Oh how I love her.
Clothing is not something I have chosen to battle. As long as it is weather and age appropriate, pretty much she has full say in what she wears. This was what she chose to wear to go hiking with Daddy. I love it.
Take a look at the complete and utter bliss that is Bryant's face. He and Sissy were giving Daddy a monster hug when he got back from work. Have I mentioned that this little guy loves his Daddy?
Aformentioned monster hugging session. 
This is beginning to look like our typical week! There are always variations but it seems like we are (finally) really getting into a groove here around home. And we love it.
Bryant's favorite thing to do is to look for eggs out in the chicken coop. We almost have to spell the word, "chicken," or else he runs for the back door and starts trying to put his boots on to go out there. 
In the chicken coop with his fine-feathered friends.
What a big boy.
Aubrey saw the camera and she said, "Mommy, will you take a picture of me like this?" and posed. I had about 5 shots to choose from. She definitely does NOT get that from me. :)
Bryant loves reading up on his big boy bed.
And Sissy and Bubs love being together in their room, reading books, playing legos (if Bryant is not knocking over Aubrey's towers), or playing with tools of Bryant's. Anything goes and they are spending a lot more time in their room together. It's fun to see.
Speaking of their room, I had to include this picture because, quite frankly, I'm pretty darn proud of myself. I figured out a plan to get Bryant to sleep in his big boy bed (that used to be a bunk bed). On John's duty day this week I took down the bunk bed and rearranged their beds. They both LOVE it and we have had 3 full night's of rest and much happier kids in the morning. Aubrey likes not sleeping on the top bunk and Bryant just really likes feeling grown up like Sissy.
Aubrey did some cleaning of the play house. Do take note of the ensemble she has on. I cannot take credit for anything here. Not one thing.
And, I put up our first picking of beans. Yay! 9 quarts and 2 pints. Not bad for growing a garden on 1/4 acre. I'm looking forward to the cold winter days and putting some beans on the stove from our garden.
Bryant and I had a love/hate relationship last night. He seems to be getting a cold which makes breathing extra hard at night, especially for a kid that is quite attached to his binky. So, in an attempt to let Daddy sleep he and I went to the guest bedroom. It was there that he decided to get into a boxing match with his baby brother/sister. All night. He finally fell into a restful slumber around 4:30am. Sissy came in promptly at 6:00am announcing, "Good morning! The sun is coming out!" (it is overcast and rainy...no sun for miles). I said, "Aubrey, Bryant was sick last night and he needs to be able to rest. You need to leave for a little bit so he can sleep." Loudly: "It looks like he's awake to me!" Yes, Bubs did not stay asleep with Sissy in the room like that.
She did leave and after about 10 minutes it was clear that Bryant wanted to leave. I said, "Go get Daddy, Bryant!" and he shook his head no. Then I said, "Do you want to go find Sissy?" And he excitedly exclaimed, "DIDDY!" and off he went. Moments later they were chasing each other and laughing up and down the hallway. Best buddies and I love it.
This is one of my favorite pictures of Aubrey girl. She is a thinker for sure and this will always be a good reminder for me that our sweet girl, while dramatic and full of life when pretending, actually takes the world quite seriously. The world is a serious place for this one unless she is acting out some scene from the latest Aubrey channel. I love her.
And she's growing up, have I mentioned that? It's really starting to hit me how fast these years are going.
I love this shot of Bryant because I can rarely get a real smile out of him lately. He does his, "Cheese!" smile when the camera is out but I caught him when he was not expecting a camera. This is our little man. He is excited about everything. And he wants everyone around him to be excited, too. I love him. 
Well, it's rainy, overcast, and overall resembling a typical fall day here at the coast. We haven't had much of a summer here but honestly I don't mind much. I think it probably helps that we get to look forward to the arrival of someone special in the winter. I am more inclined to welcome the cooler weather because it means we are getting closer to meeting our baby who.
Yesterday was a fun day. We went to a lake near our home and Papa, Grammy, Grandma Gladys, and GG met us there. Bryant enjoyed all the attention he received from the ladies.
Aubrey met a new friend there and had a lot of fun playing in the sand on the volleyball court there. 
Bryant made a very special connection to GG, Grandma Nancy. She definitely knows how to make this little guy get that twinkle in his eye.
Aubrey also spent some time practicing her ballet moves. Have I mentioned that our girl has a flair for the dramatic?
The fall decorations are up, soup is in the crockpot for tonight, woodstove is crackling, and we are officially going to pretend it's fall today.
