Oh, October

October is the busiest month of the year for the Pollard family. Busier than even December. Between birthdays, anniversaries, fall break and baby births- we are pooped!

Here's a little photographic recap of the highlights.

My newest nephew, Robert Luis, was born at the end of September. It was really exciting to be on the other end of a labor, for a change. My sister's water broke right after I got off of work, and I zipped over to Simi Valley to the hospital. I waited with my Aunt Debbie, my dad and my sister's father in law. We thought for sure things would go quickly, but Robby was stubborn and didn't make it out until midnight. But he was well worth the wait. Such a cutie and SO alert immediately after birth.

Taylor "FINALLY" turned 6! She's probably the youngest in her class and seeing everyone turn 6 before her was killing her. I worked in her class on her birthday and brought in cupcakes, and we held her camping birthday party that Saturday. It was by far the coolest party we've had for her. So easy, and the kids loved eating smores and watching the outdoor movie.

Since I curled Tay's hair on her birthday, a certain little sister had to get in on the action too.

Nana and Grandpa Bruce made AWESOME pup tents for Tay's party, and we pitched a tent and had a fire pit. The kids loved it, and despite the ominous clouds, the weather was perfect for our theme.

I found some really neat canvas bags that the kids could actually color with markers, and our good friend Fran used her projector to make REALLY neat cut outs of animals in the wilderness. 

Buttons for each camper and camping themed grub. Gummy bears for bears, gummy worms for bait, pretzels for sticks and liccorice for snakes. And the kids ate nothing but smores. lol But it's the effort that matters.

Grandpa Bob also made really neat camping signs that tied our whole theme together. Taylor is so lucky to have so many people who love her and go out of there way to make her special day fantastic!

Taylor invited  Kaelyn and Jazmine to spend the night. Her first sleep over! They giggled in their pup tents until 11:00 when I finally called for lights out, and they were up again at 7 am for dress up.

Grandpa Bruce and Nana took the girls to the circus this month too. They loved it and aspire to be professional hoola hoopers one day.

Our 6th annual trip to Lambardi Ranch was fun. Hot, but fun. This 90 degree weather in October has really stunk!

This picture is of Alex and Taylor. We ran into Alex and his dad at the patch and they had to size each other up. How tall you are and how many teeth you've lost is very important when you're 6. Alex and Taylor were Pebbles and Bam Bam when they were only 1 year old. They were the cutest little trick or treaters ever! And now look at them! 6 years goes by fast!

Wes and I have been married for 11 years. This month has been so crazy though, that we didn't have much time to celebrate. We sort of celebrated by doing a cancer walk with the Gas Co. and a softball tournament for the Gas Co. as well. Romantic, huh? Next year, we'll make up for it.

My friend Rachel invited myself and the girls to Palm Springs over Fall break. We agreed it couldn't be called a vacation, because of the kids, but it sure was a fun trip. The kids had so much fun playing in the pool and sliding on the water slide, and just hanging out together in the hotel. Rachel and I enjoyed chatting and watching the kids have fun. We are so lucky to have them as friends.

I also took the girls to the children's museum in town, and it didn't dissapoint. Especially because we were the only ones there! They had such a fantastic trip.

Below is a random picture of us getting our nails done, pre-baby birth. They loved it!

The girls being loving at lunch before seeing "Hotel Transylvania." I swear, they are the very best of friends most days, minus the fighting and jealousy.

My friend and I teamed up and put together a children's book. She's an amazing illustrator and was such a sweetheart for taking the time to give a little life to a story I wrote a while ago. It's been sent off to a few places in the hope of getting published. I know it's a long shot, but you don't get anywhere without trying, right?

Corinne loves preschool! She is always so excited to go. She has her own little friend now named Madelyn, and she's really starting to come into her own. She LOVES doing the crafts, and I've been told she's an excellent listener...which baffles the mind.

She's also rocking at gymnastics. She is far more athletic than I am, so I'm sassuming she got it from my mom who was a gymnast.

More pics of Palm Springs with the Andersons. Jackson and taylor played a math puzzle. They loved just being together.

Tay got an award for reading. I had to work, but Grandma and Grandpa went. According to Grandpa, Tay was very happy to see him there. She is loving Mrs. Burkman's class and seems to be doing pretty well. I'm not volunteering as much. Not as many volunteer hours are needed in 1st grade which makes me a little sad.

More Palm Springs fun. Thought it was so cute that Ryan wanted Tay to read to him.

Came home from Palm Springs to flowers. =)

The Light the Night Walk for the Lymphoma Society was really gerat and reminded us of how lucky we are to have our health and our kid's health. Glad we could do it.

Grandpa the Great sent cards for the girls. Corinne was ecstatic that she got mail. And a card with a cat on it, to boot.

Wes' team didn't do so well at their tournament, and that makes for a grumpy husband. But visiting the outdoor sporting goods store after was sort of fun.

More cool art work from Fran!

We miss seeing Nana more often, but the girls had a fun day out with her over the weekend.

Corinne got to hold Robby, and was instantly smitten with him.

 We have been so busy and self consumed lately, we made a HUGE GIGANTIC AWFUL mistake, and completely forgot to call grandma on her birthday. We said outloud the day before,"It's Grandma's birthday tomorrow," and then failed to actually wish her a happy birthday. We have and will continue to apologize profusely, since she deserves so much better, being that she means a lot to all of us. We took her out to an early dinner the other day, but boy did we feel like shmucks. She does so much for all of us and we really do love her!

 I love Halloween! We always get our money's worth out of costumes, since they're worn days before and after the actual holiday. Corinne was Izzy from Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and it was hilarious watching her get into character with her cute little pout. Taylor was the sassy "Cleo" from Monster High, and was stoaked to wear heels and makeup.

 The ward trunk or treat was sort of fun. Taylor won a fish from a fishing booth. It died the next morning. She woke up and ran downstairs to visit her new pet, only to find it floating belly-up. She cried while getting ready for school. Ugh. Good times.

The fam.