October News and Festivities

The month of October was packed! The big news first: we are not finished with our new kitchen yet. My parents have not only been gracious enough to let us live in their townhouse for four months now, they, along with Dan's parents, have put tons of work into helping us paint walls, do yard work, and make progress on the kitchen renovation. It's taken forever because we can only work at the house on Saturdays and occasionally Sundays, but it would take so much longer without their help! And we are saving tons of money by not hiring contractors.  We've ordered cabinets and are ready to install them and the new flooring, so it will look more complete very soon!

We've created the open concept between our kitchen and den that we've always dreamed of having.

My dad and mom are our favorite part-time painters. They are looking for a house to buy, also, and have decided they want one that doesn't require any repairs, since there is endless amount of work needed at our house. :)

When we are working at the house, Emma spends time playing with her toys and reading her books that have been packed away for months now. But her favorite way to spend the time is sitting in her tent in the living room, watching a DVD on the laptop and eating snacks.

Although we are still in transition, we've recently become members of our church, Colonial Baptist.  We're excited about having opportunities to serve and meet new friends there. This is our member directory photo.

In other big news, Emma has had two UTIs in the past two months.  She was infection-free for four months after her surgery in April, and now we are back to "normal," unfortunately.  We visited her urologist, who ordered more ultrasounds and tests.  Emma still has reflux when she urinates, and as a result of her many UTIs, her bladder is enlarged. So, it looks like more surgery will be required soon.  In the meantime, we have her eating a high-fiber diet and drinking tons of water to keep everything "flowing". We make her use the restroom every couple of hours to keep her bladder from getting even more stretched out. She also has to take a daily antibiotic (again) and have a bath every night. She is handling all the changes better than we are!

The nightly bath has become a family affair. We all sit around the tub and play with Emma's toys or watch videos on our iPhone.

Our sweet girl seems so healthy most days, and for that we're very thankful!

In more fun news, Emma has made the cutest friends next door at my parents' townhouse. The two sisters are older than her, but they enjoy playing with her and she does her very best to keep up with them.

We celebrated our niece, Naomi's birthday.  All the cousins got to come, and we had a great time!

StoneBridge School had Grandparents' Day in October, and Emma's Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Papa were her special guests.

Hallie came, too, and Emma enjoyed showing off her baby sister to her classmates.

Hallie wanted a photo with all her grandparents, too. 

A picture of Emma with her teacher, Miss Butler, who is wonderful!

Our big preschooler!

Halloween is a fun family event with the Jesters, since Dan's brother and sister-in-law, Tim and Dawn, have a great neighborhood for trick-or-treating.  We have joined them for the past couple of years in Williamsburg.

Emma dressed up as Skye from Paw Patrol this year.

The cousins in costumes (left to right): Emma (Skye), Josiah (Power Ranger), Aaron (the Ultimate Soldier), Nathan (Hawkeye), and Benjamin (the Winter Soldier)

Emma only lasted for 45 minutes of actual trick-or-treating, but we had a great time!

Hallie didn't go with us, since it was cold outside and she would've just slept through it anyway.  She decided she wanted to dress up as a nervous NY Islander fan, just like her daddy.

We met Emma and Hallie's younger cousins for a day at the pumpkin patch.

Emma with Naomi, Aunt Robin, and Miriam on the hay ride

Grandpa, Josiah, and Grandma

Emma, Hallie, and I

Emma, Josiah, Naomi, and Miriam showing off their pumpkins and gourds

Hallie picked a pumpkin, too.

Hallie and I have been slowly getting back into shape together, running and walking around the neighborhood.

Dan and Emma occasionally join us and we have stroller races. :)

We joined Emma and Hallie's younger cousins again at Bird Gap Farm recently.

Grandma and Grandpa bought everyone winter hats. They were perfect for the cold, windy day!

Everyone got to feed a friendly llama

These three (Josiah, Naomi, and Emma) are like peas in a pod.  They look like they are plotting something devious in this picture.

Hallie opted to stay bundled up in her car seat and drink milk, instead of playing outside with her cousins that day.

It feels like we've been working non-stop since we bought our new house. It's become our weekend job, and sometimes we don't get to spend much time together since Dan will work at the house and I'll watch the kids at my parents' house. So we took a much-needed day off last Saturday and drove to Knotts Island, NC.  Driving, sightseeing, and relaxing were the main events that day, but we stopped at a local park for Emma to play on the playground, ate lunch at the local deli, and rode the 45-minute ferry that docks on Knotts Island.

Dan and Emma dancing together on the ferry.

My girls

It was the perfect family day! We're looking forward to more of them after our kitchen remodel is finished and we've moved into our house!