Pumpkin Patch 2012

We went to Motley's Pumpkin Patch on October 21, 2012.  Both sets of grandparents were able to join us.  Dylan had been talking about going to the Pumpkin Patch for weeks!  The actual "patch" was already a little picked over, but he wanted to pick a small pumpkin "just my little size", so it actually worked out perfectly.  It was not a huge place, but was very clean and had plenty of activities!

Caleb enjoyed pat-patting the huge pumpkin, riding on Pawpaw's lap during the hayride, and taking a break in his stroller with Nana watching him!  I love this lil' punkin!

Dylan enjoyed the slides, the train ride with Daddy, riding in the wagon with Pawpaw, and feeding the goats with Pop.  He LOVED feeding the animals!  

These two bring me laughter EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Decent family picture!

Caleb enjoying Pawpaw and Nana!

Dylan cheesing with Pop and Mawmaw!

A horse is a horse, of course, of course!

 Happy Fall Ya'll!

St. Louis Family Trip

We spent the first weekend of October in St. Louis with our boys!  We wanted to take Dylan to the St. Louis Zoo.  He loves our zoo so much and we had heard that the St. Louis Zoo was great!  We drove up Thursday afternoon and made it just in time for bed.  Ha!  We stayed at the Embassy Suites right across from the St. Louis Rams stadium.  It was a great downtown location and a very nice, new hotel. We knew rain was in the forecast for Friday, so we planned "indoor" activities.
That morning, we went to the City Museum.  It is an indoor playground/climbing/crawling/cave/slide mecca.  Hard to describe if you haven't ever been there.  By far, my eldest son's perfect place!

We spent all morning there.  Caleb was a great baby.  He took a nap in the stroller for most of the morning, and then just watched all the kiddos running around.  

After naps back at the hotel, we headed to the Magic House.  It is just a huge version of Museum of Discovery.  It has 4 stories of hands-on fun.  Water tables, a baby zone, tree house, pizza parlor, bubble room, etc.  We enjoyed it, but all decided we would skip that on our next trip and maybe opt for Grants Farm (pending it is not raining!)  Caleb absolutely loved the Baby Zone.  He loved the baby in the mirror. :-)

Saturday morning we got up and headed to the zoo at 9:30.  It was 45 degrees outside.  We bought the boys hats at Target the night before and we were very glad that we had them with us!  They were experiencing a cold front!  It was definitely cold, but it didn't stop our fun.  We had a blast and spent 6 hours there.  We saw every animal possible.  When we left, we asked Dylan to tell us his favorite animal.  He paused, and then just said, "They were all my favorites!"  We totally understood.  It was animal palooza!  How could you pick just ONE favorite?!?

The hippos were amazing!

Caleb watching the hippos!

All tuckered out!

The penguin exhibit was amazing!

Blurry, but I love this shot!

Sleepy Caleby on the carousel!

Train ride!

Snuggles on the train!

Checking out the camels with Mom!

Mr. Owl loved the zoo!

Lil' bear was cozy and happy!

After our big day at the zoo, we at supper within walking distance of our hotel at a local Italian spot, Charlie Gitto.  It was awesome! My boys tore up some spaghetti!!!!  Sunday morning, we were up early, so Dylan and Daddy enjoyed the indoor pool and jacuzzi.  

We headed home around 9am.  Vacationing with two little boys is a lot more work than relaxation, but we made so many memories and were already brainstorming about our next little getaway!  We love doing things with our family of four, even if the adults are worn out by vacations end!

It's the Simple Things

Happiness is...
 Acorns.  Squirrels.  The Outdoors.  

Dylan learned about squirrels and acorns at Mother's Day Out this past week.  He was proud of his acorn that he found on their walk!  So much so, that we searched for acorns the next morning while Caleb took his morning nap.  The teacher in me gets so fired up when those "teachable moments" continue way past their starting point!  My big boy loves to be outside.

