7 Quick Takes Friday

Thanks to Jen for hosting.

1. September is halfway through already. How did that happen?

2. I'm proud that I already have the kids' Halloween costumes planned. Elanor wants to be Princess Tiana (from "The Princess and the Frog"), so we decided to continue the theme and have William be a frog. Violet will be a firefly. They're going to be so adorable!

3. Violet has officially started solids! So far she's had oatmeal, pears, and bananas (she loved all three). I think we'll try some sweet potatoes this weekend. I captured her first taste of oatmeal on video; you can see it at YouTube. She's pretty much able to sit up by herself, too -- and she's trying so hard to crawl. Where did my tiny baby go?

4. Speaking of babies, my good friend Abbi and her husband Mike are expecting their first child to be born in late February! Abbi was the maid of honor at my wedding. I'm so excited for them -- becoming a parent is such an awesome experience.

5. I'm taking a Wednesday night class via the Institute of Catholic Theology called "Learning Latin through the Rosary." It's a lot of fun! The professor is fantastic; he's a former seventh-grade Latin teacher and he commented how he was looking forward to teaching people who are past puberty. :P I've always wanted to learn Latin, and learning the basics in a Catholic context is even better. Plus it's some nice "me" time once a week, something I've been sorely needing.

6. Elanor is going to a birthday party for one of her kindergarten classmates this weekend. When we went to Target to buy his birthday gift, I asked her what she wanted to buy him. Her reply, immediately, was "A sword!" So we bought him a Nerf sword and a pirate shield. His party is pirate-themed so I hope he likes it!

7. Speaking of pirates... Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, me hearties! September 19 be International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Avast! Belay!