the bouncy one

Our Halloween fun started last weekend!

 Our zoo had a special ZooBoo for the kiddos, so we added it as one of our Momtourage family playdates.

 

 He & Jenna like to hold hands. :)

 awwwwww.

 So, he usually is down for his nap by 1:00 at the latest. Here, at 1:30, he just couldn't keep himself awake!

 that is a boy on a schedule. Considering he was surrounded by his favorite - animals -, people everywhere, and he was sitting straight up!

 Halloween night!

 He LOVED visiting the neighbors! It did not take him very long at all to figure out that people on their porches had candy buckets and he got to pick one and put it in his bag. He loved it! It was so much fun to see so many neighbors out and was such a fun atmosphere!

 We stopped and visited with our landlords/neighbors.

 Apparently, we picked the right outfit, because at times he was literally bouncing down the street. :)

And now, Andrew & I have a nice little candy pile to keep us going for a while. :)

confession

So, I have to admit.................there is a household job that I hate. abhor. refuse to do. And that is taking out the recycling. Why this is such a big deal, I don't know, but that's the story. :D
Now the recycling here in Pgh is a little strange. We have to put it in blue bags, which are to be put on the street on pick-up day. These bags are given out by our local grocery store, which means, they are not big! I don't know about you all, but we seemingly accummulate a ton of recyclables. Because the bags are so small, we can easily fill one up in a day or so. which means it ALWAYS need to be changed!

So.............yesterday, I hear [a slightly ominous] "babe......" When I saw where he was standing (by the trash) I immediately started cracking up. [b.u.s.t.e.d.] The next comment was "do you think that it took you more time to stack the trash jenga-style than it would have taken you to change it"?

Well, thankfully we had a good laugh about it. And my lovely hubby did change it.

Hopefully I am not the only one with a housewife confession. :)

the faces of G.......................

Since we hadn't had real pics taken of Graham for quite a while, and Kiddie Candids was offering up a great deal, we decided it was time again to capture some of his big smiles. :) 

 

  

 love. so big!!

 goofy :)

 and my very fav.............hugs for baby Eden. :)

this 'ole week

An eventful week as it turned out! 
The bad:
Graham got a terrible cold. :( Oh, how I hate the colds at this age. His nose is a faucet!
The good:
He wanted to snuggle every day before bedtime & naptime. Since I already see these times as fleeting, both Andrew & I were happy to have extra rocking time. :)

The funny:

 So G discovered this week that he, um.....toots. And like all MALES, little boys, finds it very hilarious! Andrew & I probably need to stop cracking up at him or it will come back to haunt us. :)

The project:

Andrew & I are staying quite busy in our few spare minutes at doing a little room swapping. We are swapping rooms between G, us, & Eden. The best part is, we're getting some serious (way behind!) organizing done. And Graham gets to move in to a big bed very soon. Fingers crossed!

The fun:

On Saturday we joined our Redeemer family at the pumpkin patch. Also included a hay ride, petting zoo, corn maze, & bonfire. Lots of fun! 

The oops:

I totally lost track of my week count in pregnancy. Poor Eden! Well, the good news is, I'm pretty sure I'm either 22 or 23 weeks. Don't worry, girlie, I do love you!

The eats:

People, of course, always ask what I'm craving. Funny thing is, it's the exact same thing as it was with Graham - oranges or orange juice, and multi-grain cheerios. I can't get enough of them!

The blessing:

BIG blessing! We were able to sell our old car! We have sold several cars on Craig's List and it has always been pretty quick & easy. Apparently, not in Pennsylvania! For one thing, everyone who was interested seemed to have some sort of 'situation' and were so needy. They were all driving Andrew crazy. :) You also both have to go to a notary to sign the documents in this state, which added additional scheduling coordination. But the good news is, it is finally done, and we are thankful to have that behind us!



