Pumpkin Carving

What a busy weekend! John played trivia on Friday night with our friends (I, sadly had to stay home with The Baby Who Will Not Take a Bottle) and we had two pumpkin events this weekend on both Saturday and Sunday!

Saturday was a Pumpkin Carving contest at my former coworkers house. John and I make a great team. I don't really like the carving of the pumpkin. I always have an elaborate plan that doesn't work out because my arm gets tired before I am done. In the end, I'm disappointed because it doesn't look like the idea I had in my head. John strongly dislikes scooping out the pumpkin guts, but doesn't mind carving. I scoop, John carves. Perfect.

William is finally old enough to kind of understand what is going on. He was very excited to be a helper...although he wasn't really a fan of the gooey insides either.

Amelia and her godfather, Jeff. He is showing her the first beer he brewed himself. She was very excited about tasting it and worked very hard to get as much of herself in it without any luck.

Carved pumpkins lit up

Carved pumpkins with a flash. After everyone at the party carves their pumpkin, they get lined up outside on the step for judging. We couldn't stay that long this year though!

On Sunday, our church hosted a Pumpkin Carving Party/Chili Cook Off for families. We had a LOT of fun!

It is wonderful how the big kids let the littler ones in the group. William did not have anyone tell him he wasn't allowed to be with them. They all gave him jobs to do and let him help. Although I wasn't thrilled to find him with sharp objects in his hands every time I turned around, it warmed my heart to see how much fun he was having with the big kids.

Again, tag teaming. John carving.

Kris was so patient with William!

William wanted to have a "happy" pumpkin (L) and a "sad" pumpkin (R)

The chili tasting set up - there was a LOT of chili! People voted by putting money into the jars in front of the crock pots. The person with the most money won the cook off! All the money raised was given to a family in our congregation struggling with medical expenses.

Daddy and Mia. I think she played with this cup more than most of her toys we've paid for with money. Also wearing her cute Halloween pajamas!
Daddy & Mia
Guess what? I am the Chili cook off winner*! I won a ladle trophy and a Halloween set of towels/potholders! Yahoo!

*I found out later, my husband significantly "fixed" the vote. So, I know where the votes came from now!

A Fall Day

We went for a drive to see a friend in the country today. The leaves this year are gorgeous! Too bad it has been so WET we haven't been able to get out much and take pictures. I'll keep working on it!

John was working late last week and I was...well, at my wit's ends inside. So, we went outside to play diggers on the driveway and wait for daddy to come home.

William carefully "parked" his cars in the "garage" on the far left of this picture. Amelia saw an opportunity.
Ooohhhh....diggers.
Do you think he'll notice if I take just one more? Note: she has three out of the five diggers in her possession currently.

William drives his diggers. Serious business folks.

Amelia drives her digger.Amelia drives her digger and William realizes she has a digger. Also note: there are ruffles on her socks. This clearly will balance out the playing with diggers.

William decides he can share the digger bucket with Amelia, but not any of the diggers...

I decide this is a good time to take Ms Amelia and try to get some pictures with her in the fall leaves.

Yummy! Leaves!This photo shoot was initially cut short because - YOU ARE SQUISHING YOU SISTER! NO IT ISN'T FUNNY! STOP RIGHT NOW! ARGH!!! [photo shoot ends] and then it turns out, she managed to get that whole leaf into her mouth without me noticing. So, it was time to stop anyway.

Every little thing he does is magic

Both of them. William and Grandpa are both magic in Amelia's eyes.

Babbling

I love babbling. Love it. I wish I could put it is a bottle and keep it up on a shelf somewhere to be brought out when our kids are teenagers and driving me a whole different variety of crazy.

William

Earlier this week we had soup for dinner. We've been eating a lot of soup because the weather has been cold and rainy. Perfect for soup. Soupy kinds of days. John and I were teamed up in the kitchen, moving fast to get dinner on the table. Steaming bowls of soup were sitting on the table as we put the finishing touches on whatever else we were eating that evening. I turned around to find William in my chair with his face very close to my bowl.

"William!!! WILLIAM!! Please be careful! Mama's soup is VERY hot!"

