Hey Everybody!

It's nearly Halloween and I'm already thinking about Christmas...Being a toddler's mama really gives new meaning to the words 'organization' and 'planning'. Autumn gets busier by the day and is rapidly expanding her vocabulary. I keep saying that I need to make a list of all the words that she can say so here's a shot...
mommy
daddy
nana (banana and her name for my mom, my grandmother and teddy's grandmother)
papa
damma (grandma)
dampa (grandpa)
meemee (mermaid--this is what she calls her auntie rebecca)
aminy (emily)
no
dep (yep)
puppy
tat (cat)
gock (duck)
cuck (clock)
hawhee (donkey)
bibbit (frog)
dabbit (rabbit)
waisin (raisin)
apple (the fruit and what she calls her uncle brian)
hat
sock
hoo (shoe)
durka (uncle derek)
fiss (fish)
hot
edit (elephant)
buddy (birdie and buddy--my parents' dog)
nose
toes
cheese
toast
up
down
waddy (water)
mupp (milk)
manny (morning)
nightnight
jammies
...there is more, including a plethora of animal sounds including: meow, *snort*, woof, tweet, moo, etc.

She's a genius, right? mmhmmmmm!

Anyhoo, we had a little shindig over the weekend to ring in the spooky season and Autumn was the cutest little penguin that ever there was...Along with her cute little skunk and strawberry sidekicks. There is something about babies in costumes...It's so hilarious that it verges on cruelty. haha! There was lots of delicious food, lovely friends and family members and some pumpkin carving goodness.
Like I said earlier, however...It's already feeling like crunch time for Christmas gift-making despite the fact that actual Halloween hasn't even come yet. Ay Ay Ay!

I have lots of plans for good, homemade Christmas gifts and I'll share some recipes and ideas in my upcoming posts. For now, I'll leave you with a few pictures...

Flash Gordon and Autumn the penguin <3

Little cuddle bug.

Helping with the pumpkin guts!

Uncle Apple is extremely enthusiastic about this exercise ;)

Great job!

Babies are ready for bed.

Are we done yet????

yep...haha!

Gobble Gobble

It's been nearly two months since my last blog post and exactly two months since we arrived in Ontario. Things have been going well but super busy. I guess I knew it would be sorta hectic going to school and working and being Autumn's mama but this is CRAZYYYYY! School is a ton of work...Weekly tests, loads of reading and upcoming assignments. I'm loving it though. Really, I'm not complaining. We are lucky that my course requires us to see several plays over the course of the semester so Teddy and I have taken advantage of a close-by Nana and turned a couple of those into date nights. It's been lovely.
Life is just very busy and it's hard to believe we've already been here for two months and the weather is turning cool, leaves are falling, etc. It's Thanksgiving weekend! Time is just flying!
Anyway, we've been up to lots...Where to start?!?! We are loving our little house in Toronto and very much enjoying our closeness to the lake and waterfront trails. Teddy, Autumn and Elliott have their own special little beach that they go to almost everyday while I'm at work--It's beautiful, quiet and the water is not stinky--which is HUGE for Lake Ontario. Ha! Autumn also has some really great parks close by so she's been busy exploring those and even climbs the steps and descends the slide all by herself!! MY BIG GIRL! She's growing up so quick. She's ever extending her vocabulary and just put her first two words together. "Hot tea." Yep, my little granny squish. She is also working on her potty training diligently and will tell us "PEEPS!" and we promptly rush her to the toilet and put her on the porceline throne. She applauds and cheers when she hears herself tinkling. She has even pooped on the potty a few times. We're getting there!!!
Teddy has been scouring the city for jobs and has been hired on by two events companies which should offer him a good number of hours combined and a pretty flexible schedule so we won't have to fuss too much with baby-sitters and whatnot, which is pretty ideal.
Overall, we are all happy and settling in well in our new home and looking forward to making some excellent memories here. Life is good.