Happiness is...
The comfort of knowing your child is being nurtured.
Dylan is doing so well in his Mother's Day Out Program.  When I decided on this one, I went with my mother's instinct and I am so happy that I did.  My sister says a mother's instinct is God nudging you in the right direction.  I would like to think that is true!  Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Alisa nurture my baby to pieces.  They hug him, tell him "I Love You" and take care of him from 9-2, two days a week.  Ladies, if you ever make it to this blog, know that you are very special to our family.  Honestly, it has built our mother-son relationship already.  He LOVES his school, and I get to spend time with the baby one-on-one.  I am also ready and excited to go pick him up and hear about his day!

Happiness is...
A good nap.

If you venture back to one of my previous posts here, you will see that Dylan has struggled for a while with naps.  I was pretty certain that he would not nap at Mother's Day Out.  He naps for me at home great, and he will nap at my mom's house, but I wasn't so convinced.  Well. I am so proud to say that Dylan is taking naps at MDO!  AND, he is falling asleep by himself, no rocking needed!  Let's just say, this Mommy's heart was jumping for joy!  And when I picked him up, he was SO proud of himself.  That made it even better!  I think he feels comfortable and that is why he does so well!  Mrs. Kelly was pretty proud of him too!


It's the simple things.
Acorns.  Squirrels.  Nurturing.  A good nap. 
I'm going to relish in the simple, happy things in life.
Care to join me?

Sweet boys

I just had to share the silhouettes we had done of the boys yesterday. I was amazed at the detail and craftsmanship in these pictures! They were cut using small scissors,freehand, in less than10 minutes each! I can't hardly wait to frame them and get them up in my house. I love the perfection of both boys hair! One boy with tons of body and one with sweet curls! He captured them both so well! We may have to do it again in a few years!

Here is a plug for Mr. Tim Arnold. You can email him profile pictures and he will creat a silhouette for you. We were able to do it in person at a children's shop in town. Neat experience!
www.silhouette-man.com. Go check it out!

Just one month and....

this little charmer will be one year old.  BUT, I am NOT going to talk about that right now!  

I am going to tell you how much fun this little guy has added to our family!

 He does absolutely love his activity table.  Dylan did not have one, so his Pawpaw and Nana got him this one for his baby shower.  I am so glad they did!  Now that he pulls up on everything, he is really enjoying it!  He loves to open and close the computer, and do some "head-banging" to the music!

He also loves the toy above.  It is a little jungle gym that has a ramp to drop balls on and an elephant where you drop balls in his ear and have them come out of his trunk!  Pop and Mawmaw got this for him for Christmas and he loves it!  He also does his little "head bobbing" jig to the music and he knows exactly where to put all of the little balls.  It is so fun to watch him play and clap after he does it!

I must say, Caleb is going to be our curly headed little boy!  That makes this Mommy just smile from ear to ear!  He has the sweetest curls around his ears and at the nape of his neck.  And I have already warned his Daddy, that I will not be cutting ANY of them for a very long time!

We took some pictures outside for a project for my Dad for his birthday.  While the Hogs are not doing much to impress on the football field, this little boy was pretty impressive with his football skills!  I love his chubby little cheeks!

Caleb, here are your 11 month milestones:
-20lbs. 4oz.
-You sit yourself back up from your army crawl position.
-You are pulling up on everything!  The very first time you pulled up to your feet was 9-15-12
-You will walk alongside the couch, ottoman, bathtub, etc.
-You decided to crawl the "normal" way, but still move your quickest with that army crawl.

-You have a budding vocabulary: see above.
-You want to be right where your brother is, playing with his toys, and laughing at his crazy antics!
-You still are very attached to Mommy (insert Mommy giggle)
-You have the most beautiful dark blue eyes.  Strangers comment on them!
-You are still so laid back and you love to cuddle.
-BUT, you have a little attitude that rears its head usually around milk or meal time when we aren't fast enough!
-We are just in awe of how much we love you little baby boy!  I think Mommy and Daddy will call you "the baby" for the rest of your life!  Caleb William, you are the best thing that has happened to us since your big brother and we look forward to many milestones to come.  I have a feeling the "walking" one is not too far around the corner!