Halloween Candy

Before Brian left for Dover, we spent a little family time together making chocolate Halloween lollipops & candy.

The big helper


Uh oh - someone was caught licking the chocolate...

Sugar high anyone?

I think this little one has had enough samples!

Our finished product

Brian left this week for Dover - of course the day before our anniversary. Isn't that always the way it works? He is getting settled in his hotel room & being trained at the mortuary. He's being trained in the office to do all of the paperwork involved in processing the remains. He is happy to be doing his actual job, but says it is mentally exhausting & they are busy most of the time. Lily has been having a hard time with him being gone again, but she's slowly adjusting & he will be coming home for a visit soon, so hopefully that will help.

Lily, Vader & Zoey must have had an exceptionally tiring day this week...they are all snuggled together taking a nap!

Surprise!

Brian & I are expecting our 2nd baby!! We are over the moon & Miss Lily can't wait to be a big sister. My due date is set for May 18th & we can't wait for our new arrival. We've already had an ultrasound done, but unfortunately we don't have a scanner, so I can't put the pics on here. I don't know how well you would be able to see them anyway. The dr said that the size of the baby is right on target with the due date.

SO, if everyone has been wondering why I've been slacking on my blog posts - this is why. I've been extremely tired & feeling sick in the evenings, so the blog has been lacking. I'm hoping once I am in my 2nd trimester some of these symptoms start to wan & I'll feel more like myself again.

We were going to try & wait until Thanksgiving to reveal the news, since we were supposed to have both sets of grandparents here as well as Granny, but once we went to the doctor & actually saw the baby & heard the heartbeat, we couldn't wait any longer to share our news!

Lily couldn't be more excited - but she has made it clear that the only thing acceptable to her would be a baby sister... We've tried to explain to her that she can't choose, but it doesn't seem to matter. I'm sure once the baby arrives she will be thrilled either way.

Spending Time with Daddy

This week Lily spent a lot of time helping Daddy.

She decided she was going to be his assistant mechanic when he changed the oil in the truck:

She also helped when he washed the truck a couple days later.

Brian took Lily fishing on Saturday. She had a blast & caught the 2 biggest fish on their trip!
Waiting patiently...

She got one!

Miss Lily just playing around


Lily also had her first school field trip this week. It is fire prevention month, so they took a trip to the fire station. Lily had the best time seeing the fire trucks & firemen & meeting Sparky the Fire Dog. She brought home a couple souvenirs which she modeled for us when she got home.
Striking a pose.

We found out Brian's trip to Dover, DE has been moved up to Oct 24th, so now he will be leaving next week.

Brian's Promotion Board

Brian had his promotion board on Friday and he passed with flying colors! He received a 145 out of 150 & received a coin from a sergeant major that was on the board. Everyone on the board was really impressed with Brian & commented on how well he knew the information. We are so proud of him & he is well on his way to becoming a Sergeant. He will be eligible for his promotion sometime between December & March.

Virginia State Fair

On Sunday we took a trip to the Virginia State Fair. There was a lot of fun stuff to do & we all had a great time. Checking out the baby chicks


Petting the baby calves

We saw one calf that had just been born the day before!

Lily thought the baby pigs were so cute

Watching the Demolition Derby

Lily was a little worried about the cars getting all smashed up & at one point she was covering her eyes saying "I can't watch this - I just can't watch this" - but then I saw her peeking through her fingers. When it was all over she said "that was a lot of fun!", so I guess she wasn't too scared.

There was a booth promoting catch & release fishing, and Lily was allowed to try to catch a fish out of the tank. Oh! She got one!

What a catch!

Lily begged all day to go on the rides, so when it finally cooled off enough for us to stand in line for the rides, we let her loose.
She had so much fun on this ride - the cars went around a little track & on the corners, the cars whipped around really fast. Lily laughed hysterically every time she got to the corners. Her giggle is so infectious, she had everyone else laughing along with her.

