Sleep tight

Lately, the kids are in a bird phase. They make nests out of laundry baskets and ask me to feed them pretend worms. If they are pretend worms, and birds don't have teeth anyway, we shouldn't have to fight through bedtime toothbrushing, right?

Here they are, crammed into our closet.



And here was one tired mama bird who woke up to three squirmy chicks on her belly. They were awfully sweet, though.

Asian wannabe

My sister sent a pair of training chopsticks for Graham a few years ago, and he just discovered them in the back of the utensils drawer. He insisted on trying them out, and since we were having chicken and noodles (a meal he refuses to eat) we consented.

Three plates of noodles and broccoli later, I decided that Santa will now be bringing every version of ethnic cutlery on the planet. It would be worth it to get him to eat without complaining.

On the farm, yet again.

Every time we visit Will's parents, the kids have to go to the barn. I think they would have been the happiest boys on Earth if they had been born in a stable like baby Jesus.

Mostly, they just want to sit on tractors. Emily and Aunt Susan are very kind to oblige, and they even got to ride one down the road. You know the song this time of year. Oh, what fun it is to ride... a John Deere tractor.







We also tried to see the baby goats, but the kids were terrified. Ours, not the baby goats.

Grandmas

There's nothing like making edible crafts with your grandma. The kids got a few chances before Thanksgiving.

Here they are with Grandma and Aunt Carolyn, making pilgrim hats. Mostly they just ate all the pieces.



And here are the gingerbread houses with Grammie and Grandpa. Mostly they just ate the candy.

Double the years, double the fun!

Gabriella turned 2 years old yesterday. She is turning into this spunky little fun-loving girl with a mind of her own. Watching her sweet little personality unfold has been awesome. What a fun kid.



She's had a few firsts lately. For instance, we finally decided to chop off her mullet curls into a kicky little bob. I don't know if she was depressed about losing her hair or scared to be in the chair, but she was not happy.




For her birthday, we decided to take the kids ice skating. Through an awesome person at the ice rink, we got to have the whole place to ourselves that morning. This was good because Chase did not stop screaming for more than two minutes. See how Will is skating with Chase on the little metal walker? We both felt like we could have won the Geriatric Couples Award by the end. Could barely stand up this morning, but I digress.





Gabriella decided a few weeks ago that she wanted to potty train. I dug in my heels as much as possible, but she started staying dry at night and during naps. She's doing the whole thing backwards--still won't tell me when she has to go--but at least we're not messing with diapers on her anymore.

She enjoys helping with the dishes.



And finally, judging from this video, I think we should sign her up for Irish dancing lessons. Her Grandma Kelly would be proud. She claps for herself, and for a while she would yell "Amen!" at the end of each song.



Happy Birthday, Gabriella! We love you!

Halloweenies

This year, the kids got several excuses to wear their costumes. We did a Trunk or Treat through our church, went to a party with some friends, and showed up at the church's party behind us simply to take their candy and ride their hayride. We like to give them opportunities to witness to their community.

Graham was a bashful "demolition guy" (homemade costume, his phrase).



Chase was a disgruntled zebra.



Gabriella was a thieving ladybug.

Fall Scenes

As winter approaches, we feel an impending doom, knowing that we will be inside for at least 3 months straight. The only way to handle it is to spend every possible moment outside. We did a lot of typical fall activities this year: an all-church harvest party, playing in leaves, a trip to the apple orchard with Grammie & Grandpa, and a visit to the pumpkin patch with some good friends. Here's a recap in pictures.

Still too short to pick apples off the tree, so she got a little help from Grammie.



Watching a demolition crew clean up the mess from knocking down an old house. See that shirt Graham is wearing? He insists on wearing it every other day. I get 24 hours to wash it. I am not making this up.



Ganging up on Chase in the leaf pile. He didn't mind, although he did keep losing his shoes.



What happens when you try to get a nice family picture on a bale of hay? One collapses, one covers her face, one runs away. This is pretty typical. We do not have many posed pictures of the kids.



And finally, we had a wonderful time at the pumpkin patch with Abbie, Saya, & Eldon and Jayme & Adam. It is so much fun to spend time with all of them.








Love this picture of Chase: