{six} months

She's a week away from EIGHT months now, but our talented friend Apryll at Cherish Me Photography really captured some beautiful SIX month shots of our Charlotte.

It's a {Charlotte}!

...and she is ONE month old today.

We are totally in love...

Yes, everyone is happy & healthy. We can't even remember what life was like before our sweet Charlotte. She is such a blessing and we are so thankful.

Halloween

The blog has once again been neglected, like most non-breathing things in the Ross house lately. We are all growing (everyone, except for David) and doing well. We are all excited about the new Ross due in at any time. We have decided not to find out baby's sex, so we are anxious to find out if we have a Charlotte, Wyatt, or Liam (the kids are currently fighting over the boys names). If you have a favorite, feel free to vote in the comments.

Without further delay, here are some pictures from our October:

The annual Cookie Spook House.

Carving Pumpkins

Addie-Belle- and her pumpkin.

Jack-Zombie-and his pumpkin.

Jack & David's Halloween decorations.

The Short Version: Family Trip, Birthday, Run & Blizzard

I guess it takes a blizzard depositing 14+ inches of snow on my house to force me to sit down and update our blog. We are warm and dry here, and pray for God's protection over those who are not.

On to the update.

Family Trip: Texas Roadtrip Dec 27-Jan 2

First Stop: Dallas

The Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine. The kids LOVE this place. They spent three days water park-ing, Magic Quest-ing, and in general doing whatever they pleased.

In the hub-bub of Lu dying and trip preparations, I forgot Addie's birthday presents. So, on her birthday we sent her to Scoops for a little spa time. She thought it was the best thing to ever happen to her.

Stop 2: San Antonio

You can tell the kids really got into the Alamo.

We made it into town just in time for the boys to go to the OSU bowl game. Jackson was excited to see all the orange all over town.

The girls snuggling on the river boat tour.

Stop 3: Corpus Christi

Torpedo tots at the USS Lexington

My grandpa served on the Lexington during WWII. Jackson is pointing to his name. He was very proud to see Opa's name, picture, & jacket in the museum.

Certain parts of the day were hard for the girl to take.



Posing for a picture for Opa.

Right next to the Lexington was an aquarium. We went there. It was fun. :)

Stop 4: North Padre Island (National Park)

It was windy and cool. The kids didn't care. They frolicked in the water like it was 80 degrees out. We had fun picking up trash, finding seashells, jelly fish, and other beach treasures.

Homeward bound...a few stops along the way

That's our boy. UT Stadium, Austin
Baylor Stadium, Waco

Last Call: Birthday Party, January 9

Addie celebrated her birthday at a small party with her closest friends. It was a great day.

Cake!

Aramco Houston Half Marathon, January 30

I was as proud of this finish as my full marathon finish. I wasn't able to run a mile on Friday's 5K warm-up run, and afterward David had to help me take my shoes off while I writhed in pain. The day before the race I doubted whether or not I would be able to even START as I was in so much pain from the IT band injury. The morning of the race I KT taped my knee, took 1600mg of Ibuprofen, and pushed positive dialogue through my head. By some miracle I experienced very little pain until around mile 10. I started getting emotional at mile 11, because I knew I was going to make it to the finish...and only 15 minutes off of my pre-injury target pace. My time: 2:33. You can see me crossing the finish here. I am wearing a blue tank top & a white hat.

The day after the run was not pretty. I had a hard time getting around, but I was just so tickled that I got to finish the race.

I spent the weekend with my friend Liz, who also ran the half. After the race we craved coffee (yay, Antidote!), played with her girls (I forget how lovely it is to spend time with OTHER people's children!), and just spent time reconnecting. It was the highlight of the trip. Thanks, Liz!

No pain, no gain? Post race leg.

Blizzard 2011!

LuLu Our Good Dog

Lucy "LuLu Belle" Dec 1998-Dec 27, 2010

Lucy came to live with us in St. Louis when she was five years old. She had been adopted out & returned two times at the shelter. A friend told me about her and thought she was a good match for us. I told her we were happy being a one dog "family." After running into this friend again a few months later and learning that Lucy was still at the shelter, I drove over to Ucity to meet her. It was love at first sight. She was outside hunting squirrels and didn't give me the time of day. I laughed. Weenie dogs are just like that. I loaded her up in the car and she spent the 10 minutes it took to get home licking my face. From that point on, she was MY dog. When David came home that evening, Lucy barked and barked until I could convince her that David was part of the family. When we had Jackson she laid by him and wouldn't let anyone she didn't trust touch him. She continued this fierce protection over her family until the day she died. She was a blessing to our family. She brought comfort, laughter, and lots of dead things (she was a ferocious hunter). She died peacefully in her favorite spot. Before her last breath she raised her head up, wagged her tail, and then kissed my nose. We're sure going to miss her.
Good dog, LuLu

4

Happy Birthday Adelaide!
(& Poppa, too!)

We love you!

Merry Christmas!

B(ack)log: November

{Sigh} November passed through the Ross house like a dream...where'd it go?! {Sigh}

Even though November is gone, we are not finished with our Thanksgiving!

We are thankful for God's faithfulness to us in our daily life and for all the blessings He has showered on our little family.

Here's a Oct/Nov recap for you:

We had a pumpkin carving party at Poopa & Patti's. That creepy faced pumpkin (2nd from the right) was Jack's creation.

Nanny & family came over Halloween night. The kids had a blast.

The big girls.

Fall decorations

Baby bed repurposed

Cowgirl...Ballerina...Cowrina?

Broccoli harvest in our backyard!

Some of Jack's soccer team at their awards ceremony.

Addie playing dress up.

My baking helpers for the Thanksgiving cheesecake.


Way too many weenies? My mom's dogs spent Thanksgiving with us.

We spent Thanksgiving with our dear friends, the Busch's.

Joan put me to work. :)

Stockings hung...

Monster tree decorated.

Okay, December we're ready for you!