"It's okay Mama. I just blowing your soup UP! I'm a helper!

and then I about died right there on the kitchen floor, trying not to laugh at him. Because he was so serious about blowing. up. my. soup. I'm still laughing.

Other things William has done lately that make me laugh:

I am totally in love with the way he says the words "excavator" and "helicopter" (heptacopter)

And here I was trying to get Amelia babbling recorded and ended up getting William playing the smallest violin in the world. I think he is hysterical. Or, I need to get out more. Or both.

Laughing

Amelia has a few different laughs. Above is the new evil baby laugh. It comes from somewhere dark and deep inside her.

And here is the giant, deep, belly laugh. I can't hear this one without laughing myself! William is the best at getting this laugh from her, but daddy does a great job too!

Tooth

Tooth #4

Front left

10/21/09

Here's the Mail

It never fails....
It makes me wanna
Wag my taiiiiiiiiiiiiiilllll
When it comes
I want to waaaaaiiiiilllll

MAIL!

(PS This is William's favorite song right now. He sings it ALL the time. And requests it every night during our bedtime routine. I tried to find a link to it, but it appears people like to do scary things with this song. Go try Youtube yourself if you don't believe me.)



We love getting mail. William is still dragging around his Valentine's day and Easter cards with him. They go with him to bed, up and down the stairs. I draw the line at taking them out in the car with us, but if I would let him, he would. This week has been a big mail week and I wanted to share.

A halloween card from Great Grandma Nona and Great Grandpa Budd

We read it over and over and over and over

Sometimes it is a little scary how closely he studies things. I wonder what he is thinking about. Luckily, I don't have to wonder long. His little mouth isn't quiet for long these days.

We also got a package from some special internet friends! Thank you Nicole!
So exciting! William unwraps while Amelia looks on
I got the coolest knitted (I think?) bracelet! I will be wearing it for SURE this holiday season with my new gray sweater! If I would have known there was something so awesome for me in the package, I would have dressed...well not in a T shirt and sweats!
William got a hat! It is wonderful, awesome and amazing. He has worn it every time we've left the house the last few days. And honestly a lot inside the house. He takes it off occasionally to admire the W patch on the front of the hat. "W is for me! William!" he announces proudly.
Amelia also got a beautiful hat! Nicole left the ribbon long so I could adjust it to her head size (good thinking!). Amelia was very entertained by the ribbon.
She also really liked Nicole's pink card (in her hands, kind of blends in with her outfit). I finally took it away from her when she had chewed a hole in it.
New hats together - I love LOVE Amelia's face in this one.
The two new hats! Just in time for winter! Now I just have to finish (okay, okay, I'll be honest. I haven't even started. BUT! I've been thinking about it!) my crafty project to send back to them.
Ooooooo! More mail on the same day! Another card!
We got a HUGE pile of stickers from Great Grandma Gerry and Great Grandpa Tom. We looked at these stickers for a very VERY long time. We love stickers.

Rules for Pulling Up, by Amelia

Amelia pulling up on the wheeled ottoman. A current favorite. Espcially when her brother gets jealous and starts moving it out from under her.

Amelia has been working nonstop on this pulling up stuff. Constantly. Always. Even when she is supposed to be sleeping. Today while she was supposed to be napping, there was only crying. Every few minutes, I would go into her room to find this:

A little help please!

I'm standing and I can't get down! This is cute the first time. The fiftieth time? Not very cute.

When outside of her crib, there appears to be a set of favorite rules in play I'd like to share with you:

1. Risky is better.

2. Wheels are awesome. All of our push toys are super fun as is the ottoman with wheels!

3. Also things with sharp edges like the coffee table.

4. And slippery surfaces. I love the bathtub.

5. When given the option, pulling up is always more fun. Especially more fun than sleeping.

6. Things that fold on themselves are great. Folding chairs, drying racks, and laundry baskets are a lot of fun.

7. Play quietly until Mama is just out of sight. I can make her run fast!

8. Pulling up to get my brother's toys is fun. He runs fast too. Although he isn't as nice as Mama. She has a few new bruises thanks to him (and the sharp corners of our coffee table). We've had a lot of talks this week about how it isn't nice to push the baby. Even if she is trying to eat your cars in one large bite.

