October

Shaving cream letters that turned into "sunscreen"

Making applesauce

Emma went on a breakfast date with Daddy and came home with her own starbucks cup. She thought it was just the coolest thing. She got chocolate milk in a cup like Daddy! Very fun!

First pizza experience for the little guy...the veggie shreds aka fake cheese are awful but he seemed to enjoy it. He is really struggling with wanting what we have and not understanding why he can have some things and not others. We are really working to find foods that include him. Pasta and brussel sprouts and apple sauce are among his favorites these days. His absolute favorite food is potatoes. It is really hard though if we are somewhere with fast food because there is not a fast food restaurant that has fries he can safely have. Good thing we don't eat out much!

Our fall activity...we have been learning about the clues of fall and went on a walk to gather leaves. What a horrible activity here. This is all we found in 45 minutes, but it was enough to do the project and she had fun, so it was a success! We still have all of our leaves and even have two flowering trees and some new purple flowers that have bloomed in the back. I have to say that the new flowering growth is confusing her a little. :)

This is Emma's first self portrait. This was the first time she really drew anything very intentional. It is really fun to see her art skills coming out all of a sudden. She was drawing her bones after watching an episode of Curious George when the kids did that. So the lines are her bones and the circles are obviously her eyes. I just love it!

Emma has been loving painting. She is really learning how to create things and growing in her creativity and skill. I am running out of ideas of what to do with her masterpieces!

Jonah drives us crazy at learning time. He wants to do whatever Emma is doing and screams when he cannot do it. He is not happy to finger paint because Emma has a paint brush. He won't color with crayons because Emma has markers. So, we give him almost "dead" markers and finger paints with a paintbrush. He is happy as can be for a while with those things. He just squeals and chatters away.

This kid is ALL boy. I had a grandma at the park comment that there was no way anyone could mistake him for a girl. He is not out of control or crazy, just busy and into everything. He is a climber and has no fear. He is fascinated with the way things work - marker lids, blocks, lights, electrical outlets, garage door, swings, tools, lawnmower, etc. In this picture he took the parts to the shop vac and made them into a tower. The most recent thing for Jonah is Thomas. He discovered Thomas and is obsessed. He stands in front of the screen and screams for Thomas. When he doesn't get to watch him it usually ends with him on the floor screaming and kicking...did I mention he is opinionated and strong willed...hmmm...wonder where he gets that!

We went on our adventure to the pumpkin patch. After much research, I have been really disappointed that there are NO fall activities around here. I guess that is because it really isn't fall here. There is one pumpkin patch in 100 miles and thankfully it is just 5 minutes from our house. So, Jonah, Emma, and I made our way there this week. Emma was so excited to see the animals and when she realized that all they had was goats she was disappointed to say the least. Most of the activities were too old for Emma and all of them were too old for Jonah. It was pretty frustrating, but true to what I am learning about Charleston - it is a great place for kids above age 5. We did get to go on a hayless hay ride around the plantation which was fun. The kids enjoyed seeing the big kids on field trips and were ready to go when I suggested it.

Jonah on one of the tractors. He was most excited about the pumpkins though. He is completely obsessed with pumpkins and he just ran in circles screaming, "pumpkins, pumpkins" for the first five minutes we were there. It was quite entertaining for the moms chaperoning school field trips.

Emma was able to do one of the bouncy things and enjoyed that for a few minutes.

All Jonah could do was run around the sand, yes I said sand, and look for pumpkins.

Aside from the pumpkin farm and art projects, we have continued to settle in here. We think we have found a church but are still in the beginning stages of that process. We still do not have any friends or feel connected in any way, but BSF has been a great thing for Emma, Jonah, and I. Emma is LOVING BSF and has gone from crying the whole time to running into the building to see Ms. Beauford. She spends her week pretending to be her teachers and lines up her babies to "teach" them. Jonah continues to talk an amazing about and repeats everything he hears. He is cutting 8 teeth at once and is quite miserable with that. He went for his 15 month appointment and is in the 85% for height and 38th for weight. He was able to get his flu shot although we had to stay longer for observation. He is growing and we are thankful for the progress in his weight and development. Both kids are so excited about the new brother and Emma prays with him at night and Jonah likes to point to my belly and say baby and kiss it. - just sweet! He will be here before we know it, so Mike and I need to find some energy and motivation to get some of these house projects done quickly!