Greetings from central IL. It is football season, so we are trying to teach the girls that Illinois and the Packers are our teams. MaryEllen is still putting a plug in for the Giants :-) The girls are doing great, and growing like weeds. We were getting some warmer clothes out for them recently and found that pants are a bit short. So, MaryEllen measured each girls and found out why. Sasha has grown 5 inches since March, and Dasha has grown 4 inches. Wow! At this rate they will be taller than their mommy. Each day show a new development in the girls. Dasha feeds herself pretty well now, and Sasha is learning how to love her little sister. It is very cute. She tells me when Dasha is getting into trouble, which is often it seems.

MaryEllen and I have just gotten over bad sinus infections, which were going around lately. The girls have stayed pretty healthy other than a little cold for Dasha and an ear infection for Sasha. Our weather have finally changed so we can at least go outside and play. Dasha is thankful for that. It had rained so much we were cooped up inside, but now we are enjoying some moderate fall days with temps in the 50's and low 60's and some sun.

The girls enjoyed trick or treating, and after a few houses even Dasha learned not to walk into the house when the door is openned. We collected a fair amount of candy, but haven't let the girls eat too much. They have such beautiful teeth, we don't want to ruin them. As you can see, each girl looked so cute in their Halloween costume, and wanted to wear them long after Halloween had passed. With the way they are growing, we have one year to use the costumes before they go to someone else.

We are all looking forward to Thanksgiving, and traveling to Michigan to spend time with family. This is our tradition, and the girls will grow to look forward to it as much as we do, I'm sure. We have been talking about all the reletives who will be there, including her cousin Brighton. They are just a few months apart, so they should have fun together. This will be their first year going Christmas shopping with Grandpa, and they already know to ask for WII and a computer :-)

Hope you all have a safe and thoughtful Thanksgiving, and remember to be thankful for all the things God has given all of us.

Pete and MaryEllen