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That's how many bags of leaves it took for Justin to get our yard raked. It took him about a week but it's done and we couldn't be happier! It's the last time we are going to have to rake leaves in this house. Justin says that when we move one of the things we are going to look for is a yard with no trees. After all the hard work he did, I can't blame him!

Noah was his "helper". Isn't he the cutest leaf-raker!
Of course, with this many leaves in the backyard, you just have to play in them! Noah was fascinated with all things raking this year. Justin wasn't always such a fan of having a shadow, but it sure was adorable!
In other news, Noah has been very difficult lately. I think that 3 is going to be harder than 2 was. Justin and I have nicknamed his sassy three year old personality 'Pootie P. Pickleweasle'. Whenever he does something naughty we call him Pootie. He hates it. Very satisfying.
He's also been pretty funny lately though. He's at the age where he says some pretty funny stuff. At some point I need to do a post about all the funny stuff he does lately.
Some friends of ours let us borrow this saucer. Josie loves it. She's at an age where she's so busy lately. She's still not quite sitting all the way up (she can do it, she just doesn't like to). She has, however, started scooting around. She isn't very fast yet, but it's only a matter of time (sigh). Clayton and Noah aren't going to know what hit them!
Thanks Clarks! This saucer has been perfect!
Clayton's school had an assembly a few weeks ago. It was a 'welcome to school' assembly. It was really short and really cute. They had all the kids in 1st-5th grades who were new to the school stand up to be acknowledged. Then they introduced all the kindergarteners and had the 5th graders welcome them to the school by giving them each a flower. All the kindergarteners were so excited. It's a great little tradition. Have I mentioned how much I love his school? Because I really do!
Clayton has also recently started gymnastics. I'll post more about it later but I'll say this - he loves it! It's a really good fit for him. He's got a pretty busy little schedule but he's a kid who thrives on structure. Love this little guy (who is not quite so little anymore)!

As for Justin and myself, we are just counting down the days until the match (when we find out where we're going for residency). 4 MONTHS!! Justin has this month (essentially) off and his schedule for December is super light. I don't know how I'm going to handle it when he has to start working again. I've realized I'm one of those wives who really likes having her husband around all the time. Time has been passing really quickly. It's a blessing and a curse at the same time. I can't express how happy I am that Justin is almost done with school but I've grown to love so much about Vermont - specifically my wonderful friends and my excellent community - I'm going to really miss it.

That's what's been going on around the Smith house lately. It's not much - but sometimes, that's exactly how we like it!!