A Day at the Arboretum

John took off work Monday to spend a little time with me and the kids. I had wanted to go to the arboretum to see the fall flowers and pumpkins so we headed off that direction. It was really chilly Monday (we should have gone last week), but we still had fun. I bought a coat for Jake Sunday night since he didn't have one and John didn't like me putting him in one of his sisters on Saturday (the girl has 30 coats I think!). I should have drug out our stroller blanket too, but once we got moving around and when we were in the sun it wasn't bad at all.
On Monday's they have a petting zoo, face painting, games and crafts for kids and even a little music. Our first stop was the petting zoo. The kids were all excited (especially Abby - she had been saying "cow" our entire drive so we were really hoping for a cow at the petting zoo, but the goats, chickens and miniature horse were good enough). We were just about to get the kids out of the stroller to see all the animals when I hear "Wendy!". I looked up and saw Mary and Audrey! What a surprise!! She was supposed to meet her playgroup there, but that never happened so we ended up chatting and letting the kids run around together for a while.
Abby was in heaven with all the animals. She didn't know which animal to pet first. Jake took to a fuzzy little chicken. He plopped down right next to it and started petting it. I think he thought it was a little dog, like Sadi (I couldn't tell it was a chicken at first), but that's okay. I have to say I was very impressed with the animals...there were so many kids running around petting them and not one was phased by it.

Next we headed over to the little house made of pumpkins. It was really neat and Mary grabbed a cute family picture of us.

The kids loved looking out the window at all the pumpkins (and I think they enjoyed standing on the pumpkins to look out the window too). We managed to grab a few of all three kids looking out. Very cute!

I just thought this was the cutest picture ever of Abby walking by the row of pumpkins.

Next we headed to the pumpkin patch. You could purchase pumpkins, but the kids loved just climbing over them all. Plus we just got a few pumpkins at the pumpkin patch on Saturday.
My little monkeys!

At one point, Abby and John took off chasing a bird. Jake and I continued to play with the pumpkins and later he found the metal sign to play with. He was banging away, making a lot of racket when John and Abby made their way back to the pumpkin patch trying to find us. He heard the banging and looked over our direction and saw it was Jake making all the noise.

The kids had a lot of fun, although they haven't learned you can't pick every flower. They kept picking flowers off the mums and throwing them on the ground laughing. Sorry arboretum!

Helping with the Laundry

Last night I was doing laundry and the kids decided to help me a bit. They dumped most of the clothes out of the dryer into the basket then proceeded to climb in and play a bit. Too cute!

The Pumpkin Patch

We finally made it to a pumpkin patch this weekend and had a blast. We went in the morning so I bundled the kids up thinking it would be really chilly, but we all got hot in the sun. It turned out to be a perfect morning and we all had fun with the pumpkins. The kids loved running from pumpkin to pumpkin and pushing the wagons they had available to use as you picked out your pumpkins.
Here's a few pics from our adventures (you can double click on each photo to enlarge it)...
The kids immediately started running from pumpkin to pumpkin laughing and beating each one to hear the sounds each made.
The patch had this great kids area for them to pick out mini pumpkins. Abby and Jake loved sorting through the pumpkins and carrying them around. Although in the end, they opted to get a little gourd vs. a pumpkin.
Jake took a break with the pumpkins while Abby decided to try and pull them all. She kept getting frustrated when the wagon wouldn't budge.
There was a large wooden windmill in the middle of the pumpkin patch that the kids loved. Jake kept pointing and looking up at it. Abby decided it made a good jungle gym.

We managed to get a few pics of the kids sitting with the pumpkins, although they weren't always looking at the camera. Here's one the cutest.

Jake loved putting the balls in the holes of this bean bag toss game, but he couldn't figure out where all the balls went. He'd put them in the holes, then run around to the back to check it out.

The Fall Festival

Friday night we took the kids to their first fall festival for halloween. They had fun dressing up in their little pirate costumes and Jake even wore his hat the entire time. Abby's is a bit harder to keep on so she has decided it's not worth the effort to try and wear her hat. Oh well, she still looks cute.
We got so many looks (again, we took the kids out with their harnesses, but the place was so crowded I could just see one of the kids taking off in the crowd and John or I not being able to grab them), "how cute", and even a few "too bad the harnesses are parrots".
The kids are still too little for most of the games, but we did play the "Fisher's of Men" game (the festival was at a church), watched a puppet show and even petted a lizard. The kids were confused on the whole fishing game and John and I ate the candy they "caught", but we all had fun. They were also a little confused at the puppet show. It was really for older kids so some of the music scared them a little. Abby was also confused b/c the sound was coming out of speakers on the side of the room, not from the puppets mouths. Jake was a little more into it and both sat patiently the whole time. Well, until a couple of kids sat in front of us eating popcorn. Then Jake was signing more and Abby even tried to steal the popcorn from the kids.
There were also a few bounce houses, but they didn't have one for the super little kids so we decided to skip the bounce houses for now.

