More Fall Fun

Okie dokie people... here is some more fabulous fallishness.

Ryan and I decided to start the pumpkin carving tradition this year.  We also decided that one of us should do a character that Harper likes so maybe she would be more excited.  So pretty much Ryan was done with his pumpkin before I even had one of Curious George's eyes cut out.  Oh well, Harper was excited about it for about a minute.

Whitney and I also took the kids to the Remlinger harvest carnival thingy (Thanks Cortney) however when we went it was pretty darn cold and rainy, so... perhaps it didn't go quite as well as we thought it would in our heads, but we still got to spend the day with our favorite neighbors, and that is always a win!

Oscar thinks pumpkin carving is delicious

Griz was also a bit curious, Sawyer was just happy...

Betcha can't which one is mine and which is Ryan's

She doesn't care that is cold... also she is bundled up in a blanket and in a covered stroller

They don't look to thrilled to be standing in the rain, do they?

Fall Fun part 1... Patchin it up!

Okay people... so I'm a little behind this month, so I'm gonna fit all of our fall shenanigans in to 2 blogs... ready go!!
We went to 2 patches this year... which is a miniscule amount compared to some people I know...

We went to Craven's first with the Baker, Pennebaker and Kreitlow families but it was sooo bright and hot and dusty, we thought we'd try again, sadly no Bakers and Matt and Ryan were actually at our house trying to fix our plumbing... they didn't, but that is a different story.  Any who, the second time we DID get to bring Kennedy along and this time it was chilly and rainy, but there were baby goats... which are adorable and I tried to figure out how to get one into the stroller and then to convince Ryan it was a stray dog... but I didn't think it would fit in the basket.  Any who here come the freakish amount of fun fall photos!

They were not all super happy about this situation... but still adorable.

I love all Q & H photos... can't help it

She tried to pick up every single pumpkin... and grunted and said "heeeavy" with every single pumpkin

I mean... who wouldn't love them?

I don' t know what this face is... but it makes me giggle

I just think this is cute

Pumpkin patches are serious business

He is telling them all about those crazy animals

They have grown so much!

Baby goats make everyone happy!

Well... you would be sad too if a chicken bit your finger

She's so excited about her tiny pumpkin!

Love at first site

About a year and a half after I moved here, I was a bit lonely, I was working from home, I didn't really have any friends... so I decided it was time for me to find "the one".  And like a lot of people do now a days... I went online.  I read so many profiles and looked at so many photos, but the second I saw his, I just new, he was the one that I wanted, it was love at first site.  His big beautiful eyes, that handsome face, his luscious brown hair, I was done.  Ryan however was not quite sure if he wanted to bring another man into our home, even if he was obviously the cutest dog that ever existed.  So I printed out the picture, and I put it on the fridge when I wasn't following Ryan around the house with it, reciting the puppy profile that I had memorized off of the dog adoption site.  But Ryan was also weakened by that adorable puppy face, and we adopted Grizzly, aka Grizeria, aka the Griz, aka Grizzy-butt in October, 2007, he was 6 months old.

And then... I tried to return him a week later, why you ask?  Because he was CRAZY!  Griz is an Australian cattle dog mix, and I did not like being herded down the hall, or pulled or barked at, or mouthed, but we decided to try a Positive Training course, (Griz and I were put in the corner the very first class because he was so crazy) and we persevered, we even got the most perseverance award at end of class and we kept Griz.  I'm so glad we did.  He is more that just my dog, he watches over our house, our kids, and us. He is my jogging partner, my snuggle buddy, my best friend.  He even knew before I did when I was in labor, of course now when he acts all weird and clingy, I start freaking out and thinking I'm in labor again... which is crazy, because I'm not pregnant. 

I couldn't imagine not having him here.  Even though he has no puppy manners, is kinda moody and has serious social issues, I wouldn't trade him for the best behaved dog on the planet. 

Happy 5 years Griz!  We love you like crazy!  Now I'm going to go find you and snuggle with your face.

This was the day we got Griz... So handsome

He acts like he doesn't like Oscar... but secretly he loves him

This was taken the we finished puppy training, notice the star on his head?

Best Friends!

