Fall Festival

This past weekend Grandpa and Grandma Smith came for a visit and we went to a fall festival that was tons of fun.  The weather was beautiful, a bit chilly when the wind picked up, but we had plenty of sunshine.  The farm we went to is actually the place where they filmed the Green Giant commercial, you know, "ho ho ho green giant".  It's in a beautiful valley just 15 minutes from our house.  They had TONS of pumpkins, more than I've ever seen in my life all grown there on the farm along with lots of other produce including some delicious apples grown on their 2,000 apple trees.  The girls loved climbing on the big piles of pumpkins.

They had a petting zoo that was great fun for the girls although Anna was terrified at first. The animals of course were very friendly and I think they got a little too close to her in the beginning. Audrey on the other hand was in heaven playing with all the animals and feeding them a bottle. Right now she's not afraid of anything - scary! Thankfully Anna adjusted and enjoyed the animals too.

 

 The llama was so sweet just standing still letting the girls pet it.  It was even making a singing sound, kind of like a kitten purring, enjoying their attention which thrilled Anna that it was "talking" to her.

 Thank you Grandpa and Grandma for a fun time.  It is an awesome place that we plan to visit again especially to get some locally grown produce and homemade goods.  I can't imagine how many acres they have and how many workers they employ to keep up with it all. 

37 weeks

I feel huge and am hoping baby boy decides to come soon!  Carrying him has been so much harder on my body than carrying the girls was but I'm thankful we've made it this far after such a rough start and I can't wait to meet my little man.  I went to the doctor today and I'm dilated 2-3 centimenters and my body is starting to prepare for delivery.  He's laying head down and has definitely dropped.  The doctor said it could happen within the next week so we'll see.  I just pray for a healthy baby and easy delivery. =)

The Springhouse Pumpkin Patch

On Monday evening, Anna's school hosted a fun time at the pumpkin patch.  The girls each got a pumpkin, ice cream, and hayride all for $7.50 total.  What a great deal!  We had a good time browsing through the pumpkin patch, playing in the straw maze, riding on the hayride (what a bumpy ride for Mommy while 36 weeks pregnant!), and eating some yummy homemade ice cream.  Anna loved seeing her classmates there, especially her best bud Molly.  I wish we'd have had more time to do the other things they had available but it's getting dark so early now that we ran out of time.  Maybe we'll go back before the end of the month to enjoy the fun some more. 

Audrey playing

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I've been trying to capture Audrey on video a lot lately because I love going back and watching videos of Anna at this age.  It's so fun to watch them learn and listen to them talk.  It's amazing the things they pick up that you're not even aware of.  The volume isn't the greatest on this so it's probably hard to understand what she's saying.  She's taking her babies to church and giving each of them a turn in the stroller.  I guess Sarah wasn't staying in her seat so she took her out and gave her a spanking telling her that she needed to listen and obey.  Audrey's never heard those words before!  :) 

Yellow Hat Girls

Here's the Yellow Hat Girls (Anna, Audrey, and Addison - maybe they should be called the "A" Team) performing for us.  The girls made their hats at the Curious George exhibit at the Pittsburgh Children's Museum.  I meant to include this in my post below with the Schoolcrafts but forgot so here it is.  Enjoy the show!  :)  Anna and Audrey do "shows" like this all the time... it's a daily thing around here... I think they're bound for the music industry.  :)

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Unca Nate and Grandma Kathy

My brother, Nate, and my Mom came to visit recently and it was such a fun time although a short visit.  Mom surprised us by coming along and it was a wonderful surprise!  I love surprises!!

 Nate helped Michael decorate the baby's room and also made us some yummy chocolate chip cookies.

 Mom surprised Anna by meeting her at the bus.  I wish I could've gotten a picture of her face when she saw mom as she was getting off the bus - she was thrilled!

 Anna and Nate have always been the best of buds.  I didn't get many pictures of Audrey... she's just not into getting her picture taken like Anna always has been.  That can be frustrating for her picture loving mommy!  :)

Fun with The Schoolcrafts

A few weekends ago, our friends from WV  - Crystal, Ezra, and Addison - came to visit, and we had a great time.  Their little girl Addison, and Audrey are the best of buds and Audrey has really been missing her.

 We went to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum to see the Curious George exhibit and while there the girls got to make yellow hats that they loved modeling for us.

 This seesaw was pretty cool as there were bubbles that went up in the see-through glass case each time a side went up or down.

 The water table area was lots of fun and provided lots of opportunities for getting wet.

 Anna greeted Curious George but Audrey wouldn't go near him.

 Anna had fun building water pipes in the water area.  However, her shoes got soaked!

 The girls also enjoyed playing in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.  I didn't know it until moving to the area but he was a Pittsburgh native.

Audrey and Baby

Audrey is all about her babies right now.  I remember Anna being the same way at this age.  Both girls will be a great help (maybe too much) once baby boy arrives.  They are having so much fun watching his room "come to life" as we get a little bit more done every few days.  This past weekend we washed all the blankets, clothing, bibs, etc. and the girls had a blast going through it all and even trying some of it on their dolls.  We're all getting very excited!  I haven't posted a video for awhile so here's one of Audrey and baby Sarah.  I'm not sure what Anna's singing in the background but she's just being Anna - almost always singing something!  I was trying to get Audrey to sing to her baby as she was serenading her before I turned the camera on but of course she quit once I started taping.  I'll keep trying to capture it because it's so sweet to hear her sing to her babies the same songs I sing to her. 

