Owen's First (Captured) Smile!!!!

Although he has been smiling at us for weeks now, I haven't been able to capture it on camera. Until today!!! Kaitlyn and I worked VERY HARD for these precious smiles. Enjoy!

The Next Generation of Mike Oliver

Coincidentally, this is exactly how Mike looks after a good meal. Laid back on the couch, hand on bloated belly, eyes half open...

He has even nailed the furrowed eyebrow look!

A Girl After My Own Heart

This is what I found in the bathtub after Savannah's bath last night.

                    You gotta love a girl who knows how to organize her toys :)

Savannah's Grasshopper - R.I.P.

Last week I took the kids to Mamaw's house for the morning. As we were leaving, Mamaw bravely caught Savannah a grasshopper! Oh the fun she has had!!! The little guy hopped all over much to Savannah's delight. She pulled grass for it, put water in the net for it and literally slept with it in her room night after night. I was amazed a few days later when she went to pet it and the thing jumped out of the net right onto her cheek!!! She screamed and jumped and swatted her face. It was hilarious! Then she bawled when she realized that her precious grasshopper was loose in the house. So brave Mama had to catch him and place it back in her net. I thought for sure the poor thing would die of a heart attack after that incident. But no, Sunday afternoon she had a blast with it on the front porch. She let it loose and watched it jump all over. She squealed and giggled! I was just astonished that it was still alive. Well, sadly, when she went to rouse it this morning we found that the poor grasshopper had passed on. To which Savannah said, "Kate! He's dead! But I want him to be alive again!!" So now she's playing with a very dead grasshopper.

A Family of Pumpkins...

As is our yearly tradition, we each painted our little pumpkins and carved our big family pumpkin on Friday night. This is always a lot of fun. After we gut and carve the pumpkin, we clean the seeds and bake them for a little snack. Yum! Yum!

Another Day...Another Pumpkin Patch

                                                Our family loves the fall!!!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch at Santa's Christmas Tree Farm! We had a blast!!

Sweet Savannah was so excited she kept choosing pumpkins and loading them onto the stroller...she couldn't quite understand why we were only choosing one. So Mike had to go behind her and put them back.

We fed the farm animals...

The girls got their faces painted...

They rode horses...

They rode a spider tractor ride...

The coolest thing they did was go on a 200 ft zip line! Even Savannah! It was so funny to watch her little body gliding through the air. I really thought she would get scared or cry but as soon as she got off so asked to go again! What a little dare devil!

And then to wrap up our visit, the entire family (even Owen) went on the hay ride. As we were bouncing along the trail, I was thinking about how the last time we were on the hay ride at Christmas I was very early in my pregnancy and I spent the entire trip trying not to throw up! It was much more enjoyable this time around.  :)

It was a perfect day together as a family.

Kate's Wipe Out

Yesterday afternoon, I took the kiddos over to my dad's house to ride bikes. Everything was great for about 10 minutes. Then we heard the big crash! Kate wiped out trying to turn and got some seriously nasty road rash!!! Ouch!

After she was all doctored up and limped dramatically to the car we came home and she literally laid around like a lump for an hour. Then her Daddy came home and she went to show him her tragedy. His response? COOL!!! Only boys think scabs, blood, and skinned flesh is cool!

School Mornings

During the week, mornings are tough! We start at about 6:00 am. Invariably whenever I go to get in the shower, Owen has a meltdown or needs to eat. This is what starts me off running late almost every day. We live in a two story house so I attempt to gather all the things I need for Owen before I come upstairs so I don't end up running a marathon of stairs just to get him dressed. But I almost always forget something. Poor Owen usually ends up sitting around most of the morning while I get the girls ready.

Then I get Kate, who is usually up and dressed by the time I come upstairs. I am so thankful that I have a disciplined child who will get up to an alarm. Unfortunately, she is also a child who is easily distracted so she's usually running late too. Hair with her is always an issue and she takes FOREVER to eat her breakfast. She's also in 3rd grade now so we're almost always studying for some test she has that day.

And I save the beast for last! Savannah is foul in the mornings, so we let her sleep as long as we possibly can. But at some point in our craziness, she wakes up and the whining ensues. She can't go potty by herself, she can't eat her breakfast, she can't take her vitamin and so forth. The girl really is miserable in the mornings. And the hair! WOW!!! Talk about taming a wild beast - that hair takes a solid 5 mins of spraying, brushing, and tweaking to get under control.

There are days when everything runs smoothly, there are days I forget to eat, and then there are days like today when I am sure we aren't going to survive the morning. Can you blame me for living off caffeine? But I have learned to measure success a little differently. It's a good day if I remember to brush Savannah's teeth! I guess as long as everyone gets fed and Kate gets off to school, the rest can wait. And as hard as these mornings are, it's a very sweet time that I get to spend with my kids each and every day.

Still Spoiled!

Even though I turned 29 years old yesterday, it appears that I am still spoiled! I have been having clothing issues since I had the baby but I have not had the money or the free time to go out and buy a new wardrobe. But between my dad, my mom, and my sister's birthday gifts (and of course the gift my husband gave me of a day without the girls!!!) I was able to go out today and buy 3 pairs of pants, 7 shirts, 1 sweater, 2 jackets, and 2 pair of shoes. Good times and good sales!!! I am a happy camper who will stay warm this fall and winter season :) I really hope that I am able to spoil my kids as much when they are my age as my family spoils me!

Tummy Time

Recently I have noticed that Owen has a flat spot on one side of his head. So I asked the Dr about it and she recommended that I start tummy time with him. At first it was a little rough. He screamed and kicked his legs and clawed at the blanket. I could only stand to see it for out 2-3 mins before I would roll him back over.

But yesterday, tummy time was much more tolerable. I dare say he enjoyed it!

He is even napping on his belly now. Although it makes my life more difficult because I go in every 10 or 15 minutes to make sure he is still breathing!

Last Day of Swimming

Today our family went over to Grandma's house for the final day of swimming this year! It was very bittersweet. We so enjoyed our lazy summer filled with time in the pool, but we are definitely looking forward to cooler weather and the holiday season.

As we were deflating all of the swim floats and packing up the toys I couldn't help but think about next year. I will have a 9 year old, a 4 year old, and a 1 year old. That is crazy!

Two Months Old

Today Owen is two months old. Oh, how the time has flown by! At his two month well visit, Owen weighed in at 10 lbs 12 oz. He is 21 1/4 inches long. This puts him in the 25th percentile. We've come a long way since he was born - he was only in the 3rd percentile. He is growing and thriving and beginning to show some personality. Not surprisingly, baby boy has quite the temper. When he's not happy, man does he let you know it. But he is also extremely mellow and starting to be a good sleeper. Every now and then he will charm us all with a smile. We can't wait to see more of them!!!