trick or treat!

happy halloween!

swoon.

before finn was born, i remember feeling sad that my love would be divided and lily would not receive as much undivided attention from me.

fast forward a few years and the bond between the two of them is so amazing and beautiful that i cannot even fathom entertaining that worry again.

as crosby has gotten older and more of his personality has emerged, it has been absolutely wonderful to watch his relationship grow with lily and finn.  he.adores.them.  truly.  adores.  his whole face lights up when they enter a room and his mood can go from sour to contented just by seeing them.

i especially love it when lily or finn has time alone with crosby.  it is so sweet to see the tenderness they have for him.

finn was pretty thrilled with himself this morning when crosby was laughing hysterically at his antics...

::our little warrior::

on sunday, ryan, duke and i completed the tough mudder.

let me tell you...it was tough.

but amazing.

we traversed about 10 miles up and down wintergreen's mountains all while completing 25 obstacles.

we climbed over walls.  we dove into pools of ice water.  walked balance beams precariously placed over pools.  hung from cargo nets.  walked through fire (literally).  swung (and did not fall) from monkey bars.  and  ended with a bang as we ran through 10,000 volts of electricity.

it took such mental grit and camaraderie.  i never could have completed it without ryan and duke.  we each helped one another at various points and we all had our tough and weak moments.  we were able to help total strangers and encourage people we had never met before.     

it was one of the hardest things i have physically endured.

but, it was nothing in comparison to what crosby (and duke) went through in the NICU.  we were so thankful to be able to raise money to support the march of dimes all in thanks to generous donations from our family and friends.  and we were so thankful to be able to give back in a tiny way for all the care crosby received while in the NICU.  and it could not have meant more to us that duke came all the way here to be a part of our team, to support us, and to help contribute to the goal of giving back to the march of dimes.

it felt so full circle to complete the course together, especially with duke by our side.  to see his strength and health as we worked together gives me such hope for the man crosby will be one day.

thank you duke and ryan for being such an amazing team.

and thank you so very much to our friends and family for helping us to give back to those who supported us so much this spring.  we could not have made it without you.

thank you.

the start line.  do you see duke?  second row back, blue shirt, red headband.

how amazing are these guys?  whole course in suits?!

the finish!

us at the crack of dawn.  and clean and shiny.  not for long...

crosby, we love you so very much.  your grit and toughness inspire us each and every single day.  we love you, little warrior!

and of course, lily and finn.  we adore you.  sporting our team LFC apparel pre-race...

our house was wonderfully full this past weekend.

on wednesday, kathy, brandon and nakita arrived in the wee hours of the morning.  and then duke followed suit on thursday night.

it was a great weekend filled with family time, delicious meals, apple and pumpkin picking, walks and laughter.

thank you all so much for coming this weekend.  it was such a sweet time of relaxation and fun.

and of course,ry, duke and i completed a big challenge too.  more on that to come...

lily dressed finn today.  

for church on the 4th of july. 

naturally.

and in case you can't tell, he is wearing two plaid shirts, plaid pants, and a plaid tie.

nom. nom. nom.

do you think he's ready for solids??

(this might be his favorite place right now...to sit here and laugh at lily and finn while they eat.)

sweet boy.

autumn.

i have been in denial that summer is over.  

even though lily is back in school and fall activities have arrived.

even though the evenings have been cooler.

even though we are well into october.

i have denied it's presence.  but, this weekend, it finally hit me that it is autumn.  and it actually felt good.

we went to a crosby's first soccer game and it was so much fun.  lily and finn LOVED running around the grassy field and finn kept saying how much he wanted to "play soccer down there."  (music to ryan's ears!)

we were so fortunate to have our picture taken with cav man. lily had to be convinced to get in the photo.

and then she had one THOUSAND questions about him afterwards. 

"why is his mouth like that?"

"why does he wear those boots?"

"why are his hands white?"

"why didn't he talk?"

"where is his horse?"

we finally realized we had to explain it was just a regular old man in there wearing a costume.  then, these questions ensued...

"where does he live?"

"is he cav man every day?"

"what type of car does he drive?"

"does he drive a car and ride a horse?"

"is he really a nice man?"

it's gonna be a while before we can visit you, disney world!

but, being at the soccer game really made it feel like an autumn night.  it was wonderful.

then, last night, as we drove over the mountain to go camping and we saw how much the leaves were changing, it felt like fall.  

and when we were surprised by how much colder it was there in the night, it really felt like fall.

crosby was a champ on his first camping adventure and lily and finn loved it.  

it was cooler than we anticipated, but we had a blast.  this morning, at 5:45 when finn woke us all up, lily almost threw a fit because she didn't want to have to leave and wanted to stay again tonight.  

(finn was thrilled for this picture!)

welcome, autumn!

love this girl.

(and the outfit she picked today.)

::joyous::

i have been MIA as of late.  but, i have a really good excuse.

the kids and i have been traveling a bit in the last few weeks for lots of celebratory reasons.

crosby and i went to denver to meet my amazing new nephew, diego!

it was so much fun to have a weekend with whit and ash. (you can catch whit's description of it here...and yes, i am mowing the lawn in a skirt...)  it made me miss them so very very much!

and i was able to celebrate chris and katie's beautiful wedding at IU.  it was beautiful and amazing.  congrats!!!

and in the meantime, we spent lots of time in z'ville soaking up love from family. i was remiss in catching most of it on film, but it was wonderful...

skippy got behind-the-scenes passes for us to the zoo.  the kids thought it was amazing.

i never knew walruses were so smart and loveable!!

and kathy, grandma pat, brandon, nakita and colin spent lots of time showering lily and finn in love while crosby and i went to denver.

we love and miss you all!!