Thanksgiving with Family

Here are the photos of our Thanksgiving trip to Missouri. It was BUSY, but we had a blast!

Family picture at the White house: Grandpa Adrian, Grandma Linda, Daddy with Evan and Joel, Mamaw, Foxy, Aunt Suzanne, and Luke. Anyone else find it amusing that it seems easier to get a dog to look at the camera than the two-year-olds?

Grandma Linda bought these really cool trucks for the twins, and they enjoyed playing with them out on the back patio (check out their gorgeous view of the lake!)

Iid Family Thanksgiving photo. My brain is too tired to list everyone's names. It's a huge, loud, fun group. I give loud and fun equal emphasis.

Family photo at my aunt's house. She's got an anti-social llama, a couple of horses, dogs (including one with only three legs), and many rabbits. The twins' favorite part? The swingset.

Mamaw and Sweet Luke.

Grandma Linda with Luke

Grandpa Adrian with Luke

The boys LOVED throwing rocks into the lake at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

(Joel on left, Evan on right)

Sometimes they chose really big rocks.

Mommy and Luke enjoying the beautiful MO weather that weekend!

Daddy and Luke enjoying the view

Is there any question as to who Luke looks like?

Seriously, this kid is CUTE!

Evan enjoying playtime with his little brother.

Our Thanksgiving weekend agenda (so you can have an idea of what I mean when I say it was "busy"):

Tuesday evening- 5 hour drive to St. Louis area to visit Nana (the boys' great-grandma). Evan got carsick about 30 minutes after leaving home.

Wednesday- Spent day with Nana. Left late afternoon, another 5 hour drive to Missouri. Evan and Joel got carsick shortly before we arrived. Todd and I got lost thanks to my over-reliance on GPS. I saw a hyena. Okay, not really, but it sure looked like one (it was a buck.)

Thursday- Spent the day with our huge family at the Mercantile (part of my aunt's doll business. She is amazing... see here: http://www.expressionsdolls.com/diannaeffner.html )

Friday- Went to visit our cousins' farms. The twins got to see lots of animals, throw rocks in the huge pond, and ride a 4-wheeler with Daddy (Mommy was too wimpy to ride.) After a major tantrum fest at the farm, we got in the car to leave. Joel threw up before we even left the driveway. Another short drive to visit Daddy's side of the family. Evan and Joel got sick just before we arrived at the condo.

Saturday- Visit with Grandparents, Mamaw (boys' great-grandma), and Aunt Suzanne. The visit was fun but way too short.

Sunday- Nine hour drive home. NO CARSICKNESS!

And just like that, we are onto the holiday madness that is December. Happy Holidays, everyone!

GIFT WISH LIST FOR THE BOYS (for those who have asked):

Twins:

Toys-Love all things transportation... planes, trains, automobiles. Anything related to this would make them happy. They also enjoy music a lot, so anything relating to listening to/playing music they'd love.

Clothing- Always in need of pajamas! Size 2t shirts, 24 month or 2t bottoms. Adjustable waistbands really help because they have skinny tummies and pants fall down.

Characters- They love Backyardigans, Dora and Diego, and Pixar films.

Luke:

Toys- Sensory books, teething toys, sensory balls/toys. He is very active so anything that keeps his mind stimulated would make him happy.

Clothing- size 12 month tops and bottoms for winter/early spring clothing.

Our Busy October!

There are so many pictures of the different things we did this month that I hardly feel the need to write anything extra. The boys make me laugh a lot, cry a little, and dream of the days when I will be able to sleep as long as I want. I'm exhausted from the moment I wake until I go to sleep each and every day. Nevertheless, I continue to love hanging out with my little guys who always keep me guessing what will happen next!



After a bout of illness through each member of the family, we decided the best cure for a cold was fresh air. We packed the kids in the car and headed to a local pumpkin farm to enjoy some time outdoors. It was a beautiful day, and everyone felt much better afterward, so the goal was accomplished!



Evan says big boys don't smile for pictures.




Luke was a bit sick, but he stayed warm being carried in Mommy's coat!

I swear that isn't a cigarette in Joel's mouth; he was given a lollipop to enjoy!

Joel says watermelons are cool!

Mommy and Daddy said, "Don't run into the corn maze." In toddler terms, that means, "Run as fast as you can NOW!"

Last month, Todd won bowling passes, so we thought we'd bring the kids out and enjoy an afternoon at the bowling alley. Joel and Evan enjoyed themselves and were on fairly good behavior until the end. Luke was a little angel and sat quietly in his carrier the entire time. It was a fun family event!


The twins used a ramp to bowl. They loved pushing it all by themselves, which Daddy let them do. They also loved trying to lift the ball all by themselves, which Daddy did not let them do.

Yay, Daddy!

Bowling shoes are for the cool kids. I've half a mind to sneak out the door with these snazzy shoes. (Just kidding. Although my mom told me that when she was a teen she stole a pair of shoes from the bowling alley because she liked the look.)

Who can guess how we knew when the kids were ready to leave?

Luke has started solids this month! I tried holding off as long as I could, knowing full well that once you start, there's no turning back. However, he has been eyeing and grabbing for food whenever he sees anyone eating, so I figured it was time. We're using a method called "Baby Led Weaning," which basically means that rather than causing a bunch of work for myself making pureed food, I just give Luke a part of whatever the family is having that day. His first meal was canned pumpkin, which he fed himself with a spoon. He has since eaten steamed broccoli, canteloupe, avocado, banana, and potatoes. He loves being able to pick up the food on his own, and I love watching him take actual bites of food instead of having to feed him myself. For those with kids this age, I highly recommend looking into using BLW in your own family.

