Pumpkin Patch

I love fall!!!!  It is my favorite time of year.  I love the colors, the weather, and all things pumpkin (pumpkin latte's, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin butter-you name it!)  Last year we went to Tomachoff farms in Phoenix when Brooke was just 10 days old.  How things change in a year!  Now, we are in San Diego and Brooke didn't sleep the day away in the Ergo.

We decided to head up to Julian, which is about an hour from where we live. Julian is an old mining town now full of apple orchards and fun little shops.  We've been wanting to get up there to pick our own apples, but since this was such a dry year most of them were closed.  We did, however, go to Julian Mining which has a pumpkin patch this time of year.  For a small fee, we got to go on the tractor ride, feed some goats and chickens, watch how apple cider is made and check out the pumpkin patch.  Connor, of course, was deatly afraid of the tractor ride at first, but once we got going, he loved it!  Brooke chowed down on an apple the whole way and couldn't have cared less that we were on moving bales of hay.

Connor loved the apple pressing part-he ate an apple and was facinated at the guy making "Apple Juice!"  He didn't stop talking about it all day.  Then, with the apple leftovers, we headed over to the goats, pigs and chickens to give them a little snack.  At first Connor was a little freaked out, but Ryan showed him how to hold out his hand to feed the goats.  We even got to see a baby goat, 2 fat pigs and a couple of turkeys! 

Then we headed to the pumpkin patch.  We didn't take any home with us since Trader Joes has them for $2.99 a piece, but Connor did like checking out the pumpkins on a vine.  He still talks about going to see the pumpkins! 

Then it was time to head home.  We passed the goats one more time, and Connor decided he needed to see his goat friends before we left.  He was telling him all sorts of stories, and then tried to feed him dirt.  That was the end of the friendship. :)





We had to try one last time to get a good shot at the two of them together!  I finally got one where they were both looking, so that was a success!  Overall, it was a great family day and a perfect kick-off to fall!

 

Brooke

Brooke:
Height: 2 feet, 4 inches
Weight: 20 pounds

Diapers: size 4

Clothes: 12 months

Shoes: 4
Teeth: 8 in front (4 on top, 4 on bottom) 1 molar is in, 2 more are coming!

One Year!

Brooke had her first birthday on October 9th.  We had a birthday party for her and Connor the weekend before here in San Diego at one of our favorite beaches, Crown Point.  It's a great beach with playgrounds and grassy areas right next to the sand and water which is perfect since Brooke eats sand.  Gross!  My family came to town to celebrate, and it was so great having them here.  We miss them so much, and the kids loved having all the extra people to play with!  Ryan and Robert got to the beach early to set up while the kids took a quick nap.  When we got there, we set up the rest as our other San Diego friends arrived.  Ryan barbequed burgers and dogs and everyone ate and played like crazy!  I got Brooke a sea-green colored tutu, since it was a beach theme, with an owl onesie, because that is her nursery theme.  Aunt Jennie shared her necklace with Brooke because she was pretty obsessed with it.  She loves her shoes and jewlery!  She looked adorable!



Walking:

Brooke started walking at 11 months.  She didn't want to use furniture-she had to wait until she could go from sitting, to crouching, to standing then taking steps in one full sweep.  Once she started, she was determined! (ps: she waited until Ryan got home to take her first steps-total Daddy's girl!)  Within days, she was walking more than she was crawling, and now she walks so fast you lose her if you don't keep your eye on her!  She got her first new shoes (other than the Robeez) at the wonderful BOGO half off sale at Stride Rite.  She didn't like them at first, but now she'll bring them to me to wear around the house.  She looks so stinkin cute walking around too.  This little petite thing with her hands in the air-it's adorable!  She gets so excited too, when she reaches you after the long trek around the house. 

Talking:

She says "hi" and waves and of course, "Dada". When I let Connor and Brooke know that Ryan is home, they both run to the door shouting for him.  What a welcoming!  She is very interesed in learning new words, bringing me books to read, pointing to pictures and looking up at me.  Her latest is a Halloween book with the main character, Biscuit, who is a dog.  She now says "dah" and points to him.  She's a quick learning, and my prediction is she'll be a little more communicative than her brother.  (maybe potty train a little faster too?  I know, I'm getting ahead of myself!)

Eating:

She eats EVERYTHING!!! Well, excepts beans.  She's learned that she doesn't like the texture of the bean skin, and immediately spits that right out.  She'll eat any fruit, veggie or protein.  Her latest is munching on sugar snap peas.  She's the best eater at the table at every single meal!  It's actually worked to our benefit-we praise her for eating her food, that it's actually helping Connor to try more foods and eat his vegetables! We ran out of formula right before her first birthday, so she's been on milk since then.  Sorry to be graphic, but her poops are downright disgusting.  It's been almost 2 weeks now, and they're still putrid.  I'm trying to ween her off the bottle, but admit to giving it to her before bed because it makes her so sleepy!  She's been using a sippy cup for months now, but I guess I'm holding on to the last "baby" thing for sentimental reason.  Don't worry, I won't let it get out of hand.  I am looking forward to packing those things up for good!

