Style

 

Style......we've got it in spades around here.

My Neighborhood

For those of you who grew up watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, you'll understand this post.  For those of you who didn't, I'm sad for you.  :)

Fred Rogers was an amazing guy.  I felt loved and special watching it when I was a kid, and frankly, I still do as an adult.  He was kind, genuinely enjoyed what he did, and showed a slower, gentler side of life that is so refreshing. 

I love when my kids watch it now.  It makes me smile when Andrew asks about buildings "in our neighborhood" and when Emmie sings "Won't you be my neighbor" while we're putting her shoes on. 

Some reasons I love Mr. Rogers.

Here's a really good list of facts about Mr. Rogers that I didn't know.  Follow the link here:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/16416/15-reasons-mister-rogers-was-best-neighbor-ever

 

Is it pathetic that I teared up when I read that?  I like you just the way you are, too.

8 Months Cute

In the last two weeks, Charlie has:

1. Started eating everything he can find - bread, cereal, veggies, noodles, etc.  He snags stuff off plates and finds things the kids drop.

2.  Cut 3 teeth (in 3 days mind you.  One a day for 3 days.)

3. Learned to crawl army-style

4. Learned to pull up

5. Learned to cruise

 

Okay, 'fess up.  Who told this kid to grow up so fast!?  Was it you?

 

Man do we love our Charlie boy!!!!

Halloween Party

Halloween.  I loved it as a kid, but as I got older, it wasn't something I really looked forward to.  Eventually having babies to dress up was fun, and I liked the cute aspects of the holiday, but...meh.

 

Until this year.  I think my "I can't get excited about Christmas because it's way too early but I am just so excited I can't stand it" kind of mentality is making Halloween so much more fun for me.  That, coupled with Andrew and Emily's excitement over the holiday is making me have a really good time.  I'll post more Halloweeny stuff we've been doing, but for now, here are our costumes.  We had the trunk or treat at the church tonight.  It was a lot of fun.  I was REALLY impressed with some of the costumes.  Amazing.  Andrew insisted that Mike and I needed to dress up, too.  Although there were some tears (apparently my hair was "not very well" and I was supposed to be dressed as a hot dog, according to my oldest), it all ended up well in the end.

 Side note: Andrew has been wearing those ears for 3 days straight.  Yes, straight.  He slept in them.  And wearing Mike's wellington boots were his addition.  He thought they were pretty necessary.

Emmie eventually got so excited that she couldn't stop jumping and saying, "Hey guys!  Look at me!  I have my bag!  It! Is!  Emily!  Ta da!!!!  Party!" etc.  Unfortunately, her candy kept flying all over the place, but it was so cute to see her so excited.

She wasn't the only one.  Here is Andrew mid-happy dance.

Andrew getting candy from his teacher.

Checking out the loot.

Yay!  No razors. 

(Am I the only one that was terrified that I was going to eat a razor after trick-or-treating?  I think hearing that warning gave me psychological issues.  My imagination is my worst enemy sometimes.)

 

That was a weird way to end this post.

Boo.

Three Words.

Sweetest.

Kiddos.

Ever.

 

*Photo cred to my awesome big sis Amy.

Little Jacobs on the Farm (e-i-e-i-o)

My friend Liz organized a little outing at a local farm/pumpkin patch.  The kids seriously had the best time, and have been talking about it since.  (And am I the only mom who feels like I've pulled off some sort of miracle when I get all three kids out for an outing and we all get home in one piece?) 

Andrew asked his friend if he could hold her hand, and was so excited when she said yes.

There was a little class about farm animals and their purposes.  The kids were (relatively) quiet and well-behaved.

Their favorite part was when they brought out a goat and a miniature horse so they could go up one at a time.  I was really super proud of my kids because they waited until it was their turn, went up, followed the instructions of how to pet the animals, and then came back to their seats.  I was really surprised actually, but pleasantly so.  I guess my little babies are growing up.  :)

When they brought the horse out, Andrew whispered,

"A little horse.  NOW I've seen everything."

Clockwise: They liked the turkeys. Andrew liked the cut-outs even if they were a little high.  A cow.  Duh.  And they had a really good time with the little tractors.

Emmie didn't like the hayride until it started and then she had a great time.

And they got soaked with the water pump.

 

We had a lot of fun!

Park it!

Andrew with his friends Nate and Knowlton

What a sweetheart.

Andrew was so excited to see his friend Peter.

Isn't she a sweetie!?

Yeah, he loves that little dude.

This was my attempt to get a picture of both of them together.  The word futile comes to mind.

 

We love the park!

Speaking of eyes...

Andrew got new glasses.  He got to choose the color and he has been pretty good about wearing them and being careful with them.  He looks like a totally different kid.  But he also looks so cute.

Some things never change.

Apple of My Eye

One of the best memories I have growing up was when we would go pick apples.  We were so excited to find out there was an orchard about 15-20 minutes away. They had 5 gallon buckets for $10 which I thought was a good deal.  And a LOT of apples.  My kids picked a bad time to start being bored with eating apples. 

We all had a good time.  Weeeeelllll, most of us had a good time.  Charlie wasn't really that pleased with the whole thing, but he was good (as usual).  Emily liked picking up them from the ground (the nastier the better) and when she did get a good one, she liked stepping on them.

 



 





They're delicious!

Michaelmas

Charlie wanted to tell you something:

 Since we have an abnormal amount of Michaels on my side of the family, and since we have a pretty amazing one living in our house, we decided to celebrate Michaelmas this year.  We looked up on Wikipedia what it actually was and then decided to just eat food Mike likes and spend time together as a family.  If you're interested in the actually holiday, here's the link.

 Mike grilled up some chicken thighs, and our baby bird stood by him with her mouth wide open saying, "Ahhhhhhh...." over and over until Mike would feed her some of the chicken.  She does this every night when I'm making dinner.  :)  My but that little gal loves to eat.

 I think he is so handsome.  But I may be biased.

We had chicken, mashed potatoes, and broccoli with cheese sauce.  Then for dessert we had one of Mike's creations called Cookie Cream.  It's just whipped cream mixed with crushed up Oreos.  You refrigerate it until the cookies get soft.  And it is goooood.

After he finished his cookie cream, he said he would feed Emily.  She took a bite and Andrew then took a bite.  I told him it was Emmie's and he said, "But Mom, we just sharin'."  He was pretty excited when she didn't want anymore and proceeded to stuff his tiny face while humming and dancing.  He was pretty happy.

Emily is all girl, choosing purple or pink anytime she gets a chance.  We love our new kid-friendly cups/bowls/plates.  (Thanks, Amy!!)  Poor baby fell off her chair, but she was okay.

 I firmly believe everyone should have a happy-go-lucky baby and wigs in the house.  Since acquiring the latter, C has been subjected to wigs anytime I feel frustrated or am having a bad day.  It always makes me laugh and cheers me up.  As soon as I put it on his head, he looks at me with this sly little smile because he knows I'm going to crack up.  Then he smiles and squeals.  Boy do we love our little baby!

But luckily, he cheers me up all the time, even sans wig.  He loves Cheerios and even ate a little broccoli tonight with his sister, the cheerleader saying, "Mmmmmm, it's good, Charlie!"

Taking a picture of Emily?  How about I jump in the picture instead?  :)  They both look so adorable in both of these shots.

The food was good, the kids were cute, Mike was wonderful, and it was great to spend time together.  I think we'll continue the tradition with more planning next year.  :)