Where, oh where, have the Durbins gone?

October has been a B-U-S-Y month for us. Eric has been adjusting well to his new job, but is keeping a very full schedule. I'm teaching piano lessons a couple nights a week, and he's working part time on the weekends so we're like ships passing in the night.
Samantha was baptized a couple weeks ago at our church (seen in the pictures here). It was a beautiful ceremony and a moving reminder of how precious and important the body of Christ is in our lives and the lives of our children. We love our church!
Jack is enjoying school SO much. He had his first field trip to a local farm a few weeks ago, and I had my first "room mom" experience to help the kids make applesauce. We also went last week for his Halloween parade (pictures to come) and I saw enough Thomas'/Disney Princess' to last me a lifetime. We love his teachers and have been so thankful for this school! He is growing so much verbally, emotionally (is really fascinated with being "scared" these days, no thanks to all the TOTALLY FREAKY Halloween decorations around town this month), and even physically--he's one of the tallest kids in his class! My favorite phrases of his right now are: "I can't like it, Mommy!" (when he doesn't like something) "What's going on here, guys?" and "It's too bright in here; we need more ice cream!" He's currently recovering from a stomach virus he picked up this week, poor kid.
Ellie is growing like a weed, too. The three main themes of her life right now are: 1. Be JUST like Jack, 2. Do EVERYTHING myself, 3. Say no as many times and as sassy as I can to see how mommy and daddy react. It's very sweet to see her and Jack's relationship blossoming. And speaking of doing things herself...she also potty-trained herself this month. You read that right. One day she took off her diaper, said, "Mommy, potty," ran in there, got the potty seat put on the potty, climbed up, and PEED. Then got down, flushed, and ran on her merry way. No M&M's, no coaching, no over-the-top affirmation...just did her business and went back to playing. I was astounded how easy it has been. She's still in between...but she's almost completely trained. She still will not let us help her at ALL--with any step of the process. It's hilarious to watch after it being such a big process with Jack. Our favorite phrases of hers these days are: "teekee boppers" (fishy crackers), "chickens" (anything chicken related, and ALWAYS plural), and "ticker-teet" (take a guess what that means!).

Samantha is.....the best baby ever! She's very content most of the time...is drooling like crazy so we are changing her entire outfits 3-4 times a day because they are soaked, even through bibs. She has no teeth yet, but I look every day to see if there are any emerging yet! She's pretty much sleeping through the night, with one early morning feeding. She is very sweet, loves her brother and sister SO much, and is a little peanut (she's still in 0-3 months clothes!).

Last but not least...the thing that has been keeping me the most busy and probably the sole reason for blog negligence this month...can be found here: www.annikadurbinphotography.com. This has come together in amazing ways this past month, and we are trusting God to bring me business as a way to "help out" the family pot. I am also so thankful to have something to do that not only brings in money, but is something that I enjoy and look forward to. Last week during one of my shoots the mom was telling me how much she appreciated me coming out when I had three little ones at home. I looked at her and said, "Seriously? Thank YOU. I get a break from my three little ones, get to be outside in the beautiful fall weather doing something I enjoy, AND making some money." What a gift! So book your session soon, if you are in the area, as November slots are already filling up! (What's a blog good for if I can't put in a little plug for the family business?)

Super-cute Halloween pics to come!