Farewell October

I think I've set a personal blogging record by creating 10 posts in one month!

For not having very artistic parents, I was kind of impressed with our little jack-o-lanterns.


"Yuck, Daddy! Even I have my limit as to wear I stick these little fingers."


No bonus points for having candles on hand. We had to resort to using flashlights instead.

Double Trouble

Scott often calls me into the other room by saying, "Natalie's getting into trouble!" I usually come in the room to find Natalie standing on something...a chair, an end table, a toy tub, etc. This line isn't as worrisome to me as it once was. Natalie getting into "trouble" is becoming more of the norm. Scott's picked up on this, so today, he upped the ante.

This evening, I heard, "Natalie and I are finding choking hazards!" I'm still not sure what he was referring to, but it did work at getting me into the room at a much faster speed than normal. Oh brother!



Jon and Scott spent a hour or so putting together a train set that Jon had from his childhood. (I'm not sure who had more fun.)

Natalie pulled out her hair tie, threw on a hat, climbed in the chair, and was oh-so-proud of her new look. Where's Natalie?!

Already 17 months old!

My Little Pumpkins

We haven't done many pumpkin/fallish activities in the past, but this year we are really getting into it! We've visited the orchard(s) several times now, and the kids are having a blast. It's so fun to relive fun childhood moments through them! :)


This "free-for-kids" corn maze proved to be quite challenging. Our family spent a loooong time in the maze, much to Natalie's delight. We're blaming her for getting us lost several times. Jon and I were very close to just picking up our kids and walking through the corn in order to escape. After spending so long in the child's maze, we didn't dare step foot in the adult one! :)




Good job looking at the camera, Mom. The two turkeys were still mesmerized by all of the pumpkins!




*The winter caps, double hoods, etc. might be overkill. Jon keeps reminding me that it's fall- not winter. Better safe, than sorry. :)

HAPPY FALL!

Home Ec?

Getting to lick BOTH beaters (I refrained this time) + toys all over the floor + bare feet + standing on a kitchen chair + sister napping + chocolate covering his face and staining his shirt=one happy kid


Before diving into this mess, I asked Scott if he wanted to work on a school lesson with me or make Oreo balls. (Yes...I've been on a bit of an Oreo ball kick lately.) No pictures are needed to inform you of what he chose. I may not be cut out for homeschooling. Or...perhaps you're not suppose to give the child a choice?!?! Especially one involving chocolate??!! And...for inquiring minds...no, we do not know what we're going to do when it comes to school yet. Right now, nothing sounds like a great option. Could we just freeze time and continue to make Oreo balls together at 10:25 in the morning? Such "sweet" times!

Natalie Meets Her Match

We took the kids to the zoo this week. Natalie hadn't been for a long time, so this was the first time she was really into the animals. She growled at many of the animals. It was fun to see her reaction!


Mr. Scott was eager to go from exhibit to exhibit quickly. He was there for a different reason...to ride the train. He kept saying, "Let's keep moving so we can go and get on that train!" When we were ready to get our train tickets, we learned that the train was being repaired and was not running that day. :( Scott took the news well, but we had to answer questions about the broken train for the rest of our visit. Hopefully next time, little man...

Favorite animals of the visit:
Scott: penguins
Natalie: snakes (She hissed at them!)
Lindsey: dolphins
Jon: elephants (Although I think he was just saying that to appease me...guess he didn't want to play the "let's all go around and name our favorite animal game" as we pulled out of the parking lot.)

It was a good day! :)

Buddies

The kids have been holding hands at least briefly on almost every car trip this past week. Natalie usually initiates this and gets mad when Scott grows tired of this game. Regardless, it makes me smile every time!

Their friendship is growing by leaps and bounds. They are playing together and both seem to be enjoying one another's company.


They played together in the basement for over an hour the other day. Jon and I kept going down to check on them and were thrilled to see them having so much fun together. We tried it again the next day, and it only lasted about ten minutes, but hey...it's a start in the right direction!


After Natalie got scolded for dumping out an entire container of tissues the other day, I watched as Scott "secretly" handed Natalie another box upside down to see if she would do the same thing with it. Since he's the oldest and "responsible" child, he certainly wasn't going to dump them out for himself, but it sure would be fun to watch/assist his little sister into trouble.



All together now on 3...


We had to get creative during our week without TV/DVDs. The kids requested several play sessions in Natalie's crib.


Getting them both to look at the camera at the same time is getting a little easier.

Well...at least some of the time...

Courageous

I interrupt the regularly scheduled blog post of the week to bring you this important movie plug...


Jon and I had the opportunity to see the movie Courageous this afternoon. Now I understand that when one's favorite movies include "Cool Runnings" and "Facing the Giants", that one loses a bit of credibility. However, forget that and understand that Courageous is TRULY a movie worth seeing!! Jon, who proclaims to not like lame movies, also agrees that Courageous is a great movie. He used the words "well done" and "refreshing" to describe it. (Being a cop, he couldn't help but pick apart some of their police chases/fights, but hey...that wasn't the point of the movie.) So...my final plug...plan to go see Courageous if you haven't to support this fine film! We give it two (or four) thumbs up!

A plug also goes to my mother-in-law (a.k.a. Grammy) for providing baby-sitting so we could go see the show. She faithfully baby-sits each week, and it's a definite blessing to have her help.

After seeing a movie about fathers, I have to salute my dad who always went (and still goes) the extra mile. He was very active in my life and has had a huge impact on it. He and my mom were the parents that were always at my sporting events, home or away. They were the parents who bought rollerblades with me when I took up a sudden interest in rollerblading. They were the parents who spent quality time with us each day. I'm thankful to have a Courageous-type father!

And last, but certainly not least, a plug for my husband. Jon is such a great dad to Scott and Natalie. It is SOOO fun to watch him interact with them and teach them new things. It is special to listen in on the conversations he has with Scott. It is sweet to see Natalie run up to him and wave repeatedly whenever he puts on his police uniform. It is neat to see how both kids respond so favorably to him. Jon loves the kids immensely and wants the best for their future. It shows. I love my husband so much am grateful that he is a Courageous-type father to my kiddos.


Go see the movie!! :)