Playing outside

With the weather in the 70’s yesterday, we wanted to be outside as much as possible.  The girls pulled out some blankets for Megan and me to rest on.   We watched them ride their bikes and play on the swings. The fresh air was  a little much for Megan, and she happily slept most of the time.

We also watched the girls and Adrian make a sign for the front yard.

Welcome Megan Grace!

My God is awesome!  The last two weeks, Allan has had business trips a few hours away.  Both weeks he got home on Wednesday night late.  Since Megan was due the middle of October, these were his last trips for awhile.

On Wednesday night, Allan got home late. On Thursday morning, Megan Grace decided she wanted to meet her family.  Since we had an appointment at the midwife’s, we went in. We were sent to the hospital and then waited.  And waited.  And waited.  The midwife had a few tricks that we tried and we waited some more.  Finally around 6:00, Megan decided that maybe she would come. After a few more midwife tricks (including a game of tug of war) and more waiting, Megan arrived!

Even though she is considered a little early, all tests show that she is a fully developed smart little girl. She was born at 9:21p.m. and is 18.5 inches long and weighs 7 pounds.

For more pictures of Megan Grace please look here.

Naps

Adrian is outgrowing naps. He rarely naps anymore, but he is ready for bed at bedtime, usually falling asleep within minutes. The last few days; however, he read during quiet time, and then crashed at funny times.

The first day he fell asleep on the bean bag while Mark was reading out loud.  Yesterday, he fell asleep when he sat down to read by me for a few minutes!

Applesauce

Our neighbor came over and told us that her apple trees were full of fruit this year.  She could not use all the apples, so invited us over to pick as many as we wanted.  The kids and I went over and picked a lot!

The apples were very nice.  Some of them had worms, but not very many.  We enjoyed a big pan of apple crisp that night!

We made applesauce with the rest of the apples. A friend helped me cut most of the apples up, and Andrea and Adrian helped mash them. We made one batch with cinnamon, and the rest we made with cranberries. The apples were slightly juicy, so we strained the liquid from the bottom and made a beautiful pink apple cidery type drink. We froze most of the sauce, but the kids enjoyed their evening snack, a huge bowl of fresh applesauce.

My favorite part of making sauce?  When Adrian smiled a huge smile and said “I love making applesauce with you Mommy.”

Getting Big

Adrian’s Half Birthday is today! We are going to enjoy some ice cream and potato chips that he picked out.  We are also going to watch a movie that Adrian choses.

The other day Allan was helping the kids get all of their bikes tuned up.  Adrian mentioned that he did not like his tricycle anymore.  He made it sound like it leaned a lot to one side. Allan told him to bring it to him and he would try to fix it.  When we went to look at it, we discovered that the handle bars had come off!  Of course it leaned to one side!  We took the tricycle to Opa to see if he can weld it together for Adrian.

Mark found the training wheels and put them on Audrey’s old bike.  The bike is a little big for Adrian and he has trouble peddling, but he likes to try and he does a good job.

The Wheel

This is one of the kids favorite toys at the playground.  It is sort of like a merry-go-round.  The kids start on the green bar, and see how many times they can walk around it at a normal speed without falling.  It is a lot harder than it looks! As you move on the wheel, the wheel is turning also, so if you want to experience being a hamster on a wheel, this is a great toy to try.

I can usually get around it once or twice.  With help, Adrian can do it a few times.  Mark is the champion and we have to set a limit on how many times he can go around. His challenge is to start going faster without falling.  Andrea and Audrey both do very well, but their coordination is not as good as Mark’s yet.

When the children are finished showing off, they love to lay down on it, and have someone push them around in circles. Care to join us one day and see how much fun this toy is?