A couple firsts and a whole lot more...

Well, a couple new things have been going on here.

First of all, we finally have thrown away Katie's pacifiers. I have been wanting to do this for months, but have been chicken- to be honest. She has taken it better than I thought she would. We can very easily use logic with her and she understands more than I would think a 2-year old should. We have decided to wait a little longer before taking Sarah's pacifiers.

Second, I was pulled over for the very first time on Wednesday. I was leaving playgroup and saw the cop sitting there and was going under the speed limit (or so I thought). Turns out I was in a school zone that had no lights, just a posted sign- so if you didn't read the very fine print on the sign, you got caught. Luckily I got away with a warning. I guess it had to happen sometime, right?

Steve has received early acceptance into Georgia Tech, which is flattering. We're still shooting for University of Illinois, but it's nice to have that boost of confidence.

We had a ton of fun with Halloween, which I mentioned. I forgot to mention that when people asked us where the lion was, we would point to my belly and tell them he was cowardly... hehe. Sarah found her dress today and was excitedly dragging it around the house. I'm amazed at how much they enjoyed dressing up. Usually Katie doesn't like it (she cried every time I tried it on her while I was putting it together... she was afraid I'd poke her with pins, which I never did!) Sarah is going to be like Ellie and loves to dress up. She's been joining in with the girls and wearing "dancing outfits". It's very cute to watch her interact with them.

I went to the doctor this week and everything looks good. I'm measuring right on target and this little baby is as active as ever. I'm actually getting kicked in the ribs as I write this. The only bad news I received was that my doctor is being sent to schooling in December, so I have to pick a new one. Not what I wanted to hear, as I felt very confident in this doctor's abilities. I have made it clear I DO NOT want the doctor that delivered Katie (resulting in serious complications) and he said he'd speak with the other available doctors and pick the best one for me. If only he could wait another month to go to school! That's the Army for ya. I've also started getting heartburn, which is typical for me in the 3rd trimester. Time to pull out those Tums! And as always, I'm just constantly exhausted. I am such a wimp with this baby!

Sarah has started making huge strides in her speaking abilities. She repeats just about everything we say and is doing very well. Some of my favorite words of hers: pup (up), pep (help), kuck (stuck), foof-foof (woof-woof) and baba (baby- one of her favorite words). She's also down to just one nap a day.

Ellie had a haircut the day after Halloween. I had let it grow out so she could be Dorothy, but then we took off about 3 inches the next day. It's very cute and a little easier to manage. She still changes clothes at least 10 times a day and there are some days I get really tired of helping her put away her pile of leftovers on the floor.

I mentioned that Katie has ditched the pacifiers (she told us yesterday morning that she didn't need them anymore... the story changed that night when she actually didn't get it!). She is also much more talkative at night now that there's nothing plugging her up! She has basically dropped her afternoon nap, which is very sad. I would say maybe 2 or 3 times a week she actually takes one. She's still as stubborn as ever and and keeps us on our toes. But in the end that will probably be a good attribute for her to have! We have a lot of fun with her. She and Ellie are happy to tell anyone and everyone that their little baby brother is coming after Christmas. It's fun to see them so excited about it.