Leaves, Teeth, Aubrey, and Funeral

Well autumn is nearly over and the leaves have fallen. What's a toddler to do, but rake 'em up! He was so insistent on helping me but nearly gave himself a hernia just trying to move the rake an inch. This was the best shot I could get of his {grunting with all his strength} face. And he didn't need any instructions on what to do once a nice pile was formed. Those leaves made it all the way into the diaper for sure. 

I've told some family about the great "leaf sucker-upper"... I believe that's it's official name anyway.... and so I was excited to finally get a pic of it the day after we raked.

 With chillier weather, we've been indoors much more and are grateful to have Gavin not too far away! Rach and I trusted these two to be by themselves for a bit (ok, maybe a tad longer than "a bit") while we were downstairs on the computer. When we were done, we realized they had been quiet for some time. Well, wouldn't you be if you had knocked the Halloween bag on the ground and found the loot?! They weren't able to finesse the wrappers open, but that's what teeth are for! There was even a Kit Kat with tell-tale teeth marks through the top and the first half sucked cleanly out. What scavengers.

 Last week, Tiff and I took the kids to the Explore 'N More Museum in East Aurora. Collin had a blast. I'm sad it's not any closer to us or we'd make it a weekly outing. The only downside was his major tantrum when it was time to leave. The {wet noodle-throw your head back-contorted face-whilst screaming bloody murder} kind of tantrum. Why oh why?

Collin has previously been opposed to hats or hoods because it prevents him from grabbing his ears. The ears are nearly as important as the pacifier when it comes to calming him. But we finally got a warm hat this week at the mall and he loves it. Whenever he sees it, he has to have it on. Including breakfast. As a side note, I need to point out his pajamas.... his beloved {ball} jammies. It is usually the first thing he does when I get him up in the morning... point to the various balls and give me his rendition of how they are said. Balls are his favorite thing in the world. When he sees a basketball hoop, he goes nuts. When a football game is on T.V., he excitedly yells "foo-ball!!"... this is before any football is even shown... he knows the game by the players. I drew some balls in sidewalk chalk on the floor of the garage and they are the first thing he runs and points to when he gets out of the car. Can you say, obsessed?!

 On Monday I finally went into the dental school to get my teeth cleaned. It was a three hour procedure that did not end well. Apparently Dr. Evans believes I have some caries. I told him I wanted a second opinion. (Remember... I have NEVER had a cavity in my life). Dr. Havens came over and assessed #18... "A sealent would probably do"... and #30, "Ya, you could do a composite on that one". I thought he sounded iffy. Forgive me if I'm in denial. I do not wish to ruin a clean record. Since I'm in my third trimester, they'll wait until the baby is born to do anything further. So I have at least 3 more months before I join the rest of you "filling folk". How embarrassing. :)

 Trav's little sister, Aubrey, has been in town for just over a week now. They went to Palmyra on Tuesday and we'll be headed to Niagara Falls later this afternoon. Other than that, she's been to one crafting girl's night, a trip to the mall, a couple outings to the park, church, Wegmans, and of course, Duffs. She has done more than her fair share of babysitting and what a blessing that has been!

 Wednesday night we were able to go visit Ryan and Rylee, who had just arrived the day before. It had been a couple of months since we had seen her. She is so happy and content. Such a doll. And looks so much like her momma. My heart still breaks that she doesn't have her mom. That this sweet, innocent baby has no idea what is going on.
It was so fun to be with her and visit with Ryan and meet the rest of the family who was in town. Yesterday morning was the funeral. Ryan had asked if I would share a few memories of Megan during the service. I was honored, but scared. How could I do Megan justice, and in just a few minutes? I went through a list of memories.. of fun things we had done with Megan, much like I had done more briefly in the previous post. I shared that Travis and I had felt very strongly that Buffalo was where we were supposed to be for these dental school years, and I believe that part of the reason is so we would have the privilege of knowing Megan. I read a quote from the front page of Megan's blog that touched me the night before.... "It is not the days in your life that matter, but the life in your days." If this were to be applied to Megan's life, I think it could be said that she really died in old age. Finally, I shared the part of my previous post that I had written to Megan.

How I got through those minutes, I don't know. Megan was truly a remarkable person. And I really do feel it was an honor to know her. It was an emotional funeral, but also inspiring. She was Christlike in her love for everyone and therefore someone worth modeling your life after.

The family accepted condolences in the Relief Society room afterward, and they had a display of pictures of Megan's life. Here is sweet Rylee, next a picture of her mom.  

 And now that I'm all teary again... I just had to leave you with a laugh....

We had stake conference this weekend and us noisy families secured the very back row. I think we knew we were done, when the adults got a bit loopy. Here's Denyse, being Denyse... haha. ( I think Ryan's mischievous face in the background is just as priceless) Please excuse our irreverence.. including my picture taking in the cultural hall. :)