Pumpkins!

This afternoon, or evening to be technical, we finally made it to the pumpkin patch. It was getting dark as we got there but it was still a nice night.

Isaac took off running right away, he couldn't wait to get going! Elijah? Not so much. He's been getting a bit creeped out by all of the spooky Halloween stuff so it took some convincing to even get him out of the car. But Russ agreed to carry him so he agreed to come with. I put Sammy in the sling but he wasn't having it (not an agreeable night for the younger two!) so back in the carseat it was and off we went.

Isaac's first stop was at the measuring stick to see how big he was and he quickly found a suitable pumpkin on the way to the haystacks. Gotta love a kid who can make up his mind fast! Now, take him to pick out a toy with his allowance and it's another story!

After walking far enough away from anything Elijah considered scary, he got up the nerve to get down and find a pumpkin of his own. He was a little more particular, shooting down every one we picked out saying it was "too big!". He finally settled on one.

Then I did the mom thing and made all the boys pose for a couple of pictures.

My little punkin' with the pumpkins!

Eli had his turn helping push Sammy and then Isaac helped take the pumpkins in to be weighed and paid for.

We found a little baby pumpkin for Sam and loaded everyone up in the car. We were about to leave when Elijah decided the one he had picked out was still too big and he needed a small one. His tears told us how important it was to him so I ran back in to get him a smaller pumpkin and we headed home.

After quick dinner, and one more pose,

it was time for carving-the fun part! Or maybe not. Isaac was adamant that he was NOT touching the guts. He attempted to scoop some out with a spoon and even that was too much to bear.

Katie dug right in while Eli opted to paint and Isaac started the carving for Russ.

In no time we had 3 masterpieces! Isaac chose a scary face, Katie went for cute, and Elijah said of his, "There's his costume. He's a Superman! There's his eye....and there's a little fish!".

Savoring the Moment

Having Sammy has really thrown it in my face how fast time goes. He'll be 8 weeks old on Monday and I have no idea how that happened so quickly. It really seems like he was just born a week ago. There's so many things I want to imprint on my memory and save for the rest of my life.

I'm realizing how little I remember of Elijah's babyhood. I was sick for over 2 weeks of his first month of life and then I think I just let daily life get the best of me and I wasn't as aware of time flying by. I don't want that to happen again. I try to take pictures every day of Sam and I try to burn in my mind all of the little things he does. His smiles, his coos (he's talking to us so much lately), the way he moves his hands reflexively and how he "runs" his legs when he's playing, how just a week ago when you'd pick him up from his swing-he'd curl right into you in a little ball. Russ said he was like a little baby caterpillar. He doesn't do that anymore.

We have lots of video of Isaac when he was a baby and I don't think we have hardly any of Elijah. It breaks my heart to think about. I knowt there's nothing we can do about it now so I try not to dwell on it but it really makes me very sad. I've been wanting to get video of Sammy and finally got some over the past 2 days. Yet I'm still sad we have none of his first 6 weeks of life.

I'm also trying to enjoy all of those little moments with the other boys too. Last night as I was laying in bed, falling asleep, I heard my door creak open. I looked up and Elijah was standing there all sleepy-eyed and nervous looking until he saw me. I said, "Hi Sweetie" and he smiled and ran to the bed, climed in and snuggled right up against me under the covers. Such a simple thing, yet so sweet and something I don't ever want to forget.

I know life will continue to be busy and there will be many many things that I do forget over time but I really need to keep reminding myself to slow down and just savor these precious moments.

Mispronounciation

When I was about 15 we were visiting with my cousin and her little boy who was somewhere around 2 years old. He called teddy bears "Oddy bores", it was very cute.

One day my friend and I took a walk with him and we taught him to say "teddy bear". We got back, all happy and proud of what we had taught him but when we showed my cousin what he could do, she was so sad. She loved how he had pronounced it before. I didn't quite get it at the time.

Now I totally do. Every kid has those things that they say in their own special way and it's always a bit sad the first time they say it the right way.

Isaac used to call Yoda "Yodee", Elijah called "The Little Mermaid" Little Lemonade, but the one I love so much right now is when we say our mealtime prayer. Eli says, "Come Lord Jeezbiz be our guest...."

Rennaissance Festival

Getting behind again. I'm on the computer so much but always seem to have a baby in my arms and I despise one-handed typing so it's hard to keep up with this.

Last friday, we went to the Rennaissance Festival. It was so much fun! We've gone the past 3 years but Isaac really got into it all this year. Both boys dressed up, Isaac as a knight and Elijah as a peasant.

We started the day with our usual first stop, the jousting tournament. Isaac loved watching it and cheering on our knight.

After that we headed off to do some activities like archery and a maze. Elijah got a kiss from an elephant! He was watching the elephant rides and when one walked by him, it reached it's trunk through the fence and kissed him on the cheek! He wasn't too thrilled with it at the time but now he thinks it's pretty cool. Wish I could have captured a picture of that!

No trip to the Rennaisance is complete without food. My dad got the traditional turkey leg, Becky (a friend of ours) chose some soup in a bread bowl and Isaac stuck with his safe choice of pizza. While we ate, we enjoyed one of the comedy shows.

The absolute highlight of the day was the Enchanted Forest. We were told about it by a friendly Rennaisance wanderer (and also encountered a pirate who gave Isaac a piece of pirate treasure) who gave us directions. The boys LOVED it! We walked through the whole thing no less than 3 times and they wanted more but we had to move on. Isaac was bound and determined to find a fairy or hobbit but they were too sneaky and stayed hidden from view.

Isaac discovered that hobbits play chess too!

Sammy did great despite the 80 degree temp. He spent most of his time in the sling being carried by either me or Becky.

The boys had so much fun and got totally worn out! Isaac's already talking about next year.