Apple Picking!

We are starting fall off right with some apple picking. This weekend, we met up with Grandma and Grandpa at a diner beforehand to fuel up for our hard work and then we hit the fields. Cal was especially serious about the task and proud that he was tall enough to reach the good apples. Jude was excited to get involved, too, but too often that meant he would reach for the rotten ones on the ground. He got more into picking good apples when he figured out this meant being lifted up and diving into the apple tree.
We all had a great time, though. Of course, all that hard work means you earn a little cuddle time.
It's so good to get in some special time with Grandma and Grandpa.
And, all of our earnest activity meant that we came home with over 20 pounds of apples. We have apples coming out of our ears. Mama made an apple pie but that only dealt with five of the apples. Ha! We have so many apples that Mama is finding apples with one or two bites in them scattered all around the house. Weirdly, Callum, the only child able to reach high enough onto the countertop to reach the stack of apples, claims to have no idea how this is happening. It's an apple phenomenon. The high point of our apple overload (so far) was when the whole family had settled onto the porch and Jude started proudly pulling apples out of the 'trunk' of his play car. There are literally apples in every nook and cranny of this house! Welcome fall!

Wee More Time in The Woods

We took a short family hike at a nearby state park this last weekend. Just trying to sneak in a little more time outside in this great fall weather.
Jude's growing sense of independence means that he doesn't tolerate the hiking backpack very much. Instead, he wants to be 'just like his brother' and do it all himself.
Cal got really into finding 'nature' and picked up nearly every rock he found and insisted we bring it home with us. And, for the most part, we obliged. He also took the time to inspect it all saying "Isn't it beautiful!" A rock is a rock to me but I would never disagree with such enthusiasm.

Dr. Puke or The Reason You Haven't Heard Much From Us Lately

We have just recovered (knock on wood) from a bit of 'situation'. Our lovely Jude, the darling, darling child is also quite a bit tenacious. He discovered a while back that a quick way to be 'excused' from the dinner table was to puke up his dinner. Guess what? It worked. And, it got quite the reaction.

He transferred this learning recently onto getting a reaction when he doesn't want to go to bed. Pretty quickly after throwing, Mama and Papa give up on me getting myself to sleep and instead, are frantically cleaning, changing outfits and sheets. The end result, is that Dr. Puke gets to stay up later and gets lots of attention for the dozens of times he wakes up through the night. Mama and Papa are walking zombies. Hmm. Well, we worried, of course, that perhaps it was due to some illness. But, no. Doctor confirmed that, indeed, it was a behavioral decision to get his way. Doctor suggested we let him sleep in 'it', which was sort of stunning and Draconian. Not that we didn't consider it, seriously consider it. Instead,we are working on creating a super calm environment before bedtime complete with relaxing music during dinner and dim lights during bath as well as a strict bedtime routine. And, knock on wood, it seems to be helping. Dr. Puke is making it through the night with minimal wake-ups and NO throwing up (yet). Mama and Papa are moving out of zombie phase and are nearly back to human. Yippee!

Big Boys Trip on the Train

Kieran and Callum, with a few of Callum's 'big boy' friends recently took another trip on the caboose train that runs in the summer. It was last weekend it was running and it was a rainy one but the boys loved it regardless. Or maybe, they loved it even more BECAUSE of the rain. There is nothing like puddle jumping.
We've started to notice some changes in our oldest guy these days. While he is still sensitive and can be slow to warm up in social situations...he isn't the shy guy we used to know. He's much more likely to introduce himself and reach out to other kids or grown-ups. He doesn't need to linger next to Mom or Dad and is more prepared to dive right into the fun. It's been a slow change (or it seems like it, at least) but it's happened at his pace. More and more we turn around and notice he is leading a fun game or inspiring some goofy activity and drawing other kids in with him. It's nice to see this confidence grow. Guess it is all part of the big boy that he really is becoming.

Back From the Woods

Pennsylvania has an extensive and well-kept network of state parks and a handful of them have cabins for rent that come complete with full kitchens, full bathrooms and central air. While we hope to someday go tent camping with the boys, for now this is our style of 'roughing it'. The cabin was tucked in the woods and we were able to walk out our door and join a hiking trail.
Our site, had a fire pit and picnic table and even a porch. We nearly lived outside most of the time as there were almost no bugs and we were so shaded that the temperature was perfect.
There was lots of grilled food, cuddling, and playing of trucks-filled-with-dirt games.



Callum is tasting his very first roasted marshmallow! The first of many, surely.

It's hard to see in this picture but this is Chippy, he was the very friendly chipmunk that lived in the drainage pipe of our cabin. He and his buddies were particularly fond of all the food left under the picnic table after dinner.
The park we were in was centered around a lake and a bit of the lakeside had been cleared to create a beach for swimming. The water was tranquil and so easy for the boys to play in, as we did every single day. The swimming hole included a concession stand with everything from hotdogs to gummi worms. We only indulged in the ice cream though...every single day of our 5 day trip. And, now that we have been back home for a few days I have to say there is something really nice about having your toughest decision of the day be 'what flavor of ice cream should I have?' We miss you Cabin 6.