October has arrived.

Benji, so proud he got the character
trophy this week!

October snuck up on us. I mean, I definitely saw it coming and after our awful last few days of September I was ready for it. But that doesn't mean it didn't come fast. It most definitely did! How is fall here already? Goodness! Despite the heaviness of the CPS investigation over our heads, October started off really well. I love crisp fall mornings and I LOVE afternoons with my boys at the park. We are trying to soak up these last few days of enjoyable weather while we still can!

After all of the x-rays, the doctor said it
was probably just a bad sprain or some
tenderness on his newly healed Femur.
HOORAY for no broken bones and
hooray for no more splint! 

HOORAY FOR BATHS! 

Poor Benji had a few days of sickness
and had to stay home from school.

The fog was insanely thick on the lake. It looked
like the city was floating on clouds!

Sunday night movies are THE BEST.

This sweet little flower lifted the
haze on my CPS worries.

There is such beauty all around!

Such curiosity and discovering right now
with this one. 

A Hundred Acre theme at the Domes this month.

These two were so proud! 

Way to go, guys! 

Exploring the "jungle" at Jacobus.

That's some awesome adventuring, right there.

I will never get over how lucky I am to be their Mama. 

Delivering some Halloween
treats to friends. Ring and
run professionals!

....we may have delivered treats to the
wrong house, but we got it all sorted
out in the end. :)

This kid is always looking for the goods.

Who knew vampire teeth could
look so cute?!

Conference coloring

This kid loves the camera.

Celebratory dinner at P.F. Chang's. Crossing
our fingers we have jumped through all of the
CPS hoops!

Delicious!

Can't say no to a free Bucks game.
Thanks for the tickets, Chris!

Thanks for the candy, Dr. Liu!

Thanks for the surprise, Taylors!

This kid LOVES puddles.

He's not so sure about worms.

Fred and Kathy treated us (and all of their tenants) to
some Lakefront Brewery. YUM!

I love our after school outings.
Oliver and I really miss these two during the day!

My independent little shopping buddy.

Wake me up. September ended!

Well, the last week of September was definitely one for the books. We played and soaked up every warm afternoon we could. We prepped for Josh's 31st birthday and on Friday, the boys and I were excited to surprise him with a Tres Leches Cake. The boys had the day off of school and it was going to be a team effort. But right as I put Ollie down for his nap and was starting on the cake, I got a knock on the door. A CPS worker was there, asking to come in, explaining that Ollie's recent ER visit sent up some red flags. She came in, stayed for 2+ hours, questioning me and my boys. She asked for a tour of the house and then insisted that I take Ollie to get a skeletal survey that afternoon (even though I had one scheduled for the next week). She wanted to "be sure I wasn't hiding anything". I got reported by the ER to CPS because of all of Oliver's broken bones this year. Apparently it's three strikes and you're out in baseball and doctor's visits.

such a sweet boy

Anyways, the skeletal survey consisted of 36 different x-rays on his tiny body, a two hour procedure. Tessa, our dear friend, took the big boys to her house to play while I took Ollie to the hospital. Josh left school furious and confused and he told me later that night that it was the worst birthday ever, understandably. September, you sure had a way of wrapping it up, but let's never, ever, do that again. And three cheers to a three month long investigation.

We are all about fun new bugs in this house.

At the hospital for some blood work.

A trip to the park is a must on afternoons like this.

These boys make me so happy!

Happy Birthday, Daddy.

Worst birthday ever with the cutest crew ever. They make
the hard stuff all okay. 

We'll get this down, I'm sure. 

He loves the camera! 

A hard day for this one but he was still smiling,
before, during, and after 36 x-rays.
He is my hero!

The big boys felt sick but we finally got to eat a birthday dinner for Dad. Burgers, fries, and custard for the coolest 31 year old I know. Happy Birthday, Joshy.