Fall Fun!

Here is our pumpkin family. Let me introduce you...

Meet Daddy Stormcloud! An angry elf he is. Pessimistic. A Debbie Downer, Negative Nancy, a Complaining Carl. But he's our Storm-cloud and we love him!

Meet Izzy Pumpkin! A little space between her teeth, curious eyes, and those two little teeth on the bottom. Scott did a good job carving hers as well.

Meet Mommy Love! She has a big heart where her family safely resides.

Meet Erin Options! She is so energetic that she can't decide on just one theme. So give me more!!! Scott carved this one too!!

Erin, not enjoying digging inside for the nuts. What are they Erin? Seeds!

Daddy's pumpkin was outside so his pumpkin guts are freezing! Erin's was inside, so her little hands aren't cold.

Mama and Izzy watching Erin and daddy disassemble their pumpkins.

So excited to be doing pumpkins, she may have asked every 35 seconds since breakfast....

Look at those muscles at work!! Be still my heart!

Where's Waldo??

Corn maze for Erin's Orchard field trip.

This way mama!

Erin's teacher Miss Cat. She adores her!

Her other preschool teacher Miss Jen helping her pick an apple from the tree. Thanks Miss Jen.

The hay-bale tower.

Izzy came too. Daddy had to work and she was content for awhile in the sling. Corn mazes aren't great places for strollers.

Ball! Nope Izzy those are p u m p k i n s. You can call them balls if you want. Cutie!

Mmmmmm.....apple.

Happy Fall Everyone!!!!

Pumpkin Patch Adventure!

We went to Tweite's Farm just the other weekend. I had checked it out online last year, but we never made it out there. This year we did though and it was a good year for it. Erin is at a great age where she can do more things and doesn't just take off. Izzy is walking so that also helps. That place is huge! We spent an easy couple of hours there and could have even spent more time if the children weren't well past their prime.

Erin's cousin Anna came with. It is so cute to see Erin at the age where she feels reassured when someone holds hands with her.

Hubby Scott and his brother James who is Anna's dad. Almost twins don't you think? No? Yeah, me either.

Me and Izzy playing checkers, Izzy rules. She sat on the board and threw the pieces on the ground, and I picked them up.

Let me help you Uncle James. I'll find that buried treasure!

Don't eat the sand Izzy!

Sand boxes were everywhere! Make sure to wear play clothes to this place. Very dusty, dirty, and fun!

Big bouncy balls. A bit big for Izzy, but she loved them.

Off-road triking! These trikes are bad. The girls and the dads rode all over the track.

Izzy's legs didn't quite reach the pedals, but she just kept saying "vrooom" so daddy kept pushing her.

Father, daughter time.

I was there too. Taking pictures. I have proof.

Go directly to jail!
Erin is King of the Tires!

Giddyup!
The green one goes on the red one daddy.

Whoa!

Cheese!

Erin done at church. Such a fun place! We'll be going back next year for sure.

One of These.

One of my girls most definitely looks a lot more like me.

Izzy's eyes, skin tone, hair color...nearly the same. Her hair will darken over time. Believe it or not, my hair was as light and maybe even a tad lighter than her's is now.

I LOVE it that my girls are so different. They are different in looks and in personality.

Now I'm not sure if it's mostly a product of their birth order, or if it is a majority due to the personality they have ingrained into their beings.

Erin has been high-maintenance since the beginning. She has always needed a lot of attention....demanded it really. Laying her on the floor and having her play by herself? Forget it. However, Izzy will find something she is interested in and just play with it.

Izzy LOVES to eat. Erin would rather graze all day than sit down for a meal. Erin eats until the hunger pain is gone and then declares she is done. A lot of food struggles go on with her. But I think no matter who you are there is always room for dessert even if you are "full" from dinner.

Erin didn't regard Scott as part of the family until she was about two and a half. She would get angry when he came home from work because then I would try to cook dinner and Scott would try and spend some time with her. She merely saw him as an obstacle to her mama time.

Izzy is always looking for dada. She says it in such a fond voice you just know that she adores him. She will willingly go from my arms to his. Her little face lights up when she sees him. Don't get me wrong mommy is still her person of choice, but she may grow out of that.

My Kitchen Helper.

Erin is my kitchen helper. She has found some new enthusiasm for helping me cook! It is much easier than even a year ago to have her helping me in the kitchen. She loves to pour measured ingredients in, stir, and chop things with a butter knife.



Sometimes I even get a Tinkerbell Erin to help in the kitchen. Who is constantly asking "Does it taste good yet?" about the cookie dough.

Yep, it tastes good now Erin.

Most of the time when she is pour ingredients into the bowl they make it all the way in. Sometimes she is distracted, like a 4-year-old, and some of it ends up on the counter or floor. I take a deep breath and sweep as much of it into the bowl as I can. I've started telling her to aim for the middle of the bowl and that seems to help cut down on accidents.

But I can't help but love the excitement she gets from helping me in the kitchen!