Another fall tradition

Two years ago, in October, Tracy, Kim and I thought it'd be fun to take pictures of the kids with the fall foliage. Little did we know that we were establishing a tradition or that in two short years there would be six kids in the picture or that it would be a little sad and a little happy to look at the old photos.

The kids did amazingly well this year. There was no crying (well, not much) and only a few escape attempts.

I think Adam is actually smiling in this one.

i'm not even sure what to say about the old pictures. Part of me wants to cry and ask what happened to these babies? But part of me is really proud of what amazing little people they are becoming. It is like my own little psychology study group. Each one of these kids has such a unique and defining personality. Looking at these pictures makes me realize again that I am so blessed to get to share this experience of parenting with Kim, Tracy and their families.

2007

2008

Here are a couple of shots of Megan and Adam. I didn't get any together in their regular clothes because Adam had had enough. He was woken up twice in order to get these pictures. Did I mention he is the most amazing baby?

After the pics, we went inside and painted.

Something productive

My life seems to be full of never-ending tasks: laundry, dishes, picking up toys. Many days, at the end of the day, I feel as though I have accomplished nothing. I was in JoAnn's a few weeks ago and something about the jewelry making supplies called to me. I think it was the pretty colors...anyway, I have the basic supplies from 5 years ago when they started doing beading at the scrapbook store where I worked. There is something rewarding about starting and ending a project in a relatively short time.

Fall Frolicking

I think we are establishing some fall traditions. Last weekend, we visited Cooper Farms and all the festivities it has to offer. Megan is going through a phase where she is scared of trains and loud things, so the only thing we rode was the hay wagon. Visit last year for a comparison: http://ckgorrell.blogspot.com/2008/10/trip-to-cooper-farms.html

Yesterday, we had a gorgeous afternoon and since Megan refused to nap, we decided to tempt fate by taking a cranky two-year-old hiking at Parker Dam. She did great and the weather was perfect. A little chilly, but otherwise great.

This was the view from our hike.

When we got home, Chad carved Megan's pumpkin while I made a seasonal favorite: pumpkin bars...

This is Jack.

Storytime

I am starting to feel slightly safer leaving Adam on the ground when Megan is around. Usually, I ask her to play in her room, but last Friday I asked her to "read to" Adam while I was in the shower. When I finished (very quickly, I might add), this is what I found. She had "read" through about 10 books and made a little pile. She kept running back and forth to the tote we keep the books in to find another. She doesn't actually show him the pictures, but it goes something like this, "This book is called (whatever picture is on the front cover)" and then she names each picture and occasionaly describes the color or other detail. It is pretty sweet and I hope she continues to be such a good sister when he gets big enough to steal her toys and chew on her crayons.

Fancy Megan

Megan has been especially imaginative lately. She has a very intricate network of imaginary friends. They include her sisters Amy, Fancy Nancy (from the book series), Leah, and Angela. She also has her "neighbor" that is imaginary.


Fancy Nancy is a character in a book series we have been reading. Nancy is very fancy (obviously) but her fanciness is often her own creation (and not fancy by adult or fashionable standards), such as a blanket tied around her neck or waste as a robe/dress. Megan started wearing her own "blanket dress" several weeks ago of her own accord. I did help a little after she spent some time walking around trying to hold her dress on and still play. Megan has been very into dressing up lately, so I thought for Halloween she could be Fancy Nancy. I made a little pink skirt, bought a set of "fancy" shoes that came with a tiara and wand and waa-laa, "Fancy Megan." We will add some additional accessories (which is Fancy Nancy's fancy word for "extra little stuff).





Any given day at any given time, it is likely Megan will be wearing something out of the ordinary. She likes necklaces and her pink skirt. She would wear a dress everyday if I would let her and only wants to wear purple clothing. She also likes to change her name. Last Thursday, she was Uniqua (from the Backyardigans) and she spent the day calling me, "Tyrone" and Adam "Pablo." The following day, she announced she was, "Leah" and if I called her Megan, she very quickly corrected me, "No, I'm Leah." She spent some time that day calling me, "Babe" until I told her that I preferred to be called "Mommy." At least once a day, she adopts one of her alter egos. Everything in our house has at least two functions. Our red couch is not only a couch, but a bathtub, a car, and a house all in one convenient package. The brown couch is "Pittsburgh" and also grandma's house. The carpet in Adam's room is a beach and it's a nude beach at that. One second, I was playing with Adam and Megan was fully clothed, the next moment I turn around and she's naked (well, she had a shirt on b/c she can't get that off herself), laying on the floor, pulling herself around by arms "swimming."

Yep, it is always an adventure.