Halloween Pumpkins

 For Family Home Evening we put our carving skills to work and created our Jack-O-Lanterns.  All the kids had fun and were pretty excited about how their pumpkins turned out!

Kyron LOVED carving his pumpkin.  I drew different options for his eye shape and he pointed to what he wanted and he even pulled the pumpkin pieces out.  By the time he was supposed to pick what mouth shape he wanted, he was too busy playing with his pumpkin pieces, so Eliana stepped up and helped finish his design.

Hylie picked a small pumpkin to carve and was so excited to design and cut out a silhouette of a cat.  However, I am convinced her pumpkin was petrified.  It was almost impossible to cut.  I cleaned out the pumpkins earlier that day and had the hardest time cutting the lid--I let her know she may have to paint her pumpkin instead, but she and Dad worked extremely hard on it and were actually able to carve everything out!

Not surprisingly, Eliana opted to paint her pumpkin...

However, after watching everyone busily carving, we were all surprised when Eliana asked if she could carve one, too!  She has always been absolutely disgusted by pumpkin 'guts' and touching any part of the inside of the pumpkin.  Luckily, I had picked up an extra pumpkin just in case and Eliana designed and helped carve it!

Lillian's 4th Birthday

Our cute Lillian turned 4 on October 14th

Nothing like starting your day by opening gifts, right?

 

Hylie made an "Illustrator Book" for Lillian.  She drew all the pictures inside for Lillian to color.

These rings from Great Grandma and Pap Pap are nothing short of treasures to Lillian--she LOVES picking out her rings each day.

Her dinner was "Brixfix" (aka breakfast) for dinner and for dessert: chocolate cake with blue frosting and raspberries.

I had to take a video at least once for posterity--this is how the girls like to sing "Happy Birthday" these days!

Lillian is a very observant and witty girl.  We love her spunk and eagerness to help.  During these past few months, Lillian's list of things to do "after the sickness" has grown exponentially!  She has shown amazing patience and understanding as we continue to figure out how to navigate these different times--here's hoping we can start checking off her wish list sooner than later!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

 On Tuesday, October 13th the kids had no school and Geoff took the day off work so we could enjoy a pumpkin farm all together.

It was a beautiful day and the farm didn't disappoint with all of the different activities and animals.

Hylie trying her hand at a two-story slide

This corn maze was pretty fun.  At first, it was really easy and all the twist and turns were quite predictable...but towards the end we all had to make several U-turns to finally get out!

Kyron was fascinated with the little chicks and even said "cheep, cheep" a few times!

Summer Projects Status: SUCCESS!

 At the beginning of the summer when I made my list of desired projects, I was feeling slightly overwhelmed, but determined.  But like the tendency of many projects, their complexity can enhance as other problems are revealed...I definitely ran into this but I'm happy to report that everything has come together!

We hired a tree company to take down a huge dead elm tree and clear out all of the invasive trees along our property line.

We planted four itty bitty arborvitaes in hopes they'll provide us some privacy in a few years.  We also set up a swing set for the kids.

The Honeysuckle trees around our deck did provide privacy and shade, but they were out of control.

So we had them removed and planted some trees on the other side of the walkway to open up the space.  If you look closely, you may also see the little maple we planted between the walk and deck in hopes it will provide us some shade in a few (or maybe several!) years.

I put some patio block down to soon house a much-wanted porch swing.  At the same time, I was able to shape the ground around the patio so everything was a little more level.  We also planted the privacy trees pictured behind the patio block.

And finally, the last project of the summer was just completed: I repositioned and leveled all the stones in this path and applied concrete as grout.  Oh, it feels good to be done...for now!

Kyron 18 Months

 

Somewhere at the end of the summer, this big guy reached 18 months.  Ever since he figured out how to move about on his two feet, he has been go, go, GO!  He loves emptying every box of whatever its contents are, turning on the stove, and "helping" mom with laundry (it's pretty pointless to fold laundry when Kyron's awake, but he sure knows how to help put clothes in the dryer, throw the handy-dandy dryer balls in, and push all the right buttons!)

It seems Kyron understands everything we say to him, but he has no desire to verbally respond.  In fact, when I ask him to say "Mama" or "Dada", 99% of the time he replies with a very grumpy grunt.  However, he'll do some animal sounds for dogs, lions, and ducks!

Anytime he sees the pantry door unlatched, he makes a beeline for his favorite snack of applesauce pouches.  Kyron's still a pretty picky eater, but he's finally starting to actually TRY some unfamiliar food before he decides if he likes it or not.  Before, he would just look at the food and chuck it across the room, never letting it near his mouth.

I'm glad I got this video when I did--he has refused to do this song ever since, ha!

Outside is his favorite place to be and if he can get into something dirty while he's there, he is in heaven!  Kyron also loves to take hold of the scooter backwards and run as fast as he can down the driveway--we're working very hard on stopping at the road. 

He still loves to snuggle at night, which makes my Mama Heart so very happy--I'm soaking in all the love I can get.  And, admittedly, the fact that he's a Mama's Boy makes me melt.  

He considers himself a pro when it comes to eating with a spoon.

And here's a side-by-side of Geoff and Kyron.  There's no point in putting up my 18-month photo to see who Kyron looks more like, he's all Geoff!  Such sweetness!

Geoff's Birthday

 

On September 13th we enjoyed celebrating Geoff.  As usual, his main focus was to keep everything simple so we enjoyed some homemade pizza and fruit salad.  (Lucky for the kids, I had some cupcakes in the freezer, so they had a little bit more of an exciting dessert than the adults, ha!)

If I've learned anything from this pandemic, it's that I'm so grateful to be stuck with this guy.  He's been right by my side as we've had to adapt to the many twists and turns this year has brought.  So thankful for his listening ear, his support, and his much needed hugs when the days don't ever seem to slow down.  Through all of this, we have been extremely thankful for our health, Geoff's employment, and for each other.

Happy Birthday, Geoff!  We sure love you!