What's new ... and not so new

Adrienne, for the most part, will still only eat baby food if it is mixed with the baby cereal. She has started to really like her puffs and the occasional cracker. Of course I give them to her at every meal so I have a fair shot at eating my food. The funny thing is she still continues to make these super funny faces when she actually gets the puffs or crackers in her mouth.

I'll just let the pictures tell the story.

Can you guess at what point she gets part of the cracker in her mouth? :)

This is often the scene in our house.

Not always in the same place, but the same cuties and the same giggles.

I love it!

Adrienne has now entered the "laundry" phase. Maybe all kids don't go through this, but I know Morgan did. She loves pulling the clothes out of the basket and then chewing on them for a bit. I know, shocker that Adrienne wants to put something in her mouth. :)




Don't worry, she only chews on clean laundry.

I figure another "rinse" cycle won't hurt.

Goshen at its best

I love Goshen in the fall. That is easy for me to say after this weekend. It was beautifuly sunny, yet cool enough for jeans and a long sleeve shirt. You know, the way it should be in the fall.

Last fall we took Morgan to Kercher's to pick out her own pumpkin. We had such a good time that I quickly decided it needed to be a yearly event. Earlier this fall when we would drive by Kercher's Morgan would ask "Mama remember when we went to pick out our pumpkin?" She wanted to know when we could do that again, and if we could pick apples.

Saturday was the day.
We took the hayride back to the pumpkin patch and began our search for the perfect, clean, little pumpkin for Morgan. Of course Adrienne was happy to go along for the ride. Dave found a pretty big pumpkin so I put Adrienne by it to see what she would do. As if I didn't already know. She wanted to taste it, just like everything else right now. :)

We finally found a pumpkin that struck Morgan's fancy. This was after she picked up many others only to put them back down saying "This one's all dirty!" I finally convinced her that they were ALL dirty, but that we could clean them later. Funny, she had the same issue last year.Later is a relative term. I meant once we got home. Morgan wanted a wipe right there in the pumpkin patch to clean it off before she carried it back the car. Of course I had one in my bag. So I humored her.
After we tucked our pumpkins away in the truck we decided to spend a little time picking apples. Morgan was SO excited. She actually may have been more excited about picking apples.

Dave and Morgan made a great apple picking team. That must have been fun for Morgan to be high in the sky. And I would be surprised if Dave's biceps didn't grow in the process.

Words can't describe the pure joy and pride that seemed to pour out of Morgan as she looked at the first apple she picked. I hope the picture gives you a taste of her emotion.

Adrienne was excited to get a chance to be up close and personal with the freshly picked apples.

I am thankful that we have Kercher's right down the road from us. It provided us with the perfect fall excursion. This isn't something I did growing up. In fact I think last year was my first time at a pumpkin patch. However I know that it is something I want to continue to do as a family.

What a great morning!

Craft Corner with Miss Shelly

We had friends over again on Friday. Morgan had fun playing with Amelia and James. And of course I had fun talking to their moms. :)

Shelly, being the creative mom that she is, brought a craft for the kids. They made little ghosts. Don't worry, they weren't scary. The kids all drew happy faces on them.

Once given permission, they tore the ghosts apart in no time to get to the suckers.

Nothing like suckers at 10:30 in the morning.

Glue stick

Dave came home from work today with some glow sticks. Someone received them for "Bosses Day" and thought Morgan would like them. Thanks Michele, you were right.

So after her bath tonight we went down to the basement for her "surprise." She had a blast! I think she played with it for about 30 min. She ran around in circles, jumped up and down, and even rolled it on the floor. She got quite the workout. Her favorite seemed to be laying on the floor and moving it over her face.

She couldn't remember what it was called. First she called it a flashlight. Makes sense to me. Then she called it a glue stick. I guess it doesn't really matter what it's called. What matters is that she had a great time!

