Daydreamin...

Ok, this might not exactly be a PSA for safe driving, but did you ever get all the way home from somewhere and realize that your rear view mirror is directed at the cutie pie in the backseat and you haven't taken your eyes off her the whole ride home?! She was so adorable! I put in a movie for her to try to keep her awake until we got home. If she sleeps for 5 minutes in the car, that's it- naptime's over! She's only recently been interested in television and mostly it's just to push the on/off button over and over. But strapped into her carseat she didn't really have that option so she watched. It was a Little Einstein video and for those who are familiar, she patted along with Leo and the crew and raised her arms high in the air and shouted "Blast-Off!!" Well... she shouted, "Aaaaa," but that translates properly in my book. What a little doll! I just love this baby!!! I couldn't take my eyes off her!!

Stay awake!!!! Please!!

Off the Beaten Path...

Today was all planned out, we were off to Costco to stock up on necessary staples such as apple bread and a 36 pack of toilet paper. We drove past "Village Fest" and the kids were so excited to see such a glorious carnival right in our neighborhood we just had to stop and check it out. Wow, the prices on those carnival rides held together with a giant rubber band aren't cheap! $12 to ride the ferris wheel? Yikes! But Ryan definitely had $12 worth of enthusiasm so round and round we went. They also went on the swings and the fake Dumbo ride, and now we're all ramped up for our trip to Disney next month.

Happy Birthday Johnny Appleseed!!

What a perfect Fall day! It was the first day we've had to break out all our new fall sweaters and jeans. Put a pair of jeans on a little baby and they immediately grow into a big kid, don't they?


This afternoon we went to a birthday party for Johnny Appleseed. We read lots of stories and made some apple crafts and taste tested our favorite types of apples. So we were inspired for dinner to bake an apple pie... actually we were inspired to have Mrs. Smith bake one for us... with the crumbly topping please! I think Claire enjoyed the ala mode part of the pie more than the pie itself. After her ice cream was gone she was walking around the table begging for more from all of us.

Elmo Party

Claire and her 2 little friends had an Elmo party, what a fun afternoon! We played with Tickle Me Elmo and Hokey Pokey Elmo and listened to Elmo music. Sarah made a delicious Elmo cake and we partied all afternoon while all the big kids were at school. (They were not too pleased to have missed out on the fun!) But look at Claire... how much fun does it look like she's having?!

Pumpkin Patch

My favorite day of the year is the day we spend at Cox Farms... yes, even more than Christmas! There is no stress with entertaining guests, no presents, no worrying "did I get the right gift?" - at the pumpkin patch it's all about having wholesome family fun! And this place, which we've been going to for 10 years, yes, before we had kids Tim used to take a day off work and meet me there when I took my classes on field trips there from school, is the best place around for Fall fun. It's crowded, but not Disney World crowded- it's big enough to accomodate the masses of people. Even waiting in line is entertaining because you're watching little kids swing around on a rope swing and land in a huge mess of foam blocks- or gliding down a huge steep slide giggling and smiling - what could be cuter?!

King and Queen of the Haystack!
I remember when they were too afraid to climb up this huge haystack!

Why wouldn't you wear a skirt to a farm?
It was a very hot day, we pleaded with her to wear short sleeves,
but she wanted to wear something "Halloweenish."
This little froggie slide was just perfect for Claire.
She could climb up and slide down all by herself.
Which she did about 10 times in a row!

We loved the Hayride!

What a fun afternoon we shared with our good friends!
We used to hang out with Holly and Rich when it was just us couples... now there are 10 of us!! (not counting the giant ear of corn that popped out of the corn maze just in time to join our family photo) What a crowd!

All Banged Up

My poor little baby!

As Ryan said, she looks like she was boxing... and the other guy won!

Thankfully, I was not around when this happened at the playground this evening. She had a brush with the curb. Oddly enough she didn't cry very much. She's one tough little girl!

Zoo Day

Claire and her little buddy Gavin took a trip to the zoo! We walked all around the zoo and checked out all the animals! She waved to every animal we visited, and none of them waved back! Poor little Claire! She is not very impressed with animals, she much prefers people. The elephant really freaked her out, which I can kind of understand. And we saw some big snakes and huge fish. Usually at the zoo we see a lot of sleeping animals but today the pandas were out wrestling around and playing together and the tiger and cheetahs were walking around. It was a great day at the zoo.

Claire's favorite part of the day was playing on the pizza playground. She climbed on the giant olive and chunks of cheese and tried to balance walking around the crust.

Whoa... it's a long way down to the bottom of this cheese slide!

Wheeee! I made it!

Bye Gavin!! See you again soon!

Already 15 months!!

Claire is 15 months old! She had her check up and was in a great mood, happily playing with the doctor. She grew over 2 inches since her last check up! She's still waking up to eat every 3 hours at night, all night. No one has told she's not a newborn anymore!

She's the quietest baby I've ever known, taking everything in but not saying anything. She points at things and nods vigorously, indicating YES- I want that!! Dada is her one and only word so far. Tim is thrilled that she says dada all the time, but I told him not to get too excited because she points to everything including the garbage can and says dada. Just this week she finally learned to say mama. And I know she means me because she wanders through the house looking for me, calling my name and runs to me for hugs when she finds me.

