Mid-September Update

Hello! It is starting to feel like Fall here and it's just beautiful! The weather is cool and breezy, but still warm enough to have shorts and a t-shirt on most of the time.

Clara is still loving preschool. I am so thankful it is going well. Today was picture day and I'm curious how well she cooperated with the photographer. It has been nice to have the mornings to get things done (or not) while William naps and Clara is at school. I am car pooling with my neighbor which has been great because the school is about a 45 minute round trip drive.

Today I took some pictures before nap time. Both kiddos are looking more grown up these days. So are the chickens. They are really pretty, surpisingly. I'm glad we have 5 different types. Their feathers are so different and striking. Not sure if I have put it on the blog, but we ended up with one rooster. He is protective of all his hens (we call them his harem) but headstrong and domineering of us too. We have had to put him in his place (i.e. whack him on the head a few times) because he comes after us. It's kind of scary and funny at the same time.

Also, did I mention my parents are building a house in Arkansas. Here's a link to their blog which they update about once a week with progress on the house. It is coming along so well and is going to be such an awesome place! http://www.lakeviewdream.blogspot.com/


Anyways, here are some pics.

Almost 11 months...getting so handsome!  He has been eating so much lately!  I am crossing my fingers for another great eater like his big sister. 

The black and white chicken is the silver wyandot...pretty cool pattern on its neck and back.

I love  her curly blond hair.  So pretty!

Caught her in  a thinking moment.

 

Cute little girl!! 

 

I like this picture.  It looks like William took off with Clara's flip-flop and she is in the background looking at her bare foot.

First Day of Preschool

Yesterday was Clara's first day of preschool.  She had such a great time and was so excited to be there :)  We have been building this day up for a while now and when it finally came, Clara could not wait to go.  Here are some pictures

Getting her back pack ready.

Showing me her lunch box.

She was already tired of my taking her picture in the car.

She was already tired of my taking her picture in the car.

We're at school!!

Walking through the parking lot.

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In the hallway by her classroom.

Tom and William came too. 

Clara asked several times if William missed her and did he cry.  He knew something was different because when we came home and I put him down for his nap, he just cried and would not settle down! I guess he was missing Clara a little :)

Here are the latest pictures of Clara and William.  They both did so well this time.  Clara was cooperative and really tried her best to smile and stay still while I played peek-a-boo behind the photographer to get William to look at me.  The hardest thing about this whole process was shopping for outfits that coordinated 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment.  I usually wait till the last minute and work best under pressure!

Anyways, Clara is 3 years old and William is just a day or two shy of 10 months.  Such precious babies!!

Double Trouble and the Farm Park

The stroller had to pull double duty this evening.  Would you believe there was no fighting and only giggles from these two sweeties while crammed right next to each other? 

When they were not in the stroller, they were playing in the rocks!  Not good for the baby who puts everything in his mouth.

Yesterday we went to a local park that is really more of a farm.  They have a story time in the big red barn and then bring in one of the animals for the kids to pet.  This story was about a horse, so we got to meet Bandit, a miniature horse.  All the kids were able to pet him.

 Then the storytime guy brought in the rabbit.

Here are some of our friends with William and Clara.

William and Clara had fun on the playground just monkeying around

Sunflowers

Our sunflowers are blooming! 

Tom wanted to grow some sunflowers this year so he tilled up the ground here, planted the seeds, snaked a soaker hose through the rows, and about 2 months later, they bloomed!  The temperatures are so cool today - a good 20 degrees less that what we have been having so we got out in the yard and enjoyed the fall-like weather.  Here are some pictures from our walk today after lunch and before naps. 

Clara had to hold the sunflower upright because one minute before Tom took the picture, she fell over and bent the sunflower down on the ground.  It was the perfect height for her, so we told her just to hold it up :)

William is too heavy to carry on our walks, so we push the big ol' stroller around the land. 

Clara loves when Chelsea chases her around.

Almost 10 months old

William's first year has gone by so fast.  I still can't believe he will be 10 months old in a couple days.  This past month he has become very mobile.  He started crawling and then a couple days later started pulling up on the coffee table and chairs.  He has learned to clap and babbles quite a bit too.  He is also getting very!!  I have his 9 month checkup in a couple days (little overdue!) and am curious how many pounds he is. He feels every bit of 23 pounds or more.  Here are some pictures - I swear his hair just keeps getting lighter and thicker.  His eyes are still so blue - I love them!

I'm Handsome, I'm Handsome!

We have had several conversations with Clara about how she is pretty and William is handsome. Clara then usually says something about William being pretty so that we will say "Nooooo, he's handsome!" Round and round we go. You know how a 3 year old will just say stuff they know is wrong, to get a reaction out of you?!?

Clara surprised me the other day by getting into William's clothes. First of all, how does a little girl who wears 3T clothes, get into a 6-12 month outfit? Still not sure how that's possible. However, this really cracked me up because the second I walked into my closet and saw her, she started singing"I'm handsome, I'm handsome".