Welcome Nora Lynn!!!!

Nora Lynn VanEerden was born on November 3, 2009!!! She is our newest niece and the daughter of Brad's sister Melissa and her husband Justin. She is welcomed by her big sister Makalynn and big brother Cole..... and of course, the rest of the clan. We are so excited to meet her this week!!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here is our little butterfly. She was so excited, jumping up and down as she got dressed in her costume.

Grandma Erickson came over to bring Emma some treats and take us to lunch in the afternoon. Of course, Em wore her costume to the restaraunt and was a big hit.

Mom and Emma. I love my little girl!!!!

Our first stop trick-or-treating. Brad and I were really surprised, Emma got the hang of it right away. Our little girl who is normally shy around people, was walking right into neighbors' homes, and actually saying, "trick or treat". I guess candy is a good motivator. :)

We met our neighbors, the DeKeysers, at our first stop. Here is Emma and her friend Caitlyn.

All-in-all, a great Halloween. Em caught on to trick-or-treating right away and was spoiled rotten!!! Living out in the country, our neighbors don't have many kids stop by, so Emma was given large candy bars, small toys, and even a full can of pop!! It was a fun night together as a family.

Pumpkin Carving!

We spent this evening carving our jack o' lantern. It took Em a little bit to get the hang of things, but by the end she was very excited, poking at the "guts" and helping dad scoop. She picked the type of face, shapes of the eyes and nose, helped mom find the candle.....and was amazed at how it glowed. Fun night.

The proud carver.

Mom and Emma Enjoying the Fall

Emma and I spent today together.....a great girls day! We took a walk around our property, playing in the leaves and just enjoying the fall colors before they are gone. The leaves fall SO fast. It seems they just hit peak color and then they are gone.

Emma running across the yard.

Here she is, showing me the fire pit.

Here we are walking the trail, looking for deer. We spooked two on our adventure.

She gets so curious.

Here she was determined to catch a leaf as it fell. The wind would pick up and it was "raining" leaves.

Emma on the trail back to the house. It always amazes me how she keeps her sense of direction.....I think she gets that from her Dad! :)

After we took a little ride on the four wheeler, we collected our favorite leaves and made some sun-catchers out of them. (Crafty, aren't we?) All in all, a wonderful day.

Trip to the Orchard

We spent last weekend down at our friends' home in Muir, Michigan. James and Mandy recently moved into their new home on the apple orchard where James grew up. It was a great weekend! Brad, James and Brad's brother Mark got a lot of hunting in, despite the hot weather. Mark's wife (our sister-in-law) Amber came over on Saturday with our two nieces Hallie and Addison. So, Mandy, Amber and I spent the day playing with Hallie, Addison, Emma and Eli (James and Mandy's son). It was wonderful to see the kids spend time together. They played so well!!!!

The view at our house as we left for our trip. I LOVE the fall colors! God's creation is absolutely breathtaking.

Eli and Emma sharing some raisins in their pajamas.

Hallie and Emma playing outside. The weather was so warm!!!

Hallie and Addison. Addison found Mandy's flip-flops and was walking around in them....so cute.

The great hunters! Brad, James and Mark. Despite all the hours in tree stands, no deer were taken this weekend. I think I can safely report that they had a great time anyway.

Fall Fun at the Corn Maze

We took a ride to the "Hayes Corn Maze", a family owned farm near the little town of Rock. It was a beautiful Fall day to play outside. Once Em woke up from her nap in the car, she had a great time running around and exploring all the activities.

Emma and Dad hanging out with the scarecrows.

Dad and Emma being silly. We actually didn't complete the maze... it was 7 acres and Em lost interest after a bit, so we took an "EZ exit". It was fun to wander though, even when we hit dead ends. Emma loved picking the direction we should turn. :)

Brad and Emma checking out the animals. At first, Em was pretty unsure of getting too close (can you tell by her expression?), but by the end of the afternoon she was leading the way and calling out the names of the animals.

Our little pumpkin!

Emma and Dad on the hay mountain. This was Em's favorite. She loved the slide!!!

All in all a great afternoon. They have a nice website - Google Hayes Corn Maze - when you see it from the above, the maze is actually in the shape of a detailed scarecrow! I can't imagine how they do that! There were a lot of fun activities for all ages.

Big Girl Bed!!!!

Emma has now slept in her big girl bed 4 nights in a row!!!! She helped pick out her new bedding, and has been very excited to jump on it, lie in it, play on it, etc, but hasn't slept in it until this last week. We are very proud of her. We're planning on moving her completely into her new room in the next few weeks - making way for baby Jones! Yes, if anyone hasn't heard, we are due for number 2 in March 2009. Emma is very excited to be a big sister, and talks about sharing her crib with the new baby. (Let's hope this holds out. ) By the way....I have no idea why this is underlined, and I can't figure out how to turn it off. My computer savvy.