Happy Halloween

However, instead of seeing adorable pictures of my kids in their costumes, this is all you get. I carelessly left my camera on top of the dining room table within Normy's reach. When I saw him playing with it I calmly approached him to retrieve it. He hollered "No!" and flung it fully opened across the room and into a wall. I'm so upset I can't see straight. It is utterly broken. The following are the last pictures ever recorded with that particular Cannon. 

Happy Halloween, I hope you get lots of candy.

I'm going to go cry now.

These days...

This post will hopefully get everyone feeling caught up. I have a lot of "baby book" type memories I feel like I need to record before they fade into the bowels of time. (Oops, I mean annals!) ;-)

This first photo here captures the essence of our day-to-day. We have a pretty awesome nighttime routine going on. Every night Smoochy gets home from work and we pretty much immediately sit down to dinner. He usually walks in the door at about 6:15-ish. From dinner, the four of us migrate upstairs for the bath and bed routines. I love that this is a big family event. It gives Smooch and I a chance to talk about our days and the kids a chance to see us all as one big happy family. It is infinitely fun. I love that after a LONG day at work my husband wants to take part in this very basic child-care activity. It makes it tons easier on me, and makes bath time way less mundane. It's also lots nicer now that Georgia can bathe WITH Normy. That just started this month.

Also, starting this month was Georgie's first attempts at solid foods. This bite of pureed carrots was her first ever I'm afraid so far I have been pretty hit or miss with giving her something to eat. I'm not convinced she's 100% interested yet. Some times It looks like she gets tired of just eating toys at the dinner table... 

But, then when I give her a bite she acts grossed out and then will refuse any further bites.

I don't feel any need to rush her, but at the same time, if I were to offer her some more baby friendly choices, I think she might show more interest. It's hard to just give her stuff off our plate when it seems like one night we have spicy sausage, the next spicy enchiladas, and the third a hot-stir fry. I have been HORRIBLE about making her purees. Her carrots were the first and only. Maybe today is the day I get better. I need to get some ice cube trays to freeze purees in...
Someone in the audience might be thinking, "Well how old is she anyway?" Georgia is 8 months old as of October 27th! I swear the second one grows up faster. This month she got her first TWO teeth; has learned to crawl 100%; and is pulling up on the stairs. She babbles, she smiles, and she sleeps like she means business. She is thick and sturdy... and already doesn't take crap from her brother... or anybody, for that matter. The other day, I went to pick her little nose and she looked me right in the eye and pushed my hand away so forcefully I was totally taken back. 

Georgia's Stats: As of her check-up on her eighth month birthday, she weight 20 pounds and 14 ounces. She is in the 90th percentile for height and weight. I don't really care about the percentiles, but I was shocked, because I thought she was of far more average build than her brother. I guess  should know better, considering with a cloth diaper on she has to wear 18 month pants with the legs cuffed. 

Normy is pretty amazing these days too. His latest trick is taking off all of his clothes in his crib if I leave him too long after he's awake from a nap. I think it's hilarious... though I haven't come upon him playing with poop yet... 

He LOVES LOVES LOVES to color. I can occupy him for hours at a time with crayons. I'm thinking it might be fun to introduce him to finger paints, construction paper and kid-scissors, maybe some glue and glitter... Christmas anyone? 

Normy can sing his ABCs start to finish all by himself. I hear him singing it all over the house at any given time of the day. He also KNOWS about half of his letters if presented with them randomly. His favorites are X, H, S, D, Z and the all time favorite is W. W is kinda' the catch all letter. If he doesn't know a letter, it's W! This is especially adorable because he says it "dah-yoo". 

Well, these next pictures are just some random cuteness. I really have to get cracking, so that's the end of my commentary... almost. 

I have learned, that Normy is 10% more likely to eat food that he has helped prepare. However, he needs no encouragement when it comes to cookies. 

Have a great day very one... we love you!

Definitive proof that it is more fun to dress girls...

Pumpkins an Such

You know, growing up in Florida, I have no memories of fall. I can't recollect breaking out the sweaters and the jackets for the first time since spring. I have no childhood memories of piles of fall leaves just waiting to be pounced on or seasonal cooking like chili ad stews when it was brisk outside. Don't get me wrong, I was far from deprived. I never had to suffer the indignity of having to wear a sweater over my Halloween costume. It's impossible to complain about living someplace where you can walk to the beach year round... though I would never dream of going swimming if the water was any cooler than about 82 degrees. Seriously. That's too fricking cold.

But, though I do have memories of picking oranges at orchards and strawberries fresh from the fields; I've never been to a pumpkin patch. So, when I started seeing all of these cool pumpkin patch pictures all over the internet I couldn't help but think, I want to do that too! I had no idea what I wa getting into.

Our local pumpkin patch is AMAZING. Part county fair, part amusement park, part farm. This place was far more than just a trip to pick out a pumpkin. This was a full days adventure. I feel like my camera is on it's last leg so most of my pictures were washed out, blurry or delayed so eyes are blinking and smiles just moments passed. Though my photos may not be idyllic my memories of the day will be. Who knew what an event the pumpkin patch could be.

