Pumpkin Carving

Daddy is the designated pumpkin carver, but we let Landry give her input on what she wanted the pumpkin to look like.  She wanted triangle eyes and nose, and she wanted him to make a "scared face."  However, when Cory cut the circle for the mouth a little larger than she expected, she said, "Oh No!  He's crying!"  Kids say the darndest things!

Here are pictures from our pumpkin carving...

Landry's feeling the gooey inside

Like everything else, Eli wanted to eat it.

Daddy's working diligently

In the end, they were both pretty pleased with their pumpkin!

Self-Feeding

We recently starting giving Eli finger-foods to begin self-feeding.  Like every baby, at first, he tried to use his fist rather than his fingers.  He would try so hard to get the food from his fist to his mouth, but to no avail.  More recently, Eli has been working those little fingers carefully to pick up each morsel in between the thumb and first finger.  Sometimes he is able to transport it into his mouth successfully, but sometimes he loses it on the way there.  Either way, he is exercising those fine motor skills and learning so very quickly.  Here are some pictures of him participating in his newest adventure...Self-Feeding:

Look at that concentration....

 Still a little messy

Here is Landry offering a little encouragement

Seems Eli's been trying a lot of new things lately.  Check back for more Eli news in the near future.

Happy Birthday Poppy!

It's birthday time again!  Today it's Poppy's birthday and his sweet little grandbabies have a message for him.....

You are the best Poppy in the world and

WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Videos Anyone?

It's been quite a while since I've posted any videos, so I thought I might make up for it by posting multiple videos.  I know the grandparents will appreciate it :)


Here they are:

Landry's Dramatics

Landry sings "Not Guilty" by Mandissa

Transportation

School Stuff

Randomness

Down On the Lake Front

Cory bought kites for the kids a couple of days ago.  So we decided to try one of them out at the Lake Front.  The Lake Front is always nice and breezy.  The evening we went couldn't have been more perfect!!  Here are some pictures from the evening.  I love them because they really tell a story!  I won't even have to label the pictures.  They speak for themselves.

And while we were there, I wanted to try and get some pictures of the two munchkins together.  I had yet to get any decent pictures of them together.  So I brought a prop bench with me.  I had lots of good luck when I used the bench on my clients' children, so maybe I could have the same with mine.  Here is what I got.

Not exactly the look I was going for : /

However, I brought my wagon as well, and it did grant me a little success

What an wonderful evening! :)

Thighs of Glory!!

After several comments about that awesomeness of Eli's thighs, I decided to write a post about it.  I didn't want to forget these pudgy little legs.  They are huge, rolly, and soft! He is also very ticklish on his thigh, but sometimes you have to dig deep to find that tickle spot.   I LOVE IT!

So here are the glorious thighs from the back

Here they are from above

 And here is the cute little face that goes with those cute little thighs!!!

Don't you wish our chunky thighs were considered cute even as adults!?!?

Did I Mention They Already Fight

It's true.  Eli is only 7 months old, but my kids already fight.  While Landry is very nurturing, she can also be very BOSSY and possessive over her things.  Sometimes she fusses at Eli because he's looking at her the wrong way.  Sad, but true.  I could see the scenario playing out in my head as soon as I found out I was having a boy.  Landry's very particular about the way she wants things, and Eli throws her a curveball sometimes.  I knew a younger brother would drive her crazy!  And Eli will even show his temper from time to time.  If he is playing with something and Landry decides to take it away from him, you may just see an "Eli-sized" fit.  Oh Boy, I'm in for it!

With all that said, they do have very sweet tender moments together.  Landry loves to make Eli laugh and can do it just by saying his name.  And sometimes Landry will even voluntarily give Eli a toy to play with while speaking in a sing-song voice "Here Eli, wanna play buddy?  You ok, buddy?"

Here are some shots I got of them playing together yesterday.  I must capture these moments while I can!

Pumpkin Treats

I thought it would be fun to let Landry help me make special treats for her class.  When I taught preschool, it was always exciting when someone brought a "special snack."  It was especially exciting when that snack went along with a theme we were studying or if it was something different than they had ever had.  So we decided to make pumpkin rice crispy treats. 


You use the same recipe that is on the back of every box of Rice Crispies, but you add a little food coloring to marshmallow mixture.  Then once you mix in the rice crispies, you can add some m&ms.  I added orange ones to add a little bolder color.  Next, I cut gummy savers in to stems and tinted a little icing green to add vines and leaves.  


Were these the cutest things in the world?  No!  But they looked decent and were something that the kids could recognize.  Being orange, they were also the color the class has been learning about.  And Landry really enjoyed making this special treat for her class (and sneaking bites the entire time).

A Simple Note

Dear Teething Monster,

I would like my happy baby back, please! However, I do appreciate the fact that you prompted him to start saying "Mama" this morning. It made my heart melt!

Sincerely,Amber

P.S. Here are some ADORABLE pictures of that sweet baby in case you need to know which one I'm talking about.

Wordless Wednesday - My Kids Are Going Places

Memory Lane

I shot this picture of Landry eating oatmeal recently, and it took me back.......

 ....about 2 years (oh gosh has it really been that long?!?!). 

 Landry was 10 months old and I was feeding her oatmeal.  She LOVED it and kept reaching for the bowl.  I decided it might be fun to let her go at it, and these are some of the pictures I snapped during her feast.  They are some of my favorite EVER!

In a few short months, Eli will be that age.  Maybe we can let him have a little fun as well. 

Have No Fear....

Grandparents are here!!!!!

We are so thankful to be closer to family than we have been before.  We know they are thankful too, especially for the opportunity to see our kiddos more often.  Cory's parents came this weekend for a visit and we all had a fantastic time.  They arrived late on Friday night, but we allowed Landry to stay up till they came.  She was so excited to see them!  Saturday, Nana and Poppy took the kiddos to the aquarium while mommy and daddy tried to catch up on housework.  I am thankful that my bedroom is starting to finally look like a bedroom.  That evening, we all ate dinner and hung around the house.  The kids had some good playtime with Nana and Poppy.   Here are some pictures from the weekend.