Little Picassos

Today I finally broke out the finger paints for the first time. I would have done it outside if it would have been warmer, but since it was chilly, we opted for the highchairs. I gave the kids each two colors and let them go at it. Jake was more into it than Abby, but really neither of them were fond of the mess. Abby tried to eat it more than anything, but did manage to get a little paint on her paper.
Oh well, next week I'll see if playdough is a bigger hit.

It's T-Ball time!

This week I got the kids a t-ball set to help them practice their eye/hand coordination. I of course had to buy an extra bat so each kid could have one and we wouldn't have a fight on our hands (plus they were both armed this way if one decided to try the bat out on the other :-). They had a blast, although they kept holding the bat backwards. I guess it was easier to hold the fat end vs. the little end. Oh well, we'll work on that later. I'm happy to say no one tried to hit anyone else, although apparently the red bat is the "good" bat. They both wanted that one. Jake also took it upon himself to be the bat boy and chased after every ball, even when he was the hitter!

Abby's First Haircut

Well, Abby had her first hair cut this morning. It was about time! Her bangs kept getting in her eyes and it was driving her crazy. I've been worried about how she'd do as she really isn't a big fan of me even just brushing her hair. I had bad thoughts about what she'd do when we not only brushed her hair but tried to cut it as well. Someone was going to lose a finger!
But, she did great! I think it was really because she was scared. Amanda changed salons last week so she didn't have that cool little chair Jake got to use when he got his first hair cut, which I was a little sad about, but she had a pretty cool booster seat for the kids. Abby's face was solemn the whole time. She held on to her little duck and watched both Amanda and I very closely. Afterwards, Amanda even managed to put a little braid in Abby's hair. It's still in, or at least it was when I laid her down for her nap, so we'll soon see if she left it in over nap time. Maybe not.
She didn't really have much cut...just her bangs and a little trim in the back and sides to even things out. We also got Jake in for a much needed cut, but I didn't grab any pictures of his cut since it wasn't his first time.

They grow up so fast!

This past week we made the switch from eating off our highchair trays to eating off the table. What a big step! I didn't think we were ready as we still threw plates and food off our trays, but I thought maybe if I give them the extra responsibility they'll surprise me. They are actually doing okay. You still have to watch them b/c they will toss their plates when they're done eating (with or without food still left on their plates), but for the most part, they're doing really well. They're still using their own plates, not really ready to let them use mine, but maybe soon.

Maybe after the holidays we'll start practicing on regular cups. They love to drink out of regular cups, but they get everything down the front of their shirt so I know it will be a process.

(yes, he's smiling with banana in his mouth)
(the kids prefer to eat pancakes and sandwiches in big pieces now, vs. torn into bite size pieces...I guess it makes them feel older)

A Playdate at the Park

Last week we went to a play date at the park. It was a fun little park that I hadn't been to before and since my mom was here she got to "tag" along as well. Actually, she was in charge of one kid, me the other. They ran all over that park climbing on the playground, swinging, chasing birds and attempting to take a swim (we stopped that!). I tried so hard to get a picture of the kids together, but it was impossible! I really wanted one of them looking at the fountain, but they wouldn't stand still (especially together) for 2 seconds.

Abby loved this thing and kept riding it over and over.

Jake gave it a try, but wasn't as fond of it. He also didn't make it bounce/spring as much as Abby. She really got into it.

You can't tell from the pictures, but this window angled out over the ground. Jake thought it was the neatest thing to lean over and look out.

Abby took a quick look, but couldn't really tell what all the fuss was about.

Abby looked so cute I thought it would make a great picture of the two of them looking out at the fountain. Hmm, how do I get Jake to stand next to her.

This was as close as we could get Jake to stand next to Abby. She eventually came over and stood next to him, but by the time I got the camera up and took the picture... she was already off.

This was the only picture I got of the two of them together. They are running all over the park chasing birds.