Trick or treat!

Peter Pan, Tick Tock Crocodile, Tink!

Maggi and Andrew hosted an epic Halloween party on Friday night. Here are the fairy cousins. :)

And a family shot. 

And the neighbor kids prior to trick or treating!

And we're back!

We are back to share a few snaps from the last month. 

Rosie commands the tractor during our annual cousin day at the pumpkin patch. She may be a country girl after all. 

Gus's teacher shares this picture of him doing his work at school. She said he's very quiet during the day, they only hear him when he's laughing. :)

Our Godsister Mary Francis visited and the kids wanted to keep her! Mary and Rosie hold their babies. 

These two always have a twinkle in their eye. 

At the park

Practicing tinkerbell hair for Halloween

How Gus came home from the Fall Fest at school. Boo!

Still here.

Sorry for the silence. The little "saints" are all doing well and enjoying the start of fall here in Chicago. I'm at week 18 of pregnancy and may have lost my marbles. The other week I was at a check up at the Drs office about 30-45 min away. After returning home I realized my phone was gone. I emailed tommy who made some calls and located it at the hospital- but I had to rush back right away. Lots of travel that day. Ok, there's a debate between tommy and I over what happened to it. The screen is smashed to smithereens. I think it fell out of the stroller and i ran it over with the car. He thinks I "dropped it just right." Either that or someone hit it with a hammer twenty times. Also, the camera no longer works. :( Bright side:  less than three weeks til upgrade so we will be back in full force soon. Until then, here are a few snaps others have shared. 

Mimi and G-Pops visited so we could attend Carolin and Minor's wedding in Memphis. (It was beautiful!) thank you Mimi and g-pops!!!!!!

Rosie wanted to act like a big girl and sit in G-Pop's truck. 

All of the kids wanted to check out the truck. They are pretty rare here in Chi. 

Mimi took her little friends to the park. 

We have a sweet little group of one year olds on the block. Here are a few of them. 

Gus at school doing a scooping work. My favorite school story came from Blaise. One day he came home and said "Well, I got in a little trouble but it doesn't make sense." Apparently his class was having a meeting and Blaise heard a class out on the playground. He went over to the window and saw it was Gus's class so he stared yelling down "Gus! Gus! Gus!" From the second floor. his teacher told him to go sit by the cupboards. :)

Blaise couldn't understand why saying hi to his brother could be a bad thing. He is always counting how many times he spots Gus during the day. Gus is lucky to have such a sweet captain of the kids. 

MSI

Took the littles to the Museum of Science and Industry to play. The electric trains are always fun to watch. Not sure if Rosie is watching trains or making faces on the glass. 

Saw the big tractor.

Gus wanted a pic by the combine. He had a great time, as you can tell by his face. :)

My fave pic is this taken after we arrived at our car. It was lightly raining as we walked out the door and in the three minutes it took to get to the car, it started pouring. We were all wet rats but it was an adventure. 

Gus goes to school

Gus had a great first day of school. He was excited to go. He picked out his outfit to wear. He painted a picture and stamped on paper. That's about all I know. :) But he loved it!

Blaise was happy to have a brother at school. See how he's making a thumbs up? He's got this totally under control. 

On the school steps with his little Curious George backpack. Blaise held his hand to go in and walked him to his classroom. He helped Gus put on his indoor slippers and put away his lunchbox. Awwww. Such a good "Captain of the kids."

After school we went to our favorite treat spot for the big banana split. 

Rosie of course got in on the action!

Can't wait to hear what day 2 brings!

This one's for you, Gus

Tomorrow is this guy's first day of school. 

GUS! 

You're a lively one. Dad had the intuition to choose your name, Augustine, and has it ever been appropriate. 

We call you Happy Gus, because you're always smiling. You're outgoing and up for fun, which wins you friends and admirers. 

Dad and I admire this about you, since we wish we had that "gene."  We think we know where it came from. 

You do things your own way and in your own time. That is good. We are proud of you and enjoy watching you grow. 

You've had ups and downs. When you were most down, God was by your side. Our special extended family was, too. You persisted. 

Soon you were back on your feet and ready for more. You aren't scared of pain and will try anything. Dad and I think maybe you should try football.

Our love follows you tomorrow and every day, Gus. Keep that spirit! Our prayer for you is that Mary, who you love, is always there by your side, even when we are not. 

And as Funny Uncle Danny told you, there are two things to remember at school:

1. Listen to your teacher

2. Make as many friends as you can

You should do just fine. 

Xo

Ohio

Had a great whirlwind weekend in Ohio. Did the usual Chik-fil-a stop, Gus had a milkshake because it was his feast day! :) St Augustine, bless this little guy!

Blaise reads to Rosie in the playground. Hah! 

We showed two movies along the way and offered an unlimited buffet of junk food. Rosie's never looked so happy in her car seat, and for the first time ever she didn't scream for our entire trip!

MarMar's house. Chillaxin on the deck. 

Dining al fresco

Skyline chili the next day for lunch. Gus got a coney. He was CRAZY excited!!

We visited Tommy's boxing coach in Columbus, then went to Papa Clark's for dinner. Blaise looked so cute in this hat of Papa's. 

Gus spilled his entire glass of iced tea on his shirt, but nothing gets Happy Gus down. 

The next morning we went to the newly renovated chapel at UD for Mass. 

Mary and Rosie with Mary and roses. 

We had a special trip to Ohio!