Last night we finally carved our pumpkins! The kids had a great time and Daddy was on hand to help where it was needed. (Or maybe did most of the work, however you want to look at it.)

Rory didn't know what to make of the inside of her pumpkin!

Shortly there after she was eating the insides - Disgusting!

Max was all about scooping the gunk out himself.

He'd get very upset if I even held a spoon near his pumpkin and would yell at me "No spoon Mama!" and then he'd point next to his pumpkin where he wanted me to put my spoon. It was really funny, and I was fine with that, Daddy could do the work and I'd take the pictures!

Didn't Daddy do a good job?

The pumpkins turned out very cute. We couldn't call them scary or Max would get terribly upset. Dusty told him he was going to make scary teeth and Max's little lip pouted out and next thing you know he had big crocodile tears and wanted to cuddle with me. So Max and I told Daddy we were not going to have scary pumpkins this year and Max settled down. Although he did repeat, numerous times, "No scary Daddy!"

Afterwards we had a little fun with a wig I have and Dusty's beard hat. How can I not share those fun pics?

The kids are having their Halloween party at daycare today. I made sure to send Starbursts. This mom doesn't hand out Tootsie Rolls or Almond Joys! (Not that they're gross, there are just too many of them at Halloween.) I love that Halloween is on Sunday this year, that gives us a whole weekend to party. Happy Halloween everyone!

Last Saturday it was just me and the kids as Dusty had plans. I told them I'd take them to the park but of course we didn't get loaded up as quickly as I'd hoped and it started raining as soon as we pulled out of the driveway. It looked clearer towards Stillwater and after a quick phone call to Dido to confirm it was still dry there we were racing to get to a park before the rain got there.

I took them to Pioneer Park and we had the whole playground to ourselves! On top of that, it's beautiful on the top of the bluff where the park is situated that overlooks the St. Croix river valley. I took the kids over to look at the Stillwater Lift Bridge on the south side of the park. Max was excited to watch all the cars driving on it, and also upset that there weren't any boats in the water.

Once they got bored with that we were off to play at the park! We spent a lot of time on the swings, as it is so rare you can get two swings next to each other and not feel rushed because there are other people waiting. Like I said, we had the whole park to ourselves, so we had lots of time to perfect the art of an underdog!

We had a really fun time, and were able to play for almost an hour before the rain finally showed up. I'm looking forward to next year, as I won't be stuck holding Rory's hands to help her walk or carrying her around. (And I may not have to go down anymore tube slides that are just a bit too short for me to sit comfortably!)

I have to update from yesterday's post. Apparently Dusty and I had a miscommunication and the doctor is treating Rory for bronchitis because he heard a "crackle" while listening to her chest. He said it is very rare for a child that young to get bronchitis so he didn't diagnose her with that.

Now, if you've read my blog in the past, then you know that Rory has already had bronchitis once in her life, (at 2 months of age at that) and there have been 3 other kids in Rory's class that were out with bronchitis, so I don't know how I feel about this doctor's opinion. To cut out on future frustrations, I will be taking Rory to any doctor appointments that aren't for standard illnesses like pink eye. I wish I had more answers here.

Let's focus on happy thoughts!

This past weekend we were able to celebrate Auntie Rosie's birthday. The food was amazing as always, the company was some of the best, and Rosie was even able to blow out her candles without any little kids trying to do it for her!

Happy Birthday Auntie Rosie!

Cold and flu season has finally hit our family.

I was getting pretty anxious as more and more people started complaining about getting colds and we had yet to see anything. Of course, I was also congratulating myself on my excellent hygiene and hoping that all my cleaning would keep the bugs away but that is never going to happen with two small children!

Rory started coughing and we took out the nebulizer and started giving it to her in the mornings and the evenings. Then she missed daycare because she woke up with a fever on Thursday. According to our neighbors, who took our sick girl in so Dusty and I could continue to work - thanks Chantel, she was fine all day and was warm but not really hot (99's). All weekend she was great, and then Monday she gets kicked out of daycare at 10am because her fever comes back again. Next step? Ship her off to the doctor and sure enough she has the bronchitis that most every kid has had in her room now. So we're back to using the neb every 3-4 hours and giving her antibiotics. Good thing I know how to multi task and can hold that mask down, read a book and make room for Max!

Don't worry too much about her though, she barely lets on that she is even sick. She's back to playing and wrestling with Max and Daddy as soon as that mask is off!

Oh boogers, if only we could find a way to give you a healthy immune system!

Rory did not give up her bottle without a fight. I have no idea how long it took for her to fall asleep - I went to the bar. Yes, that sounds like horrible parenting but I needed a few hours away from home and got to spend time with my sisters while Dusty took care of helping Rory adjust to being a big girl. I can tell you she is now going to sleep like normal and seems to enjoy her bedtime stories, so I think we'll be alright!

I can't complain too much about losing my baby either. I ended up having to giver her a neb before bed so I got a good 10 minute cuddle in as we rocked, read stories and sang. (Really anything to keep her occupied so she doesn't swipe at the mask!) So until she stops freaking me out with her cough, I shall continue to get a cuddle in during the evenings while we use the neb.

