Carving Pumpkins

This past weekend we were blessed with beautiful weather and we took advantage of it by carving our pumpkins outside on the picnic table.  Thankfully Daddy doesn't mind doing most of the work because Mommy can barely stand the smell of pumpkins.  Anna enjoyed scooping the guts out with a spoon but wouldn't use her hands.  Audrey wanted nothing to do with any of it but was very loving towards her Daddy who did the work for her.  :)

 Yes Anna, pumpkins stink!  And yes, Audrey's being Audrey when it comes to looking at the camera...  urrrr!

 Great job Daddy!!

Ready and Waiting

His room is done and waiting to greet him. As you can see, we're planning to name him Noah, Noah Michael, however, we've not signed any papers yet so that could still possibly change. We both love the name, the Biblical testimony behind it, and it's meaning (restful and peaceful - we can only hope!) but we don't want our little guy to have the same name as 500 million other boys especially with the last name of Smith. We were pretty set on it and then in the past 2 weeks we've heard of 2 other Noah's and so now I'm kinda doubtful. The girls love it, they actually were 100% set on it before we were. Choosing your child's name is so hard! It's definitely not as fun as it was when I was younger naming my baby dolls and changing their names every other week. =) We're continuing to pray that God gives us a clear answer on what this little one's name is supposed to be. We didn't name the girls until we saw them so this is early for us. Maybe we just won't be sure until we see this little guy.

 Michael picked out his bedding and the decorations.  He knew he wanted to do his room in airplanes but was very picky about which ones.  He was set on WW2 planes so we looked at several different bedding sets until we found the right one.  He then found a "fleet" of model planes at Hobby Lobby that he wanted to put in his room too.  The wall decals went with the bedding set and he and my brother put those up.  It was nice having him pick things out and make the decisions. 

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.