First Comes Love...

You know those picture perfect moments you have captured in your head but in reality are a terrible idea? Here's a seasonally appropriate one for today :) I tried it with Abigail at the same age and got the same result... Lesson learned. I give up! Tonight we're dressing up OZ themed for a party at Mamie and Papa's and taking Abigail trick or treating for the first time- I can't wait!  Happy Halloween!!

We may not have picked a pumpkin at the patch last weekend , but we did grab one from Freddies this week  :) Monday morning I started talking to Abigail about the HUGE pumpkin we would be carving that night.  She knows what a pumpkin is and has a general sense of HUGE , so she was delighted when Kevin walked through the door with said gourd (or is it a squash?) that evening. The first step was to wash the pumpkin (she thought that was pretty cool) Next she took out the guts (even more fun) Then Kevin carved it (sharp tool = no fun for Abigail) And finally we turned down the lights and put a candle inside (the best part!) Abigail has been going to a lot of birthday parties and she loves singing Happy Birthday, so it should have come as no surprise when she broke out in song upon seeing the pumpkin with a candle inside! So we indulged her by singing "happy birthday, dear pumpkin" and allowing her to blow out the candle.  Twice  :) ...

Yesterday we spent the day with Anne, Ian, Mamie, Papa, and the kids at the pumpkin patch. (We've been on a roll with quality cousin time and I love it!) In keeping with our new tradition , we headed to Swan Trail Farms and spent the morning eating cider donuts, walking through hay and corn mazes, going on a hay ride, looking at farm animals, and going on a few rides.  We did everything BUT buy a pumpkin  :) The kids had so much fun exploring the farm.  Abigail especially loved the hay ride and looking at the big Mama Pig.  She didn't however enjoy the cow barrel ride... the kids were all buckled in ready for their ride, but as we waved goodbye she started to panic.  Next thing we know the kid driving the tractor stopped- Abigail was in full melt down mode (cue adorably patchy red face and big crocodile tears..) Aside from that, she had a blast  :) Here are some pictures from our oh-so-fun-family adventure: A little tight....

George finally met his cousins last night! It took Anne and I almost 6 weeks to find a window of time with no runny noses, but we finally got the chance last night. When I got to the house Lucy and Oscar raced to the door to steal a first glance- it was so cute! There were a few moments when all the kids wanted to hold George at the same time, but we made it out with George's neck intact :) It was such a fun night and I can't wait to watch these kids grow up together!

When Abigail was born we had Bella Baby take our hospital pictures.  My parents were generous in gifting this to us, and luckly we had credit left, so we decided to have Mary (the gal who took Abigail's hospital pictures ) over to take some family shots this time. We took these just 4 days after George was born, so you can still see his blood shot eye (from being born so quickly), his newborn / old man scowl (which he had for at least the first 2 weeks!) and of course my lovely post-birth water retention.  Ah, the early days  :) The main purpose was to get newborn pictures of George, but Abigail had the most fun of all: hamming it up, walking around the house (hand in hand) with Mary, and taking every opportunity to pose for the camera. Here are the pictures! I'm so glad we got the chance to capture our family of four in the wee early days!

I'm in love with Fall babies.  Nothing beats cuddling a wee-one in your arms as the rain falls all around. But has it's challenges, and  warding off baby colds, especially around a preschool attending big sister, is one of the biggest.   Abigail came down with a cold last week and just when I thought George and I had beat it, he got a stuffy nose. Abigail's first cold: well over 8 months old George's first cold: 4 weeks old The consequences of being second born... Lucky for us, Abigail's at Grandma's today so we can cuddle our way through it together  Have a great, restful weekend.

Abigail and I took George to Dr. Spector's for his one month check-up this morning: weight: 10lbs, 2.5oz (52%) length: 21.5" (43%) He's  doing great and growing like a (handsome)  little weed! Just look at those big blue eyes! I'm in love.

Last week Kevin took Friday off and we headed to Bob's Corn Maze and Pumpkin Farm  in Snohomish. While we're saving the big pumpkin adventure for later this month with Mamie, Papa, Auntie Anne, and the kids, we splurged on a few mini pumpkins (which Abigail was certain were balls and insisted on throwing!)   and had a blast on the cow ride and tire swing. Here are some pictures from our little adventure: Given the cold Abigail's been fighting, she was a trooper.  Overall we lucked out with great Fall weather and some well behaved little ones on a long car ride. We've been loving all this cozy Fall weather and hope everyone is enjoying the season as well!