Fall Update

Things in the Ross home have been busy, busy, busy. Nothing too exciting, just everyday stuff. Devin celebrated his 29th birthday on September 16th. The girls had a great time making him a cake, chocolate covered strawberries, and painting him pictures for his office. Devin and I were able to leave the girls with his parents and do some birthday shopping and dinner. He is having a hard time accepting that this is his last year in his twenties. He has vowed to make this year great but so far all his time has been spent at the office -- and that doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon. With the holiday season right around the corner we are keeping our fingers crossed that he is able to join us for some of the family fun.

Payton Update: Payton is still loving kindergarten. She keeps us laughing with all her questions and funny stories. She keeps asking when we are moving closer to the school so she can be a "walker" instead of a "car-rider." She still thinks she has to wear a dress everyday. When I make her wear pants (like on PE days) she says, "Autumn never has to wear pants -- she always wears a dress or skirt." Another big topic around here is pets. "Why does everyone else have a pet except for me?" We told her if we move to a farm we can get a pet. So now she always asks, "When are we moving to the farm?" Although she told me the other day that she changed her mind about getting a dog because it could get into her bedroom at night and jump on her bed and that would scare her.

One day she came home with a huge goose egg on her forehead (luckily the day AFTER school pictures). She said she ran into a pole during recess. Poor thing, she gets her coordination from her dad. Now she comes home everyday and reports that she did not run into a pole today. With Halloween only weeks away, she is under great stress trying to decide what to be. She changes her mind daily. Will she be a cat, a witch, a fairy? We had her convinced to be a witch, but she is concerned that the only way to clean off the green facepaint will be to put her head under water. She has also started dance classes again and is loving it.

Piper Update: Piper is still a hot mess, and getting hotter. She is always on the go and never stops. Now that my helper is in school in the mornings, it is impossible for me to get anything done. She follows me around and I can't leave her alone or she finds something naughty to do. I wish I could follow her around with a video camera all day long to capture her wildness and silly faces. It can't be explained, you just have to see it. She is non-stop entertainment. I have finally taken her binky away except for when she's sleeping. She has been doing pretty well. Every once in a while she gets into the drawer and sneaks one out. One of these days I will get around to putting them up higher or just throwing them away.

She loves her sister and really misses her while she's at school. We can't drive by the school while running errands or she cries. One of her new favorite things is a little mini Spanish dictionary Devin had on his mission. She carries it around with her all day long in her Dora backpack and pretends to read it. Mostly she just yells out "A" or "O". And she always points to the last two pages in the dictionary (that I caught her tearing out one day) and says, "Sorry Mommy."