Ahhh, Fall, my favorite time of the year. Xavier finally went back to school this week (a few weeks late due to COVID) after being in quarantine since March. I've already made homemade chicken noodle soup in the dutch oven, complete with homemade noodles. We've been reading Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf and made the bird feeders at the end of the book. Audra likes reading Leaf Man and Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch. I've got the front door decorated with purple and white mums and lots of pumpkins with long stems, my favorite! We just got back from our annual trip to Hocking Hills and the weather couldn't have been more perfect; cool, crisp mornings and warm evenings for making s'mores/hot dogs over our campfire and perfect temps for Xavier's favorite, hot tub time.
Steve and I have been working from home 100% of the time since we started quarantine in March. Shelby still nannies for us during the day. I've caught up on reading my Real Simple magazines, Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, and doing a mini-remodel of the kitchen. I got the idea from my magazine. It all started with the idea to redo the countertops from the 1990's style of brown granite to the current style of white marble look-a-like. From there, we redid the drawers and cupboards to make the more functional, and are re-doing the backsplash to pull it all together. We are also getting our fireplace converted from wood burning to gas. It'll be completed just in time for the holidays. How I would love to have a fire going when we are opening Christmas gifts and drinking hot Wassail!
We've picked out Halloween costumes; Xavier will be Ghost Face from the movie, Scream. He's been wearing his costume outside and it looks so scary!! Audra will be a dinosaur because her favorite thing to do now is to pretend she's one and to Roar! really loud!
And of course, no post is complete without an update of the kids!
Audra - 2.5 years old
Audra loves to read and imagine she's in character. Whether she's a doggy, monkey, dinosaur, she's always got the sounds and the walk to go with it. She doesn't like hugs and snuggling unless they are on her terms. She tells me to "Go Away" (with corresponding point of her finger on where to go) about 10 times a day! haha! Audra loves going with me to Target to browse the toy aisle. She's drawn to every single stuffed animal, and the small ones she pulls up to her face and says "Mmmmm, I love her." She also finds a toy she wants and says to me "I need that. Put it in the cart." She's not a fan of new things, especially new sleeping arrangements or new things at the playground. Although, now her favorite thing is going down big slides! Her favorite books are There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Duck in a Truck, Duck on a Bike, Hop on Pop, the Little Critter book, Just a Baby Bird, and the National Geographic book on Tigers. Audra adores Xavier and always looks up to him on what to say and how to act. She has started saying "One more minute" when we ask her to pickup her toys! Her favorite stuffed animals are her purple/pink doggy and her rainbow Carebear, though she still sleeps with the other 20 or so in her crib!
Xavier - 7 years
Xavier is as popular as ever and he loves going to school. He is super sweet, kind, smart, and so funny. He is always creating a game to play. He's started getting into Nickelodeon shows such as, Victorious and Sam and Cat. He started playing the piano during quarantine and is so good! He especially likes making up his own songs and playing songs he knows by ear, like Baby Shark, Jaws, and Beethoven's 5th. Holidays are something he looks forward to so this is the best time of year for him, just like Mom. His favorite sports are golf, t-ball, and tennis. Xavier loves math and is getting so good at reading books! I love how creative Xavier is; he likes to make things out of construction paper like little books, masks, etc. And last night, I came home and found him painting a large picture of space!