We also enjoyed the full moon and our visit with Auntie Ta-Ta by going outside for a night time swing!

Yes, it was hazy out, but it was still fun to be outside in the moon light and the kids seemed to really enjoy this little treat!

Today is the first day Rory will not receive a bottle. She doesn't know this yet, since she had been weened down to only an evening bottle at this point, it won't be apparent until bedtime. I'm hoping all our practicing at reading a bedtime story after her bottle will have worked and there won't be many tears.

I do, however, expect some tears. We're talking about the little girl that would come crawling over at full boar whenever we even got close to the kitchen sink and would throw herself flat on her back at your feet waiting for you to hand her a bedtime bottle.

I no longer get to look forward to Max running into Rory's room and climbing up on the bed saying "I give Rory bottle!" I no longer get to snuggle my baby girl as she holds her bottle in one hand and pulls the hair on the top of her head with the other.

My baby, and if things go as planned, my last baby, is no longer a baby today.

Yes, I think it will be a tough night.

I've got some more small stories to share today!

Story #1:
Max was sent home with a field trip permission slip from daycare two weeks ago. It needed to be turned in by this Friday and there are notes all over daycare reminding parents to turn them in. I wrote the check and signed it this weekend, but kept forgetting to bring it in with me from the car. I finally remembered yesterday and gave it to his teacher joking that I was waiting until the very last minute to keep them on their toes. Lo-and-behold I find out that I am the FIRST parent to turn in their slip!

It's so nice to hear that I'm not the only scatterbrained parent, that I really am normal, no matter how much I seem to think that is not the case. Heck, I can even claim to be better then normal since I was the first! (For Max's small classroom that is - lets not compare me to all the parents at daycare, I'd be scared to see the results.)

Story #2:
Friday evening I decided to do some house cleaning since it was just the kids and I at home and we had guests coming Saturday. Max has always been quite the helper and likes to help me push the vacuum around, vacuum up the dirt pile I've swept up from the floor, and other little things I can find for him to do. After a while he got sick of helping me vacuum. So I told him to go clean up the bedrooms so I could vacuum in there. Next thing I know he is running out of his bedroom yelling at me to "Go there!" while he runs into Rory's room. Sure enough, he'd picked everything up off of his floor and was rushing to pick up all the toys off of Rory's floor while I vacuumed his room. What a great little helper I have!

Story #3:
Rory has decided that walking just isn't her thing. Her teachers at daycare have all been laughing as they each tell me their own version of how stubborn Rory is and how she'll pretty much look right at you like she is going to walk towards you and then will instead just squat down and crawl in a completely different direction!

Last night I was teasing her and would stop her from squatting and then would back up so she had to take a step towards me. It only took a couple of steps for her to catch on to my little game and instead of doing what I wanted, she would just launch herself forward fully trusting that I would catch her, instead of walking towards me. She is such a silly little girl, at this rate she'll be crawling when she's 3!

Story #4::
Don't you wish you had a husband that did a good majority of the cooking and looked this good in an apron?!

Dusty and Max were originally wearing the aprons, then I took Max's and put it on to lots of giggles and squeals. Naturally I decided it was the perfect photo opportunity. Don't let the apron fool you, Dusty was cooking, I was playing with my babies.

My own little photo booth photo shoot!

Yes, I know I'm adorable, try to focus on the kids! 

Saturday afternoon our house started to fill up with some of the greatest people I know - my college friends and their families! Becca, Erica and Lisa have all made appearances on my blog before, but it's pretty rare to see their families. I decided it was time we all got together and invited them all to stay at our place for the evening. It was crowded, crazy, and lots and lots of fun!

Dusty and I made our now famous apple pie drink. Lisa was a big fan of that!

Becca was a bit stressed being that it was Conan's first overnight away from home. Once he was asleep she got to relax and kick back and enjoy her own glass of apple pie! Here she is, comfy, mismatched, and very regal.

With three children under 3 in the house, the party got moved to the garage for a while. It was apparently too cold for a fire; Dusty claims he wasn't just being lazy. Grant and Al didn't seem to mind the garage party though!

The next morning Becca, Lisa and I picked out our books for next year's book club. Erica was quite entertained by our countdown to how many books we still have to find for the year. (It did go surprisingly fast as opposed to the last 3 years in our defense.)

Naturally there was some silly time too. Becca had fun showing Conan just how handsome he was in the bathroom mirror.

Lisa and I decided to see how many people could fit in the bathtub. There was still room for more!

Can you see why I love these ladies? It was so nice to have all our families under one roof, the last time we were all together was at Grant and Lisa's wedding which was 3 years ago. Hopefully we can turn it into an annual thing. I mean, I better see my girls at least every 3 months like we've been doing,  the stress from combining the families can be put off to once a year though! (And I know they all agree.)

Saturday morning we decided to stop at the new apple orchard by our house. We knew it wasn't crowded since this is it's first year being open and they aren't really advertising. We were in for a bit of a shock; we got there and were the only customers!

