The Pumpkin Patch

Time for family night at Jaker's Pumpkin Patch!

 Ben at the mouth of the hay maze

Sylvia and Henry hangin' out 

Is it really that hard for everyone to look at the camera at the same time?  

Seriously, this is the best picture of the 3 munchkins that I could get. 

Sylvia liked the "warty" pumpkins 

Henry is just trying to process what a pumpkin is, exactly. 

Jaker's has a corn pit for the kids to enjoy.  

Ben's idea of fun is to throw corn at all the other kids. 

Cannonball!!!!

Happiness

Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you.

~Walt Whitman

     So, this month has been a little bit of a disappointment.  We had our hearts set on a cute little house, and since it was a short sale, we waited quite a long time for the bank to move on it.  Well, the bank moved on it all right--they foreclosed on the property last week.  Needless to say, we're bummed.  Everyone who knows about real estate will tell you this is a common occurrence, but that doesn't mean that our feelings aren't valid.  Talk about a frustrating waste of time :(

     With the cooler weather setting in, I think we are just going to take a break from looking for a home for a while.  I am excited about saving even more money, and starting fresh in the Spring.  I also refuse to be sad.  There is a great house out there for us, I just know it!

     I love the quote above.  Isn't it a conscious decision to be happy?  You have to turn your face to the sunshine.  You have to get up in the morning, and DECIDE to have a good day.  I'm actually proud of my ability to do this.  I enjoy my life, I understand that bad things happen to good people, I live in the moment, and I look to the future for the good things to come.  

Choose to be happy today.

Henry is 10 Months Old!

The little baby man enjoying his lunch of cut up banana.  Gotta love finger foods!

What Henry's Doing at 10 Months:

• Henry has taken a total of 2 steps all by himself, but he's still a little tentative.  He'd rather walk along the furniture with one hand to steady himself.  Fine by me, but it's really cute watching him.  You can tell he would really like to try walking!
• He's still really enjoying nursing, but I can tell he's beginning to get impatient with daytime nursing sessions.  He would  rather drink water from a sippy cup, the drink of choice for busy babies on the go.  He likes to be part of family mealtimes, but will still tolerate just a little baby food.  
• Still not a good sleeper.  'Nuff said.
• Babbles all day, yells when he wants your attention, and loves to imitate sounds.  His favorite sound to make?  Grunting.  Weird :/
• Has discovered that he LOVES Patty Cake.  And he will play Peek-A-Boo with you ALL DAY LONG. 

All in all?  Henry is delightful. 

Ben is 6!

The Birthday Boy!    

     Ben turned 6 yesterday! Ben is an awesome kid.  On the flip side, he is also destructo boy.  My guess is that I have a pretty typical little guy on my hands.  

     A few days before his birthday, we were at the grocery store, and Ben asked me to buy him one of those little 5 hour energy shots.  Can you imagine, reader? Can you possibly imagine the most energetic boy on the planet after he has imbibed an energy drink??!!  I shudder at the very thought. 

    Anyway, we got Ben lots of small presents for his birthday, the favorite being his new Bey Blade (a glorified spinning top, and boys "battle" and apparently have a wonderful time).  We ate chocolate cake, ice cream and opened some practical presents from Grandma Susan.  Today, Ben asked us to take him to see The Amazing Spider Man, so that's what we'll be doing for family night.  

     Ben is absolutely crazy, but he is growing up to be so smart, and very funny.  He really is fun to have in our family.  I kind of feel like Benny is the member of our family that adds the color to our lives.  My 6 year old is definitely a special guy.

Riding 2 Wheelers

Where's Ben's helmet? 

Riding in the late afternoon sunshine 

What a great smile :) 

Henry just watching all the fun!

Lookin' Cute At Soccer

Henry is 9 Months Old!

My sweet little man - he's freaking adorable.

What the Henry boy is up to now:

• Still crawling like a crazy baby, but he's making big strides towards walking.  He is now standing up unassisted for long periods of time.  Well, until he realizes that he's standing up alone.  Then he will promptly sit down, lol.
• Enjoys eating what everyone else is eating, thankyouverymuch.  He'll tolerate baby food, but I'm about ready to give up on it.  He'd rather eat mom's food, and that's fine with me.
• Is NOT a good sleeper.  I tried the "cry-it-out" method, but that didn't really work.  So, Henry is up multiple times a night, and he will cry until mom comes to soothe him back to sleep.  One word.  HELP.
• His favorite activities are Peek-a-Boo, and banging on things.  He also loves to yell while mom is talking.  You know, to be a part of the conversation.
• Doesn't enjoy being read to, but I keep trying.  He's such a wiggly baby, that quiet activities like reading are not high on Henry's list.