Pumpkin Carving!

Pumpkin Time!  

 This year I was able to participate in the pumpkin carving festivities!  Last year I was so sick I was barely able to take pictures from the couch.  Ugh!  I also missed Trick-or-treat.

 Because of the growing number of children, we've decided to have a family pumpkin that everyone contributes to.  In the past everyone picked out their own.  The kids did each get a pumpkin from a local (free!) church event, which was really fun, but they are too small to really carve.  I picked up this beautiy for $1.99 at ALDI.  Got to love ALDI.

 I think this is one of my favorite pictures of the boys.  It just totally shows how they interact.  Right on top of each other.

 I noticed after I took this picture that LMM was indeed sitting ON the table.  I guess he was as wrapped up in the carving as I was and he crawled himself right up.

 Eyes were Rosebud's pick, nose was LMM and mouth was Snug. I think that #1 did a great job carving.

Um.  Yeah.  We let her sample the guts.  She liked it  :o)  I'm not surprised as she loves squash and sweet potatoes.  Wait till she discovers there is pumpkin PIE! 

So here is our family pumpkin with all the little pumpkin friends.  Don't be fooled, the large pumpkin in the back is a faker.  It is foam  :o)

First Haircut

Not who you were expecting?  Well, Sweet Pea hardly has enough hair to talk about, so we won't be cutting it anytime soon!  Rosebud had never had a haircut before Saturday morning.  We've cut out a couple of tangles that just couldn't be undone, but never trimmed or styled her hair.

 I was going to take her to the salon where the boys had their first haircut, but when they had their trim the other day, she stripped off her shirt and declared herself the next in line.

 We discovered what she was really after wasn't a haircut after all, but the sucker that goes along with it to help keep little people sitting still.

This is the closest I've seen it down and cut as I french braided it right after and had it that way today also.  Next time I wash it I'll let it dry straight and hopefully her stylist got it right!

10 Months Old

 Well this post is, of course, a few days late.  But better late than never I suppose.  Sweet Pea is now ten months old.  She weighs 14lbs 8 oz (down an oz from last month, but that could be the difference in when she had emptied her bladder) and is 26.5"...still.

 I don't know why she doesn't grow, but our family doctor isn't worried about it.  Her development is great.

 She has really good fine motor skills, as of today can stand up alone in the middle of the room, cruises the furniture, says "mama, dada, bye, and hi" and waves "happily" at people.  As happily as she gets, which is usually a brief toothy grin and then lots of pterodactyl screaming which, we can only assume is happy as she doesn't seem unhappy.  

The top picture is the only one of about 50 in which she would smile.  She's so serious.  Silly baby.  I love her to pieces.

The Country Living Fair

 I wrote about going to the Country Living Fair the other day, but today I decided to do it a little more justice.  It was a GREAT weekend with (mostly) just mommy and daddy time.  This was my birthday present, and frankly it was like an anniversary present too as #1 and I don't go off by (mostly) ourselves very often.  Here is Little Miss Serious posing.

 The fair was held in Columbus at Ohio Village which is a historical site.  We were able to do the fair, look through some of the village buildings and go through the museum.  There were tons of people there.  Many people had brought wagons and big carts to haul away their finds.  I walked away with a small brown bag.

 I know this is a weird angle, but I was trying to avoid everyone else posing by the pumpkin pile.  There was always someone there so I didn't really have a chance to get a good picture.

 #1 kept telling me I could buy something if I wanted.  I bought some mittens on Friday night as it was in the high 50s and rainy and my hands were FROZEN.  On Saturday we bought a little bit of paint to try and spruce up our kitchen cupboards.  We haven't had time to try it yet.  And although there were hundreds of things that were so cute or unique or fun, I really didn't need any of them or like them enough to spend money on.  Until...

 I came to the booth by Swing Set Designs.  Oh.  My.  I loved her stuff.  I knew I couldn't get something for both girls, so as usual Rosebud won out as Sweet Pea will grow into it.  However, she didn't have anything in Rosebud's size that I really liked.  Plus, Rosebud doesn't exactly have a size.  Depending on the brand she wears a 3/6 or 6/9 month bottom (except for jeans/pants when she is too tall and I have to literally PIN her pants on everyday) and a depending on the brand a 12-18, 18-24 or even sometimes a 2T top.  The lady there saw I was interested but not quite finding what I wanted.