new wheels

We are thanking the Lord for providing a new vehicle for us! Our past car had 172,000 miles on it and has been such a great reliable vehicle for us. We thank my parents for passing that on to us and for the safety & reliability it has given us the past 3 years. We felt this was the time we should sell it when we could still get a some money for it to put towards our new vehicle. It also did not have the trunk space to fit even our jogging stroller, much less the double stroller we see in our future! And traveling anywhere with one child, maxes out every inch of space, so I don't know where we would put two. :)
So Andrew has been on the hunt for a while. We had decided on a (pre-owned) Ford Escape. We felt that it fit our size needs and would be a good & reliable vehicle for us. Anyone that has looked at SUV's, even smaller ones, knows that they are not cheap! But it is amazing how just purchasing a few years old makes such a difference.
We had also decided on paying cash for this car. We didn't feel like we should take on a car payment at this point in our lives, when we don't necessarily know how our path is going to lead during the next couple of years.
So thankfully, Andrew's patience & hunting paid off. We feel like we got a great deal and while it *hurts* to write a big check, :) we also feel great freedom, knowing that it is officially ours. We thank the Lord for his provision for us, and I especially thank Andrew for being so diligent & meticulous in our budgeting and allowing us to save for expenditures such as these. Is it worth the coupon-clipping or not going out to eat every week or waiting on the latest gadget? Absolutely!!

under Grace

I am been immersed in a world of toddlers. Last week, Monday-Thursday, between baby-sitting, library time, playdates, momtourage and church, I was around, cared for, played with, and supervised 33 kiddos under 3. Can I just say that I have never been at a point in my life when I am so greatly challenged? :) I think toddlerville might be my most stretching point yet. whew. I am working on embracing that this is the realm that God has me in right now, and asking for lots of grace each day.

I also currently have a new experience, for me, in teaching our church ladies Bible study. I wasn't sure about doing this, however, God has used it immensely in my life. Anyone that has taught anything, probably understands that the teacher always receives the most benefit from studying. Unlike some ladies who *may* be doing their homework the night before (been there!), I get to spend the 2 weeks between our meetings doing a lot of reading, studying, putting my lesson together. The result: much instruction into my life, for which I am very thankful. We are going thru the book Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free . It's very convicting. We've covered some great topics such as bondage (what am I allowing myself to be in bondage to?), discontentment (been there!), and this past week - "believing" the truth vs. actually living it out. In reading the book Crazy Love, this section really jumped out to me in correlation to our study.
“Believing” the Truth vs. Living the Truth
(from “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan)
Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Phil 4:4
This is also followed with the charge, “Do not be anxious for anything”. (v.6)
When I am consumed by my problems – stressed out about my life, my family, and my job – I actually convey the belief that I think my circumstances are more important than God’s command to always rejoice. I have a “right” to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities.
Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives.
Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.

So, for me, as I embrace my current status as resident (mayor? nanny?!) of toddlerville, am I "believing" the Truth or am I living the Truth? This will be manifested only as I Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!

Snippets

This is the week everyone told me I "popped". It's so nice when everyone lets you know when you're getting fat. Only in pregnancy, I tell ya.... Seriously, I am not offended, it just makes me laugh!

5 months, can it be? I re-iterate - so much faster this time around!

A little sunshine on a crisp Fall day.

Love my boys. Can't wait to meet my girl.

I am turning the big 3-0 in just 2 months.

 Gasp. I know....... I only look 20.

Oh, what? I don't?

Well, you can lie, it's ok.

 A few items on my wishing list (you know to make it not seem so bad) :)

• Dinner with my hubby. Anywhere, but I am thinking Thai...............

• Door Sweaters, made by my friend Sarah, here in Etsy.

• Can't wait to dress Eden in girly finds like this from my friend Suzanne's Etsy shop!

A gift card from here!

• Fun bowls, like these, in various colors.

And enjoying a beautiful fall.

I couldn't resist the giant gourd. It makes me smile every time I enter my house.

two-zero

Everyone keeps commenting to me at how big & old Graham is looking. It's so true, the little boy is coming out! It's been a couple of months since I did a Gman update, and wow, he's changing so fast. Sometimes I look at him and I can see him being 4 and then when he's sitting there playing with a toy, he reminds of when he was 6 months. sniff, sniff, look at me, all nostalgic................
The stats: 30.4 lbs, 33 inches tall. That means he's only gained .4 lbs, but grew 2 inches in the last 2 months! Leaning out after all, possibly. He's also wearing size 7 shoe. seven. Like, last winter he was in 4/5! That is why I cannot spend too much on shoes for him!