It was nice, we got to pick apples with one of the employees who helped us find some nice ones. Here's Dusty leading the kids. Note that they have pink buckets for the girls, and that Dusty carries it so well!

Max had a fun time getting right up into the trees. It was nice being there since all the trees were still young and little. Max could reach up and just grab apples.

Rory, still needed a boost. I had fun helping her grab them.

The kids loved eating their apples, and I think they have eaten about three in the last two days. The orchard doesn't charge for the apples the kids pick either, just the bags we bought. (Can we say homemade applesauce and LOTS of apple crisp?!)

The kids have their own ways of eating the whole apples. Max eats the whole apple, core, seeds, and all. He doesn't stop for nothing!

Rory, who also popped another tooth this weekend, enjoyed scraping the skin off with her teeth and spitting it out. Then she'd nibble into her apple but that is about the time she'd get bored with it. So we had lots of apple peels lying around and a girl that used her apple to sooth her sore gums.

It was a perfect start to a very fun weekend. And that fun weekend? It also included a new pink swing for a special someone!

She was loving the ability to be pushed higher. She's going to be on those roller coasters with me in a few years, I just know it!

It is such a great Friday! If you don't agree, let me put you in a good mood with 5 excellent little stories to share.

1. Max likes to go with me to get Rory up in the morning, he can climb into her crib on his own and they both enjoy this so I let him. (I know, bad Mommy!) Rory's sheets were recently changed to a zoo theme and Max was pointing out the animals he knew and making the animal noises. Rory started copying him. So they both were "Roaarrr"ing and they both were "Oh-oh-oh Ah-ah-ah"ing. Yes, they are that cute!
2. This morning Rory was crying because I went down the stairs to get everyone's shoes/sweatshirts so we could get going. Max runs back upstairs, engulfs Rory in his arms then stands up and proudly announces, "I hug Rory Mommy!"
3. Then I get Rory to the stairs and try to get her to go down the stairs herself. We've been working on this for a while now and Max knows the drill, he is to go downstairs backwards too so she can see him do it. Next thing you know Rory is crawling down the stairs! Daddy even got up to see it happen. (My loud cheering might have prevented him from sleeping anyway.)
4. Since Daddy was up, he helped load Rory into the car while I loaded Max. He then walked over to give both Max and I kisses goodbye. While I was getting my goodbye kiss Max yells up at me, "Daddy stinky!" Guess Daddy better brush his teeth before morning kisses!
5. While driving to daycare I didn't have the music on. Rory decides to start "singing" in her little Rory way and the next thing you know both her and Max are making up words to sing and taking turns copying each other. Best song I ever heard!

There you have it people, I've now made your Friday a great one too. It sure makes me smile thinking about how silly those two can be!

Yesterday Max and I encountered some interesting birds in our backyard. Now, I could be sufficient and try to Google them, but I don't have it in me. So can someone just please tell me what in the heck these things are? Max insisted that they were geese, but I'm pretty sure that is just because we've seen a lot of geese lately. (Don't forget, you can click pictures to make them larger!)
***Thank you Andy - they are Sandhill Cranes!***

Also, when did the mornings start getting so dark?! These are from this morning while we were getting ready to leave. My lights have to be turned on until we leave, I'm not ready for the dark of winter yet!

The first picture of them laughing with each other is what motivated me to get my camera out this morning. Seriously, how cute can they be? Naturally Rory has to try to copy her brother in climbing and jumping off of the cooler. I need to move that back to the garage before someone gets hurt!

 Last night we celebrated Bopa's birthday at Acapulco's. I know, we always go there, but the food is great and it is really family friendly.

Rory had a fun time feeding her food to Auntie.

Aren't my sister's cute?

Max was treating his ketchup as its own individual side, silly boy!

Rory convinced Grandma to take her walking around the restaurant.

And Dad got to celebrate with the best family ever!

Happy Birthday Dad! Sorry it wasn't as big as Mom's party but you know we still love you the same!

Two exciting things happened on Sunday. First, I went and hacked off a bunch of our corn stalks in the garden to decorate our doorway. Our neighbors went above and beyond with their  fall decorations this year and have cornstalks, hay bales, pumpkins, squash and even a scarecrow! Dusty thought it'd be funny if we made our own mini version since we had just purchased our pumpkins too. That way when people pull into our neighborhood they'll see our neighbor's outstanding display and then our puny display - how funny is that?

Rory was kind enough to model!

After all that fun yard work we had some good friends of ours over for dinner. Brandon and Laura have three little girls and man were they fun to watch running around. Max was a bit overwhelmed, I don't know if it was because of all the activities we already had going on this weekend, or if it was because he was surrounded by girls for once. Either way, he was a bit naughty and a bit reclusive while Rory just thrived!

Look at her, she just crawled right over to Brandon to have him pick her up for a story with girls!

A quick note on the topless little ladies. Rory got quite dirty from the frosted cupcakes Brandon and Laura brought for dessert so we removed her shirt. Next thing you know Max wants his shirt off, then Kayly, then Mady. Jacky was the only girl with any decency! It was pretty silly having all these topless kids running around.