Playdate with the Birky girls

Erin and her girls were in the area for an extended weekend visit while Jesse was out of town working. So we were thrilled that they had time to come by and play! It is always fun to catch up with Erin. We all had a great time! There were a ton of giggles and squeals, and no tears (that I remember). Morgan introduced them to our makeshift slide in her room, and they of course loved it. Those of you who have been here for a play date know what I'm talking about. For those of you who don't - you'll have to stop by. :)

Then after a quick lunch we headed outside where they had a great time swinging, climbing, and running.

Adrienne was thrilled to have three little helpers wanting to keep her swing going.

There is something extra special about getting together with college friends and watching our kids play. Who knows, maybe these girls will make some crazy memories together at Goshen College like their mamas did. :)

No pressure.

Weekend in Ohio

We headed to Ohio this past weekend. We had a lot of fun, and I took a lot of pictures, as usual.

So brace yourselves ... this is a big one!

Saturday morning Grandma and Morgan made brownies for lunch. Morgan loves hanging out with Grandma -

I wonder why. :)

Later on in the day Morgan was talking about making brownies when she said "...and I got to lick the batteries!"

We finally got to see Grace walking. She is at such a fun stage.

Of course Morgan loved walking around with her.

Saturday afternoon we headed to a local farm for some fall festivities. It was really hot. It felt a little strange doing all the fall festivities when we were all hot and sticky.

Morgan didn't seem to mind.

She found a little pumpkin for herself and Adrienne.

I wanted to get a picture of Adrienne with all the pumpkins. I don't know what made me think I could get one of her just sitting there. Instead I got one of her trying to eat them. Naturally, that's what she trys to do with everything now.

Morgan milked a cow. Grandpa Rhodes would have been proud.

She wanted to ride the cow train, but didn't want to go by herself. We got in there ok, but getting out was a little more tricky. She had fun though and that's what counts.

Our grabby girl trying to get the camera.

They played music for the kids. For a while Morgan was content just watching the other kids. Then they played the Hokey Pokey. Those of you who know Morgan well know she LOVES the Hokey Pokey. Since my husband doesn't dance, it was my turn again.

Adrienne and Grace were very patient. They were really into each other. Talking, holding hands and giving each other kisses.

It was great!

Grace was nice enough to share her drink with Adrienne. We weren't sure if she'd figure out the straw or not, but she did!

She also let Adrienne use her "nerd hat" (as Dave calls them) since she doesn't have much hair. What was I thinking? I should have known we were going to have August in October.

Grandma went with Morgan through the hay maze. Morgan loved it so much she wanted to go again. Dave went the second time. Thank you Dave! That is not something a claustrophobic mom could handle. :/

We had a lot of fun in those few short hours at the farm.

We had a nice time relaxing with family the rest of the weekend.

Newsflash ... all kiddos are different

These days we are always looking for new ways to entertain Adrienne during our meals. We had apple slices for lunch the other day when I remembered the mesh "safe feeder" that allows babies to eat fruit without getting off big chunks. I had forgot about it since Morgan never really liked it. Well Adrienne, unlike her sister, LOVED it! Not only did it keep her happy so I could actually eat, she also managed to eat half the apple slice I gave her. Score!

Adrienne - 8 months

Here is our 8 month old cutie. That's right - she's 8 months old. Let's see, what's new with miss Lemonaidrienne. Two top teeth recently poked through, joining two already present on the bottom. Since their arrival she has become fond of grinding her teeth. Is that normal? I don't remember Morgan doing that.

She continues to experiment with her voice ...

Abababababa - ahhhhh - growling - thbbb(with slobber rolling off her tongue)

Are you getting the picture?

She has really started bouncing up and down while seated. So much so that I wouldn't be surprised if she starts bouncing across the room instead of crawling. She also likes to stand on our laps and jump.

The one thing that really makes me laugh and also really irritates me is her stiff arm. When I try to hold her sideways on my hip she pushes off my chest, pushing herself around to look out. I always carried her that way as I went about my day, and now that's the only way she wants to be carried. Crazy girl, doesn't she know babies are supposed to hold on to their moms and do part of the work?

