Pumpkin Decorating

Not sure when or if we're going to get around to carving our pumpkin patch pumpkins, so I decided to kill a little time on Sunday afternoon that Will and I would decorate our pumpkins with markers! (Jason was en route to the airport, so we left his pumpkin for another time.)

First: an afternoon snack on the back deck to prepare (and, yes, the dog is always that close; especially when food is nearby) Second: keep eating snack; no rush; just keep the animal crackers away from the dog. . . (and, yes, I dress Will in that t-shirt a lot!)

Third: get Mommy to uncap at least two markers at a time in order to maximize pumpkin, deck, and clothing coloring.

Fourth: make additional edits after seeing Mommy's masterpiece! :-)

It was a good way to kill 20 minutes - as was raking leaves in the front yard. We only spent about 20 minutes on that game, too, but I still managed to get a blister! Fun times with my little buddy!

The Little Adult

Ok, doesn't this "kid" look pretty adult (absent the Big Dino Expedition jammies) in this picture? Will has taken to pulling our books off the bookshelf instead of going to the basket full of board books. He really likes this one: Mastering the Competitive Sale. I guess he's going to take after his dad. . . .or he just likes the books that have a book jacket!

Our Little Superhero

We haven't had the camera out much again this week. Jason was traveling for work, and Will and I were busy with "stuff." :-) Jason took this one on his phone before he left and emailed it to me. Super cute superhero!

Saturday was a nice day. I played tennis in the morning while the boys watched sports. Then Ryan came over for playtime and a chili lunch and made Will laugh hysterically! We had one sad baby on our hands when we made him leave Uncle Ryan to take his nap!

We ran some errands and finished the evening with dinner out at a Mexican restaurant. Will was very well behaved and ate and ate and ate.

Sadly, our overnight was exhausting! Jason now has the cough that Will and I thought we had kicked. Will didn't sleep well, and I had (have) a migraine! Oh, we're just a mess, aren't we?! Wishing for better health all around!

Pumpkin Patch

On Sunday morning we ventured out to the country to the Jonamac Orchard pumpkin patch/ u-pick apple orchard. Apple picking is all done for the season (and the pumpkin patch was pretty picked over), but we had a great time! The weather was clear and sunny and it was a very comfortable 60 degrees by the time we were out in the field.

Giant rocking chairs just seem to have a place at the pumpkin patches: We all enjoyed playing in the silo full of hulled corn kernals:

As you can see from that grin, William loves any type of driving or wheel:

Surveying the selection that Daddy put together:

Daddy and William with the winners as we waited for the tractor to haul us back to the parking lot:

We had a lot of fun playing in the corn, riding the slide, admiring the petting zoo (but Mommy is way too frightened to get inside the pen), and wandering around everywhere! Will was also very interested in ponies there for the pony rides. Maybe Grandma Hilary will arrange for that someday in the future!

We passed on the "apple cart" concessions and hit up the closest "real" town for Panera, which is one of Will's faves. He was fast asleep in the carseat before we were back to paved roads, but he woke up to devour all of his mac 'n cheese and yogurt.

Finally Some Hair!

It's still light colored, but Will's hair is finally filling in a little more. He's got quite the little rat tail in the back, which we keep debating cutting but haven't yet. We've even had a few mornings where his bed head needed wet down before school. Ironically, Will's daddy takes the bad hair days much more seriously than his mommy, and is usually the one to wet it and fix it. :-)

Getting Better

We seem to have turned the corner towards good health finally! Will got good daycare report cards for the last half of the week, and I felt pretty good today. I went to the doctor yesterday (finally!) and got a prescription for a cough medicine. The doctor said my lungs looked fine, so the cough syrup should help me get some sleep and help my overall health. The meds seemed to help somewhat, but sleeping in until 10 a.m. today helped a lot! Once I woke up, Will and I played in his room. He's been practicing his Trick-or-Treating (although we have only tried on his costume once). He loves to put "stuff" in his pumpkin. Currently his shoes are his favorite thing to carry around in it.

Love to see my happy, happy boy again!

He's taken new interest in his Thomas pillow recently; he even likes to "ride" it - even though it doesn't go anywhere!

We ran some fun errands this afternoon. We hit up Sam's Club for the specific Pampers wipes we like (which they don't have anymore!!) and got to have an afternoon snack of samples. Although they didn't have the one thing we went for, we were able to fill up our cart with other must haves. Will talked me into buying the Panera brand broccoli cheese soup they were sampling (even though the price was no deal). He ate it all up and was looking for more!

Later, we had to go to Target to get the wipes and a few other things Sam's doesn't carry, and Will was pleasant and sociable again. He likes to wave at all the cars that drive by. And sometimes he says "bye bye" to them. He's also saying "up" regularly and "shoe" sometimes.

