M's 2nd Birthday

Here is D with her B letter drawings. She is really starting to catch on and recognize the letters we are learning. Okay, we're only on C, but she literally points out every A, B, and C she sees on signs everywhere. M is starting to catch on, too, and he calls all letters (and numbers) "A". It's very cute. Unless you are by a lot of signs.



I have no pictures on the blog yet of our cabin, which is also part of the reason that there haven't been many blog entries lately. We have spent every weekend there since we closed doing projects and relaxing. Here is a before picture of the living room. I painted it the same color as our living room at home, kind of a sandy tan color. It really warms the room up.



Daddy took the kids out for a walk on our property during deer hunting opener in WI, so everyone got to wear bright orange.



D loves working out with me in the evening. She even grabbed some balls from the ball pit to use as weights.



D with her C's.



D and M playing with the Mega Blocks M got for his birthday from Grandma and Grandpa S. They are definitely a hit. D likes making towers as tall as she possibly can and M loves the firetruck.

Thanksgiving Day and M's 2nd Birthday!

Here are some pictures of him opening his gifts.

What a handsome birthday boy!



Playing catch with Papa.



M and his firetruck--this toy was a big hit.



The Elmo shape sorter--another favorite toy.



M and Papa with his firetruck birthday cookie.



Not quite sure about the whole blowing the candle thing yet.



The traditional family picture we used to take at Christmas every year.



The new family picture with Grandma and Papa E and all the grandkids/cousins.



We drove up to the cabin after celebrating Thanksgiving and spent the weekend there. Here are Steve and the kids working on putting the log bed together.



Ahhh...finished! Now we just need a bed (that's a blow up mattress we have in there just to try it out).



Breakfast at the cabin. More pictures to come later.

Zoo Dress--Winterized

I guess I didn't take many pictures last week. This is the only one that is "share-worthy". We went to the zoo on Tuesday with D's homeschool preschool. I had totally forgotten about the "zoo dress" as it is so cool out now. But a certain little girl didn't forget! When she asked me to get her zoo dress out to wear, I knew there would be no use trying to explain appropriate weather attire--so we just winterized it a bit. She wore a white turtleneck, white tights and tennis shoes. It was actually a beautiful day outside (near 60 degrees!), so we were able to walk outside comfortably to see the animals. D was very disappointed that there were no giraffes--they apparantly travel south for the winter at this zoo.

Halloween Fun Part 2

We went to Pinehaven Farm with MOPS this past week. D really got into feeding the animals this time. She wasn't afraid at all. M, on the other hand, dropped his cup of food and ran screaming once he figured out what he was supposed to do with it.



M was mostly interested in the chickens and kept on saying "Chicken, chicken" as he followed them around.



We went on a tractor ride and picked our own pumpkins.



The costume we never used. She tried it on, but never wore it anywhere. The angel clearly won out over the pirate costume.



M and D with their new books from Grandma and Papa E.



Our church has a large Halloween party every year called the Pumpkin Patch. Here are some of the activities we did.

Petting Zoo



Picture by the haystacks.



Decorating (and eating) cookies.



Coloring



Glow Room (D's dress really glowed. Can you see Steve next to her?)



We got together with my sister's family and my parents so we could see all the cousins/nieces and nephews/grandkids in their Halloween costumes together. So cute!



Munching on the candy necklace craft D did with her cousins.

Halloween Fun Part I

The kids are sporting their new rain boots. We've had such a mixture of rain and snow here lately that they can wear them every day practically. And M wants to--he pretty much refuses to wear anything else because he love his green boots with the tractors on them so much.
















Here are several pictures of the kids in Halloween clothes and costumes.



M the Monkey.



D the Angel.



D made some awesome A's. She's starting to learn the letters of the alphabet.



Silly girl!



All ready to go to the Fall Ball at ECFE.



Coloring Halloween pictures.





Drawing on the "chalkboard" wall.



Playing on the toys.



Posing for a picture.



Oh, Mr. Messy. This is what happens when you mix orange frosting with a cookie. His shirt is not miraculously clean--I had just taken his bib off.



What a cutie patootie.



The kids played in the leaves today (10-27) before we mulched them.



Luna should be ready for sledding in the snow after this trip.

So Much For Fall

D and M watching the rain storm with their rocking chairs from Grandma S.



D looking cute in an outfit from Grandma E.



Mr. Messy and his favorite--sweets! (That is an ice cream cone he is eating like corn on the cob).



Our little fashionista.



The family in Broncos attire.







We went to Linder's Fall Fest this weekend. It had snowed the night before, so we were all bundled up. D actually went on a pony ride--her first time! She usually says she wants to and then freaks out. She picked the smallest horse they had, a miniature called Eensy (appropriate, because it was so teensy eensy weensy.) This horse was perfect for her and the reason the ride was a success.





Going on the hayride.



Stopping to rest in the hay maze.



This looks like we're dressed more for Winter Fest than Fall Fest, doesn't it?



D checking out her face painting design.



Doesn't it seem a little bit early for this picture to be showing up here? If it were January or February, fine. But October 12??? Craziness. The kids had a ton of fun playing in the snow and helping make the snowman. We took a walk in the neighborhood and D wanted to walk on the snowy grass instead of the street. She loved making footprints. It was warm-ish out, so that was a bonus.