Pumpkin Patch

We went to an awesome pumpkin patch with some friends way out in Timbuktu. They had a mini maze made out of hay bales that worked really great for the preschool/toddler set.

There was a tricycle track with enough bikes for everyone to have a go round.

The barn had a jump in the hay area. This was a big hit though I found it a little stinky. Outside of this area were some llama, sheep and goats. I didn't get any photos of the animals because just as Gus threw down his hay after changing his mind about feeding the llama he got his very first bee sting. :(

Luckily I had a bee sting wipe in my trusty purse first aid kit that numbed it up a little. It worked well enough for him to carry on with the day though there was a good 15 minutes of crying about that boo boo. We checked out the pumpkins after we got calmed down.

Gus chose this green one beside Reese's foot. Reese chose a little sugar pumpkin to be Daddy's pumpkin and he got some kind of small seafoam green squash for himself. They would have liked the gigantic pumpkins but for some reason the wagons were all gone and I was not about to lug a 30 pound pumpkin to the pay counter a mile away (ok, maybe not a mile, but a long way.)

Then we climbed the hay tower for a photo shoot. Gus declined to climb it. I think the bee sting was making him less adventurous than normal.

It was quite an uncoordinated photo shoot.

I think this was the best group shot.

But this was the best display of Reese's spidey moves. I cropped it to make sure you could really get a good look.

It was really sunny and only a little chilly when the wind picked up. Overall, it was a perfect pumpkin patch day. I was quite happy to find it totally dry as well, so I didn't have to haul muddy pumpkins or clean muddy boots.

"That's all folks!"

Halloween Party

Our local library had a Halloween party. There were some stories and snacks. We didn't want to ruin the surprise of our real Halloween costumes, so Gus was a tiger and Reese was Captain America. They were supposed to be a tiger and a turtle, both costumes handed down from Uncles Travis and Dylan. But Reese was on a Captain America kick.We did some pumpkin coloring.
We also did some coloring pages.We also had a parade!

Children's Museum

We headed down to Olympia with Mimi on Monday to visit the Hands On Children's Museum and visit Uncle Dylan at college.Reese drove the ship.

Gus manned the life preserver.

They both spent a good bit of time rock loading.

We fiddled with the water table for awhile, but honestly I don't like getting wet or smelling like chlorine.

In the theater area the costumes were a hit for the first time ever. Normally we just play with the stage sound buttons. Both boys gave these wooden shoes a whirl.

Gus drove the delivery truck while Reese worked on "washing" it. I didn't get a picture of him but he was very thorough with his scrub and rinse.

It always cracks me up that they insist on putting their seat belt on. Reese also really likes talking into the cb radio while driving. hmmm....we'll have to make sure to nip that in the bud before he gets his driver's license.

We spent some time in the kitchen. Gus especially loves to cook. He's so funny toddling around with his pans.Reese did a great job wearing his glasses. Finally he's wearing them for the large chunks of time. He traded them in for work goggles here.
I completely forgot to take any photos when we took Uncle Dylan out to dinner. We dropped off some food supplies and a microwave for his dorm and then headed off to Red Robin for some dinner.

My son, Indiana

Jones that is.

Reese is very into playing Indiana Jones lately. He has his hat, whip and "satchel" aka backpack. Then he jumps and rolls around the living room a la Indy on the run from the bad guys. Luckily we have 2 big bean bags to pose as rocks for a safe landing when he jumps from cliffs and caves (couch/ottoman).

Walking Wounded

Gus tripped on the outside stairs and fell face first down the concrete steps. His legs were up in the air flailing about while his face was firmly planted on the concrete. OUCH!There is a huge bruise at his hairline with a giant scrape a bit lower.
Under his eye is another scrape and what will probably be quite a shiner by tomorrow.Off to the side of his mouth is another scrape that seems to be the most bothersome. He kept craning his mouth open wider than it should go and sticking his tongue out at it. I'm hoping he doesn't infect it with nasty mouth germs.
Overall he seems pretty much over it and feeling good though.

