Pumpkins in the pumpkins....

We went to our church's pumpkin patch today and we had to get some pictures of the boys in all those pumpkins!




All right, change gears, from the pumpkins to the beach! We loved having our dear Indiana friends come for a visit.

This is me and Claudia. My wonderful friend and my roommate all four years at Purdue. Love that girl! Well Claudia, her husband and their kiddos came into town for a visit....for the third annual visit in fact. I guess it isn't fair that they have made all three trips to visit us so we told them that we will plan a trip to Indiana next fall...just wanted to put that out there. It seems more official when it is written down. =)

We had so much fun. We went to the beach, went for walks, visited, and played cards. They kept us up late playing cards twice. Midnight. VERY late when we have to get up at 5-ish. But totally worth it. Thank goodness for Jim and I (we were partners) that they had to leave just when Claudia got really good at the card game 500. Thanks for coming to see us guys!

Here we are with our boys!

Claudia with the twins who are wrestling over the sunscreen bottle:

J enjoying the beach and his shadow...

J is sooo tired here after the beach getting changed before going home.. he has the "sleepy stare" going on

Jim playing with the kids

Hey big guy!

And for the boys...isn't it a rule that a baby officially becomes a BOY when they skin their knee? Congrats J on your first skinned knee.

In fact, I think he had four pretty decent head boo boos within a two-hour time span today. He fell and scratched his cheek at the pumpkin patch. Then he had three more spills (one will leave a good bruise on his forehead). He is more curious and becoming more of an explorer everyday. I heard him starting to yell the other day and he was standing in our coffee table/toy chest (they just learned to open it) and W was trying to shut the lid on him!

Speaking of W, here he is looking at a book. He is so funny...he makes some great truck sounds and still adores his Handle Hauler trucks. He is quite the walker and just as curious as J...maybe a little more cautious though..he hasn't had quite the number of spills so far.

We are rapidly approaching the "terrific twos"...they are both wanting to throw everything and throw big fits in their high chairs and launch all the food all over the room. I know this is normal (at least I read this is normal) but if anyone has any tips for getting through this joyous phase...please let us know!

All right. Two blog posts today. Check back with us on Tuesday or Wednesday.

HAPPY 2nd Birthday!!

Happy 2nd Birthday to our nephew!
Hope you enjoyed your "Cars" goodies and we will see you in December!

Oh My Pumpkin!!!!

We went to a nearby farm for what else? Pumpkins, cider, hay rides, and to see farm animals of course! We saw pigs, horses, ducks, and hens. The boys were indifferent to the animals. They just looked at them and were distracted by the gnats swarming around their faces. We went last weekend and it was still warm and humid which made the bugs a little worse. The farm was beautiful though and the owners were really nice people. The had the most beautiful tree in the middle of the farm with a big wooden swing hanging from it. They had wagons for kids and other toys for big kids too:

Here is the amazing tree:



We went with some friends of ours - here is Brittany, Caleb, and their sweet baby boy:

We dressed the boys up in their scarecrow costumes and went to a little Halloween festival. A festival featuring deep-fried oreos no less. We do live in the south I guess. The boys just liked seeing all the kids (pirates and princesses were the most popular costumes by far), and practicing walking in their shoes. We didn't even bring the stroller so we had quite sore arms the next day from carrying these guys around.

Me and the little scarecrow...

J about to see if he can clear the pavement drop-off...he did...no spills

Our sweet scarecrow...hey W!

W walking with daddy through the peek-a-boo trail. J took a box of dots and W carried a reeses peanut butter cup (daddy's choice) through the trail.

Earlier that day we had a wonderful visit with some friends of ours who were in town for a wedding. The boys warmed up to them right away and here are a couple of pictures.
Here is Art with Jack and Wyatt trying to get to the grapes:

J and Johnida:

The whole crew-sorry Art, you did get blogged!

Thanks for stopping by! We really enjoyed seeing you both!

Laugh 'till you fall down....

Have you ever laughed so hard you fell down? J did yesterday. He has the cutest laugh and he just bursts with giddiness and happiness when he laughs. He has been laughing a lot with his brother this week. At some pretty silly things. Sometimes they just get so tickled by something so....odd.

For example, Monday they couldn't stop laughing because they were throwing paper. See, I told you...odd. If you drop a piece of paper or a napkin and it sort of floats for a second it kills them. I was filing and shredding paperwork in our office/playroom and they busted up so much at the flying paper. I caught the end of it in a video--see it under the video section on the right titled "office craziness". So, J laughed so hard at one point that he lost his balance and fell back on his head which made him and W laugh even harder. It was too much...SO funny!