Other:

She really is our spunky family member.  She's always on the go, never sits still, hates watching any movies and would rather be playing with Connor's trucks.  Ryan thinks she'll be our athlete-she's fearless and will leap off furniture at any given moment-little adrenaline junkie!  She's a drama queen, and will throw herself on the ground and get real tears going at a moments' notice.  She's not the snuggler unless she's sick, tired, or hurt, but lately she will sit on my lap to read a book or play with my phone.  When she looks up at you with those sparkly eyes, you literally feel yourself melting (Yup, we're in trouble when she's older!).  Her smile and laugh are contagious.  When I see her try to follow her brother around, I hope for a healthy life long friendship.  She's a great sleeper, and still takes 2 naps a day and sleeps through the night, waking up at 6:30 each morning.  She's in to EVERYTHING-you always have to make sure to shut the toilet lids or it because a water table, close cabinets or everything is out, and put away folded laundry unless you really enjoy folding them a hundred times.  She likes to brush her hair and use her own fork to eat her food.  We've turned her around in the carseat and she's a happy camper to be sitting like big brother!  We love her to pieces, and I can't believe she's been in our lives for a year now.  I can't wait to see how much she grows and learns in the coming months!

Connor

It's been a few months since I have posted.  We are finally feeling settled her in San Diego, and I feel like I can breathe a little easier and sit down during nap time to catch up with the blog world.  Thankfull, facebook and emails have kept my friends and family in the "know" with the kids for the most part, but I'd like to get back on track with keeping updated on the blog.  So, I'll post two-one for Connor and one for Brooke with their latest developments!

Connor:
Height: 3 feet, 1 inch
Weight: 29 pounds (he's a stringbean!)
Diapers: Only at nap and night because he's a deep sleeper, and still a size 4
Clothes: 2T or 3 on bottom, 3 on tops
Shoes: 7 1/2

Potty Training:
So, we've been potty training for a little while now.  He does awesome while we are at home.  I don't have to even remind him anymore-he just goes pee when he needs to go!  He prefers being naked on the bottom with a t-shirt on during the day.  He does well though if he's wearing underwear, although we have more accidents when he does.  We haven't tried peeing in public yet.  The poor guy has always been afraid of public bathrooms (who can blame him?  They smell, they are loud, and there are weird people there sometimes!, which is why I think I I have not fully committed to potty training.  He also will NOT poop on the potty.  He holds it all morning until I put a diaper on for his nap. Then he poops away.  I tried just putting him in underwear instead of a diaper, and that turned out to be a gigantic, smelly mess.  I'm trying to offer him extra special treats for standing to pee (like Daddy, as he says) or pooping in the potty, but there's just something about the poo poo that he refuses to do do. Sigh.  We have made big strides with going out for quick errands and he even went to preschool yesterday in his underwear.  He'll get there, I know he will-he's just my stubborn boy who has always done things on his own time.

Preschool:

When we moved here, we quickly realized that preschool starts early.  I wanted to get him in somewhere with a good reputation, but since we moved in July, most schools were already full.  I made a friend at the train park with kids the same age as Connor and Brooke who recommended a great Lutheran preschool, and we got Connor on the waiting list.  A week later, they called with an opening for one day a week in the mornings.  The first day was rough-he cried, I cried, and I had to leave him with the teacher while listening to him yelling for "Mommy" all the way back to my car. Sad day!  She said he didn't take long to join the rest of the kids for playtime though.  The next week, he started to whine, but as soon as he saw his friends he jumped down and ran in without looking back.  The third week, I was talking to his teacher and he came up to me, looked at me, and very sternly said "BYE MOMMY!", like I was ruining his two year old reputation!  Needless to say, he loves it!  He's already brought home a finger painting triangle, apple stampings, and a handprint spider craft.  He looks at them every day and says, "I did it with my friends!". 

In addition to preschool, I signed up at LA Fitness nearby.  He hated going there too for a few days, but now I tell him we are going to the gym, and he gets his shoes and gets ready to get in the car ready to see his friends there.  Since we left Rachels, I have been concerned about making sure he stays social, especially with his delayed speech.  These things seem to help, along with a few new friends we've made here in the area.

Speech:

In Phoenix, we were ready to have him start speech after his evaluation.  He was only speaking with one word, wouldn't answer questions, etc and we were worried.  Since that time, he has greatly improved.  He now has a few full sentences, mostly phrases, and we can understand most of what he says.  However, he is still behind for a 3 year old.  I know boys take longer, and there are definite improvements from where he was just a few months ago, but I just don't want him to be frustrated with his communication.  We are in the process of deciding whether to give him some more time and monitor, or get him into speech while I am still at home and have the freedom to take him during the day. 

Other:

Connor loves Curious George, Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin, Elmo's World, bubbles, playing with the hose, pushing the stroller, pretending to have a picnic, playing with trucks, playing matching games, flashlights, wrestling with Daddy, his worn out blue raquet balls, watching ducks in the pond, Honeycrisp apples, cookies, and snuggling with good books before bed.  I caught him reading to Brooke, giving her hugs and kisses, and sharing toys but he can also be found pushing or trying to tackle her when she takes his stuff.  He is getting better about trying new foods (especially when a cookie is at stake!) and listening the first time.  He is getting used to going to time out, and will willingly go to his time out chair when he's done something he shouldn't.  He comes right back out and says "sorry for..." to whoever he has been ugly to.  He loves going to Trader Joe's with me because I let him push the kid cart.  He misses his family, and often tries to facetime with Yaya and Grandma.  He is sweet and stubborn all at the same time.  He tells me "I yuv you", and "sweet dreams" before bed.  He is growing way too fast, and I can't seem to slow it down!