Her favorite was the elephant - of course :o)

What's New

Well, we've had a slow couple of weeks since the wedding - we've just been relaxing & trying to get back into our routines, so not many pictures -sorry! Here is what has been going on with us:

Brian has his Promotion Board coming up on the 12th. He's been studying hard & spiffing up his Class A's, getting them ready for inspection. They have also cut back his hours at Advanced, so he's been home in the evenings a lot more often lately. We found out that he will be leaving for his mission in Dover, Delaware on Oct 29th. He will be working at the Dover Port Mortuary, where all the remains from overseas are sent & processed, for 6 months. Lily & I will be staying here in Virginia, but Brian will be able to come home & visit, or we will be able to go there to visit him often.

Lily seems to have fully recovered from last weeks ear & throat infections. (we had to make a trip to the emergency room last Saturday, since our doctors office is closed on the weekend & Lily's ear was in extreme pain) She is back to her normal self & has been playing with Stevie almost every day. She really likes her "big girl" dance class. I think she's been learning a lot more in this class, mostly because the girls already know their dance steps, so the teacher doesn't have to keep teaching them over & over. One of Lily's friends from storytime, Kylie, has also joined her dance class, so she is pretty excited about that. I asked Lily's teacher how she has been doing in school & she said Lily has been doing really well & that she's one of the smartest in the class. She said she follows direction well, does what she's told, she knows almost all her letters & can write her full name already. She also said that Lily is dominant & she has "good leadership skills", which pretty much means that she is bossy & tells the other kids what to do a lot. (Which is not a big surprise to anyone who knows Lily...) We've been trying to work on her bossiness at home, but we haven't had much luck yet... We did have a little incident with school this week. On Monday Lily came home from school with a mark on her back. When I asked her what happened, she said she didn't remember. I didn't think too much of it - figuring maybe she just got it on the playground. Then on Wednesday when I picked her up, she said she didn't have a good day because she got in trouble & had to sit all by herself for yelling at someone because they hit her & some of the kids were mean to her. She also had a red mark & scratches on her face, which, again, she said she couldn't remember how she got them. On Friday I decided to go in & talk to her teachers to find out what was going on. Her teacher said she couldn't remember Lily getting in trouble for yelling & she couldn't say for sure that she got the marks at school, but that she would keep a closer eye on Lily. Hopefully this will stop the issues & Lily will be able to continue to enjoy school.

I've signed up for an online course in dog training & my classes will start this week. I'm really looking forward to it & can't wait to start. :o)

I think that's all our news for now. Here is my one & only picture from this week:

Miss Lily helping me give a dirty Vava a bath. She's such a big helper!

Shannon & Phil's Wedding

Finally, I have the wedding pictures! There is quite a few from all the different festivities, so I put them all on one post rather than splitting them up into several different ones.

Miss Lily looking awfully excited at our "spa day" with the bride, bridesmaids & mothers of the bride & groom.

Getting pampered
Too cute toes!
Lily with Shannon & Mommy
Lily & her Grammy

Lily & Alyssa

Rehearsal Dinner at the Wayside Inn

Lily had lots of fun taking a tour of the Wayside Inn with Peggy & the ring bearers. She then took a bunch of the other guests on "tours" as well.

Wedding Day!
Here we come!

Lily getting out of the limo

Walking down the aisle - she paused halfway down the aisle to pose for a picture for Grammy...

Congrats Mr & Mrs Colleton!

Alyssa, Lily & I after the ceremony

Lily & Shannon at the gristmill

The girls

Wedding party

Prettiest flower girl ever :o)

(I'm not biased at all)

Lily posing with the handsome ring bearers, Dillon & David

Family pic at the gristmill

Lily & Uncle Doug

David, Lily & Dillon being announced at the reception

Papa, Grammy, Phil, Shannon & Lily

Lily was the dancing queen of the evening! She started dancing as soon as the music started & did not stop until 11:30 that night!! Grammy was going to take Lily home when she started getting tired, but she was on the dance floor non-stop! She preferred dancing with Shannon, Phil, Spencer or Alyssa, but if they were not dancing, she would dance with anyone who would dance with her. She had lots of fun & was entertainment for lots of the guests. :o)
The Dancing Divas

Charming the boys...

What happens to a dancing queen if she dances past her bedtime: