TONS of pictures and Hill Ridge Farms Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday, we took a walk through the woods near our neighborhood and had fun taking a bunch of pictures. We ended up with a few really good ones!

Couldn't resist a picture when Drew reached up and grabbed Chad's hand (he never wants to hold our hand any more!).

Daddy's girl!

Emma looks JUST like Chad in this picture! Never noticed it until now!

First ride on the swings at the park! Looks sleepy and hungry!

Here's the kids in their Halloween jammies from Grandmom and Granddad. Drew loves his skeleton jammies - he keeps shutting himself in the pantry to see them glow in the dark!

On Sunday, we went to Hills Ridge Farms over by Raleigh. We met Chad's brother and his family and Chad's parents there. The kids had a blast!! There was tons to do, and I think I snapped a picture of just about every activity.

Here's the 80 foot slide!

Here we are on the train ride. On the way home, Drew claimed this was his favorite!

Here's a pretty decent family picture!

Drew's a little over 3 feet tall.

Peek! (Drew and Daddy)

Here's Drew w/ Granddad and Grandmom, waiting on lemonades.

Climbing on hay bails.

The maze!

Olivia and Drew taking a break w/ Granddad.

Drew and Olivia

Grant, Drew, Olivia, and Chad...nerds! :)

Checking out the farm animals - Drew, Olivia, Grandmom and Grant.

On the hay ride to the pumpkin patch

The guys trying to decide how many pumpkins they can carry to the car!

Drew and Olivia, sitting still - snap the picture FAST!

BIG spider!!

This got several "Awwww"s... Emma loved sitting in the middle of the pumpkins!!

Alan and his three grandkids on the hay ride back to the parking lot at the end of a long day on the farm!

Trunk or Treat & Emma's 6 month checkup

Last weekend we participated in a Trunk or Treat event with the Lake Norman Mommies group that I am a part of. The kids had a blast!! Everyone shows up and decorates their trunks and sets out candy. Then we had dinner (they had pizza and tons of desserts and a dj playing music). Then they had the costume contest for all the different age groups. They called out the 0-6 month age group first, so Emma and I headed up...and no one else came up. Finally two others came up, and they took a vote (by amount of cheering) - and Emma won! And wow, they sure know how to put a prize together! She won a free month of Gymboree ($68 value), a cake by a professional cake maker (who is also a Lake Norman Mommy) ($45 value), $5 gift card at a Learning Discovery store (all kinds of teaching tools and art stuff), and 2 free entrees and Qdoba (Mexican restaurant that Chad and I love!). There were tons of kids in Drew's age group, but I think he just liked getting up in front of everyone with Chad. After all the contests were done, the kids got to go "trick or treating" at all the trunks. Emma smiled and laughed the whole night - she loved being outside, around all the people and riding in the stroller. And Drew loved seeing his candy bag filling up! Here they are in their costumes (Lightning McQueen and Colts cheerleader - and that's Emma's first bow too!)

And here's the silly smile that won her that awesome prize!!

And Drew posing in front of our spider web trunk. Some of the other cars had some amazing displays!! The contest winner was a truck with a ton of dirt in the bed, with gravestones and a huge chain link fence - very impressive!

And Daddy posing with the kids. Drew was trying to get Emma to look at the camera and forgot to look himself.

Here's Drew helping himself to a treat.

And they had a fog machine that the kids had fun running through.

Last week, Emma figured out how to stick her tongue out! She would stick it out every time she smiled and sometimes she'd just stick it out while she was playing!! It was so funny...but she is already past that and doesn't do it any more! haha

Here's Drew in his jammies posing with his pumpkins that light up. They are plugged in to an outlet that works with a light switch. So, he turns them on in the morning and turns them off when he goes to bed.

This morning Emma had her sixth month check up. She is 26 1/2 inches long (80th percentile) and 15 pounds 10 oz (50th percentile). Her head is in the 60th percentile. So, she is a growing girl - despite the fact that she is still refusing to eat solid foods! I had tried her rice cereal, bananas and sweet potatoes and she wants nothing to do with it. The doctor wants us to keep trying, in hopes that she'll figure it out in the next couple months! She said her gums looked swollen, but no visible teeth yet (which teething can cause them to refuse solid foods too). I usually post all the positive, fun things going on in the kids' lives, but this is also a recording of their growth for me - so I have to mention: Drew has been a CHALLENGING two year old the past week. We have been struggling with him refusing to listen or do what he's told, talking back, disagreeing and arguing, and even some hitting, Everyone assures me it's a phase, but that doesn't make it any easier! Chad and I have been researching the best way to handle it and help him move past this phase a little quicker. At least he tells us, "I want to be a good boy. I don't want to be naughty." haha! :)

Emma is sitting up!!

Emma is doing really good sitting up now! She sometimes still falls forward and slides to her belly, or she'll fall backwards (always seems to happen in slow motion). But she's getting better!

'

Touch A Truck and Indiana

Last Saturday morning, we had a garage sale. The kids loved it! Emma played in her exersaucer outside and Drew mingled with the shoppers. Then that afternoon I had to coach at a gymnastics meet. On Sunday, we took the kids to a Touch A Truck event - and Drew was in heaven!! He got to get behind the wheel of fire trucks, tractors, a mail truck, garbage truck, construction equipment, ambulance, etc., etc!! He did not want to leave when it was time to go. And Emma had fun b/c she was outside and in the stroller. Here are some pictures from the day.

Here's Drew and his buddy Abby in a firetruck (we saw our friends Kent and Joanna there).

Emma and Drew!


Peyton Manning doing a little football toss.


The Fun Bus - what a cool idea! There was gymnastics equipment and a basketball goal and all kinds of stuff inside.



Drew driving the tractor.



He needed a boost to climb into this monstrosity (a scraper, I think?).


Emma and Drew and I getting scooped up in the bulldozer.


Drew the garbage man!



Drew and Daddy waiting in line to get in the garbage truck.

Then shortly after we got home from this event, I talked on the phone with my parents (who were heading home from the Grand Canyon). They told me that my grandma (Plopper) was not doing well. So, I talked with my sister and we figured out how to get me and the kids to Indiana to see Grandma. Chad drove us halfway (just past Knoxville, TN) and we met up with Marc and Tim, switched all the stuff from our car to theirs, and they took us the rest of the way while Chad drove back home (he had to get back to get to work the next morning). My grandma's health was up and down all week - but we are so glad that we made the trip and were able to see her. As of right now, she is stable and is now on Hospice, so she is getting good care. My mom's brother Frank and sister Judy were able to come visit too. Here they are on the porch with my dad.
Here's my sister Sarah and Mom with Emma on the porch.

I wish I got a better picture of the huge addition on my parents' house, but here we all are at the table for dinner.

When everyone was off doing their thing, I took the kids outside to get some cute pictures in the awesome weather. I got a couple really good ones!

Here's Drew with the tree face that he thinks talks to him!

Emma loves the porch swing and even fell asleep on my mom on it once.

One evening, the kids and I went to Sarah and Marc's for dinner. I forgot to bring Drew's soy milk, so he had sweet tea (his favorite!)...forgot it has caffeine in it!! His crib was set up in the den next to my parents' room, and he kept them up half the night! He'd just want to chat b/c he couldn't sleep! oops! Here's Emma and Lyndsey at their house.

After dinner, we walked to a park. Here's Drew and Marc.

On Saturday, my parents, Aunt Judy and me and the kids rented a van and headed back to NC. The kids absolutely loved Aunt Judy, and I'm glad she was able to come see our house. We hung out at the house, went to IKEA, and played with the kids outside. My parents and Judy left Monday morning to take Judy back to OH and then my parents finally got home Monday night!