Take me Back

The day after Thanksgiving, Grandma and I took Nathan, Emma, Cole & Wes to see The Muppets.  It was such a great feel-good movie!  We ALL really enjoyed it!  I spent many happy hours watching this show as a child, so it was extra fun to be able to share this with two of my kids and two nephews!

Sistas'

I am one BLESSED girl.  I have such awesome sisters!  What a treat to spend some time with them on Thanksgiving!

  "Sisters don't need words. They have perfected a language of snarls and smiles and frowns and winks - expressions of shocked surprise and incredulity and disbelief. Sniffs and snorts and gasps and sighs - that can undermine any tale you're telling."

Pam Brown

Our Thanksgiving

Lucas's enjoyed his First Thanksgiving!

 All four of our kids so enjoyed having lots of play time with their terrific cousins Jenna, Rachel, Cole and Wes!   

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Festivities

Over the last week or so we've done some fun Fall/Thanksgiving activities.  A few highlights:

 Handprint Turkeys

 Oreo Turkeys (made at a playgroup)

The picture we worked from (gives a better idea of how they are supposed to look)

 A craft at my MOPS group

Leaf Rubbings

Making & Painting fall cookies (leaves, footballs & turkeys) for Thanksgiving Day- this was lots of fun!

Emma got to dress as an Indian at school for a Thanksgiving party!

Giving to others

Every year our children are excited to participate in Operation Christmas Child.  We began when Nathan was pretty young, then added Emma a few years ago, and Samuel will likely participate next year.  They always give a box to a child the same age and gender as them.  

This year we added a little twist.  Instead of just choosing items at the store and helping to fill the boxes, Nathan & Emma had a special work day and earned their own money to shop for the children.  They helped Daddy wash both vans and cleaned the insides as well!  They worked really hard and were proud of the money they earned.  

 Mom took them shopping to pick items for the boxes (we'd already added some basics like pencils, paper, soap, etc).  They picked out a few practical items like toothbrushes and toothpaste, but chose many fun things such as a harmonica, toy dinosaurs, stickers, and a jewelry kit.  

Time to fill those boxes!

 

No more baby food?!!!

I believe Lucas is done with baby food. 
I have struggled to get him to eat more than 1 or 2 bites a day for a couple of weeks now, and this pretty much sums up his feelings about the whole thing:

 Sorry it's a little rough- it was hard to video him and try to feed him at the same time!

Future Knight

for some lucky girl...

until then, he's just Mommy's little prince...

Official 9 month photos

So, once again I was slow about getting Lucas's latest pictures out in the mail, but now that they are I thought I would post them here.  

He looks like such a little man!

Fall Foliage

I'm really enjoying the fall colors!  It's a beautiful world out there!

ivote

 

Well, they said Lucas was too young to vote, but he did get to watch Mom vote this morning and the workers gave HIM a sticker!  Doesn't he look proud?

ABC's

Samuel has LOVED the alphabet since he learned all the letters at 18 months old.  We kind of thought his interest would wane over time, but he is still going strong!

10 months!

The last 10 months have flown by and now we have a not-so-little "baby" who is about ready to venture out on his own two feet WITHOUT our help!

The picture below seemed to sum him up pretty well at this age- note the dirt goatee-- he found some by the door and ate it.  He eats more table food than baby food and wants whatever the rest of us are having whether it is food, toys, books, etc... He is into everything these days and is quite active!  Lucas is a snuggle bug; he hugs and smiles and laughs with us so freely- he is a bundle of joy!

 A picture from Lucas's sink bath the other night- the LAST he'll ever have-- this little guy is way too wild for such a small "tub", but this reminded me one of myself so I thought I'd share both...

 Lucas prefers to walk holding onto us or some other structure with just one hand.  As of about one week ago we have observed him taking 1-2 steps unassisted now and then before falling.  He is certainly not afraid of walking and if desire was all it took, he'd be running by now!  
A few recent videos of him moving around...

Pumpkin Patch!

In the craziness of the last couple of weeks I just realized that I hadn't posted pictures from our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch!   October is one of the busiest months for us and it is full of pictures
(if you haven't noticed!)

Each year since Emma was 1 year old my Mom and I have taken her (and any other little ones) to a pumpkin farm in our area.  
It is a definite fall highlight for us all. 

 They could've walked along the hay bales for hours! 

 Lucas's first time in the corn box-- a favorite for sure!

 Lucas LOVED crawling around or swimming in the corn!

 

New measurements for this year!

 

 

 

This picture cracks me up!

Lucas and the pumpkins

The kids having a special snack with Grandma- mmmm fudge & fresh apple cider!