Pumpkin Patch

Today was the annual field trip to the pumpkin patch...aka the mud hole. After all the rain we've had this month, and all the rain we had yesterday and last night, it was a big mud hole. It was also cold and super windy. However, we still had a lot of fun.









First we went to see the animals. They had rabbits, ducks, goats, pigs, chickens and roosters, turkeys, sheep and donkeys. Gavin's favorite animal was the goats, probably because he got to feed them!

Then we went on a hay ride. It was so muddy they just took us in a circle around a small pond instead of taking us all the way around the farm like they usually do. After picking a couple pumpkins out of the pumpkin patch, we had a snack, went through the hay maze and went home.

Halloween Preview

Today we went to the Halloween party at Gavin's preschool. Gavin, of course, was a knight and Austin was a giraffe. There were lots of great costumes there, including a little boy dressed as Raggedy Andy which I thought was cute. Gavin's good friend Jack also said he was a knight but technically he had on a Roman soldier outfit, not a knight outfit.

Gavin worked on a ghost craft, then had a Halloween snack. Gavin really liked the worm at the bottom of his drink (it was a gummy worm in juice, not a worm in a tequila bottle!). Then his class paraded through the gym in their costumes, sang "Hooky Spooky" which is basically "Hokey Pokey" and played a few games.

They had a great time although Austin missed his morning nap which left him very tired.

A Beautiful Fall Day

Today, Austin enjoyed some tummy time and then we went outside to enjoy the first sunny day in weeks.


















It was a perfect fall day, cool but not cold, and the sun was finally out. Gavin hasn't been able to play outside in a couple weeks because of all the rain and subsequent muddy yard. We were all very excited to head down the sidewalk today!

We had a lot of fun walking down the trail behind our house and playing on the playground at the park. Usually we just walk down the trail, but today we decided to try the playground. I took Austin down the slide a couple times and he seemed to enjoy it but was too busy chewing on his hand to pay too much attention. Austin did enjoy watching his brother run around on the playset while he was in his stroller. We also collected more leaves and twigs for upcoming art projects. It seems like the trees are all changing at different times for some reason, some trees are completely bare and some have barely started changing color yet. We were able to find some beautiful red and yellow leaves on the ground today. Gavin enjoys picking the prettiest leaves he can find.

Knights and smiles

Today Gavin played with a reusable sticker book of knights. They are basically window clings you can put on a castle background and move them around. He loved them and was making up all kinds of tales about his knights and dragons. Then he played with his toy knights for a while. We also did a 24 piece Tonka puzzle together and read lots of books.

Austin was in his usual good mood today. Still drooling like crazy. This week I've been setting him down several times a day on the wood floor. I was putting him on a blanket or in his activity gym but he'd scoot off of it and then start fussing when he got to the wood floor. Since he'll be crawling soon, I figured he might as well get used to it. Now he's fine as long as Gavin and/or I lay down next to him. But, every time I pick him back up there's a huge puddle on the floor. I keep expecting to see a tooth but so far, nothing, just lots and lots of drool!

I also managed to cook a whole chicken with veggies (okay it was in a crockpot so there wasn't a whole lot of 'cooking' going on), nine loads of laundry (how do we accumulate so much every week?) and vaccuumed and mopped the floors throughout the house! I think I was very productive.

Funny Blog Entry

I'm looking online for Thanksgiving crafts for the kids to do, and I came across this blog called, "Yet Another Blog...One Block from Gordo's Taco Stand". Random I know, but they posted the funniest church signs - a Catholic church and a Presbyterian church going back and forth about dogs on their signs. You have to read it!

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Pineapples and Banana Bread...

that's what Gavin had for dinner. That's healthy right? It was homemade banana bread. Two of his favorite things, he was happy but we'll do better tomorrow.
Austin finally found a toy he can keep in his mouth. He really wants to chew on things but I haven't been able to find a teether that is easy for him to hold and keep in his mouth for more that a few seconds. But, today I brought out a ring that has a teether on each side and he did great with it! The ring is small enough he can hold it easily and it's really light. Some teethers are so big and bulky.

Yard Work

This afternoon Dad decided to try and get the yard mowed and raked before it rained. He had lots of help! Gavin followed him out the door as fast as he could go because he loves to 'help' Dad take care of the yard. Austin was sleeping so I told Kaitlynn we'd go out on the porch and watch the boys mow the yard.
Well, who knew Kaitlynn would be so good at yardwork too! At first she watched Gavin mow with his lawn mower, then she started following him back and forth, and then she took over the mowing. When the mowing was done she helped the guys rake and bag the leaves. They all had a great time and came in just as the rain started to pour! Sorry for all the pictures but the kids are just so cute I couldn't decide which to use!

Pumpkin Painting

The last couple of years, Gavin has painted a pumpkin at Halloween time since he's too young to carve a pumpkin. He always really enjoys it! Today was the kind of day where it looked like it was going to rain all day, so I threw a plastic garbage bag on the floor and let the kids go to town on their pumpkins.
They both did a great job. Gavin very seriously made sure that the WHOLE pumpkin was painted. He wanted me to turn the pumpkin upside down so he could paint the bottom so we had to have a discussion about why we couldn't do that.
Kaitlynn used lots of color on her pumpkin and it turned out really pretty. She painted all the way around her pumpkin too and I was kind of surprised that she was able to really take her time and do such a good job at her age. She seemed to enjoy mixing the colors together to see what colors and designs she could make. Amanda, if you read this tonight, we used washable paints so don't leave it outside in the rain!

Play-Doh

Kaitlynn and I played with Play-Doh this afternoon. At first, she wasn't sure what to make of it, but once she started squishing it, she realized that Play-Doh is lots of fun and played with it for about twenty minutes before she was ready to do something else.