art and takes her work very seriously.  I love peeking into her bedroom and seeing her hunched over her little desk, working hard on a project.

 

Liam is getting big.  Like tall.  And chunky.  He has the baby fat that Elliot never quite achieved.  At his 10 month appointment he clocked in at 99.7th% for height and like 87th% for weight.  He is our strapping young lad.  He is not quite walking yet, but that could change any hour.  He has a little cart thing that he uses, walker style, to zoom around the house.  He is currently working on popping out his two front teeth to join the bottom two, so he is unusually grumpy right now.  Hoping he hurries up and gets those on out so he can go back to being chill.  This kiddo loves eating, playing with big sis, and terrorizing the dogs, whom he likes to call "go go go".  He is also quite fond of me. #motherboy

 



 

 

So far this fall has been quite enjoyable.  We went to Bill's Berry Farm to play and get a pumpkin from the patch.

It has been unusually rainy this year.  Much to girlfriend's delight.

 

 

And Halloween!  I can't believe how much I love Halloween with kids.  I was never super into it before, but with kids it is just so much fun.  Elliot decided early on she was going to dress up as a bat this year.  Liam didn't get a vote because he is a baby.  But also, he loves everything I do, so I am sure he very much enjoyed being Jack Jack from the Incredibles.  #motherboy

I mean, honestly.  How cute are these?? #imadethem #humblebrag

 

Happy Fall, y'all!

Fall Frolics 2015

We have already established that pregnancy has made me have zero energy to write.  So I am going to take this opportunity to photo dump basically everything we have been up to this fall.  A picture is worth a thousand words, right?  In the past, I would have had a separate post for each of the events pictured below, but let's be honest, that's not happening.

It has been an odd fall here in the Tri-Cities.  At first it was soooooo hot.  Have you noticed there have been no pictures of my garden this year?  That is because it was the most pitiful it has ever been.  Usually, by the time fall rolls around I am collecting the majority of my summer bounty.  No such luck this year.  I had prolific carrots, beets, Swiss chard, and herbs and that is about it.  It finally started to get a little overcast around Halloween, we had a few rain showers, and now it is cold, cold, cold.

So, without further ado, here is what we have been up to this fall!

Baby Shower!!

My amazing bestie, Lauren, along with her mom, Pat, threw me a gorgeous baby shower in September.  She really went all out, especially considering she herself was pregnant with Baby Ramm's bestie.  (She has since given birth to Isaac Peter and I get to meet him next week!)

 As you can see, the weather cooperated and it was a perfect fall morning for an outdoor baby shower brunch.

 We were really spoiled and babykins got lots of awesome swag.

 There were a few baby bellies present that day!  My friend Hailey, on the left, is due basically hours before me.  It has been nice to commiserate with her this entire pregnancy.  The latest complaint we both have, at 36 weeks now, is "What is with all the pelvic pressure?  Are we going into labor?!!"  (We aren't.)

The Best Big Sister was obviously present for the shower.  She was a champ.  I love her.

Pre-Halloween Shenanigans

 Due to Erik's work schedule, many of our pre-Halloween festivities were done the day before Halloween.  But we managed to squeeze in most of the traditional activities.  Like...

 ...carving pumpkins!

 ...and going to the pumpkin patch!

Halloween

The main event was Halloween, and it was by far the most fun Halloween yet.  It was the first year Elliot has been super into it.  We went as a family of pumpkins to a local church Trunk or Treat and really lived it up!

 She was convinced this was THE Ariel, and still talks about meeting her.

That night, after the festivities, Aniiah came over and helped Elliot overcome her trepidation over venturing out in the dark for some good old fashioned Trick or Treating in the neighborhood.  They were SO cute, holding hands and bursting out into song together.

Of course, there is still one of the main events of fall coming up.  Thanksgiving!  And what a time to be pregnant!  Sure, I will have thirds!  Pass more of that pumpkin pie please!  I have every intention of posting about our last holiday as a family of three, but as we have seen, sometimes the best-laid plans and all that...

So the next time you hear from me it will either be accompanied by a pic of me smiling ear to ear, a drumstick in each hand, or beaming with a fresh Rammelsberg in my arms.  Either way, you don't want to miss it.

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Holly Jolly Christmas

I'm not feeling particularly clever or wordy today.  I loosely have a theme for this post: Christmas.  This is super broad for me, as I tend to be a focused writer. (I have been brainwashed by law school.)  But, I DID get a new camera for Christmas.  Like a nice one (thanks, Honey!).  So this Christmas is going to be told mostly through the medium of photos.  Keep in mind, I am very much an amateur photographer and still getting used to the camera, but it sure beats the pants off of my smart phone camera!  I love it.  Without further ado...

Christmas Morning:

 

There is something wonderful about having Christmas morning at home.  The coffee was strong, the gifts plentiful, and the love abounded.

Elliot taking a brief break from opening.

She got new "glass slippers" and, of course, put them on immediately.

She then added her Princess Anna cloak.

And made her way to Daddy to open the big present of the morning...

...her Princess Anna doll! 

Obligatory pose in front of the tree.

 

She then found Mommy's glass slippers and paraded around in them for a while.

After breakfast she thought it was all over, but then we remembered stockings!  Sugar coma here we come.

 

 

In the afternoon we headed over to my Mom's house for Christmas dinner and, of course, more gifts!  These pictures were my favorite from the whole day.  Mom's tree is just so beautiful and it made the pictures turn out really well.

 

Among other things she received from Grandma Gail, Elliot opened up her Princess Anna dress-up dress!  As you are probably putting together by this point, girlfriend loves Frozen, specifically Anna.  She asked me to put her hair in Anna pigtails (two braids) before we left the house that morning.  She also made me put my hair in one "Elsa" braid.

Grandma also spoiled her with Anna boots!

Presenting Princess Anna of Arrendelle!  Look how artsy I was getting.  Black and white!!

Before bed she made sure to feed her babies.

And finally conked out, after a long day of excitement.

 

So there you have it, our holiday in pictures. We hope yours was exactly what you hoped it would be.  Merry Christmas, and God Bless you this New Year!

 

Love,

The Rammelsbergs