Halloween Cookies and Fireman Jack

On Andy's half-day on Wednesday we made some frosted sugar cookies for Halloween. But because we ate them all up by Friday morning, I'm thinking we'll be making another batch! We had Halloween shapes, sprinkles, orange & green frosting, and m&m's. I let each of the boys decorate their own, and they loved them.

just a little taste test...

Delicious!

Here are some cute pictures of Jack, in his usual fireman mode!

So goofy!

Mulberry Lane Farm Trip for Emily and Jack

Because Andy got to go to the farm for a school field trip, I took Emily and Jack there this morning while Andy was in school. It was possibly the last nice free day we would have this fall, and I knew that Jack would enjoy everything that Mulberry Lane Farm had for kids! Both kids had a lot of fun. Emily was cozy warm in her fleece and hat, but for the first half of our tour, Jack refused to wear his coat. He said he wasn't cold, but I could see him shivering. Crazy kid! But he finally told me he was ready to wear it, then he was much more comfortable. He petted all of the animals he could, he held a chicken, he rode a pony (so did Emily!), we took a hay wagon ride, he fed some animals, and we picked out a few pumpkins. A very fun morning!
Emily and Jack got to meet the farm's 1 year old spaniel named Ladybug :)

Jack did such a good job holding the chicken!

Feeding the sheep

Feeding the goats-they were starving!

Even Emily got to see the goats :)

Inside the goat pen - this baby goat was rubbing his horns on Emily's stroller. I think he could also smell the crackers underneath :)

This calf followed us from one end of the field to the other. Again, I think he could smell the crackers we had under the stroller.

Jack riding "Oh Henry" He had fun, but took it very seriously and was careful to hold on tight. He spoke with the guy that was leading him around though and told him he got to ride a pony at the zoo too!

Emily went for a short ride on a pony too :) I held onto her the whole time of course.

What a cute little goat!

Finding the perfect pumpkins... (we now have 8 on our front porch. I don't think we'll be carving all of them!)

She's so sweet... but is quite a handful!

Emily can be so cuddly, happy to sit in your lap and snuggle throughout the day....

But here's a sample of about 15 minutes of our morning today after taking Andy to the bus stop. In the craft cabinet, finding fun stuff to chew on (needing to finally childproof these I think!)

Climbing the stepstool to find fun things on the counter...

Ziploc bags are fun to throw around!

But this is the first time she's done this...

"Is this okay mom?"

Wanting to get into the Playdough. (I quickly got her down after taking this picture, and moved away the bin of food that she used as a stepstool)

For those of you who we have told that Jack and Andy never got too into things and never climbed up on furniture they weren't supposed to: Well, our last child is making sure that we get to experience that fun, adventurous type of child!!

I need to take some pictures of Jack and post them next :) He's not so into smiling at the camera all of the time.

Andy's First Packer Game

Chris got a couple of Packer tickets through work, and we thought Andy was ready for his first game! He was very excited all morning and of course had to wear his Packers shirt!

Chris and Andy parked right in front of a big Packer fan's house :) Chris knows my soft spot I have for Saint Bernards and thought I would want a picture. I wish I would have been there to give him a big hug!

Chris and Andy, picking up their tickets, just about ready to go into the stadium

Great view! Andy got spoiled with box seats, although it was such a nice day, it would have been fun to be outside too. He made it until the end of the third quarter and then was ready to go. By then, the Packers had already scored quite a few touchdowns! Andy was a little disappointed that the Packers weren't wearing their normal Green & Gold uniforms. (it was throwback to their VERY old blue & gold colors)

We had a quiet day at home today. Last night we all went to a friend's house for a fun evening of visiting, dinner, and a board game. So today, we caught up on stuff; Andy did his homework, Jack played with toys & helped me put away clothes upstairs, and Emily promptly messed up things in whatever room I was cleaning in (pulled clothes off the hangers in the closet, pulled clothes out of the dressers, pulled out art supplies from the cabinet, threw tupperware & cookie cutters on the floor in the kitchen, pulled her diapers, books, and games on the floor in the living room...she's exhausting! I know it's hard to believe but she is so much more difficult at 1. Good thing she's cute!

Emily's First French Braids

It's so silly to have this be the topic of a blog post, but I have been looking forward to french braiding Emily's hair for so long. After bath today, she actually sat long enough for me to do it quickly (and kind of messy, but that's okay!) Lots of pictures, but I just couldn't narrow them down.

Side views

Half an hour later and some playtime has already messed up the hairdo. No surprise there. But once I combed her bangs over, the rest of it stayed in all day! She loves climbing into her toybox and slowly throwing out the toys she is surrounded by. It's so much fun to make a mess...

Happy Birthday to Chris!

Yesterday was Chris's birthday and we had a really fun evening. We had pizza, and the boys picked out and then added decorations to a delicious ice cream cake. Then we had a game night - it was really fun! Chris said the best thing about his birthday was how excited the boys got for it - everything from opening his presents (which the boys were so nice to help out with) to blowing out the candles on the cake. Andy wanted the cake to say, "I love Dad. Happy birthday to the best dad in the world" That wouldn't quite fit, so we settled for "Happy Birthday Dad" But I agree, Chris is the best husband and dad!

Opening more presents! A new work bag that my parents dropped off.

Luggage! Now we just have to plan a fun trip somewhere...

The best thing about helping Daddy open up the presents was climbing inside the box when it was empty :)

Jack getting a surprise tickle attack.

Andy added some extra b-day decorations. We didn't have two "3's" so we had a Batman candle holder, a 3 and a normal candle. Plus a Ben10 and Batman decoration picked out by Andy.

Blowing out the candles

Emily enjoying the presents!

Chris says thanks for all the birthday wishes!