Catching up

 I'm going to give a shot at posting every day in November for NaBloPoMo.  It is probably going to be a bigger challenge than in years past, as I haven't been blogging at all, but maybe it will get me back on the horse!

Here are some photos that have been sitting on my phone, waiting to see the light of day...or, at least, the glowing light of a computer screen :)

Here's Rosie in mid-October, just after she helped me pick up my bib for the Portland Half Marathon, which I ran with a friend two days later.  It was a great experience and the sun shined on us and I'm already looking forward to doing another one.

Here I am after the race, although Rosa is conveniently obscuring the word "half" at the bottom of the shirt, thereby making me look like a marathon finisher.  Maybe one day! Also, note our backyard in the background.  We thoroughly enjoyed spending the summer back there, but did not one whit of landscaping during the nice weather.  Now, the weather is no longer nice and it appears that our window of opportunity has passed.  Maybe next summer?

Clearly, I take proportionally more photos of Rosie than anyone else.  I can see that now.  Here she is again, after essentially bathing in cream cheese one morning at the bagel shop.  Those big brown eyes get me every time.

Here, we have Natalia, posing in her outdoor regalia in the sandbox at preschool.  She has been absolutely loving her new school!  She even loves outdoor Fridays, and even in the rain and cold we've been having lately.  This has translated to home, too, as all the kids now want to get into their rain gear and go outside and play on the swing set whenever it rains.  We love it.  Go Oregon natives!

Now that the weather has started to turn, Tali has added a warm hat and mittens to her ensemble.  Also, you can see Rosie behind her and Mateo in a blur next to her.  He doesn't usually get to come to preschool with us, as he is almost always at his own school by then, but he had the day off. 

Remember what I said about the kids loving the wet weather?  I give Rosie the award for most water-loving kid.  In this picture, she is wearing her rain pants and rain boots and splashing in our wading pool, filled with water from the nice weather a few days before, for all she is worth.  She LOVES going outside and will stand at the door and plead "Ow-side! Ow-side!" until we take her out.  She is going to be a perfect match for Tali's preschool when the time comes.

 Here's our big boy just after losing his fifth (fifth!) tooth!  It had been hanging on by a thread and finally just popped out.  His kindergarten teacher and I had a friendly competition going on over where Mateo would finally lose his tooth, and I am happy to report that it happened at home.  This was particularly convenient for the tooth fairy!  Needless to say, we can't believe he is so big already and that he is six now.  His six-year-old letter will be coming soon.

Here is a common morning scene.  This is the sidewalk leading from the parking lot to Mateo's school.  Other parents have commented that we always seem so serene, walking calmly and sloooowly to Mateo's classroom.  The real story is that Rosie loses her mind if I don't let her walk, so she walks at her own pace and the big kids often like to hold her hands.  This also (sort of) prevents her from detouring into the bushes at every opportunity. 

Here is our beautiful girl in the van one day.  She is feeling motivated to grow out her bangs, and isn't she looking so big now?  She and I have been having a lot of fun together lately.  It's been great to spend so much time with her this fall...and Rosie, of course!

Here I am with the little one, visiting Sacha's classroom.  She is feeling much more settled in at her new school now that she has been there for a couple of months.  Of course, now we have embarked on the long fall/winter period where she is constantly sick.  She has been taking vitamin D, echinacea, vitamin C, etc, but I think her immune system is just adjusting to a new school.  And our kids' new schools.  Germs, ack!

 Here's a photo of Natalia on one of the first times that she climbed a tree by herself!  She had been mostly sticking with the sandbox during outside time at school, but has been slowly branching out (ha ha!) more and more.  On this Friday, I picked her up after her outside day and she just scampered right up this little tree.  I was so proud of her! Also, note her industrial strength rain pants.  It was initially difficult for our little princess (yes, we are heavily into a princess/fairy/ballerina phase) that the pants only came in red and blue, but Sacha talked her into choosing red because it was the most like pink.  I have to say, I never thought I would be excited about the princess thing, but I find it hopelessly adorable.  Tali has always had me wrapped around her little finger, I guess!

We live about a half a mile from my grandmother and one of the best parts about it is that we can just drop in on each other.  Right before Halloween, she and her caregiver stopped by spontaneously with some cute cupcakes!  Since there are five of us in our family AND we had a friend over, the cupcakes vanished almost as soon as they came in the door.  Thanks, Grandmommy!

Finally, here's a photo of Mateo surrounded by corn.  I have been lucky enough to get to parent-help in Natalia's classroom once a month and to spend some time with Mateo's class, too.  I got to go on a field trip with the kindergarteners to a local farm at the beginning of October.  Mateo and I had a really fun time together and we both ate raw corn for the first time (delicious!).  He was so wiped out at the end that he fell asleep in my lap on the way back to school in the bus.  It was a sweet little time and it made me think of when he was much littler.  He's at a pretty great age now, though, too! 

This concludes my photo essay :)  Hopefully I will be back tomorrow with a letter for our big kid!