Georgia and I riding the train.

The massive pumpkin fireing cannon.

 

Waiting to take the hayride to the pumpkin patch.

The kids were both asleep before we even left the parking lot on the return trip!

It seemed that all of Nebraska was heading to the pumpkin patch that day. We left at 2:00 pm and the cars were still lining up to get in. This picture doesn't do it justice the the road stretched back for miles with people on their way for a little fall fun. 

She's Got a Tooth!

You can't see it here. But, her first little tooth has broken through on the bottom. I can't not believe it! Her brother didn't get his first tooth until he was 11 months old. As a nursing mom, I was pretty happy with later teeth. But, this sure makes sense considering Georgie's recent grumpyness and restless nights. Amazing. I keep promising her that I'll introduce her to some solids, but I've been procrastinating... Making baby food, changing real  poopy diapers... I haven't been ready to make the switch. I used to tell her, "Georgia, you don't even have teeth yet, you don't need big-people food." Well crap, I'm out of excuses. It might be time to break out the blender and steam some veggies. 

OK, now for last weekend's review.

It was sometime this last weekend (Friday evening?) Georgia mastered sitting up on her own from a scoot/crawl position. In the photo above she is showing off that accomplishment. She is completely unstoppable. 100% mobile. And she's smart and determined to boot. I keep Normy's Mr. Potato Head collection in a giant bin inside a cabinet under our window-seat. Well, she's decided those are her favorite toys despite the fact that Normy and I both would much prefer she leave them alone. If given half a chance she will craw to the cabinet, open it, and dump out all the pieces. She's also fairly obsessed with door stops.

In other news: Normy continues to be a delightful and adorable toddler. 

See image below: 

Well, most of the time.

These days he's into photography, mostly self-portraiture.

...and foot-wear.

Sunday was the highlight of our weekend. It featured a trip to our neighborhood play-ground.

After we had built up our appetite, we came home and grilled with our favorite neighbors. Fresh baked bread, green beans from the farmer's market, three berry pie with homemade crust, and of course some libations.

But the pièce de résistance...

Oh yea, this is life in the midwest!

*Steaks courtesy of Mama T! Thanks, they rocked!

You might be wondering how we entertained the children in order to prepare so much food? 

So, if the tins your Christmas cookies arrive in have a few dings in them, you'll know where they came from!

Hello Blog, I've missed you...

Wow, the last three weeks have blinked by too quickly to describe. Smoochy's project at work is in a critical phase and so he has worked the last three Saturdays. A one-day weekend is hard on all of us. There just never seems to be enough time to get it all in. But we try. There is so much I want to share from the last couple of weeks, I don't know where to start...

Our typical Saturday has begun with a trip to the Omaha Farmers Market. The kids and I wander around looking at the crafts, listening to the street musicians, and doing our grocery shopping. I don't know what it is about the farmers market that inspires me to come home, arrange and photograph my purchases... but I do all the time. 

Kinda' silly, I know. Can you imagine coming home from Hy-Vee/Safeway/Publix (pick your mart) laying out your Wheaties and your Stovetop and taking pictures? But then, meeting the people who grow your food, makes you appreciate and love it all the more. 

Anyway, then our Sundays, we have enjoyed some much needed family time... at the expense of some much needed home repair time! (Note all of my pictures display the fetching bare plaster walls in the living room.) But, I wouldn't trade our glimpses of family life for anything else. 

Last Sunday the Catholic Church in our back yard... LITERALLY in our back yard... held their annual fundraising street festival. Complete with gambling and beer tents! As a Floridian who grew up with a Baptist church on every corner, the midwest with its HUGE Catholic population has sure been a cultural change for me. No one knows how to throw a party like the Catholics. There were carnival rides, a silent auction, and even a band until 9:00 at night. This would have been awesome if we had no kids. But seeing as we do, and their bed-time is at 8:00, and the party was still rocking, IN OUR BACK YARD that was slightly problematic. All and all though, it was a great time. Here are the photographic highlights:

You can imagine what a hit this was. As soon as one helicopter ride was over, we'd get back in line to do it again. Smoochy bought Norm a ride bracelet, as opposed to tickets, so by-god we had to get our money's worth! Normy LOVED it.

OK, we didn't win the Thinking Parents of the Year Award here. I don't know how we figured Normy was old enough for this 50-gazillion foot-tall slide. I guess with all the holy draft beer, the slide didn't look so menacing at first. But then once our little two-year old got to the top... GULP! In the end, the kind teen-aged attendant had to go up and bring him down. Though Normy was giggling with delight at the apex, watching the older more appropriately-sized kids descend the slide, he wouldn't dare come down himself. Toddler sense of self-preservation is amazing! 

Georgia and I wowed the crowds with our stellar back-wrap. 

"Hmm.. what's this?"

Normy' first cotton candy!

Oh yea! We had an elephant ear, too!

OK, I have more pictures and updates to share, but this is taking longer than I anticipated... and we have a standing Monday play-date at a local kid's gym. Very fun. Think foam block-pit, sunken in-floor trampoline, and free-roaming packs of wild toddlers. Ahh, heaven!