An Autumn Day

It's been a warm week and we've tried to take advantage of it! We finally made it outside yesterday for a picnic lunch before nap time.

A blanket on the ground was more fun than the picnic table:)

photo shoot:)

Hugs...and then mommy came to the rescue!

my loves

the girls

friends hangin' out:)

Neo drinking water out of Caedmon's truck

A Sweet Moment

Caedmon placed the piano next to Carys, set it on some prerecorded rhythm and started dancing. Carys thoroughly enjoyed his antics! She loves her big brother and he loves her, as long as she isn't trying to grab at his stuff! It warms my heart and makes me laugh when they make each other giggle!

Watch Out World

This was the first time she rolled consecutively in order to get to something of interest. Corey was in the living room with the kids and I was in the kitchen and kept hearing, "no no baby, no no!" I came out and realized that Caedmon wasn't too sure about sharing his stuff. Yes, we have already begun to deal with sharing between siblings and she's not even 5 months old yet!:/

You can just see in her how badly she wants to go go go and keep up with Caedmon. Needless to say, I will not have long before I'm chasing them both!

She did her best to get into that tunnel...but to no avail.

My First Pageant

My 16 year old friend, Sam, asked me about a month ago if I would help her with her talent for the Miss Bellaire Scholarship Pageant. I was happy to oblige! Her theme was "A Salute to My Soldiers" and so she picked out a tear-jerker of a song and I figured out an interpretation for it and taught her the signs. She was awesome! She didn't know any signs before we started. She learned the signs, learned to put them together...in a song...and make them flow beautifully! Oh, and one of the most important things...facial expression. She did it all! She was awesome! I was so proud! And the crowd cried!:)

I couldn't get a good video of her that night, so I'm going to have her sign the song for me again and I'll put up the video.

signing
(oh, and her talent was definitely the best!:))

She wasn't crowned Miss Bellaire,
although she should have been, but she WAS first runner up!

Dad had to get a piece of the action

a mother/daughter moment

I had fun helping out and playing a part, but I'm praying my daughter does not want to do such things one day!!! I think I was just as nervous as Sam was!:/

Wildlife

Now that autumn is here, we're enjoying the wildlife more frequently. The deer are very brave of late. This one is in our garden - our garden is right next to our house! Caedmon loves it!

A Visit From Ben

It's always a good time when Ben comes to visit. He's so easy going - more like family than a guest! Caedmon especially loves when he comes and makes himself a huge pest the whole time! From the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to bed. Poor Ben.

Thank you Ben for entertaining and giving me a break!:)

Play Date

Who needs the toys when you can play in the bin they go in?!:)

The Ultrasaucer Returns

I know this is a small thing, but it seems like she's grown up so much just being able to sit up in this thing and grab hold of things. She enjoys her perch here, most of the time.:)

Apples, Apples and More Apples

We went apple picking again a couple weeks ago. It was fairly warm and dry and it seemed like a fun way to spend some time outside. And you can't ever have too much homemade applesauce right?!:)

Grandpa, it's good stuff, but it doesn't beat yours!

Goofball!

Helping Daddy

I couldn't believe Corey was letting him play with the drill, but then I grabbed the camera rather than taking it away, so I guess I'm no better!

Absolutely Precious

looks like a sweet conversation

Daddy's little girl, don't you think:)

Doctor Appts. and Measurements

Caedmon and Carys both had doctor appointments on Monday for well-child check-ups - Caedmon's two year and Carys' 4 month.

Here are the stats:

Caedmon: 33lbs. (93%)
39" (95%)


Carys: 14lbs. 9.2 oz. (74%)
26 1/4" (95%)

The doctors always comment on my kids' height. Especially after looking at Corey and me! Guess my family's genes are coming through pretty strong! Dr. said Caedmon's height is that of an average 3 1/2 year old!

This part of the appointment was a whole lot more fun than the vaccine portion! They brought an extra nurse in just so I'd have some help with comforting my children! Hate making my kids endure that!:/

An Introduction to Books

We finally gave Carys a cloth book the other day when she was losing it because she wanted the book Caedmon and I were reading. I didn't think that started this early! But she's the second child and I can already tell she's going to be a handful to keep up with as she tries to keep up with her big brother!

When I found Caedmon's first picture with a book, I realized we gave a book to him a lot earlier. Oops. I've just started giving her toys to play with as well. You'd think I'd be more on top of things this time around...guess not.

wow, look at this cool thing!

this is great mom!

Truth be told, I think she's more interested in putting it in her mouth!

Caedmon was just over 2 months old
when first introduced, thanks to Aunt Lori!:)
He loved looking at the pictures!

Potty Training - A Process

October 13th. That is the day Caedmon went to the bathroom in the toilet for the first time! We've had his training potty in the bathroom for months now, but ever since he turned 2, Corey keeps saying it's time to get down to business. I've been more of the mind set that when he's ready, then we'll go for it, and until then, I'm not going to push it.

He hasn't been real enthusiastic about it. We ask him fairly often if he wants to use the bathroom on the big toilet, but he usually replies "no." And I don't push it. This particular day, he wanted to. We sat and we sat and we sat. And when I asked him if he was done, he replied, "no" and so Corey got him a book and I used his training potty as a chair and fed Carys as we continued to wait. And what do you know, in the midst of all this sitting and waiting I suddenly here tinkling! We praised him loudly and enthusiastically and even went to the Moka for a treat!

He hasn't done anything since.:/

Apples, Pumpkins, Hay Rides and Corn Mazes

October 11, we headed to Rennie's Orchard with friends. I LOVE this time of year and now I have kids to do all the fun stuff with!:) It turned out to be a VERY cold day and we saw the first snow flurries fly! Despite the cold, we had a blast and I wouldn't mind doing it all over again!:)

hay maze

exploring

more exploring

Inside a tee pee

Caedmon is the blue you see behind the corn

I followed someone who had a better idea of how to make it out!:)

They cheated in order to make it out of the corn maze:)

Packed a picnic lunch -
I'm pretty sure the temperature dropped even more while we ate!

We went on the hayride (Corey stayed behind with Carys),
but I had given my camera to Corey and forgot to get it back before the ride.:(
So this is not us, but that's what we rode on.
It was a long ride through fields and there was some gorgeous scenery!

They had a nice fire going and boy was it needed!

Worn out!

Homemade Applesauce

Mmmm mmm good! We picked a bushel or so of apples and made applesauce with most of them. I've saved some for apple pie, apple bundt cake, and just for eating.

Caedmon helping - we threw the apple cores out for the deer

Picking Apples

When there was a let up in the rain, we went apple picking with friends. The boys were so glad to be outside and enjoyed eating apples as well as running through the orchard. The apples tasted wonderful! I love this time of year!

Waving at the tractor

Don't you wish you could be carried around in a sling?!
Yeah, I got sick of walking back to my basket with just a few apples...:)

Enjoying some freedom