 She gave me her card and had me contact her about something custom.  I gave her all of Rosebud's measurements and she went to work.  She didn't even charge me shipping and handling.  I don't think that is what she'd normally do, but I was thankful.

 I asked her to make the skirt about 6 inches longer than normal so we could get more use out of it.  As it turns out the shirt is a little big too so I bet she'll still be wearing it next fall.  The skirt is a twirly skirt.  LOVE.

Knowing the dress was on its way (and what material it would be, I had picked that out at the fair) I found these tights on clearance to go with it.  And THAT is what I bought at the Country Living Fair.

**If you like this I can ask the designer if she'll take more orders as I have her contact info.  She was very easy to work with.

Fall Favorites

 Fall is here!  One of my favorite things to do is can.  I'm not great at it, but I do make applesauce and this year tried my hand at raspberry jam.  I'm very spoiled...I only will eat homemade raspberry jam.  My mom makes it the best, and I don't like any other jam or jelly.  Now I've learned to do it myself!  A friend from church has a raspberry (field?  patch?) area and invited us to come pick this week.  It was so very kind of her.  The kids had a great time and now we are well stocked for the winter as well as some for gifts.

 For my birthday #1 gave me tickets to the Country Living Fair.  It takes place each year in Texas, Georgia, and Ohio.  #1's parents were kind enough to take the kids for the weekend (except Sweet Pea of course!) and we had a great time.

It is almost impossible to get a picture of Sweet Pea right now when someone isn't holding her.  She just is way too interested in everything around her.

 A new fall favorite is going to the farm!  It has been a summer favorite for quite some time, but when our friend mentioned they have a fall festival where they show how harvest happened back in the 1800's...we were excited!

 I always tell Miss B. that it is a good thing she comes along on these trips so that my children have someone to explain things to them while their mother is busy snapping photos.  Here they are pressing sorghum to make sugar.

 I am glad this photo didn't turn into a milk carton picture (do they do that anymore?).  At one point LMM was NOWHERE to be found.  It was VERY scary.  He had been standing with everyone watching the blacksmith at work and then he was gone.  I found him a few very long minutes later  down the path towards the entrance.  He had followed a group of people with kids and didn't realize it wasn't us and then he didn't know where he was.  We were with two other families that day (I didn't ask the one family if I could post pictures of their kids so there are a few  cute ones I'm not including) and between us we had nine children.  I can see how he would see a large group of little people and follow along.

 Sweet Pea had her first encounter with a Pumpkin.

 Like everything else in life, it was fascinating 

 We haven't done this in WAY too long.  I don't think we even got one at my cousin's wedding.  If we did, I don't think it turned out this well.

 The kids got to make rope, I'm so glad it isn't made that way today, it is a very tedious process.  Part of why he got lost was because he was waving his rope around not really paying attention.

 Not the best picture I got of her...I took several that I love.  However, I think this gives me a glimpse of her when she is much older.

 Always fun to visit the farm.

 Next up on my list of fall favorites (that we have done so far, there are tons more things to do before Thanksgiving!)  is cooking out in the backyard.  We don't really love camping/cooking outside when it is hot and humid.  We prefer cool comfortable days for that.  While we didn't have the time to campout due to the fact that we have several projects going on around the house, we did stop and have a hot dog roast around a fire.

 I cannot recommend one of these contraptions enough.  I'm not even sure how I had three other children and didn't own one.  It folds down like a portable chair and goes into a bag.  Seriously a wonderful thing.

 Our dogs enjoy fall days when we're all outside too.  While they are no longer indoor dogs, they are really good with the kids and stay in the yard.

I had giant roaster marshmallows left from making Snug's birthday cake (they were the "dots" on his Lego cake).  They were a big hit.  

We have so many fall things planned from the pumpkin patch to hiking to trick-or-treat.  I LOVE fall!!!!!!