My Favorite Season

 The addition is almost complete.
Fall is in the air.
Candles are lit.
We planted our mums.

Life is good!

I love my little helpers!

 Lilly planted some Lillies and did a great job!  She did it all alone and they bloomed a beautiful yellow.

 Halloween is right around the corner and I do not have costumes ready for the boys.  The painters are here as I type.  The babies are on the move.  The girls are growing up on me.  There may be a four-legged family member in our future.  We're busy but we're happy.  Who could ask for anything more?

Pumpkin Patch!

It's my favorite time of year.  I love fall.  I love going to the pumpkin patch as well but leaving my camera at home would make it so much more enjoyable.  But how can I go and not take pictures!?  The stress of getting a family picture dampens my mood so I try to get it right away so I can put the camera away.

This year we tried a new farm.  We went to Stellwag's Hidden Acre Farm.  It was really enjoyable!  There were only a few families there.  It costs $5 a person for the hayride and that includes a pumpkin for each person, and you can walk through nature trails, a rose garden, and view many animals FREE of charge. 

Waiting on the hayride...

There were a few pictures where Ella was smiling and looking at the camera but no one else was! Poor Ella.  She always looks like she's not looking in the picture I choose but really, she just got sick of waiting for the others to cooperate!!

 The adult rule in our family (ANDY) is that the adult looks pretty and smiles the whole time I'm trying to get a good shot so that all I have to worry about are the children...

 The obligatory family shot.  Yikes.

 The hayride was long and went through the woods.  It was really nice and peaceful.  We arrived at a fenced in pumpkin patch with perfect sized pumpkins for our little ones!

 Gabe hung out the whole time in one spot.  He was happy to hang with the pumpkins!

 My sweet babies...

 Lilly took our picture!

This shot was not staged!  The kids ran over to look at the sheep!

My baby boys.

 After the hayride the kids were off to see the donkey they'd spotted from the wagon.

We had a great time and we now have six perfect pumpkins sitting on our front porch.  Next week Lilly's going to the pumpkin patch at our usual farm for a class field trip.  I love fall! 

Firsts

Yesterday was a day of firsts for Ella.  She really surprised me too!  A friend invited me to a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting for two hours in the morning.  The moms meet in a large room in the church and the children go into different rooms according to age and play and have a snack.  I did not want to go because I've never left Ella or the boys and it gives me great anxiety to think of doing so.

I went.  Gabe was napping so he stayed home (Andy was home working).  Luke did fine and so did Ella!!  Yay! 

Ella really surprised me. 

Then, both girls had a dentist appointment.  Ella can be very shy and anxious.  I wasn't sure how she'd handle her first cleaning and again, I found myself anxious.  Lilly's temperament is so nice in these situations!  She is so brave and extroverted and handles new situations easily.  Again, Ella surprised me!

She handled her first dental cleaning like a pro.

 The kids' dentist prefers kids 3 and older go in alone as they find children do better without mom or dad in the room.  Lilly has been going in alone for two years and has even had cavities filled alone.  Yesterday I peeked in her room and snapped a picture.  She was getting goo in her mouth and having x-rays.  She amazes me!

Poor Lilly...  Two more cavities were found yesterday and we went back this morning to have them filled.  She is one tough cookie.  I'm scared to death of dental work but she went right back and got them filled all on her own.  She even insisted on going to school after the appointment with only an hour left!!

I have always been obsessive about Lilly's teeth since they sprouted.  I feel so awful that she has soft teeth and cavities.  Guilt guilt!  The dentist assures me the genetics are the cause but it doesn't stop my guilt.  Thankfully, it seems Ella has my teeth and they were all strong and without cavities.  Already dreading the boys' first dental visit...

Babies

I really don't remember much from the boys' first year.  Twin moms told me I wouldn't but somehow I didn't believe them.  Now, the boys are 14 months old and I can honestly say I'm finally able to breathe.  I enjoy them so much and life is going smoothly!

They are so fun, cute, funny, good, and delicious.  I love this age.

 We have a nice little routine going.  The kids wake up one by one and we get Lilly ready for school.  We drop her off and then when we come home the kids sit and wait on the step while I dry my hair.  Isn't that funny?  They like to be near me but not too near the hairdryer.  I could eat them up.

 Then Gabe takes a morning nap, wakes up, we go pick Lilly up, come home and I give them lunch, put Luke down for his one nap (he gave up his a.m. nap), then put Gabe down for his p.m. nap, hang with the girls until the boys wake up and then usually head outside for bike riding, playing on the deck or in the yard, or playing at the park.

They boys are on the move but still such great babies.  Luke is busy but somewhat cautious.  Gabe is busy and working on standing alone.  Andy thinks he'll walk in the next six weeks.  I'm not quite sure but know it's fairly soon.  They both love climbing the stairs.  They also both learned how to go down the steps (going backwards). 

I love that Luke carries things everywhere.  Usually it's a hammer or stick.  This day it was a dog.  Gabe was loving the fact that he was first up...

 Winner!

If he's anything like a puppy, this boy will be big.  He has some large paws...

 I am finally able to clean and do laundry (which was moved upstairs!) while the boys and Ella play in all the bedrooms trashing whatever I've cleaned.  The boys love the girls' chairs so we'll be asking Santa for a pair for them.

Hey, how did Ella's curtain fall?

 Busy boys...

 

 

Gabe's legs are white from the addition/construction.

 Lilly's second nightlight.  The boys broke her first that she had for five years without incident...

 They love to play in the addition.

 "What are you holding buddy?"

 Luke is our Mr. Toolman.

 Is it awful that I love this series of pictures?  Look at Luke's face.  Poor little buddy.

He got hit.  He cries.  Poor bubby.

 I always bathed the girls every other night.  The boys require nightly baths.  They are such good little messy boys!

Lilly Lilly

Lilly loves school.  She's learning a lot as well. 

Last week we received a birthday invitation from our good friend Christine.  Her daughter Chessa's 3rd birthday party is the same day as a fundraiser for Lilly's school.  The fundraiser is a walk called the Hartewalk.  They are raising money for a school in Cameroon, Africa.  For some reason the walk is on a Sunday at the exact same time as our friend's birthday party an hour away.  I was telling Lilly about this dilemma and she got busy scribbling this message for her
teacher...

"I'm not going to walk."

She was very proud of herself.  I tried to tell her that the walk is optional and that we would still donate money.  It was not necessary to let her teacher know, but she insisted.

 I am just thrilled Lilly loves to write and is starting to read.  I don't think we'll be going to the Hartewalk as our friend's party is very important and we don't want to miss it.

Great writing Lilly!

Ella

Ella loves to play with toys. She has a great imagination and can play with her Barbies for an hour.  She talks most of the time about where they're going and what they'll do there.  It's awesome to listen in on her conversations.

 Recently she began pulling the heads off her Barbies, but on this day, she played happily taking her girls to the beach.

 Note the baby on her lap...

 Baby wanted to ride on her momma's lap but she couldn't fit.  Besides, that's not very safe.

 "That's better baby."

 Ella has such a sweet soul.  She is happiest at home, with her Momma.  She loves to play with her siblings, watch Caillou and Dora, eat yogurt and peaches, and sleep.  When I ask her about preschool she replies, "No thank you, I'm not ready yet" in the sweetest voice.  I affectionately refer to her as "Grandma" as she's the slowest child on the planet.  She doesn't dare take a risk and she'd rather use her mind than her body. 

Recently, we had our little friend Stephen over so Ella could get used to playing with another child her age.  She is very shy and anxious and playing with others makes her nervous.  They had a great time together and how stinkin' cute are they!?