And more. W discovered a few weeks ago that blowing into a straw is so much fun. We taped him doing it a month or so ago and it is really funny. I just got around to posting it...you have to see it. Again, look for it under videos....he cracks himself up when he blows bubbles.

And more. They have been chasing each other around our big chair in the living room - tons of laughter...and not to be forgotten, throwing a baby hangar (I know-dangerous...they are doing the throwing...not me) yields big belly laughs from these guys. So does squeezing their thighs while they are in their high chairs, biting their triceps, tickling under their chin, my hair in their face, big fake coughing, pretending to drop them...all funny.

And if you really want a reaction out of these guys- just show them a balloon. We were driving home today and I stopped at a light. J started flapping his arms up and down and shouting in a shaky voice "ba ba ba ba ba!!!" I looked over and their were big balloons all around a car dealership. I wouldn't have even noticed them otherwise. While we were at the store, they both were shouting "baawwwllll!" and pointing to the ceiling...sure enough, big paper pumpkins and other round decorations hanging down. I also wouldn't have noticed them otherwise.

One more thing, J was still giggling before dinner while playing with big plastic bowls. And W was hungry and wanting dinner. Check out the third and final video called Pre-Dinner Fun....and see one being silly and one being feisty...notice how W will bend over, stick out his neck and moan (he looks like a dinosaur)) when he wants something.

I hope you watch the videos so you will laugh today too.

Here is a quick pic of the boy's first car ride facing forward...we were on our way to church last Sunday.

Baby it's cold outside!

Well, not really cold, but colder than we are used to! At least for the next couple of days it should feel a little "cold."

First off, it is not even the middle of the month and the stork has brought three new babies to three of our friends. Welcome Vivian P., Nathan W., and Juliet K! A first born, a fourth born, and a third born for three of our friends and their families. Congratulations!!!!

I found these pictures of W I have been meaning to post....he really love books and he was just having so much fun one day sitting in a big chair with his book:








The month of October is crazy busy! We have a month filled with activities and visitors! We just had a visit with Papap, followed the next day with Grandma and Grandpa. Followed by posting our house online for sale (which could hopefully lead to many visitors eager to buy or rent our home!) We know of at least two more visitors arriving during the month-can't wait!

J and Geoff at a marina...the poor kiddo's face is turning red because he was so hot...we had to get our lunch at the restaurant to go because it was just taking too long. At least longer than a 13-month old could wait.

I like this picture

Trying out a sit-and-spin with Grandma

We have been back to the water park twice since my last post. I was thinking about it and the boys have been swimming at least 20-25 times in the last six months! They are quite the little fish.

Exploring:

Water slide!



As for the boys, here are a few of their favorite things:
*Balls
*Books
*Handler Trucks
*Tonka Trucks
*Blowing bubbles during bathtime
*Throwing their bottles when they finish their milk
*New toys at other people's houses
*Going for walks
*Standing up in the bathtub
*Swimming
*Tossing or spitting out their food
*Beds, pillows, anything soft
*Tickle-time
*Monkey mi-yim (their stuffed monkeys)
*Eating some of mommy's popsicle or some of daddy's cereal
*Climbing
and their #1 favorite thing is BALLOONS! J especially goes cRAzY when he sees one.

My friend Camille who just had her first baby said that she "should have done this sooner"....(referring to becoming a mommy). I couldn't agree more.

I hope everyone is safe and healthy. Would love to hear from you.

More AMazING pictures.........

Remember the professional pictures we had taken? Well, our photographer-and neighbor (Genya) was generous and wonderful and awesome enough to do an outdoor session with us since it was storming during our original session. We had her come bright and early last Monday and we had SO much fun taking pictures in our front yard. Genya is great to work with because she has so much fun in the moment...she is giggling and "playing" right along with us. I told her that I about burst at the seams awaiting her pictures--I can't stand it!!! Well, she finished yesterday and I LOVE all the pictures. Some made me tear up because the truly captured the boys as they are right now. And it makes me crazy sad seeing them get so big so fast...I think that is why I take so many pictures-I want to keep it all. I would have Genya come by monthly if I could. As for the photos, I would post every one of them, but as I said before I have to save some surprises. Here are a few to look at...

Playing peek-a-boo!

Wow. How does she get something as simple as W standing in front of the garage door look like that? I really really like this picture.

W and his "camera" face

The boys had a blast just banging on the garage door

Love J's expression in this pic...

OK, I look a little scary here (I didn't know I could make my lips look square like that)...........but I still love it...

With their airplane

Jack, I can't squeeze you enough!

Ok...I may add a few more later but REALLY need to go to bed!

Good Night!