Recently

 

These are some pictures from the last several weeks.  The first two are just before we took her to our town's Halloween Spooktacular.  We just told her it was a Halloween party and she was so excited to be able to wear her Minnie Mouse costume and see all of the other kids in costumes there.  We met her buddy Cooper and his parents there and the kids enjoyed playing the games, getting prizes, and jumping in the bounce house.  Our community puts on fun events for holidays, so we try to take advantage of those, especially when they are free!

The next picture in her jacket was on Halloween night.  It was Emma's first time to go trick-or-treating, and thanks to a Dora episode she saw, she knew all about it.  She had been pumped for this for weeks and her first time did not disappoint!  She loved getting to walk through the historic district homes and get candy, and then we went over to the Smith's neighborhood and she was able to trick-or-treat with Cooper.  I think she had an even better time going with her buddy in the wagon, and they laughed with each other the whole time.  Thanks Smiths for letting us join you!!

The last picture was taken in Blowing Rock.  Aaron and I wanted to do something by ourselves before little Molly Kate arrives, so we made a plan to visit my parents, leave Emma with them, and take a day trip to Blowing Rock and Boone.  We considered this my birthday weekend/babymoon/early anniversary gift, haha.  January will mark our five year anniversary!  We would have liked to do something bigger for year 5, but being so pregnant, and paying for the expenses of my sickness meant that we would have to do something smaller.  We loved being in the mountains though, and it was the perfect little getaway.  In any case, we would much rather have our little Molly Kate on the way then go on a nicer vacation anyway!  So thankful for my husband taking the time to plan a wonderful weekend for us, and of course Emma had the best time with her grandparents too!

In other news, I will be 34 weeks tomorrow which means that I have 5 weeks left - wow!  With the holidays, a youth retreat, and baby preparations, these next few weeks are going to fly by.  So I am busy making lists of everything that needs to get done, but also trying to make sure to savor this time with my sweet family before it gets a little busier with our new addition!