lately

We're about to turn the calendar to October . . . how on earth did THAT happen?  While I always say that spring/summer are my favorite seasons (mostly because the warmth is so welcome after cold Iowa winters), I have to admit that I am really liking fall this year.  It feels good to enjoy the cooler weather (love my hoodies!),  I have had fun decorating the house with some autumn decor, and I am itching to get out and make s'mores over the fire pit.  The only problem with fall is that it is SO crazy with the start of the school year and re-adjusting to a new routine that it can be hard to really enjoy it all. . .  

We were actually home most of the day yesterday, and I realized after spending some time in the yard that we have a lot of yard work to tend to (we basically ignored the yard all summer during the drought, but now weeds and leaves are needing attention).  Luckily we have a little helper who is eager to rake.  :) Though the leaves are a pain to rake, the fall colors are so pretty right now. This is one of our backyard trees:

And Since I haven't blogged much lately, here are  a few pics from the last couple of weeks:

Billy and I got to attend the Hawkeye season home opener against Iowa State!  We had great seats and were with great company, but unfortunately the outcome was NOT great. . . . but it is always fun to spend a beautiful day at Kinnick.

Miss E is on the move!  After several weeks of doing the "lunge and scoot," followed by the army crawl, she is now officially crawling as of September 26.  Yikes!

(This pic is pre-crawling)


She's also been working hard to pull up on furniture . . .


 . . . and has mastered that too!


She now tries to pull up on anything that stands still, even if said item can't support her weight.  We've been working on getting the baby gate at the top of the steps installed this weekend . . . for now she pretty much hangs out where we are, but it is only a matter of time before she is off and exploring.  We turned both pack and plays from "bassinnets" into "baby jails" so that we do have a safe space for her to be when she needs to be left unattended.





We enjoyed the sights and smells (and tastes!) of the Kalona Fall Festival on Friday night and Saturday morning.  (Though I took my camera, I never get any good photos!).  Braden's favorite part (by far!) was the kiddie corn bin.

Elise was generally happy to just watch her big brother from the stroller . . .

Braden's second favorite "attraction" was the "big big spider" over by the machinery displays.  A prankster that sits with the engines across the way from the red barn below had strung a clear line from his tent to the rafter of the barn, and the string was attached to a huge (fake) spider.  When people would stop to look at the display in the barn, he'd unexpectedly lower the spider and give them a scare.  B thought this was the best! (It's hard to see, but you can see the spider hanging down in this pic.)

Of course the very best part of the festival is the good eats . . . apple fritters, onion rings, turkey steak sandwiches, home made bread and applebutter, and so much more.  We all (even E!) enjoyed some home made ice cream.

Back in the corn bin on Saturday morning . . .

  . . . all decked out in Hawkeye gear!

Whew! 

Things aren't going to slow down around here any time soon - Braden's birthday is on Wednesday,  we're celebrating with his family party on Saturday, and then Billy's birthday is in a few weeks, followed by Halloween.  That may not seem like a lot, but factor in daily life with an active (almost!) 4 year old and an increasingly mobile (almost!) 7 month old, and full time jobs/weekly meetings/appts, etc. - it all makes for a packed schedule. We'll just do our best to enjoy every (busy!) minute of it. :)

6 month/4 year photographs

The week that Elise turned 6 mths old, we had the kids' milestone pictures taken with our favorite photographer, Sandi, at Flash.  (I know Braden isn't quite 4 yet, but I figured he won't change much in 3 weeks, and wanted to simplify things by combining the sessions into one sitting.)

Here are some of my favs:

Braden - (almost!) 4 years old (and was definitely the more challenging child to photograph) . . .

Elise - 6 months

 

(what is with the licking? . . . just wait, big bro - she'll getcha back someday!)

Overheard

Tonight Braden got to go to AWANA at church tonight for the first time. When he and Billy got home, I was asking B about the night and he was proudly showing me his new vest.  Then he asked for his "baseball book."  I was very confused until Billy filled me in . . .

His age group at AWANA is called the "Cubbies."  We've been talking with him about going to Cubbies all week, and he was very excited to finally get to go.  Billy took him, and when they arrived at the church, Braden said, "But Dad, we're going to a baseball game."  Oops -  he was confused - wrong "Cubbies."   He had a good time though. . . .but apparently he still associates Cubbies with baseball :)

six month stats

Elise had her six month check up yesterday afternoon.  Here are her stats:
Height: 26 inches (60th percentile)
Weight: 15.9 pounds (50th percentile)
Head: 16 3/4 inches (50th percentile)

Little Miss is growing right on track!

In other news, it's a beautiful day for football. . . Billy and I are excited to be heading to Kinnick this afternoon, and B & E are excited to get to hang out with G&G Hartsock while we all cheer on the Hawkeyes.  Beat State!

Overheard

Tonight Braden ran into the kitchen and slipped on the hardwood floor: "Mom, this floor is icy!" (I think he meant "slick.") :)


Baby sister has been uncomfortable due to teething.  Big bro must have noticed the extra cuddles and attention she's been getting. . .  tonight B climbed into my lap and said, "My teeth hurt, Mommy."  (I think he was hoping for some extra cuddles and attention too -- and maybe even a does of children's Tylenol, which he thinks is the best stuff ever.)


