Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from our little princess (Cinderella) and frog!

Letter "E" and Little Person

After dinner last night, Nate and I captured Elyse using her notepad. We then grabbed the camera to capture her writing the letter, "E" after drawing a very good and detailed little person. So proud of her and very impressed!!!

Overalls

One of my favorite reasons to have a little boy is being able to put them in overalls. I am not saying that dressing girls in overalls is wrong; it's just that personally I am not a fan of them on girls. However, I do think boys, especially Caleb, look way too stinkin cute in them!

Apple Picking

First off I have to say that we have the BEST neighbors! They all are so hospitable, helpful and dependable. We even watch out for each other's children when playing outside.

Our neighbors have two apple trees and have told us many times to come over and pick as many apples as we would like. Therefore, Nate and Elyse spent the last few minutes picking apples not at an apple orchard, but across the street :) They enjoyed doing it together and I am happy to say that we have a ton of bags of Honeycrisp and Braeburn to freeze and enjoy all year!!!
Special thank you to Brett and Lisa for your apples and being such thoughtful neighbors.

Pumpkin Patch

This past Saturday, Nate, my mom (Nana G) and I took the kiddos to a local pumpkin patch. The kids got to pick out their pumpkins, feed goats and see scarecrows. Elyse also got to go through a hay maze and jump in a giant blow-up pumpkin. It was perfect, a lot of fun and a very memorable, autumn activity. Below are a lot of pictures; we got a ton of good ones and I couldn't decide, so I posted a lot of them :)

Caleb is 10 Months Old

I am a little sad to say that our boy turns 10 months old today. Only two months more and he will be a 1 year old, bittersweet I suppose.

To our dearest Caleb, you are such a blessing and we love you so much. You constantly are changing in appearances, motor abilities and language. You keep us on our toes and we wouldn't have it any other way. Happy 10 Month Birthday, handsome boy!

Railing Fun

Elyse and Caleb spent quite sometime tonight playing "Get-You" in between the railings. They were just laughing and keeping each other so entertained. Loved watching every bit of it. Still wonder why we buy toys?!?

Too Much Help

Elyse can not get enough of Caleb and helping him do stuff. We often feel she acts more like his mother than his older sister. Always trying to get him his toys or paci, telling him to not touch things he is not suppose to touch, helping in his bath or getting diapers changed, and even feeding him when he will do it himself. There are times where Nate and I can really appreciate it, then there are other times where it just makes parenting twice as hard. Oh well, at least she loves her brother that much to want to be with him all the time.

Our Adventurous Son

After church and lunch, Nate and I decided to let Caleb do what he does best, explore the house. Well about five minutes into it, we hear our little boy make some noise, we quickly turn our heads to him and find him like this....
What can we say, he is still smiling and enjoying himself; maybe he has a future in gymnastics or the high jump?

Banana Bread

Elyse LOVES helping me cook or bake in the kitchen! It doesn't matter what it is, I can almost always predict a little sidekick next to me. It's wonderful, unless we are short on time ;) Anyway, recently, Elyse's favorite thing to make is, banana bread. She mashes the bananas all by herself and never seems to get tired of doing it. Plus the recipe is really quite healthy, so I don't object to her wanting to make it so Nate, Caleb, her and I can eat it. I would not recommend it if you want really doughy banana bread or don't enjoy the taste of whole wheat.

Banana Bread
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola or veg. oil
2 large egg whites
4-5 bananas peeled and mashed
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 and coat 9X5 inch loaf pan

2. In medium bowl, mix flours, soda, powder, salt and cinnamon, set aside

3. In large bowl, mix sugar and oil with wooden spoon until well combined. Mix in egg whites, banana and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined.

4. Pour batter into pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, 40-45 minutes.

ENJOY!

Wanted and Dangerous

Be on the lookout for these wild animals who escaped the zoo! They may come across as cute and sweet, but don't let them fool you, they are ferocious. Just LOVE these fun, soft, and velcro headband animal masks. Recently found them in the $1 bin at Target.

Caleb's Birth Family

Yesterday, we drove 3.5 hours north to spend the day visiting Caleb's birth family. We were there for just over 4.5 hours and then headed back home. We spent the day relaxing, catching up, and watching the kids play or drive cars, even Caleb :) Very quick, but an enjoyable trip.
Special thank you to Ray, Rande, Mariah, Monica and Malachi for having us over and your hospitality. We had a great time and appreciated everything.