Two little monkeys...

A little prelude to Halloween for this year. Piper got to pick out the costumes, and she wanted to be a "big monkey" and wanted Boone to be a "little monkey". So here they are...two little monkeys!

Boone's favorite food right now is bananas. And how fitting for a little monkey.

Can't wait to trick-or-treat with our two little monkeys this year. Piper has been practicing her "trick or treat" and "thank you" and she's more than ready to test out her new skills. She got a bit of a preview at school yesterday at their party and she scored a bag full of treats. I think she's hooked.

Making the best of a rainy Saturday

Running as fast as you can...pushing a ride-on toy...and you run head-first right into a big set of bleachers

We got that dreaded call yesterday afternoon from Piper's school to tell us that she got hurt while playing in the gym. Fortunately for us it started off with, "She's just fine, but...". And boy am I glad I had some advanced notice before getting to school, cause it was a doozy. The director kept saying on the phone, "It's a REALLY big fat lip". And fortunately she didn't do any major damage requiring stiches or any damage to her teeth, gums, or anything else inside her mouth, just her poor, large, swollen lip. We got a bag of frozen peas out when we got home last night to ice it and she had a special helping of chocolate pudding. She seemed to think this made it feel better!

Projects

We've started another round of projects, trying to get a few more things checked off the ole "to do" list. First on the list was finally getting all the trim, baseboards, doors, etc painted. So far the upstairs is all done and I can't believe what a difference it's made. Still have the downstairs to do, but should be underway in the next few weeks. Here's a before and after shot.

We've also been doing a little work outside. We just planted some blueberry bushes out near our shed (still need to get a picture of them). We loaded them up in the tractor and Piper "drove" them over to where they were going to be planted. We've just got two pecan trees to plant, so will hopefully get those in the ground this weekend.

Boone primarily spectated from the wagon during the planting and sissy was there to keep him entertained!

Tub Time for Two

Pip and Boone have been having lots of fun in the tub together lately. It's part of the nighttime fun. And it's so sweet to me that no matter where they are sitting when they get in the tub, they somehow end up squished together on one side. Piper has designated herself the one who soaps up everyone's hair. Sometimes Boone enjoys this immensely...other times not so much.

This way and that way...try to keep up!

I'm learning, just from observation, that having kids is mostly a learn and observe process. And this process has taught me that as soon as I feel comfortable with a routine or experience, it often is just a sign that things are going to be changing soon. As is the case with our trips to the library, park, and pretty much anywhere we have our 'ventures' in the afternoons on our way home from work/school.

Our continued trips to the library had become almost easy. Piper has her favorite things to do while there and Boone was content in the stroller or being held while he watched his sister. But this last week he decided to assert himself and let everyone know it was time for him to become an active participant in the library experience. He wanted out of his stroller and wanted no part of being held. So down he went on the floor. No sooner did he hit the floor, he crawled right over to the books and started pulling them off the shelf with amazing speed. Then as if they had planned it, Piper took off in one direction (looking for a stool) and Boone headed in the other (heading who knows where), while they left me standing in the middle of the aisle trying to make a decision which way to head first! Oh boy, those too are busy. See what I mean, just when you get comfortable, they decide it's time to mix things up a bit. And all this distraction led to us bringing home a few "racey" books this week, as Aunt Heather can attest to (hee, hee!). Just when you think a book entitled "Belly Buttons" that's on the toddler aisle is just, in fact, about belly buttons. Wow, don't think we'll be getting that book again for a really, really, really long time.

Same with at the park. Again, its been almost easy there, one immobile and only one on the go. Not any more. Now there's one crawling all over God's green earth (literally) and the other trying the most daring moves she can think of, mostly off the top of the slide or while hanging on for dear life hanging 5 feet off the ground. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, mostly she just thoroughly enjoys herself and loves, loves, loves playing with all the kids there. I did meet a couple really nice moms on our trip this week, one of who had three kids and one with four. And we all managed to have quite a lengthy conversation, all while holding sleeping babies, chasing after crawling babies, keeping an eye on the bigger kids, and trying to convince all of them not to throw sand! So I guess, in the end, it's all about perspective. Sure things are getting crazier, but that just means I need to adjust to the new norm and then get ready for the next changes to come our way!

A couple favorites

Here's a few favorites from our recent weekends with family.

Happy 6th Anniversary

And thanks to Bube and Aunt Heather for babysitting for us. Sure was nice to have a quiet evening out just the two of us!

Road Trip

Last weekend we took a trip up to Maryland to visit Bube and to attend the Smith family renunion (Grandma Hitch's side of the family). We had a great time and Piper thoroughly enjoyed getting to see her extended family. Here's a picture of Grandma Hitch and her sister Frances with all of Grandma Hitch's great grandchildren that were there.

They also did a special tribute to DanDaddy. All the kids got to hold helium filled balloons and at the same time they released them up to heaven. Piper and Bube did the honors with DanDaddy's special balloon.

With never a dull moment to be found, Boone surprised us Saturday night with a 103.5 fever. A trip to the after hours clinic found he had a double ear infection. Fortunately the antibiotics have kicked in and he's just about back to his ole self.

Drawers, Lids and Bowls

The kitchen is quite the place to be these days in our house. We had an extra drawer that was empty, so this has become "Piper's drawer". It started with just a ball and a basting brush in it. Last night, I went into the kitchen after the kids were in bed and the drawer was open. I went over to shut it and was amazed by all the additions to the drawer. So this drawer is now officially on the short list of places we have to look if we can't find something, which include, Piper's purse, Piper's doll's stroller lower basket and the dress-up chest. She's quite the collector! Should be fun to see what else shows up in here over time.


Speaking of drawers, guess who else has figured out how much fun they can be? At this point he's not up to the collecting prowess of his sister, but Boone is quite good at removing whatever he can get his hands on from inside the drawers.

Lids are also quite the rage right now, as I have been recently told, "Mommy all bowls need a lid." And guess who the designated lid finder is?

Yeah for Fall!!

We took a trip to a local pumpkin patch over the weekend. Piper was in charge of finding our pumpkins. She picked out one for her, one for Boone and a big one for the porch. There were also a couple good photo-op set-ups there, so of course I felt obliged.

It's amazing to think that right around this time last year, Grammi, myself and Piper were at this same pumpkin patch, and Boone was just days away from being born. Can't believe it's almost been a year already.

Birthday Bonanza

We've had quite the birthday celebrations lately. It started out with Uncle Tom's surprise 40th birthday. Here's a shot of the party planner in action!



Hard to see in this one, but boy was he surprised. Aunt Ria pulled it off, with some help from Tom's friends!

Here's a shot of the party planner and birthday boy.

Ger and I were so glad to be there to be able to celebrate with Tom, even if he had a Georgia cake!

Next we celebrated FaFa's birthday that was earlier in the month, while we were all together. Piper and Osten couldn't wait to lend a hand with their candle blowing-out skills.

And we helped a certain little princess celebrate turning 2. Marci's quite the quick study and has mastered the understanding of "pesents" and "parties" for the one who's celebrating their birthday.