One month closer to the end of the year.

September has been hectic, long, and a bit overwhelming.

The 1st marked another heavenly birthday for our Audie boy.

We went to our usual workshops, with Home Depot running out of their monthly kit. We’ll know to go earlier next month because Little Man was really looking forward to the crop duster plane. Luckily, I found one in eBay so he still gets his pin and can do his project…just not for free.

He did get to spend some time with Aunt Lindsey and helped her pick some veggies from her garden, so not a wasted trip to town.

We received Little Man’s school photos back and wow, does he look grown up!

He also started Cub Scouts in earnest and has spent almost every weekend doing popcorn sales (and killing it!). Next month will bring his first camp out and Cub Scout Day of Awesomeness.

He was also invited to his first classmate birthday party at a recreational area nearby. He was the only classmate to come (which the birthday girl didn’t seem to mind), but despite that, it was a great afternoon.

The next week had a Grandparent’s Day lunch at school so Nana and Grandad got to eat with Little Man. He was so excited.

Baby Girl had her 4 month check up/vaccines. She is now in the 71st percentile weighing 15 lbs 5.6oz and measuring 25inches long. She is growing so fast and her personality is really starting to shine through.

She is slowly learning to control her hands and is working on her gnawing (those gums are rock hard and I’m positive we’ll have teeth pop through soon).

Unfortunately, Gramps hadn’t been doing well with his cancer treatments and was very weak, so it was time to go to Good Samaritan for some assistance. We visited when we could (we had a whole slew of car troubles with the Dart – 2 new tires in one week and the blower motor has crapped out). He got a real kick out of the scout uniform.

Since Grammys wasn’t used to spending her evenings alone, mom and I went with her to see The Odd Couple play. It was a nice excuse to put on real clothes and get out of the house without kids for an evening.

Sadly, my wonderful Gramps passed away less than a week later. It was a hard blow for the family. I could write a whole post about him and maybe still will, but it’s too much to dwell on right now.

Despite the sorrow and heaviness mid-month, we did have a few uplifting moments in the latter weeks.

We accepted an offer on our house in Clarksville. The appraisal and inspections just finished up and we made all the adjustments we needed to, so now we are just waiting to close on October 22. We are ready to be done with that particular chapter for sure.

A new furry friend showed up at mom and dad’s and we’ve been trying hard to keep him safely near the house.

He’s a sweet young boy who has settled on the deck nicely. Dad says he’s not coming inside but I think if mom has anything to say about it, he’ll be vetted/neutered and indoors by the time it gets cold.

Little Man had parent teacher conferences (he’s doing great at school and seems to be thriving), so he had a couple of weekdays off. We took the opportunity to go to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha when it wasn’t so crowded.

We capped off the weekend/month with a fall festival. There was a car show, vendors, and a chili cook-off. Too bad the fall weather hadn’t started yet – it was a little hot.

September 30 brought an official end of the Mister’s military career. As of October 1st, he is retired from service and will get to start civilian life for the first time in over 21 years. So new retired IDs will be acquired.

While September felt chaotic and heavy, I am hopeful for a lighter, less hectic October.

But who am I kidding?

We do have quite a few things going on in the next month. While we missed out on our usual September activities (Highland Games and Trail of Tears PowWow) and won’t be able to attend Cheekwood’s Dia de Los Muertos festival, we will have Little Man’s first real field trip (he gets to ride the bus and everything) to Roca Scary Farm (usually Roca Berry Farm, but it’s the Halloween season). The Mister, Baby Girl, and I will all get to go with him (though we are driving up ourselves) so I’m excited for that.

Then it’s homecoming week. Hopefully I can get some school spirit shirts before he needs them. They’re also doing an Adam Sandler day and I’m cracking up thinking about what that will be.

Little Man also wraps up popcorn sales, gets to attend Cub Scout Day of Awesomeness, and gets to go camping at Indian Cave State Park in October. He’s a busy little dude.

We close on our house October 22, Halloween is a day off of school and a Friday so we’ll actually get to go door to door trick or treating (boy do I need to get on it for costume ideas).

Whew. It’s going to be another month for the books.

Until then,