Trunk or Treat 2009

Last night was Trunk or Treat at our church. As you can see, Kaitlyn was a bumblebee (she liked to refer to herself as a "scary" bumblebee) and Ethan was dressed as a football player. Given the Titans season so far, maybe they should think about recruiting him! Kaitlyn got more candy than we know what to do with...and it's not even Halloween yet!!

Walden Farm and Cookies

Yesterday, Kaitlyn and I made Halloween cookies. She was eager to help and enjoyed cutting out the shapes and decorating the cookies. Baking cookies with a two-year old is an exercise in patience. I think it took me three times as long as it would have without my little "helper." But she had a blast and that was the main purpose of the cookies. And now we have some tasty treats to munch on this week!

In the afternoon, we went on our annual trek to Walden Farm to pick out a pumpkin.

I think these are the biggest watermelons I have ever seen!

Kaitlyn didn't quite understand that you're only supposed to stick your head through.

Mommy and Ethan

It was a little challenging getting Ethan to stay on that pumpkin. It was deceptively slick!


My happy little boy on the tractor.

Watching and learning from big sister.

Feeding some very hungry goats!

Ethan's first pumpkin

Kaitlyn's final pumpkin selection

A little late...

These pictures are about a month old, when the weather was much warmer! Better late than never!

Kaitlyn giving Ethan a kiss

Weekend Mountain Getaway

This weekend, Jeff and I went away (by ourselves!!) to the mountains of western North Carolina. We've been to this area a few times before, so we revisited some of our favorite spots, as well as explored new ones. The fall colors were beautiful. Unfortunately, the weather was a little less than ideal (very cold and overcast for a good portion of the trip). But we were just so excited to be free from parental responsibilities that we really didn't care! On Friday, we drove a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway and took this picture above. There was a thick layer of fog hanging over the taller mountains, but the fog lifted just long enough for us to enjoy this spectacular vista. When we passed by it a little later, it was shrouded in fog again.

When we woke up the next morning, it was still cold. Undaunted, we headed for the mountains again. As we climbed higher in elevation, we started noticing cars coming down the mountain covered in snow. Soon, we were driving in it ourselves. The fog and the snow seemed to make it feel extra cold, so we stopped to take a picture of the sign for Cold Mountain (the one that the movie/book was based on).

We stopped and did a short hike to a waterfall that we wanted to see. It was a spectacular sight. The falling snow added to the effect. And the hike warmed us up so we were actually pretty comfortable outside. You can really see the snow falling in the picture below.

I felt like it was a winter wonderland in October!!

We wanted to drive up even further, but the road was closed due to weather. So we took an alternate route back down. Once we crossed a certain elevation, the snow disappeared and gave way to a more traditional fall look. We stumbled across this picturesque little lake.

Cullasaja Falls

Thanks, Mom, for watching the kids so that we could have such a fun, relaxing weekend!!

A Cowgirl and a Chatterbox

Kaitlyn's preschool class has been learning about farm animals this month, so last week they got to dress up for Cowboy/Cowgirl day. The only thing we had in our house that was remotely "cowgirlish" was this red bandana. I think she made a pretty cute cowgirl!

Kaitlyn is quite the little chatterbox these days. It's especially noticable when we're in the car. The child will literally talk/sing nonstop until we arrive at our destination. Here's a sample of our conversation last week on the way to preschool.

Kaitlyn: "I hear a choo-choo train!" [as we were getting into the car.] "Choo-choo trains go downtown. I rode on a choo-choo train. A BIG choo-choo train. Choo-choo train goes CHOO-CHOO!"

K: "I see a school bus. Little kids ride on a school bus. I rode on a school bus [at Touch a Truck last weekend]. School buses go to school. Choo-choo trains go downtown. And I go to preschool!"

K: "There's a tall building! There's a dump truck! There's Carget! [Target]. There's a BIG heeple [steeple]! There's the intergate! [interstate]. We not get on the intergate to go to preschool. There's a gas station! There's a grocery store!"

You get the idea. When she can't find anything to narrate about, then she launches into songs. The Wheels on the Bus, Old Macdonald, Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle, the Dora theme song, etc. etc. No participation is required from me (which is kind of nice). In fact, if I try to join in on one of her songs, she stops and says, "No, Mommy! No, no, no, no, no! I sing it all by myself!" And then she will start the song all over from the very beginning because Mommy messed it up. Our car time is anything but dull!

Jeff and I just got back from a weekend in the North Carolina mountains while my mom stayed here and watched the kids. I'll post pictures from that trip soon.

Ethan is 7 months old today

For our monthly picture, he started out giving me that megawatt smile...

...then he noticed the sign and wasn't interested in pictures anymore.

He then proceeded to have lots of fun wadding up that sign. Maybe we'll ask Santa for paper this year.

Touch a Truck

This weekend we went to Touch a Truck, an event where you can climb on lots of trucks and honk the horns. Kaitlyn loves big trucks. She's constantly pointing them out any time we're in the car...dump trucks, tractors, 18 wheelers, school buses, fire trucks. So I thought she would love this event. Unfortunately, I didn't take into account just how loud it would be with the beeping horns and crowds. So "Touch a Truck" turned into "Observe the Scary Trucks Warily from a Safe Distance" for us. We managed to get her on a school bus with some coaxing. Once she was on it, she loved it and didn't want to get off.

But that was our only success. She was ok as long as we maintained a safe distance...

...but she was NOT ok when we got too close.

Jeff and Kaitlyn in front of a firetruck.

Ethan and Kaitlyn in front of some military vehicle. Maybe we'll have more success next year!

Kaitlyn's First Set of Wheels

Kaitlyn is learning the art of pedaling. Although she got this tricycle for her birthday in May, we've kept it inside until I could find a helmet that fit. Now she's SO excited to be riding outside like the other kids. I'm scared that if I blink, she's going to be asking for driving lessons!

Funny story: Today, Kaitlyn learned about the Leaning Tower of Pisa. (It started this morning with a souvenir magnet on the fridge that she was interested in.) Later on in the day, as she was playing with the magnet, I asked, "Where is the Leaning Tower of Pisa?" She thought for a moment and replied, "Carget!" (Target). I laughed for a long time. Guess she's been to Target enough to know that you can get almost anything there!