Rest Time

Months ago Everett gave up naps. I initially tried to have him lay down and every once in a blue moon, he'd fall asleep. However he wouldn't sleep as well at night when he did nap. So now we have just moved to complete "rest time" where he never sleeps, but does have some down time. During his hour of alone time he gets to watch a video and play on his own. During that time I eat lunch, clean the kitchen, and prepare dinner.
Then we spend time together.

 

Everett usually asks me if we can do a project together. If I was on top of things I would already have a creative project in mind with all the supplies necessary. However, it usually ends up with me grabbing some construction paper and markers and random stickers. He doesn't seem to mind! Today though he requested I get out the bean bin.


Then after Hampton's nap, the boys got to split a special pumpkin cookie. 

And Hampton and Eleanor explored the bean bin! 

I know I will miss this special time with Everett one day soon when he is off at "big school." For now, I cherish the one-on-one time we have together.

Choo Choos

Hampton has been quite obsessed with trains for awhile now. Every time we get in the car he says, "go to choo choos mama." He loves to play with the train table at Barnes and Noble.

 

And Eleanor doesn't mind going either! We sometimes stop by after dropping Everett off at preschool.

 

And she has been taking more and more steps independently!

 

I can't wait until Christmas. We are getting the boys their own train table! I pray it is as fascinating at home to them as it is in the store.

 

The Pumpkin Patch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursdays

I love Thursdays because we have no obligations. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings we take Everett to preschool. This requires we are up, fed, dressed and out the door by 8:45. It is worth it, but Thursdays are nice because we can lounge around in our jammies if we want, or we can get dressed and go on an adventure. Today we opted for jammies. In fact, it is 1:30 in the afternoon right now as I write this and we are all still in our jammies!

Everett has recently liked taking all of our quilts and just wallowing in them. Perfect for a lazy day.


I think Eleanor definitely picked up on our calm and relaxing vibe this morning!

And this is Hampton right before I gave him his very first haircut. He is 2 1/2 years old and has never had a real haircut! I just hated cutting off all those beautiful blonde curly locks, but it had to be done. I forgot to take an after shot.

And Everett is our builder!

 

Portrait- or me playing with the portrait setting on our camera. Pictures just don't do this beauty justice.

Hampton's fake smile.

The real deal.

My attempt at getting a brother picture.

Even Maggie was relaxed and calm all day-which doesn't say much. She is a really lazy dog (except when the UPS man rings our doorbell!)

And my poor Hampton boy......he was fine all morning and then near lunch started whining and wanting to cling to me. I felt his forehead and he was burning up! Poor baby had a 102 degree fever. Tis the cold/flu season I guess. So happy I am here to bring him comfort and lots of Mommy love. Thankful he is napping now. 

Happy and actually relaxing morning with the babies today. Since I am 20 weeks pregnant, I truly appreciate this gift more than ever!

It's A.........

We had our second ultrasound today and found out it's a...........

BOY!!!!!

And he has a name........

Thatcher Reid

We feel overwhelmingly blessed to find out that he is healthy and active!

Saturdays are for Family

Saturdays are really our only day during the week as a family. We try to balance getting things done, getting out, and finding time to relax. Today though we stayed home all day and really had nothing on the schedule. Eric took over this morning and I slept in. Then after lunch we got some fresh air outside on our deck.

 

It's hard to capture a good picture of Everett. He really is a happy boy!.....most of the time.
 

Hampton letting me know he hears an airplane.......
 

 

 

And Eleanor is on the brink of walking. She has been taking a few steps the past couple of days, but still lacks complete confidence.
 

 

We then took a walk around the neighborhood and the boys collected colorful leaves and acorns in their buckets.
 

During nap time it was Eric's turn to retreat. So he headed upstairs to take a nap and I was on child duty. Hampton and Eleanor napped and Everett "rested." Which really means he kept coming upstairs every 10 minutes with a different need-a snack, having to potty, wanting to watch a video. When everyone awoke they watched Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin.
 

We then pasted our leaves onto construction paper and hung them up in our playroom.
 

For dinner we had cheesy enchilada casserole. Yum!

After dinner we took another walk around the neighborhood. It was then time for bath and bed! We had a fun day. A day at home. 

Little Things

It's the little things that can bring me the most joy. Now that it is officially Autumn, there are a lot of happy things to be grateful for.

Like my new Cracker Barrel rockers that I got for my birthday. It has been so nice to sit out on our deck and rock. Especially since it is cooling off a bit.

And hanging baskets.

And the crunchy leaves and acorns that are now starting to cover our back yard. 

Fall decor. It makes our home just feel cozy.

 

And these pumpkins our neighbors across the street put up have brought much joy to the boys. Every morning the boys run to our front window to greet them. And when the wind blows them down like this......well, we decided that they are taking a nap. Which is convenient when it actually is time for a nap. We have also named them Larry, Jerry, and Scary. 

Hampton's artwork. He is very proud of this. He colored it at church and when I went to to pick him up he exclaimed, "I made this!"

And Everett always brings home the cutest artwork from preschool. 

Little girl shoes. I ordered these Mary Janes online and it took them forever to get here, but they were well worth the wait. I know I will look back one day at them and wonder how her feet ever fit into such a tiny pair. 

My sweet clean, jammied babies tonight right before bed. I use baby soap, even with Everett, and will continue to do so as long as they will let me. 

This sassy face. We see this face quite often.