9. Letting go with one hand is good exercise. Especially when wheels are involved.

10. Cry loudly when you get tired of the view or are out of toys to toss so someone will come and rescue you promptly.

Repeat, repeat repeat. Argh. It has been a long week.

rules for standing, by Amelia

I has stickers

Pears 10/18/09

Two Two Two!

This post is supposed to be all about this picture. And the video below. But, I've been stalling on putting it up because they (the pic and video) just don't do justice to how things are around here. With Amelia's newfound mobility, my life has gotten a LOT (and I mean A LOT) more difficult. Amelia is everywhere she shouldn't be. Always. Guaranteed. Also guaranteed is how I spend a few moments every day wondering how she'll make it to her first birthday intact. I have a whole post about it coming up soon. However, one of the brighter points in my new high stressed life is that suddenly, I know what Amelia wants to do: she wants to be as close to her big brother as possible. She wants to be right next to him all the time. John and I were prepping dinner one night with Amelia at our feet. The next moment, she was gone and when we looked further, we discovered she had traveled a huge distance to play at her brother's feet in the next room. Her adoration of him is just so sweet, so true that it brings tears to my eyes. No one can make her smile bigger, laugh harder, or squeal louder with glee (although, I have to confess, I am a close second). William isn't always gentle and Amelia seems to bask in any type of affection, regardless of the strength. They play peek a boo, patty cake, sing songs, tell stories, read books and so much more together. It is awesome, amazing and beyond words to watch their relationship develop.

A new problem has been created at the same time. With this new mobility in conjunction with the Amelia's favorite pastime of pulling up, William has very few safe spaces left to play. In the beginning, he moved his toys out of her reach and then WAY out of her reach on the floor. Then he moved up a level to the fireplace hearth and coffee table. But, now these places are no longer safe from the destructive baby sister. So, this weekend I think may bring back "Baby Jail" for William to have as his own space. He might like playing in it more now that he is older. We'll see.







Also lots of fun are watching two babies grow together! Our friend Lilly came over again to play:

Amelia and Lilly

Amelia checks Lilly out...Lilly isn't sure she likes this game!

I'd like to say that Amelia is trying to hug Lilly here, but that isn't the truth. I think it was more like trying to poke Lilly in the eye. Or pull her hair. Or chew on her fingers.

Prunes & a Story

Well, we've had some....slow down in the digestive area with the introduction of more solids. So tonight...PRUNES!

The prunes

Amelia waits The first bite...
Not really a fan....One more little taste
Not opening.... This is about how the rest went. She wasn't a fan and didn't really open up for any more.After dinner puffs. Is this a sign of things to come?

Will she want a nose ring next?
When we take pictures of Amelia eating, William always announces it is his turn for a picture. Here is a nice smile!

Amelia needed a bath this morning due to a diaper related malfunction (or maybe diaper duty negligence. I'll never tell.) when I made a great discovery.

Photographic proof that the wild woman hair is still present. Just longer.

I can't tell you how happy this made me!
__________

A Story

We were driving home from Target tonight and Amelia was wailing away. Sadly, she has been very unhappy this week. Not that you could tell if you stopped by to see us. She'd still charm the pants off of you with her smile.

Anyhow, she was wailing away in the backseat while I was driving home. William was buckled in next to her (P.S. He didn't take a nap today). Because I can't physically soothe her while driving, I started to sing and she quieted down. However, when one stopped, the other started.

"NO!!! I DON'T LIKE IT SINGING!!"

"What? Do you want me to sing a different song?" (baby wailing resumes) I start singing another song.

"DON'T SING THAT SONG! NO SINGING!"

"William, Mama is singing so baby sister doesn't fell so sad." (cue baby wailing, somehow louder than before) I attempt yet another song, although it is hard to hear myself over all the yelling and wailing.

"I DON'T LIKE SINGING! NO SINGING! NO SONGS!"


Repeat above conversation.

I continue to sing, Amelia quiets. Tragic sobbing begins from William (fake, complete with stopping for distractions like a big garbage truck). I can't win, can I? One of the longest trips home from Target on record.

My new favorite fruit is...

A raspberry


Because that is what Amelia does all day long and...and I just love it. I'm working on getting video of it, but so far no luck. The video camera is very, very interesting. All other activity stops when it comes out.