October: Pumpkin Patch 1 & 2, Fall Festival, Halloween

 Baby Girl not loving the costume...

 They loved trick-or-treating and acted like old pros this year...

 Bubs decided he was pictured out...

 Isn't the Bean striking a perfect little princess pose here?  They were picking leaves before we left for trick-or-treating.

 Picking out a pumpkin...hmmm, which one?

 The pumpkin patch had this cool see-saw thingie...

 Roasting his stick, I guess... :)

 Proof that Baby Girl and I were in attendance. :)

Loving the birds...

 At at the school Fall Festival.  It was chaotic, so this is the only pic I got.

 Attending a friend's birthday party at Oak Mountain stables.

 Group pic at Faith Pres

 This was hard!  Even I couldn't hit it hard enough to ring the bell at the top!

 Just waking up...

 Face paint...it's always a toss up between butterfly, crown, and rainbow.

I think these pics are in reverse order, but hey, they are here and that's what matters!  I know it's almost June 2012, but today we're blogging about October 2011.  I'm persevering, people.  :)

In October, we went to not one, but two pumpkin patches!  The first one was at Faith Presbyterian near our house.  It wasn't so much of a pumpkin patch as it was inflatables meets farmer's market meets fall festival with a small handful of pumpkins thrown in the mix.  :)  But the kids had fun.  And it was free.  :)  They jumped on the inflatables, the Bean got her face painted, Bubs tried the "test your strength" carnival game thingie, and we got some of the best apples I've ever had.  Baby Girl slept through the majority of it and woke up just as we were leaving to go to McDonald's afterward.  

The second pumpkin patch was the real deal.  We went to a pumpkin patch down Hwy. 280 (I forget the name.) with some other families from our Sunday School class.  They had a little playground while you were waiting for the hayride, then a hayride to the fields where there was a tee-pee, a petting zoo, and a firepit to roast hot dogs and such. The kids loved it all, but they both especially liked holding the birds and petting all the animals.  They both enjoyed their hotdogs as well.  Baby Girl took a nap, ate, took in the sites, and napped again before we got home. 

We also went to the Bean's school Fall Festival.  It is always fun but very crowded.  We made the rounds and did most of the games, inflatables, and had dinner.  We all had a ball.  Baby Girl was a trooper. 

Lastly was Halloween.  The Bean wanted to be Sleeping Beauty...the exact same thing she was last year.  Perfect!  We already had the costume.  I bought Bubs a dinosaur costume at Babies R Us, and he proceeded to live in that costume the entire Fall.  He loved "scaring" people and roaring at them.  He even slept in that costume frequently.  Baby Girl was a pumpkin.  I borrowed her costume from a friend, but she ended up napping through the whole trick-or-treating process, so when we got home I put her in costume and took a few pics (which she was not happy about) just for the memories.  :)

Not a whole lot new going on with Baby Girl this month...not rolling over yet, no teeth, still smiling a lot, still sweet and content, still sleeping like a champ.  We had such a fun month, and I am so thankful for my little family!

July part 2: Coming Home and Firsts

Leaving the hospital! No "coming home" pics, since my parents still had the kids when we got home, and we didn't try to conjure a coming home family pic later that night or next day. :)

Baby Girl was/is the center of attention around our house!

The kids wanted to make sure Baby Girl knew she had her very own toys. :)

My first outing with all three kids by myself: we went to Costco, ate lunch, got diapers and a few other items, and went back home. Baby Girl slept through the entire trip.

First bath: Baby Girl was not a fan!

I had good helpers!

Whew - it's all over!

Mainly just wanted a pic of Baby Girl's "lil sis" daygown...apparently she didn't want her picture taken!

At the Baron's game...always a fun event. Ray's office has it catered on one of the balcony area thingies, and they have bounce houses and face painting for the kids. It was hot, and the kids were having a ball running around...hence the sweat. :)

The three Skinner kids. Not sure what Bubs was doing here. :)

The rest of July was a blur. Having a newborn is crazy enough, but long story short, I ran a fever off and on for 2 1/2 weeks and had a few doctor's appointments after Baby Girl's birth before they figured out I had a retained placenta. That is what it sounds like, and I had to have a procedure to get it all taken out, and after that had no problems. Other than that we were just settling in to life with three kids under age 5! These pics of random little things we had going on, and a few from a Baron's game...a client event that Ray's office had.

June and caught up!!

So far June has been a blur! I thought it would be laid back, but we've been busy! The first week was pool time and the McWane center, the second week was VBS and the zoo, the third week was art camp for the Bean and Father's Day, and this past week as been ballet camp for the Bean. Also, we've been been switching around rooms, getting the infant car seat installed, having a doc appt every week or two (me), and did I mention that I turned a cool 34 years old also?? Next week includes a sewing class for me (bishop construction - can't wait!! this baby had better wait! famous last words, right?) and haircuts for the kids. I was trying to pack a summer of fun in one month since we'll be staying in more once the baby arrives.

Playing at McWane with our friend Jackson
Bubs the artist

Doing the zipline at McWane...a big hit!

"Digging" for "dinosaur fossils"...Bubs was a big fan as he is really into dinosaurs right now.

Mrs. Bradford (the wife of an elder from our SS class) is sweet to invite us young moms and all our kiddos over to their pool and provide lunch a few times each summer. Everybody has a ball! Eating Mrs. Bradford's delicious chocolate dipped cookies...better than Full Moon's!

Eating lunch...the Bean wanted a grown-up lady chicken salad sandwich, not PB&J!

The kids loved the pool noodles...this was their first time to use them!

Zoo time with our cousins! Mimi treated us all - thanks Mimi! It was almost 100 degrees that day, and we were there from 9 am - 4 pm. Did I mention that I was a month away from delivery at this point? But I hung in there.

The petting zoo

Bubs kept saying, "Come here, rooster!!"

We decided this guy needed a visit from the dentist.

Riding the train at the zoo is always a treat! Thanks Mimi!

We even fed the giraffe! All four cousins did it!

Wiping giraffe slobber off her hand...there was a zoo employee at the ready with antibacterial gel after that, don't you worry!

Evan and Bubs are becoming big buds and like to play together almost as much as Evan and the Bean!

Mimi also treated the kids to slushies at the end of the day...a perfect end to a fun day!

Father's Day gifts...crafts from the kids, a peanut butter pie made by the Bean and I (which she didn't like, but Bubs was a big fan), and gifts from the kids. They each picked out a gift for Daddy. Bubs gave Daddy a chocolate bar (which Bubs ate most of), and the Bean gave him an iTunes gift card.

A birthday dinner out to Surin 280 with friends...RR and Green Eggs in the 'Ham

planned it, and RR got me a strawberry cake from Ashley Mac's. You MUST try this cake! Fun times!

The Bean on the first day of ballet camp. I was a terrible (forgetful) Mommy and did not bring my camera to the final day's performance. But she had SO much fun at ballet camp! It was her favorite activity so far this summer, and her class did a wonderful routine for all the parents.