Some current faves of ours:

• He has often started saying thank you when I hand him something. It's like music. Love it.
• We're working at covering his mouth when he coughs. It's so cute.
• When we're driving, he loves to shout out the letters that he sees on various signs. I love it.
• He seriously has an amazing arm. He can throw a ball farther & better than I could imagine! He also loves to kick and seriously gets his leg waist-high. Balls still remain a top favorite. I can't wait to see him in pee-wee sports already!
• He also loves to jump. And everytime we talk about a J, he has to demonstrate how high he can jump because that is his word for J!
• He finally is using a fork correctly. He loves spoons & forks.
• I can't believe how much he remembers. Like the one time I mentioned his "wee-wee" during a diaper change and now loves to tell me all about it every diaper change. :)
• He loves to say uh-oh. (thank you Aunt Katie!) But it's usually from a mess he has made himself and then he shows me "uh-oh"!
• He just started shaking his head to say NO. It's actually quite helpful. I can ask him a question and he can tell me that yes or no, that is what he wants. Ah, communication, it's a beautiful thing!
• He is learning some simple chores. He loves to throw things away, which is very helpful! Including diapers, which I see as very good for when Eden comes along! He can put socks away in the sock drawer, help me unload some of the plastics from the dishwasher, and of course, help pick up his toys. We're thoroughly enjoying the time where "helping" is still fun for him. :)
• He is finally, finally, understanding the art of bribery. Let me explain. :) "You eat 2 bites of sandwich and you can have a piece of cantaloupe" or "3 bites of chicken and you can have some croutons". Yes, fruit & croutons are his 2 favorite foods! But I have been trying to get him to understand this cause & effect for about 2 months. Yes, you can have that, but you have to eat that first. He finally got it. Oh, mealtime just became so much easier!!
• He loves to tell secrets. Daddy will whisper in his ear "psssssstttttt" and then he will come and whisper in mine!

Potty training is a vague hope. I have decided that I definitely will not stress about it being done before Eden arrives. We have the potty out and he went in it the very first day. Hasn't gone in it since! He can tell me when he needs a diaper change and when I see him "going", he runs away so I won't put him on the potty. :) Yeah, he knows. We're taking it slow at this point. I honestly can't even believe that's on the horizen.

He is cracking us up by what I call "random boy things".

Like when it's not enough to drink from your cup, let's put it in a purse first. Tastes much better.

 Or driving my car has gotten boring. Let's put a blanket on like a cape and then drive around. Superman.

Not so faves:

• We have entered the age of "I have an opinion and I know how to use it". Life was much simpler before he began to have an opinion. He has also learned what foods are in the fridge & pantry and reminds me which of them he would like. Cheese & yogurt from the fridge, and cereal or croutons from the pantry are his current hold-outs.
• Tantrums. My sweet little boy, where did you go and who is this little monster? Our first tantrums have come and they are sad. Time outs seem to work best for these so far and he calms down during the one minute he sits in the chair.
• Diaper rash. Hot summer + heavy sweatter + cloth diapers = rash. This summer we had a terrible time with diaper rash. I ended up using disposable way more than I would have liked, simply because we could not keep the rashes away. Cloth diapers simply don't have the absorbant nature of sposies, unfortunately. His skin is still easily irritated and so I am changing him as often as possible. Hoping the cooler weather gives some relief from that. We have tried several different free & clear detergents, and I don't think that is the issue, I simply think he a hot little boy. :)
• Running away. He thinks it's hilarious to take off running. I get a little tired of chasing him, :) but I am also so afraid that he is going to dart in front of a car. AGH. Extra vigilance! But it's hard to be mad when he's giggling his head off.

 Having lunch with some buddies!

 Last month he became quite clingy. This is what I was finding whenever I tried to cook dinner.

 Discovering jelly for the first time. It's best to lick it all off the top first.

Trying out a little backpack. Daddy put a blanket in it.

 He has discovered TV. and loves it! He basically sits open-mouthed with anything he watches.
Here he & buddy, Jenna, are captivated by the Wiggles.

 "Helping" daddy is a favorite thing!

 hike.

 he'd much rather push the stroller himself!

So, as always, keeping us on our toes. Always figuring out something new and always keeping us laughing!
Only 4 months till the big TWO arrives (and little sister!).