She continues to be a happy baby. However there are two things that make her mad. She isn't crawling, but I think she would like to be moving. If she is on her belly too long she starts to squeal. She does move around in circles, but no real movement.

She also isn't a big fan of us telling her that she doesn't need to eat in the middle of the night anymore. It's been rough, but we are making progress. She is great at napping. She sleeps for about two hours in the a.m. and p.m.

When she nurses these days she always has her hand on my face. Sometimes it is a gentle patting. Then other times she gives my cheek, lips, nose or hair a good strong yank.

Either way I think it's sweet!

She is eating solids three times a day, but never eats a ton. If we give her the baby food straight, she does a serious snap of the head as if we gave her a shot of whiskey. So we have to start out with cereal mixed with the baby food and work our way to just baby food. The part of mealtime that she loves is getting a drink. It doesn't matter if it is a normal cup or a sippy cup - she loves drinking her water! When I ask her if she wants a drink she gives me a BIG smile. Then she proceeds to wave her hands and kick her legs when she sees the drink coming.

She continues to watch Morgan's every move. The love that exists between these sisters is amazing. Adrienne lights up at the sight of Morgan. And Morgan spends a big part of her day making sure Adrienne is entertained and taken care of.

I love it!

Adrienne also loves Abbey and gets very excited when Abbey is close enough for her to touch. And of course Abbey remains calm as always.

Last but definitely not least she is grabbing everything! She is super fast too. Even when we feel like we are paying attention she manages to grab things she shouldn't have.

What else can I say about our Lemonaidrienne?

I love my little chunky monkey!

Swim class - fun for the WHOLE family

We just finished Morgan's 3rd round of swim classes and this time Adrienne got in on the fun too. We go 3 times a week for 3 weeks. It always seems like a lot of work as I'm trying to get the girls around and on the road in time to pick Dave up from work and get to class in time. Once we're there it is worth it. Morgan LOVES it! I can't believe how much she has improved since our last round. She will go under on her own without tears. And here is the big one - she does the back float, on her own! I'm really proud of her.

I can't believe how much she has improved since our last round. She will go under on her own ... without tears. And here is the big one - she does the back float ... on her own! I'm really proud of her. I'm sure it helped that we spent quite a bit of time at our neighbor's pool this summer. The girls taught her how to play "Ring around the rosy ... " and when they "all fall down" they go under water. She always loved the end of class when she got to put on the floaties. That meant she could swim all by herself.

Adrienne did great with the classes. She really liked being in the water. The babies do a "frog kick," which you will see in the video. By the end of the classes she understood what it meant when Dave told her to "kick - kick - kick". And of course she loved just splashing around. At her age it's all about her being comfortable in the water.

At the last class the teacher brought a little slide. Of course the kids had fun with that.

On the last day the teacher also gives all the kids a little pack of goodies and certificates of participation. Morgan loved that and Adrienne was just happy to play with the bag.

So that is that for swim class for a while.

I have to admit,

I am looking forward to having our evenings free again.

Our almost daily walks

We try to go on a walk every day. Some days it just doesn't happen. Then other days we find time to go on two walks. Recently Morgan has wanted to take her own little stroller with her. We must look like quite the crew as we make our way around our neighborhood. This particular day she decided she wanted to push her stroller and the pink bear was the "baby" of choice. So off we went. You'll see from the pictures that she started out excited to push the stroller. This excitement came and went several times in our short 20 min walk. And at several points she tried, unsuccessfully, to convince me to carry her stroller. By the end of the walk she was holding the bear and dragging the stroller. It made me laugh because I have had similar experiences with my babies in strollers. I don't end up dragging the stroller, but I do end up holding my baby while pushing the stroller. So here Morgan was at 2 1/2 yrs old already learning how to juggle her baby and her stroller.