Down on the Farm

Despite battling a cold for the past two days, we had big plans to make the most of a beautiful Sunday, and that is just what we did.  While daddy watched football, the kids and I headed to Wendel Farms for a day of fall fun.

First up, tractor ride to the pumpkin patch...

80 degrees and full sun at the end of September!

Ben was so impressed with all the "Ben size" pumpkins

we inspected a lot of pumpkins before settling on the perfect ones...

they had to be able to carry them, and since we will head to the pumpkin patch for carving pumpkins in another week or two, we decided smaller ones would be better for today

we love pumpkins...

....and each other!

speaking of love, Ben could not get enough of these piglets

he laughed and laughed at them

digging for carrots and potatoes in the sandbox

and milking

and once we had enough of visiting the animals and being "little farmers"

we ventured into the corn maze

that was some tall corn from inside

Natalie found a little maze in some papers she had in the car,

and used it as our map for the corn maze

and, lastly, our day ended with a pony ride on Rusty the pony

cowboy Ben

It was a fun afternoon, and just about all these two had in them, but after a short nap in the car they rallied this evening and definitely seem to be feeling a little better.  Fingers crossed for some sleep for us all tonight...

The Dentist

Another day, another milestone.  Practically a way of life lately.  Anyway, Monday I had a dentist appointment....and so did Natalie!  Her first one.  I felt fairly sure she'd do fine, but she really exceeded my expectations.  She was a wonderful patient, so well-behaved.  I had another little pang of sadness that my baby is growing up so fast/pang of pride that my baby is growing up so fast.

Of course, it didn't hurt that our favorite hygienist happened to be cleaning her teeth.

That's right...Aunt Beth took good care of Natalie in the chair.

she wore the sunglasses to keep the bright light out of her eyes,

Aunt Beth thought of everything!

Legs crossed, completely relaxed and watching all the progress in her own little mirror.

All done!

(P.S. I had her hair beautifully french braided, a test run for her Halloween costume.  She pulled it out and opted for this 'do before we left...wonderful.)

Dirty Dirt

Six years ago when they dug the foundation to our house, all the dirt was put in a giant pile in the side yard.  I can't even remember how big the pile was to begin with; it was added to and taken from for various different projects.  For a long time the pile was kind of an eye sore.  Once the kids were old enough to discover it, it became another play place.  And now that it's almost gone, they seem to be savoring the play time on it.

They dig, slide, climb, move buckets of dirt, rake, race the wagon up and down it, and pretty much anything else the imagination can come up with.

dirt hill slide

check out that filthy hiney

time out for a water break

(the outrageous outfit streak continues)

this is how you slide in a dress

Nat going up, Ben coming down on his belly

I'll just lounge here in the dirt

Needless to say, the kids are a mess after this.  Today they had to strip in the garage and go straight to the bath before dinner.  Those are the best kind of play days, aren't they?

Another Cousin

On September 9th, another cousin joined the quartet of Natalie, Ben, Jack & Anna.  It seems unfair to say that WE had been waiting a long time to meet her, because the waiting part is always the longest for the parents, but we were definitely anxious for her arrival.

Introducing the sweetest little lady...Addison Jane!

It's no surprise that she is just the prettiest; she looks just like her mommy!

she's going to need some of this spunk to keep up with her older cousins

(she actually has 6 older cousins to contend with--two on the other side of the family)

I've always said that I feel older watching my baby brother grow up than I do passing certain milestones myself, and seeing him holding his newborn daughter was no different.  I have no doubt that Addison is in the best hands with two of the best parents there can be.  I feel so proud and lucky to have all these special babies in my life, and I am filled with excitement that I get to watch Addison make her way in this world.  Welcome to the herd, Addison!

Feels Like Fall

For the past two nights someone has been back to his old habits...ahem, Ben.  Sunday night I was up 3 times with him, then a not long enough nap yesterday, to bed late last night, and this morning awake at 6:00 (he's been good for 9:00 or later lately).  We decided to get outside in between sprinkles to let the cool, fresh air work its magic...

bike riding with Ben takes a LOONNNGGG time.

finally we abandoned our bikes for a hike

modern day Laura Ingalls

Most of the time Ben hangs on Natalie's every word, and then other times even our slow poke wants her to can it and move along.

We are hoping this beautiful cool weather is here to stay.  Today is a very special day at our house...daddy's birthday!  We celebrated last night with dinner our, pie, balloons, and presents.  It's now less than one month until Ben's birthday!  We bought supplies to get started on Halloween costumes, and have been trying get Ben's room finished.  Also hoping to squeeze in a zoo trip this week!