She is very curious and investigates things like the other kids never did. She's also very adventurous, climbing playground structures fearlessly. I don't remember Ryan or Katie going up and down the stairs independently at this age.

She still is up on the kitchen table a few hours of each day stealing crayons from the kids and eating them. Crayola is her favorite food group... she will no sooner see a marker across the room and BAM the lid is off and she's chewed off the tip with her 4 little teeth and and her mouth is turning a rainbow of colors. Unfortunately she seems to prefer black!

She loves to blow kisses, but they come out of her ear!!

She loves to read, she's always pulling books out of her basket for storytime. She tosses the book at me and then turns around and backs into my lap and plops right down. Her favorite story at the moment is From Head to Toe by Eric Carle. She digs through the bookshelves until she finds it and will sit in my lap and read that book over and over again. It's so much fun! Here she is reading her favorite pages...

Just Look at Her!!

Claire was in such a SILLY mood today!

I couldn't stop taking pictures of her!

She was so cute!!

The Big Sandbox

We had a whirlwind trip to Virginia Beach this weekend. I remember the days of our nice long weekends in VB, we'd get there on Thursday evening and stay through Sunday night. Now, thanks to school and Saturday morning sports, we can't leave until Saturday afternoon and it's a quick 24 hour visit. But we packed a lot into those 24 hours. Tim got to surf twice with his old friend who was also visiting family in the area, we ate at our 2 favorite restaurants, went to a movie, and the kids played all day at the beach and both of them got to practice surfing. Tim's brother brought his ginormous private investigator camera and stood offshore snapping pictures of the kids surfing. Claire ran around the beach aimlessly - she was so exhausted, but refused to rest- she kept falling and landing face first in the sand. She just loves playing at the beach. Ryan and Katie were making up silly games and running in and out of the water pretending there was a tidal wave. We definitely have 3 beachy kids!

The Soccer Princess

Katie was easily the cutest little girl on the field this morning at her first soccer game. All decked out in her pink pigtails, her pink skirt, with her pink ball, she happily bounced around the field for an hour and loved every second of it. I was skeptical that she would agree to play this season, but she really wanted Daddy to coach her in something, and I don't see Tim teaching a tap dancing class anytime soon so soccer was it! Her team scored 3 goals, and as she said, she helped the team with all her running. And I couldn't have been more proud of my little girl.

Tubby Time

Claire loves bathtime! I know Ryan and Katie loved bathtime when they were babies too, but I'm sure I've just forgotten their enthusiasm. Claire hangs over the edge of the tub waiting for it to fill with water. She splashes and plays until it's time to get out. And the protests are loud when bathtime is over. She insists on getting in whenever Ryan and Katie get a bath, even though she doesn't really need one nearly as often as they do! But she doesn't want to miss out on anything!

Rainbows and Peaceful Blissful Silence

I can't remember when this house was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Maybe never. I have the tv on volume 2 and I can actually hear it! Ryan is at school, I just dropped off Katie for her first day of preschool, and Claire is sound asleep. Wow! How long can this last? I need to savor the moment. I might really like my schedule this year.

Katie is excited to be in the Rainbow class this year. Rainbows are one of her favorite things to draw and paint, so she fits right in! Miss Wendi is going to be a great teacher for her, and we're excited for a great year! It was nice to return to a familar setting and visit all of our teachers from last year.

There's 2 Hours I Won't Get Back

... ugh, I had flashbacks to elementary school PE classes, standing around in the outfield picking daisies and making mud pies. This was the first of 12 games, and after 45 minutes, Ryan hadn't been at bat once, and no balls went anywhere near him in the outfield. The game ended up being only 2 innings... 2 innings in 2 hours!! Holy moley, it was so slow and painstakingly boring!! At least at practice everyone is constantly playing- hitting, throwing, catching, running the bases. At the game, we had to watch as each child from both teams individually learned how to play the game. Everyone only got 2 turns at bat, about 1 minute of action in a 2 hour game. Ryan seemed to enjoy it, but it's going to be a loooong season for me!

Girls, I was thinking the SAME thing!!

Heart Gone Walking

What a flood of emotions it was for me and Tim today! We sobbed all the way home from the bus stop! I mean sobbed!! It couldn't have been any harder if we were shipping him off to war! I think I'm starting to make a recovery now, but there were so many emotions running through me as I sent my little baby off into the big big world. Today it's Kindergarten, tomorrow it will be college graduation, and it will all happen in the blink of an eye. As we stood there waiting for the bus, I saw his whole future flash past my eyes... will he be a boy scout? Will he play an instrument in the band? What sports will he want to participate in? Will he be in any honors classes? What will his favorite subjects be? What kind of car will he save for? Will I let him drive? ever? Where will he want to go to college? There are so many hopes, dreams, and expectations I have for my children, and this was the very first step towards all of them coming true. So the tears fell! Tears of joy, pride, and a little sadness that my baby is growing up too fast!

We all knew this day would come...

It was only a matter of time...

The moment I was dreading!
And down the stairs she goes...