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A New Friend

Anna has a new friend at school whom she talks about all the time.  Her and Molly have hit it off well and last Wednesday, Molly invited her to go with her to ballet class as it was "bring a friend" week.  Anna was thrilled!  The girls get along very well and are always holding hands or hugging.  I'm so thankful she's found a special friend as I know she was really missing her friends in WV.  Can you believe how much bigger Anna is than Molly?  My goodness... and they're only a month a part in age!  Anna is definitely the tallest girl in her class, even towering above some of the boys and she's one of the youngest too.  I wonder if she'll continue to grow at this rate or slow down?

Labor Day Weekend

I've been wanting to post these pictures for a few weeks and finally got it done!  We drove to IN over Labor Day weekend to meet up with our good friends who were our neighbors in TN.  They live on the Illinois/Iowa border now so meeting in Indianapolis is a good half way point for us to meet up.  It was so GREAT to see Quentin, Paula, Elli, Jess, and Owen.  It had been almost 2 years since we saw them last - way too long!  We had to cut our weekend short as their family came down with  a stomach bug but thankfully we got to have 2 days with them enjoying the Children's Museum and hanging out together.  The Indianapolis Children's Museum is a wonderful place!  They always have great exhibits that are changed often and fun hands-on activities for the kiddos. 

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Big Girl Audrey!

I am shocked!  Audrey has potty trained so fast and easy that I still can't believe it.  I heard about kids who were like this but never thought I'd have one.  It really only took a few days and she mastered it.  She tells us when she needs to go, she'll go when we're out and about (although public bathrooms disgust me!), and she's staying dry all night too.  WOW!  It was so much harder with Anna and I anticipated it wouldn't be easy with Audrey either but she's proved me wrong.  I'm so thankful for this blessing.  I was really hoping to have a break from buying and changing diapers before the baby is born and I'm really going to get it, first time in 5 years.  AWESOME!  She loves her panties, has so much fun picking them out each morning, and won't even go near diapers or pull-ups anymore.  What a big girl!

It's Finished!

I didn't get pictures taken before construction started but when we moved into the house the basement was nothing but concrete walls and floor with 2 hanging lights.  Now we have a wonderful great room and storage closet with several other smaller closets.  We're hoping to finish the bathroom down there next spring.  The crew that did the project was great to work with and fast... getting it all done in just 4 weeks!  Thank you Lord for more space and storage!

Poops, Pukes, and Fevers

I know that's not a very pleasant title but that's what's been going on at our house.  We've had such a rough past week.  Anna started vomiting last Monday night and throughout last week it hit Michael and I and ended with Audrey along with the other two glorious symptoms.  Michael and I both had it at the same time and we were practically crawling around the house trying to care for the girls without getting too far away from the bathroom.  Thankfully the Lord saw us through but I pray that we don't ever go through anything like that again.  It's still lingering as we're still fighting nausea and exhaustion - it's one nasty virus!  Hopefully the worst of it is behind all of us and we'll be free from illness for at least a year - HA! 

The girls have both been so clingy and lethargic.  They're slowly getting back to their energetic selves.

32 Weeks

My belly is huge and I still have around 8 weeks to go which seems like forever in my uncomfortable state.  I'm definitely carrying this little guy different than I did the girls and my back and hips are feeling it.  There are many times that I can't find a single position, sitting or standing, that takes the pressure off.  Riding in the car puts my legs and feet to sleep not to mention the start of swelling.  I envy the mommas who have fairly easy pregnancies and enjoy every minute of it.  I love to feel him move although he's getting so strong that even that's painful at times.  Despite all of the crabbing, I am so thankful for this little life growing in my womb and I'm soooo excited to hold him! 

Little Miss Bus Rider

Well... Anna loves the bus and Mommy survived the suspense of waiting for her to get home.  She actually got here quicker than I could get back here with her and she has to wear a seat belt which is wonderful!!  I'm not sure I'd want her to ride if she didn't have to because the roads around here are DANGEROUS!  There are plenty of curves and hills and most of the back roads around our house have speed limits of 25 or 35 mph which tells you just how unsafe they are.  I'm glad she liked it and I'm thankful they provide this service for private schools as I was spending almost 2 hours a day in the car taking her to school, coming back home, going back to pick her up, and then coming home again.  Thank you Lord for watching over my girl!

Surrender...

I'm sitting here waiting for my dear little Anna to get home ON THE BUS and the only word that keeps coming to mind is "surrender".  This is not something I do easily!  I am head strong, strong-willed, determined, whatever you want to call it and I like to have control.  This is something the Lord has continually worked on throughout my life and I'm sure He'll continue to do so until the day I die.  The definition of surrender is to give up or yeild possession or power.  In terms of mothering, that can be hard to do.  As a mother I want to control every area of my children's lives making sure they're safe, well taken care of, and generally happy.  When I'm not with them, I can't be sure all those things are happening.  However, I also have to realize that they belong to HIM, HE created them, and HE loves them more than I ever will.  HE can care for them better than I can and HE is with them always!  I'm trying to hold it together, trying not to freak out, and let my emotions go wild.  When she started preschool 2 years ago, I had to let go a little and have had with small things in the past few years but riding the bus home - this is big stuff for us!  I've had this little girl at home with me almost every day, most days the entire day, for 5+ years and now she's gone a few hours every day and today is riding the bus without me.  I can do this only because I know that my God is with her even when I can't be.