Here are a few shots of the first meal: Canned Pumpkin!

Think he enjoyed it?

Trying desperately to pick up banana:

Success!

Some of you heard about The Great Flour Caper that took place in my house recently. Here's photographic evidence of why leaving two-year-olds alone with flour for under two minutes is NOT a good idea. (Four cups, to be exact.)

(These are just close-ups of a small part of it. It was on the walls, the counters, the curtains; everywhere you could possibly imagine and many places you'd never expect. We are still coming across coatings of flour on areas that we missed!)

And just to prove that Mommy is sometimes incapable of learning a lesson the first time, here we have the sequel: The Great Dirt Disaster. You can guess how much fun it was to clean the carpet and every surface in the living room.

Has Mommy learned her lesson yet? I'll let you know in a year or so.

One of the best parts of fall is the occasional great weather for spending time outdoors. Here are some pictures of my boys enjoying time together.

Daddy had a lot of fun teaching the twins about the fun of playing in the leaves!

As if the month wasn't already busy enough, we decided to bring the boys to a pumpkin patch last weekend. (Yes, this is our second visit, but this was a BIG pumpkin patch.) There were a lot of fun things to do!

Evan's driving the bus and debating whether or not to open the door for Joel.

Look who we found! Our favorite characters, The Backyardigans!

This is a giant hill of hay that was just calling to the twins to climb!

There was a big fight as to who got to drive the pretend... train? bus? Regardless, Evan was the winner.

Luckily, the boys soon found tractors that allowed each of them to drive alone. Unfortunately, they were too short to actually reach the pedals, but that didn't stop them from throwing tantrums when it was time to go!

Perhaps a future farmer? I hear Baylis, IL has land available!

The men in my life. Aren't they gorgeous?

And finally, what would October be without Halloween? After careful deliberation, I decided this year's theme would be "Black and White". The end result? A penguin, a skunk, and a panda bear all enjoyed a chilly day learning that, "costumes plus saying trick-or-treat equals CANDY!!!" While the twins fought me all week long and refused to try on their costumes, after about two houses they suddenly had an epiphany that this could just about be the greatest day of the year. I highly doubt I'll have to put up the same fight to dress them next year!

Aunt Jessi spent the day with us. Here she is with Evan the Skunk, Luke the Panda, and Joel the Penguin. The boys love playing with their auntie!

Even though temps were in the 40's, Luke was wearing four layers of clothing, so he seemed pretty comfortable hanging out in the stroller.

Running to the neighbor's house to get the loot.

"Mom, look what they gave us!"

And finally, a picture of Mommy and her little Panda:

This post may have come at the last minute possible (okay, technically it's no longer October at this point), but as you can see, there hasn't been a whole lot of time to sit and write. Happy Fall; there'll be Thanksgiving pictures to share soon enough!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!

Summer was busy in the White house! The boys turned two at the start of September, and boy, they are living up to the whole "terrible twos" reputation. It's not a matter of whether or not there will be a meltdown in our house, but rather just how many meltdowns will take place each day. Still, the boys (all of them) keep me laughing every day. Here are some recent pictures.

The Three Amigos (Joel, Luke, Evan)




Your eyes do not decieve you. Those are pacifiers in the twins' mouths. Again. We had rid them of the habit, but as Luke increased his use of it, suddenly the twins' interest was again renewed. They are now more attached than ever. Originally, I was able to take them away just by snipping the tips; the boys' got annoyed with the "broken" pacis and threw them away themselves (clever, right?) But now, I've tried snipping a few again, and they have decided that throwing them away was the wrong move last time. We are now having to deal with new ways of ridding them of the darn things.

Can you say PRECIOUS?!!

We went to our local fall festival this weekend. It was so much fun; the twins had their first pony rides (Joel was scared at first, but then relaxed and enjoyed himself. Evan loved it a little too much, and had a major tantrum once he realized the ride was over and the pony wasn't coming home with us.)

Here are the boys riding in their stroller. It was a bit chilly out, but the wind cover provided nice protection, especially for Luke. I tried to get them to look at the camera, but cool things were happening that were much more interesting than Mommy.

I love this picture of Evan! He was just relaxing by himself on a rock wall when I took it.

Daddy and the twins visited the fire truck. Notice Joel's excitement? He's jumping up and down!

The boys learned the hard way that if you try and steal the fire truck, you will be arrested. (Kidding.)

Evan says hi.

Luke says hi, too.

The twins enjoyed storytime with Daddy,

and then were given their very own pumpkins.

Time for pumpkin bowling!

It was a great time!

On another note, I recently had surgery on my gallbladder (technically, two surgeries, since it seems I always like to do things the hard way,) and my mom and stepmom spent a lot of time up here helping out around the house. (By helping out, I mean doing virtually everything, since I was confined to the recliner for two weeks.) They were incredible and a total blessing to us.

Here's Grammy (my mom) and the boys.

As tiring as it was for them, it was a great bonding experience for everyone. Nevertheless, I'm hoping to avoid any more surgeries for a long while!

In case you are wondering, the adorable pumpkin hats were made by a great work-at-home mom (she and I went to middle and high school together.) The boys LOVE them, and I highly recommend her products! You can find the pumpkin and other hats at her etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6235246 Danyel, you are awesome. Thanks again!