Fall Fun

We had a carpe diem kind of day on Monday. Ryan had to unexpectedly come home from work to handle some neighborhood HOA work that day. Since it was late afternoon when he finished he decided to stay home for the rest of the day. It had been on our radar to go Orr Family Farm to take the kids to the pumpkin patch there. Ryan doesn't always indulge my whims (nor should he) but boy do I love the times when I suggest something out of the blue and with little hesitation he say sure, lets do it. So we threw on the appropriate pumpkin patch attire jumped in the car and headed south. She was in her pink cowgirl boots and he in his overalls and it was a classic living the dream kind of day for me, us and our two kids (which is still surreal at times) our little family of four making some memories.

The Orr Family Farm was directly hit by the May 20th Tornado, they worked all summer to have ready for fall and it looked great but there were still remnants of the devastation around with missing fence posts, etc and a few building like you can see in this picture that they have been able to get to yet. They had no loss of life either their animals or people at their place which I thought was pretty amazing.

 

A keepin it real kind of picture that I had to include as a very authentic moment in this season of family life, a little sibling melt down moment and how to get a picture of a 5 month old driving a tractor. 

 

 

Our favorite was the jumping pillows!

 

 

It's funny what causes melt downs with a 3 year old, having to wait while we take pictures of brother on a tractor - melt down. Waiting all day to ride the train, talking about it the whole time we are there, picking out our seats as our last ride of the night then the train radomly breaking at that moment and we wouldn't be able to ride it - no biggie.

 

This weekend we are planing to cook some hot dogs and smores fireside. Fall fun is in full swing!  



Arkansas catch up...

Last weekend the kids and I drove to Tulsa and then took a road trip with my parents and grandparents to visit Jen, Misa. Chloe and Allie in Arkansas. They've lived there for about six months now and we were eager to see their new set up and catch up together.

 

 

4 generations + 1 mini-van = a road trip to remember

This girl loves her cousins.
She was in heaven all weekend basking in their presence and eating up their attention and affections.

Helping Aunt Jen make  pancakes.

We also brought a tub full of maternity clothes because... I am happy to announce that I will be an aunt again this spring!
 Even more cousin love to look forward too.

5 months!

 

Yesterday Rhett turned 5 months. When I think about next month being the half way point of this first precious year it is absolutely astounding to think about.

 

Sleeping: He is still in the bassinet in our room, its hard to make the shift to him in his crib, climbing stairs for middle of the night wakenings just seems brutal but he won't fit but a little time longer where he is currently. He is going to bed around 9:00 getting 1-2 times and eats and then wakes for the day around 7:30 (all though a few days last week he decided 6:40 was a good time to wake up, I tried to tell him, it is not.)  



 

Eating: He eats every 3-4 hours, still just nursing, might start on some cereal this month, might wait till next month and just start with regular puree's, haven't decided for sure. He is around 16lbs, wearing 6-9 month clothes.  

 

 

 

Playing: He purposefully reaches for things and brings them to his mouth. He is starting to like sitting in his exersaucer to play and put weight on his legs. He loves bath time and sitting in my lap when I read Ava her library books. He also loves stroller rides to our neighborhood playground.

 

I told Ryan this month that I think he is, young or old, the happiest person I know. Those baby blues and sweet expressions regularly make my heart ache in the best possible way. Being a mom of a boy is a whole new way to fall in love.

 

Happy 5 month sweet boy!

 

The Village

You know the old saying, "it takes a village...". I've thought of that alot this past months or so as August will be a very memorable time for us and our village. I returned to work while our beloved regular sitter was having some maternity time to be with her new little one so we had about six weeks

to figure out child care in the mean time. It is hard to find temporary child care for just three days a week and I didn't really want to introduce a new person or place since it was a short time, so we were able instead to piece it together with some of our inner circle of friends and family. The kids transitioned well, as they loved spending time with their favorite people in familiar places, a pretty happy end to a great summer. My appreciation for our village was renewed and fortified as there is a peace in a mama's heart to know this inner circle can always be called upon to be there for us of course in the hard times but also just as important in the regular times, they show up with unwavering love and support. I love them each dearly and thank God for the plan he had for each of them and the blessing they are to our lives. Its one of my favorite ways God works in the here and now to show his love and provision for us.

 

Just a few of our villagers: 

 

Rhett's first Hair Cut

Rhett's hair was getting a little scraggly and already getting into his eyes unless I kept sweeping it back for him. So at 4 months old it was already time for a trim. He as usual was a little trooper. It didn't hurt that Big sis was a big help in keeping him entertained.

The Before Shot:

 

 

 

 

The After:

 

Ava was glad she got his loli-pop and prize since he is still too small to claim his.

The perks of being of being the older sister. I like my guys clean cut but of course he is adorable either way in my book.



PreSchool!

 Ava started preschool this week. We found a great 3 year old preschool program not too far from us that we are just in love with. It is smallish in size and the lady the coordinates it, who is also Ava's teacher, has a degree in child development and 20+ years experience and passion in working with little ones. On Tuesday last week we had a meet and greet, after the excitement of seeing her very own cubby, she entered her classroom that looks much like a play room and with wide eyed wonder leaned over to me and said in a voice barely above a whisper "isn't it great". The rest of the meet and greet was wonderment mixed with nervousness as other children and their parents began entering the classroom. She stayed close by me and wasn't interested in playing with the other children yet but explored the room and did lots of independent playing. Lately she's been telling me she does not like when people she's "not use to" talk to her. She has this look she gives people to tell them that sentiment in not so many words. I totally get that feeling, a life long introvert myself, I can very much relate. I am trying to help her with the middle path of honoring and respecting her quiet and reflective side while also teaching her the importance of acknowledging others and finding that sometimes making ourselves a little uncomfortable can have great rewards. I wasn't sure how drop off the first day would go but she woke up excited and literally skipped down the hall when it was time to say goodbye. After her first day, I asked her if she made any friends and she said confidently and happily "Na, just Benny." (Benny is her long time imaginary friend).

Her and Ryan did a little photo shoot while I was doing a mad dash to get us all ready to head out to all our various places:

 

Showing off her back pack!

(Which was a garage sale find I made this summer for 25 Cents!)

 

Showing of her new school shoes.

 

Ready to go!

 

Four month mark.

Rhett turned four months old the other day.This month has had of course even more developments and milestones:

 

Hair - He still hasn't had a hair cut but I'm not sure we can hold off much longer, there is a fine line between cute and mullet. He's also lost some newborn hair and this has made his sides bald and he is now sporting a nice little old man come-over look. He often loves to place a hand on the top or side of his head and rub his hair as one of his tail tail sleepy signs.

 

 

Developmental Milestones - He has began to reach and grasp objects purposefully. He loves time under the play gym. He is close to a roll over but not there yet, he can get on his side and will teeter back and forth. 

He loves to smile and will do a one chuckle laugh that is pretty funny.

Temperament - He is a growler, it takes a lot to work him to a full on cry but he will start growling to let you know when he is unhappy and sometimes he even has an affectionate growl when he's happy.

 

Firsts - He watched his first OSU game with his dad!

 

 

Sleep - I feel like sleep is a little all over the place right now. Just when he started to settle into a routine he switched things up on us. Some nights he just eats once and a few nights it was a every 2-3 hours again. Guess growing time?

 

Those are the highlights, happy four month sweet boy!