He loves Kenzie and Kennedy... also he is a big baby

I took this yesterday on our jog, it is our favorite thing to do!

6.5 Months

Yes... 6.5 months, not 6 months, because, well I'm just a little behind.  But the last couple of weeks have been pretty major Sawyer wise... so probably, my procrastination is good thing.

6.5 Things to know about Sawyer Belle at 6.5 months...

1. She is mobile! Umm... Kinda.  She army crawls and rolls to get places, but by-golly she will get there (yep, I just googled to see if that is how you spell by-golly)

2.  Solids!!! Yes!!  We waited until she started showing interest in what we were eating, which she did big time when we were in the Midwest, so when we got back, we started her on food, she has had avocado, pees, acorn squash, and sweet potato, and so far, so good!

3.  She has her own room... well, she is sleeping in the office. Why you ask? Well, we were having issues with her waking up many many times in the middle of the night, and waking up Harper, so one morning, after waking up 4 times with her, I moved her crib into the office, the computer into our room, and the futon into the girls room... I'm hoping this is temporary, but it does bring us to #4...

4.  Sleeping through the night!  Ok, so I could be jumping the gun, but we have found a good bedtime routine, and now that she is in her own room, we can just let her work out her issues and get herself back to sleep, I have a good feeling about this... also, it could just be my giddiness at having more than 3 hours of sleep a night.

5.  If she can get a hold of it, then it will go into her mouth, She really really thinks the dogs are delicious, sadly, Oscar really likes it when Sawyer tries to eat him, Griz however not a fan, I was amused for a good 5 minutes this morning watching her follow him around the living room trying to eat his tail.

6.  The biggest flirt in all the land!  Not even kidding a little bit, this kid loves to smile and make googly eyes and everybody, she was the entertainment on our flight home from Iowa.

6.5. She can sit on her own... kinda, and then she falls over, hence why this is only .5 of a thing.

I pretty much just like this picture, Heather Michelle Portraits is pretty awesome, also I hear her sister is awesome as well.

What? You want pictures like these? Well, have I got news for you! You can click here and check out more of her stuff and get a hold of her so you can have her take your pictures, also you should like her page so you can see more cutie pics!           ( I do love a shameless plug, don't you?)

First time eating avocado, I think maybe a little got in her mouth

Don't you hate when giant babies and puppies attack your farm?

Flirty McFlirterson, that is her new name

The Polite Police

Alright people, its time to get a little deep, just give me this one, k?  Before I begin, obviously I have only been a mother for a little over 2 years, so obviously I am not an expert, this theory is just based on some simple observations, so here it goes...

Have you noticed that children's respect for adults has been in such a great decline lately that the please's, thank you's and the whatnot's have kind of gone out the door with some kids?  Well Ryan and I decided early on that wasn't going to happen with our kids. We will be respected.  They will be polite.  End of story.  So as soon as Harper could talk, she's been forced to say please, then we added on thank you, at times, its been a battle.

Well this morning, Harper needed help, she said please, I helped her, then I said "what do you say?".  She responded with "please", I said, "No, Thank you" and she said "You're Welcome, Mom".  (We will just skip over the fact that she completely missed the point that I wanted her to say thank you, shall we?)  I told Ryan and we were shocked because we never taught her you're welcome.  Then I realized she must have learned it from me, because I always respond to her "Thank You's" with "You're Welcome". 

So here comes my theory... perhaps the lack of politeness in our children is because there is a lack of politeness coming from ourselves.  Kids, especially at this age, learn mostly from their parents.  So instead of just ignoring Harper's tantrums until she calms down enough to say please, she also needs to see Ryan and I be polite to her, each other, and everyone around us.  Which I think we forget to do a lot of the time, and she will pick up on being polite much quicker if she sees us doing it as well.  Sounds pretty simple huh?

Well, that is it, that's my deep thought for the day, please don't forget that politeness does count, especially when it comes to our kids!  In the spirit of this blog, I'd like to say thank you so much for reading this, I'm so glad we have so many amazing friends to share our lives with. 



And because no blog is complete without pictures of my children... please feel free to gaze upon these random photos of the girls with their uncles who they got to meet for the first time when we were in the midwest...

Yes, my child is filthy, they were playing in dirt.