Friends

These cute boys are really becoming friends. On the days we are home all day with no distractions they have been playing together very cooperatively. Yes sometimes, a lot of times, someone is snatching someone's toy and someone is shrieking. But more and more these two are building a fort together or running and jumping like Spiderman, though I'm not sure Gus knows he's being Spiderman, he may just be copying Reese.I'm so disappointed this photo is blurry, but I just can't delete it. They are so darn cute! This is Gus mimicking Reese's pose.

I love listening in on their conversations. It's so funny (and insightful) to hear what they have to say to each other. It cracks me up when they talk about why Daddy is at work (to make money to buy toys and pay for our house, food and pajamas, in that order). Reese is adamant that Gus label things properly which is super frustrating for him since Gus doesn't have all the language skills necessary for that yet. They can go in circles about things for quite some time.

Reese rarely wants to do anything without Gus. He's always quick to verify Gus is included in whatever plans we're making. I'm happy he wants to hang out with his little brother even when they play with other friends. I'm not sure it's even occurred to Gus that it's an option to do anything without Reese.

Cider

Yum, we found some awesome apple cider. It tastes great served hot in a tea cup.

I just happen to know two new fans of the stuff.

Dinner

This is my weird cat...staring at the bathroom door. Seriously she sat here the entire time the door was closed while someone was in there. Her food bowl is also in there. I think she was stressed that instead of someone using the potty she believed her food bowl was being raided.Once the door opened she flashed inside to eat her dinner. This is what we had for dinner. The boys were so excited to be served dinner in a pumpkin! It was super tasty!!

You can find the recipe here from Taste of Home magazine. I got it from my friend, Julie, after she made it for a play date. Yum!!

Fun in the Sun

Summer finally arrived in September. These photos are from a few weeks ago. It's not sunny like this anymore, but the boys really enjoyed September. They loved playing outside in their fort and harvesting from our garden.

They both really loved the fort part of their swing set. Gus finally got the hang of climbing up the climbing wall portion after he figured out he needed to wear the sunglasses.

They played together so well on these outside days. Generally indoors Reese continually does something that results in ear piercing shrieks of protest from Gus.

To the right of Gus you can see 2 green potato planters. See how the plants look a little decrepit? We finally harvested and we got about 10 pounds of potatoes!!! Last year we didn't ever get around to harvesting. I assume those rotted and then the plants just came back this summer. I didn't realize they were perennials. The boys are excited to eat them...and me too.

Hangin' with Dad

The new favorite pastime: Madden Football on the PS3. Notice Gus is using an Xbox controller so he doesn't mess up the game but he thinks he's playing. I'm not really sure what Reese does with his controller...maybe Kyle popped out the battery.

Another much loved activity is eating popcorn and "watching" a movie. I use this term loosely because Gus just eats the popcorn then runs around like a crazy person. This is his "NO PICTURE!" pose.

Finally I got a nice smile from Reese, but it's a little blurry. Generally I get a wretched forced, grated teeth style smile, so I'm going with this even though it's not sharp. He actually looks like the sweet boy that he is.The only way to get a Gus face in a photo is to catch him stuffing the popcorn in..his hand is too busy to block my camera.

I'm Back!

I'm finally back after the computer crash of 2011. I hadn't backed up photos since November 2010. UGH, and I've been a slack blogger, so I have very few. Very traumatizing. But after not a small amount of tears my bloggy friend's husband offered help. I'm sending my hard drive to see if he can extract my photos since our computer fix it shop couldn't.
Now I need to figure out how to deal with photos on my new laptop. In the mean time I have a temporary solution so I can at least get photos on the blog!
After a bit too much quiet I went into the kitchen to find out what Gus was doing.This is what I discovered.Can you SEE that? Approximately half a bottle of Nature's Own Seasoning added to his sandwich...and the plate, the table, the floor.He gleefully showed me how exciting it was.Reese found it pretty amusing too. Luckily I had just purchased a new bottle at 50% off to stash in the pantry.