Life in Our Home

It's Sunday night.  It's been a crazy week and as this week comes to a close, there is one word that describes what I am feeling right now.  Full.  My life has changed so drastically in the last 11 months. From giving birth to Arthur, to being a combination professional and mom, to making the tough/easy decision to step out of the field of Higher Education and into the full time role of nurturing and educating Arthur.  This transition is still an every day thing for me.  One that I cannot sum up in one or two blog posts, so you may hear echoes from my heart from time to time, but it's really hard for me to answer the question, "how has the transition been."  One thing that I can say is that for our family, at this time... this was and is the right decision.

Arthur and I checking out the rain on the window

We have had the opportunity to welcome a German exchange student into our home for the current school year.  Luisa is a junior in high school and she is the BEST!  We love her so much.  She quickly became part of the family.  She loves Arthur so much and calls him her baby brother.  He loves her so much too!  We really could not have gotten a better fit for our family.  We already get sad thinking about her leaving us in June.  But we know that it won't be goodbye.  

Luisa, Arthur and I at the Pumpkin Festival

Luisa is taking a Child Development class in school which required her to care for a computerized baby for 48 hours.  This baby was on a newborn schedule around the clock including everything from diaper changes to night time feedings.  Luisa was NOT looking forward to this experience.  On Wednesday, I looked after another little boy who is a couple of weeks younger than Arthur.  I had to pick Luisa up from school just before it was nap time for both boys.  I piled both boys in to the car and took off.  We made it to the school with no cries, which is a miracle.  As soon as Luisa approached the car, I could hear that her baby was crying.  She motioned for me to pop the trunk.  I did and looked in the mirror to see her trying to shove the baby carrier AND the crying baby in the trunk with a panicked look.  She was being graded on her response to this crying baby, but I think she was concerned about bringing screaming baby into the car with the two babies.  I told her to bring the baby inside.  As soon as the baby got in the car, the other babies lost it.  So, there we were in the parking lot of the high school with three babies (one fake) screaming at the top of their lungs.  I was unable to contain my laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation as the boys alternated crying all the way home.  

Arthur hanging out with Tom, Luisa's "Fake Baby"

Eric has been growing in his love for photography.  He has recently gone through the formalities of launching Eric Vogt Photography.  His website is http://www.ericvogtphoto.com. His photos are available for purchase there.  He also has photos posted on https://www.facebook.com/EricVogtPhoto?fref=ts and http://www.flickr.com/photos/envogt/galleries/.  I am so proud of him!  Sometimes we get to work together when we have the opportunity to photograph families and I really enjoy that.

I am loving fall so much.  I love fall foods and layering and the sound of rain on my windows.  I can hardly believe that it is already almost Thanksgiving!  Arthur will be one year old in one month!  He is the love of our lives.  He brings us more joy than we could have dreamed.  He loves to play, hates to sleep and we are so grateful to have such a fun little boy.  Thank you so much for reading.  I will leave you with this video of my guys.