As I was rocking E to sleep, B kept coming in and "bothering."  I finally called out to Billy: "Hey Bill, can you get him out of here?"  Braden (apparently fearing the "wrath" of Daddy), quickly left E's room and called out,"Bill, I AM out of here."

Labor Day 2012

We've started a Labor Day tradition of sorts around here . . . this year ended up being almost a rerun of last year: City Park rides and Wilson's Orchard.  We figure why change something that works and is FUN? :)

We did switch things up a bit by starting our day with a picnic lunch at the park. 

After dining al fresco, Miss E rested contentedly and B enjoyed playing on the toys. . .

Then we headed over to the rides to use up the rest of our punch card that we bought on Father's Day (pretty sad that we haven't made it back since then!) . . .

Of course the train is still B's favorite ride!

 . . . and Little Sis was happy to watch all of the action while Braden enjoyed several other rides . . .

It ended up being a little warmer than we thought blitzen' hot outside, so it seemed a little strange to head to the orchard (which seems like an activity for crisp, cool fall day).  However, any day is a good day for an apple turnover and apple cider slushie!

Elise was wide eyed at the Wilson's bakery :)

Please Daddy, can I have some?

Mmmmm - the slushies were especially refreshing on such a warm day!

No trip to Wilson's would be complete without a ride on "Bessie" the tractor/wagon.

And though apples didn't do well this year, we did find a few trees with some apples to pick (much to B's delight - he was not about to leave without actually picking some apples!).

The only apples we could find were a tart, green apple (no honeycrisps this year!), but I made an apple crisp with some of them for dessert tonight and it was yummy!

After a fun, hot day outdoors, we headed home for the a/c and naps.  Baths were definitely in order too, and since Miss E had done well in the big tub by herself several nights ago, we let the kids try their first shared tubby!  They loved it!

Such a big girl!

Big brother "helping" . . . check out his tan lines (and it's been almost 3 weeks since we've been to the pool, so it's faded quite a bit! ;)

B was making E laugh by blowing bubbles in the water

I'm sure this was the first of lots of sibling bathtime sessions! It's so fun to see the kids interacting and enjoying each other.

Elise: 6 months

Our sweet little Miss is 6 months old (yesterday)!  How did that ever happen? 

We had a few minutes before leaving for church, so I took the opportunity to snap a few shots since we really haven't gotten out the camera much lately now with the whirlwind of the "back to school" transition around here . . .

Elise continues to be our (mostly) happy girl.  We've had some rough patches that we're blaming on teething over the past month.  Poor little thing has not been sleeping very well, but I think we've made progress in the last week (she's slept all night several times, which used to be the norm, but for about 3 weeks she's been waking up due to teething pain . . . it's been tough on all of us!).

At 6 months, Elise . . .

• is wearing mostly size 6 mth clothes (some 3-6 summer outfits still work)
• has learned to sit up from a laying position!  She actually mastered this trick today, but has been very close for about a week now. It's time to lower her crib mattress!
• will be a crawler soon -- she currently scoots, rolls, and pulls herself wherever she wants to go, and just this week we've seen her rocking on her hands and knees.  Yikes!  Time to get those baby gates up too!
• is doing a great job with "solids."  She enjoys sweet potatoes, pears, and green beans so far.

• is becoming more interested in books (not just as something to chew on! . .  and especially likes to "read" with Braden, which is pretty much the sweetest thing ever)  :)

• still likes her jumparoo and exersaucer but is no longer happy being contained for too long - she'd rather be on the go!

• continues to be a big fan of bath time . . . in fact I let her try sitting in the big tub tonight and she loved it!

• is not such a big fan of nap time lately . . . which is a huge bummer.  Braden has always napped so well, that we are just not used to a child who is not a napper.  I am hoping this is just a (short!) phase, and she will eventually take longer naps (esp in the afternoon) . . . sweet girlie is tired, but just doesn't want to miss out on a thing!

• generally falls asleep for the night (we hope! unless those nasty teeth wake her) at about 9-10 after her last bottle, and sleeps till around 6-7 . . . not to compare, but at this point B was consistently sleeping in till at least 7:30 :/ (Oh well, on the bright side since I am getting up earlier with E, I typically get a load of laundry folded, the dishwasher unloaded, etc. before leaving for work.)  

• sleeps on her side or on her tummy . . . this is a new development since she's become an avid "roller" . . . and I suppose sleeping in her crib (which provides more freedom of movement) vs. her snugabunny sleeper (cradle-ish thing which doesn't really allow baby to roll) every night now may have something to do with this.  We always lay her "back" to sleep, but within seconds she is on her side or tummy

• is a little giggle box - especially when big brother gets her going.  It sort of sounds like she's squealing/crying, so often we run to "bust" Braden for bothering her, but he's actually just making her laugh.

• is babbling . . . ba ba ba ba ba, mmmmaaa mmmmmaaa, and ah ah ah are some of her frequent chants.  She often "talks" to us while riding in the car.  Little Miss also loves to blow raspberries, much to her brother's delight.  Those two can really get going in the back seat. :)

• has snuggled her way into our hearts.  She really is just the sweetest baby girl, and her smile just makes you melt.

Here's her "monthly" picture:

(6 mths - notice she did not want to lay down!, and 2 mths for comparison)