We Give Thanks

This year we began a new Thanksgiving tradition. Each night at dinner for the week leading up to Thanksgiving, we each shared something we were thankful for. These things were written on leaves and added to our Thanksgiving Tree. Grace really got into it and came up with things she was thankful for throughout the day. She did such a good job of reminding us to be thankful for the little things...tomatoes (which she doesn't like), forks, baths, and so on. Charlie was all about "people" (and I use that term loosely!) Elmo, Ernie, and all of his grandparents made his list. It was a fun way to spend time thinking about all the ways we've been blessed, and I hope we will continue it on for many years.

Faces

Thanks, Uncle Ryan, for the awesome video!

Catching Up

I realized today that it's been quite awhile since I updated our little blog, so I thought I'd do a little catching up. The kids have been sick and/or possibly contagious quite a bit lately, so we've been spending a lot of time at home. While some days the walls feel like they're closing in, it has actually been a lot of fun to slow down and enjoy playing together.

Charlie has officially found his role as the little brother. (Is it mean for me to say he's getting pesky? Because he is, and I think it's hilarious.) The other night Grace was trying to eat dinner. Charlie walked up next to her and every time she tried to take a bite, he hit her arm so that her fork missed her mouth. He grinned from ear to ear and was definitely very aware of what he was doing. See, pesky, right!?! And so, so funny.

The other day Grace was in time out during dinner. I can't remember why she was there, but it likely had something to do with her Cookie Monster impersonation she loves to do during meals. While she was in time out, which is just around the corner from our table, Charlie wondered off for a moment then came back in, grabbed his water cup with a grin, and went back around the corner. Jeff and I heard Grace whisper loudly, "No Charlie. I meant get my water!" Those two co-conspirators are going to be trouble!

Both kids pretty much amaze me daily with how much they're learning. It seems like Charlie is adding new words to his vocabulary on an hourly basis. A lot of his words relate to the characters on Sesame Street. "Elmo" is usually the first thing he says in the morning when he gets up and it continues all day long. Everyday. The boy is obsessed. When I tell him we can't watch Elmo, he runs to the garage door and says, "Grandma! Grandma! Elmo!" He knows who to go to when he wants something!

Grace is like a little sponge and asks a zillion questions a day ranging from, "Mommy, do I have really big armpits?" to "What happens if the power leaks out of the power lines?" She has started to read simple 3 letter words that follow a pattern like sat, bat, cat, hat, and loves "writing" stories. She'll bring me an entire piece of paper filled with random letters and then read me the story. They are almost always about a princess, but lately she has been writing Bible lessons for church as well.

Grace really loves playing restaurant. Today she made me a cheese and jelly sandwich with salt. She also gave me chocolate with salt. Salt is usually her secret ingredient in everything she makes. Clearly, she's been paying attention while I'm cooking. =)

The other night we were at a real restaurant. The waiter came to our table and started taking our order. Grace loudly proclaimed, "I'd like macaroni and cheese with oranges, please!" then sneakily whispered, "and ice cream." The waiter thought she was pretty hilarious but never did bring her ice cream.

And finally, here are a few recent pictures of the kiddos being their super-cute selves.

T-Ball Practice

Grace is taking a class at the community center called The Sports Sampler. They do 3 weeks of soccer, 3 weeks of t-ball, and 3 weeks of basketball. To say she loves it would be an understatement. Right now she is in the middle of the t-ball unit, and after her Grammy came to watch her practice, she went and bought Grace her very own tee. Since we had a break in the rain today, we headed to the little park at the end of our street for some practice.

Charlie loves anything having to do with balls. He doesn't get to play t-ball with Grace at the community center, so he was pretty happy to get to participate today!And then, because I'm pretty much paparazzi, I had to take a couple of shots of the kids with the beautiful fall colors.

Getting one of the two of them together is impossible.
Grace was determined to climb this tree, but her little feet never left the ground.

It was a very fun afternoon outside!

Pumpkin Patch

We couldn't let this past weekend's beautiful weather slip by without a trip to Fall City Farm to get our pumpkins. It was a little odd wondering if I should have put sunscreen on the kids as we walked through the fields, but I'll take the sunshine any day! We had a great time visiting the animals, eating hot donuts, and of course, searching for the perfect pumpkins.

Saying hi to the donkey

Finding their way through the hay maze

Mmmmm...warm donuts!

Heading out in search of pumpkins

Enjoying fresh (we watched them make it!) apple cider

In the pumpkin house

There was even a sandbox because, you know, there just aren't enough ways to get messy at the pumpkin patch!

In the kitchen with Grace

There is something about this time of year that makes me want to bake. Grace LOVES "helping", so we often make something together while Charlie is taking his nap in the afternoons. Today she helped me make some muffins to keep in the freezer for snacks. Her favorite job is filling the mini-muffin tin with the batter. I can get all the dishes done in the time it takes her to complete this task, so it works out great.
In case you're curious, the muffins we were making are Apple Carrot Muffins. I found the recipe online but adapted it quite a bit to be a little more healthy and to fit our tastes better. Here's the recipe in case you're interested. The kids devour them!

Apple-Carrot Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded carrots (about 5 large carrots)

1 apple, peeled, cored, and shredded

1/2 cup raw pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

3 eggs

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine flours, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add in the carrots, apples, and pepitas. Stir to coat. In separate bowl, mix together apple sauce, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Scoop into greased muffin tin and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. (Mini-muffins take about 10 minutes.)

Just Pictures...