The Fall Blog That’s Now a Winter Blog

Since Emmett’s birthday, there’s been a couple big changes!

Birthday Girl

Sophie turned five. Five! Everyone says time flies, but for some reason that number makes it stick. For her birthday, Amanda organized another amazing party, this time with a rainbow theme! We got a little inflatable pool, a rainbow inflatable waterfall type thing, and overall, had a great time with a backyard party. The cake is where Amanda truly outdid herself. She made a multi layer rainbow cake that when you cut into it, M&M’s fell out of it. It was so professional!!!


RosenOgre

At the end of August, I started a new job with a local electricity management company called Energy Ogre. It was a big career decision, but when the opportunity came, it was too good to pass up. So far, I’ve really enjoyed it.

I’m still in marketing and am using video production to help tell the company’s story. It’s been very interesting to see how the business world is different than the tv one. The work life balance was a big reason I made the switch, and so far, that’s been a good move.

Terrific/Terrible Twos

Emmett is definitely going through a bit of a phase where he can get angry FAST! As soon as he turned two, words started falling out of his mouth. We could start to really get a sense of what he wanted. On the downside, like all kids, he wants what he wants when he wants it. This can be an issue, because sometimes what he wants doesn’t line up with what Soph wants. And that is a recipe for crying and shouting. I truly think we’re just in a little phase and he’ll grow out of it soon. On the terrific side, it’s amazing hearing him put these phrases together, seeing him be more assertive, and showing his own identity.

Some favorite phrases: “Sophie, Baka scare you?” “Hold you, hold you” “I wan you sit wih me” "Ow-wet"

Up In The Air

Halloween weekend, Amanda and I went up to Chicago for our first solo trip since the pandemic. Amanda’s aunt was amazing watching the kids, and we had an excellent time. We went for a fraternity brother’s wedding and it was just a great weekend seeing old friends.

The next weekend, we were back in the airport, this time headed to California. Another AEPi was getting married and since it was in SoCal, we took the opportunity to have the kids see their grandparents. It was a tough decision to have them travel with us, but after looking at Covid case numbers and talking with our pediatrician, we chose to have them go.

Amanda and I left the kids in LA with her parents while we went to Dana Point for a gorgeous wedding. It was so much fun to see the crew and be amazed by the gorgeous views. After a quick visit with our friends that moved from Houston to San Diego, we went back and rounded out the trip in LA. The kids had such a fun weekend!

We went to Dallas for Rosh Hashanah and that was really great. We enjoyed seeing my parents’ new place and the kids loved the pool. We also went back for Thanksgiving as well, and the kids loved it. This time, we stayed with my parents. Sophie LOVED playing with Babka, while Emmett was scared of the puppy. You’d think since we have Bali, he wouldn’t be scared of another dog. However, we think he might just be so used to Bali since she’s always been there, maybe he doesn’t see her as a dog? Maybe just another part of the family?

It was also great to see so many family and friends. We’re so lucky to be loved by so many.

Channukah Funnakah

It’s obvious to say, but Channukah is just really fun with the kids. We loved having them dress in their holiday jammies with their cousins, going to activities, and of course, lighting the candles. Muggsy doesn’t understand why he can’t hold the candle on his own, but he got better at lighting while we held the candle together.

Overall, I’m thankful for the return of family time and a bit more normalcy. A new variant, shakes things up again, but we'll just continue doing the best we can in the moment.