Worn Out

We've been on a bit of a break from blogging, because we've been on a bit of a break from picture taking. Although in the last two weeks we have gotten one smiling baby picture (see below), most of the time we've had grouchy / tired / teething / sick / WantsMamaRightNow / grumpy / frustrated baby who no one wants to photograph!

Not sure what the problem is besides too much play, too little sleep, and a round of colds (although Will's malaise started earlier than his cold symptoms). Will started the cold two weeks ago and missed a Thursday and Friday from school. I missed last Tuesday and Wednesday from work being sick myself, and then he missed the next two days from school. We spent this past weekend laying on the couch. Literally on Saturday, I was Will's pillow for 10 hours and was happy to be be still. We left the house for a brief, slow stroll around the neighborhood around 5 p.m. Sunday was better for Will but worse for me as my violent coughing led to vomiting (Will had that earlier in the week. . . ). Jason had to be called home from the guys golf trip he was on for his step-dad's birthday, so he could take care of Will while I tried to rest. This week we have been back at school and work, but my co-workers and fellow train riders look afraid to catch whatever it is I may be spreading! And my bloodshot eyes from the coughing and lack of sleep are quite the sight to see! And Will is sleepy and clingy. And looking so sad.

In this picture you can see that the last canine tooth is finally cut through. I thought last month's malaise was due to that tooth, but I really have no idea. I think we all just need a vacation. I came home early last night and we went to the playground. Once there, Will was his old happy, giggling self. Thankfully, although his eating has been sporadic, for the most part he's sleeping well, although not as restfully as he would be without the cough. Same goes for me. The coughing is exhausting!

Good Luck Wildcats!

Last Saturday was an off-week for K-State in anticipation of their Thursday night game against Nebraska. Will's already a big KSU fan - as evidenced by his great smile while wearing his Wildcats gear! :-) That smile gets him whatever he wants!

This little boy loves big (and little) sticks. And rocks. And mulch. And just generally being outside.

"Dog!" Will is pointing at a neighbor walking his dog. Every dog and every plane that he sees or hears gets a response. And we live in a neighborhood with lots of dogs and on both the O'Hare and Midway flight plans. It's so cute though!

Where We've Been

Seems like a long time without any blogging! Let's see. . .what have we been up to? Well, a whole lot of stuff! And a whole lot of nothing!

Last Saturday we made our first fall trip to the zoo - Will's wagon's first trip. Big success! We specifically went for the children's petting zoo, which we all found disappointing. However, we did discover the "Family Zoo," which has a lot of fun indoor exhibits to play in, which will be a great getaway this fall and winter when the weather is bad but we need to get out of the house. Oh, and I had a great day because I got to eat Dippin' Dots. I bought a big one so I could share it with Will, but I forgot how cold those dots really are! So, I had to eat most of it myself; better luck next time kiddo!
Then, I was out of town for a work conference (in HOT Phoenix) while the boys held down the fort. Our new refrigerator was delivered while I was gone, so I came home to a pretty new appliance. We bought our house with all of the "as is" appliances. They were all "biscuit" colored and 20 years old. We've already had to replace the washer/dryer, dishwasher, and fridge. We're pretty sure the stove is going to be within the next month, since I'm tired of only having two burners that work! Jason took this picture below on the night that Will was helping him unload the old fridge. This is what you get when you ask for "Cheese!"

And so is this! Jason bought a pumpkin pie when he did grocery shopping this week, and Will and I enjoyed it while Jason was traveling. (Yep, I got home and he left 12 hours later. . . .) Sadly, Will got sick the first day I was back, so I had to leave work early on Thursday to pick him up. He has had a fever and cold symptoms (cough, boogery eyes, and big sneezes). We got to stay home on Friday, which turned out ok. It wasn't ideal that I was gone from work after having been out for training, but that's how it goes. Will was in pretty good shape until about 5 p.m. when his fever returned, so we were able to go for a walk in the stroller, play with sidewalk chalk in the back yard, eat pumpkin pie, and go to the park.
Today was another mixed bag day. At least we were all finally home. Will was very impatient when we went to the mall to look at stoves; he only was pleasant if we were riding up and down the escalator. He was good at Panera where we stopped for lunch. We wanted to go to the newly opened Chik-Fil-A, but that place was packed! People were parked at the mall since the parking lot at the restaurant was full. And the drive thru was 20 cars long. Hopefully soon!

I think we're going to have to skip our Sunday swim tomorrow due to Will's snotty nose, but hopefully he's on the mend. Speaking of on the mend, Rachel seems to be doing better, too. The vet ran a new urinanalysis today and said her bladder infection is much better but still a little bit of bacteria and blood in her urine. So, they gave us another 7 days of antibiotics. I think she was considerably better the past two days, so hopefully she is fully recovered soon! I'm not ready to deal with an incontinent dog!