Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we had some fun at the pumpkin patch where we picked our four specials pumpkins. Robin and Phoebe were in town and joined us. Isabelle has been learning about the letter P and has been looking forward to the pumpkin patch all week.

 

(My failed attempt at getting all three kids to look at the camera in the bright sun. Maybe next year?)

After all the searching, we found the perfect round, tall, small, and lumpy pumpkin we were looking for. We now look forward to carving them!

AH, I Can't Keep Up!

Life is total nuts. I don't even know what has been going on the past couple weeks, so here I am sitting down to reminisce our past couple weeks. Due to the lack of sleep these days I pretty much only remember what has happened 5 minutes prior.

We have had a birthday party every Saturday for over a month. Only one picture was taken, thanks to Jamie. Here is Mark at his Witch's and Wizard's party. Belle and I were at another party.

 

 Mark and Belle playing together. Mark looks like he should be on Happy Days with the tattoo he got at his party. It was nearly impossible to remove, so he enjoyed it for a few days.

 

 

The binky fairy arrived and took Belle's binky to a new baby and left a new kitchen. They both love it. Mark likes to chew every piece of food Belle cooks. I enjoy picking up a thousand pieces of food, pots, pans, and utensils daily.

 

We're still working on the backyard, but it's starting to look good. Belle is a good worker with dad! 

 

  

I like to put her to work too.

Watching mom move rocks in the backyard is tough work.

Some treats for all the hard work.

 

Such peace. If only this moment could last through the night.  :-)

Steamboat Springs

We just returned from a four day trip to Steamboat where we attended my good friend's wedding. It was the perfect weekend! We had great weather and were non-stop busy! We were so fortunate to have Grammy and Pepe join us! We can't thank them enough for watching the kids (and Sierra too) while Jamie and I attended all the many wedding festivities. I know Isabelle and Mark loved being with them and we were so happy to be able to hang out with all of our friends.

Having fun with Pepe in our fantastic condo!

 

 

While Jamie and I were out, Belle and Mark got to go on many adventures with Grammy and Pepe. There was a great playground next to our condo, the river, and the ski jump hill where you could watch them jump (yes, even this time of year with no snow). We also were right in town, so they got to go out and get gelato! Here are some pictures Pepe took while walking through town.

All my high school friends were there which was not only great fun for me, but for Isabelle and Mark too. We brought the kids to the playground one day and they had a great time playing together. This is only a few of the many kids having a snack.

 

 The last day we finally found some time to go to the hot springs.

 

 

Isabelle loved this slide. I'm not sure what it is? A crab? A ladybug? Anyway, she would go down, splash into the water, be completely submerged, and pop herself back up. She did it about a dozen times. She is so brave and such a good swimmer.

 At the kiddie pool...

FYI from Belle....mom's an alligator and Belle is the baby alligator.

Even though he never slept, you would never know. He is his happy, cheerful self during the day. Little stinker.

 A very rare moment....a picture of me and Jamie, dressed up. This was the view from the wedding. It only got better with the sunset. The next day the leaves totally changed colors. Amazing what can happen in one night. We hope to get to the mountains again soon, but this time to hike in the fall colors.

6 Months!

I'm not sure how Mark got to be 6 months old, but somehow the time flew by and here he is growing up faster than we imagined. We love every second of being with him, although if you asked me that in the middle of the night, you might get a different answer. The past month we have had LONG nights being up with Mark. He wants nothing to do with sleeping at night. I'm totally convinced that this kid would be in total bliss if he could be carried around in the Ergo carrier all day and night.  He loves to be in that thing, cuddled next to us, whether he is awake or asleep. Forget about mom and dad sleeping (or sitting) because he is pretty insistent that we must be walking around while carrying him. Aside from not sleeping, he is the best little boy in the whole world!

Two teeth suddenly popped out just after he turned 5 months old. Look carefully and you can see the teeth. There's definitely more on the way because the drooling continues to be a waterfall with a river flowing down the shirt.

 He can lift himself all the way up now and he rolls and scoots all over the place. He still hasn't figured out the knee action of lifting. We're fine with that. We are not ready for another mobile kid quite yet.

 

He just figured out how to sit on his own and he does a fairly good job. Every now and then you'll turn your head for 2 seconds and you'll find he has tumbled over. But no big deal, he will then roll around and smile at you.

Imagine some loud squealing. That is what is happening here. He loves to talk/squeal, especially to Isabelle.

Happy 6 months to our special boy! Now, if you could just conquer the sleeping through the night dream I have (even 5 straight hours), life would be even more perfect.

How Mom Gets Laundry Done...

Throw them in the crib with a few toys and I have just enough time to fold and put away the laundry. I love this crib.

 

Doing a little jig for Mark.

Hmmm. He'd be pretty cute as a girl too. When Mark gets older he can thank Belle for all the dress up pictures.

 My next post is going to be all about Mark, so soak up the cuteness of Belle in her favorite "dancing" dress.....