Fall Memories Part 1

Catching up on the blog today, with some memories from early fall. Nothing big and spectacular happened, just lots of little joys amidst the regular days!

Kate and her little friend MM after ballet

I can't NOT take a photo after he eats spaghetti!

Working on pouring in the Montessori Atrium during Sunday school

Reading about little Therese

The boys loved National Night Out at our city park

Typical morning snuggling both my babies

He loves to ride the plasma car with Ellie

The boys made an Astros playoff game. Such an exciting season for Astros fans!

Teaching him some words before ballet

Those chubby hands!

Our favorite date night spot these days, Hubbel and Hudson.

He especially likes the wine choices!

Trying to practice her piano surrounded by chaos

My map-lover and his little sis

He was so excited to put Peter in this Aggie jacket

The girls went to the MOTSY March (March of the Surviving Youth), 

a pro-life prayer march around Planned Parenthood

Pumpkin patch at church

Boys digging for prizes in the straw with church buddies

Love him.

Finally moved the swingset to our new house after 2yrs!

And a little snapshot of our 4-H meetings these days,

totally led by the girls!

Ellie is 12!

(Just realized somehow this didn't post in October!)
I'm still trying to catch up on blog posts from the spring, and finally we got some photos of her room so I can post this! Ellie turned 12 in April, so it's already nearly her half birthday!

This year she wanted a room re-do for her birthday. We got new-to-us bunk beds for her and Katie, new bedding, new wall art, a night stand, and some other decorations. On her birthday we went to Whole Foods for breakfast, a mall outing with the girls, Lupe Tortilla for lunch with my parents, and then her friends Catherine and MaryKatherine came over for the evening and we got some gourmet cupcakes for them!

Her pretty room!

I'd still like to hang some curtains and paint her red gumball machine to match the room. But overall they did a great job decluttering, painting, and decorating, and hopefully Katie will start sleeping in there soon! 

Ellie is now only a half year from being a teenager; I can't believe how quickly this is all happening. She's a great help with her siblings, does well with her school classes, and enjoys her four days of ballet every week. I'm hanging onto these last six months before she's a teen...

Happy Belated Birthday to Ellie!!!

Fall Ball 2017

The boys had an amazing season of Little League baseball this fall! They both played on Premier teams (more competitive), and both of their teams WON their division at the end of the season! Both were on NY teams, Steven on the Yankees and Thomas on the Mets. Steven got to do quite a bit of pitching. He also played catcher a lot. Thomas had his first season of machine-pitch. He usually played 3rd base or pitcher, but in the playoff games did a great job as short-stop. Both made great hits, quite a few outs, and were star players on their team. More importantly, they worked hard, played hard, and were good encouragers of each other and their teammates. Here are some photos throughout the season...

We don't pay for professional photos, so here's what we got on a hot day with cranky babies, and I missed Steven's team shot. Oh well!

I love this set of Steven with Peter

Thomas listening intently to his Coach John, a great leader for these kiddos.

Thomas getting the game ball!

After his team party

These little ones were great sports! Lots of late nights at the ball field. Katie had some sweet friends who were siblings on Thomas' team. They loved the chalk one of the nights! She also had some good lessons at dealing with bigger girls who were not playing nicely (kept leaving her out because she was a little younger than them). 

Mets win the "World Series" championship game, 

with a 10-run lead in the 4th inning.

Getting his medal!

I love the faces of Thomas and one of his coaches behind him!

Team trophy

Then after a long game (3hrs 10mins!), Steven's team took it all against the White Sox!

Getting his medal!

Brothers played the championship games, on neighboring fields, at the same time, and both WON!

Steven's team with the trophy

And Steven holding the team trophy!

They had a fun little pizza party in the parking lot after the game.

And, that's a wrap! A great season for the boys. Mama and the little ones survived all the driving, practices, and games on busy weeknights. I am proud of all of us for making it through another amazing baseball season!!!