We made it through October and the beginning of November which was Jessie's first birthday. A completely crazy month, but we survived. Now this weekend, we have all come down with the dreaded gomboo... so we are resting and trying to recover. Halloween was fun. Olivia had a parade and party at her school and Jessie had a playgroup party. Olivia's playgroup had a party a couple of weeks before Halloween at our clubhouse. Then we had one day to regroup and Jessie's birthday party was on November 2. That was very casual, small crowd, but still a bit of work. Grandma Gay came out for the weekend, and Jessie really started having fun with her which was nice since she was a little scared of her before. All in all, we had a fun month and are now looking forward to gearing up for the holidays. We might go to Disneyland over Thanksgiving. I asked Olivia if she wanted turkey or a trip to Disneyland and she made the right choice.
We've settled into a routine for now. Olivia and Jessica both enjoy school and the adjustment has been smooth. A little too smooth... like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. And I think that shoe will be the month of October. Every weekend is filled with parties, playdates, costume planning, etc. It's total insanity. Luckily, I finally got Olivia to agree to be Little Red Riding Hood (using a recycled dress from Alice in Wonderland from last year's costume). Jessica is going to be a leopard. I found a great deal on ebay (my new guilty pleasure pass time). A better deal would be to have found Olivia's baby costume, but it has disappeared into the abyss of our attic. Amid all this chaos, I must remember to brag about Jessie's amazing accomplishments. She now knows 3 signs (thanks to Miss Zahra at school) and said her first word about a week ago. It was UH-OH. She says it a lot now and sometimes even at the right times, like if she drops her cracker or something. It's really cute. Olivia is learning a lot too. We are working on sight words and practicing handwriting. Here are some photos of relaxing. They might be the last ones for a while since this fall promises to be a full one.
