Pumpkin Carving

I'm finally getting around to posting last month's pumpkin carving for Halloween.  I think I will be caught up soon!!  Usually the boys each pick a large pumpkin and we do elaborate carvings.  This year the pumpkins were really picked over and we chose just one.  Kellen was the designer this year.  He was very specific - triangle eyes and nose, a mouth and rectangle eyes.  All I can say is this: the kid knows his shapes!

Kellen and Kade LOVED the pulp and seeds.  Keagan however was totally disgusted.

Rectangle eyebrows. I think Kellen was trying to draw Daddy's eyebrows...they are slightly rectangular-ish!

Bandy Pumpkin Patch

We finally made it to Bandy's Pumpkin Patch the weekend of Halloween...and I'm just getting around to posting something.

The boys had a great time.  It was a little chilly out that afternoon but they didn't seem to mind at all.

Here's my attempt at getting a picture with my boys....

Yes, I'm pulling on Keagan's arm trying to get him to cooperate...

Yeah, not gonna happen

So I settled for 2/3.....and a crazy face from Kellen.

Kade loved all the baby pumpkins.  I think he rearranged their entire pile.

We decided to go through the corn maze.  I'm sure glad that Daddy was with us.  We didn't take the stroller and Keagan didn't have a nap that day so you can imagine....

He memorized the map as best he could.  There were 6 checkpoints that you had to get your ticket punched at.  They told us to expect to get through the maze in 1 hour.   

We actually made it out in 20 minutes...

Then we realized we skipped checkpoints 4-6.  So I guess we found a short cut!

We decided to backtrack and eventually found the other checkpoints and made it out alive.

Next we found this photo-op...Hey there were 3 places for my 3 kids...I thought they would have fun sticking their heads through the holes...

But by this point Daddy was forcing you-know-who's head through the hole.

Next we went into the barn and let the kids run wild.

They love the corn bins.

and the bouncy house

the slides were super fast. 

We finally got a hay-ride through the pumpkin patch and attempted a family pic.

We had a great time together and we finished the evening with carry-out pizza.

I love fall.

Kade at 16 months

My dear Kade, I feel like I blinked and all of a sudden you are a little boy.  Your babiness is slipping through my fingers at lightning-fast speed.  That makes me sad...especially if you are our last baby.

You have an obsession with shoes.  You love to get everyone's shoes and bring them to them - any time of the day.  You know which shoes belong to whom and you attempt to put them on your feet.

You run down the hallway saying "shooz, shooz"

You also love to put them on your hands.

To say you are busy is an understatement.  You can reach the light switches and you think it's funny to run into the bathroom and turn off the light while I'm in the shower....it's not funny!

This past month your vocabulary has really taken off.  Your favorite word right now is moon.  You say it a 1000 times a day.  You love the moon and want someone to take you outside all the time so you can look at it. If I could pull it down for you I would buddy.

You LOVE your mommy.  You are super attached to me but at the same time go to everyone.

This is what has developed this month and I think it's the sweetest thing.  Do you see the tiniest bit of curl? You're probably thinking "so what?" Well, coming from a family of stick straight fine hair - this is huge!

Look at that - I mean - how precious!

Kade - I love you buddy! You bring much joy to our home.  You are starting to show a little temper/frustration when you can't get things right or when someone takes something from you...And you've already picked up some bad habits from older siblings. However, you are so cuddly and I love you to pieces!!

Meeting Riley

Several weekends ago we traveled to Springfield to meet baby Riley.  I couldn't stand waiting any longer and Morgan graciously decided to come to Springfield.  We also took family pictures that day as well.  Each of the boys took a turn meeting Riley or "Wiley" as Keagan says it.  They had no interest in holding her..they just wanted to gawk at her.

Kellen was pretty excited but when I asked him if he wanted to hold her he was not at all interested.  Big difference between girls and boys!

Kade was a little confused I think

It's hard to believe he's only a month away from how old Keagan was when I had Kade!

Getting my baby fix!

Karsten meeting Riley

Pa and his Boys

Even though it was a whirlwind trip, we were so glad to get family pictures taken and of course meet little Riley.  She's so sweet and I can't wait to see her again next weekend!

Caramel Apples

Did you know that Kraft no longer puts the popsicle sticks in the bag of caramels? Or maybe I am out of the loop.  But I sure was disappointed when I found out I didn't have any!  I had been telling the boys that after church and naps we could make them.

So obviously I had to use plastic spoons - and actually it worked really well and they were easier for the boys to manipulate.  They just didn't look very pretty.

Anxiously awaiting the bowl of melted caramel... 

They (and I) love the food chopper from Pamered Chef.  Anytime I need to use it I automatically have helpers in the kitchen.

We were trying to chop up peanut butter chocolate chips - it wasn't working so well.

Kade was helpfully unhelpful

The finished product - pretty lame huh? Well, we tried and they loved them.