Pumpkin Carving - 2013

In the past, we have always carved our pumpkins on Halloween Eve.  But this year, because I was scheduled to teach that night, we chose to do our annual carving a few days earlier.  We brought the pumpkins inside to warm up the night before and set to work on Sunday evening to design some masterpieces.

There is something so exciting about taking the top off the pumpkin and looking inside ...

Last year, Sophia was a little leery of the whole "pumpkin guts" thing; she really didn't want to get her fingers covered in the gooey stuff.  This year, though, she dug right in.

Samantha is an expert by now.

Cleaning their respective pumpkins:

 Jack chose to just hang out on the sidelines and play with a few Halloween decorations:

 Gooey, sticky fingers!

 

So happy about her progress:

After a while, Jack needed to relax on the floor ...

... while Sophia cleaned out his pumpkin for him:

Jack with his very own pumpkin, on his first Halloween:

And within about 15 seconds, he was done with that idea!

The girls, posing with their pumpkins:

My little family:

 Happy Halloween!

Picking Pears

We have a large pear tree in our back yard, right outside the kitchen window.  I am constantly looking out that window as I am doing dishes and preparing meals.  This year, the tree has produced a bountiful crop -- certainly making up for the lack of one last year when the pear buds froze off in the Spring.

One day last week, I sent the girls out to pick some pears for me before the deer get them all.  (The deer come out at all hours of the day and night to eat those pears.  They will even stand on their hind two legs to reach them).

They collected the pears in a couple of their beach pails ...

And then dumped them into the larger bucket for me.

They worked so well together, and it wasn't long before the big bucket was substantially filled.

The next day, I turned the pears into sauce so that Jack will have some to eat in another month or so.  I was able to fill three ice cube trays full of single serving portions of the pears, which will last quite a while for him.  I have also started making a few other purees and freezing them, as I know that we will be needing them soon.

I have always made my own baby food; it's cheaper, healthier and so simple.  I steam the fruits and vegetables and puree them in a blender using the same liquid that they were steamed in (to preserve any vitamins or nutrients that were lost while steaming).  Then, I pour the purees into ice cube trays and freeze them.  Once they are frozen, I pop them out of the trays and store them in labeled, plastic freezer bags.  When I need a serving, I grab a "cube" out of the freezer bag and let it thaw in a small container that is perfect for that portion size.  (I found the containers at the dollar store). 

So far, I have made pears and carrots for the freezer.  Next on my list is applesauce and peas.  By the time that I am done, I will have a nice selection of fruits and vegetables to begin slowly introducing to Jack.  He will also receive bananas and avocados, but those will be served as is, just mashed up.

Dance Observation

Three times a year, the dance studio that Samantha attends does a "Visiting Week," where loved ones are able to come and observe their little dancer in action.  We have made a point to go each time as a family -- sometimes, one of us has to go out into the waiting room if one of the little kids gets a bit fussy, but it is important to us to show Sam our support.  And, of course, I love watching all that she has learned. 

This time, we were fortunate enough to have Grandpa (Steve's dad) go with us.  He was in town that day and it made for a wonderful surprise for Sam.

There are only three girls in Samantha's tap class, so there is extra attention given to each dancer and I was able to see toward the end of class that Samantha has really learned quite a bit already.  I am anxious to see her dance routine this year, as they will start working on that in the next month or so.


Sophia sat for the first part of class, just watching and observing the dancers and the music:

Even Jack sat quite contently in his car seat:

The dancers were excited to show off some of their moves:

Stretching, a fundamental part of any dance class:

Performing a small routine for their audience, complete with princess wands and crowns:

(The wands were a nice idea as it reinforced the idea of using props while still concentrating on both foot and arm coordination).


Pretty soon, Sophia tired of sitting and went out into the waiting room to play with some toys:

And then ... I looked up to find Sophia coming into the dance room to serve us tea.  It was priceless.

Our next "Visiting Week" will not be until January.  By then, Samantha will have started learning her recital routine and perfected some more tap moves.  I can't wait!

Jack is 5 Months Old

Jack is five months old today.  It seems like I was just writing his four-month post and here we are again with another month that has sailed by ...

I'm not sure exactly how much Jack weighs or how long he has gotten because we do not go back to the doctor until November for his six-month check-up.  Suffice to say, this little man is definitely growing.  His sleepers are starting to get a bit more snug when he stretches and he is filling out in all the chubby little areas of his body.

His sisters absolutely adore him.  I seem to asked quite a lot if there is any jealousy, and I never hesitate to answer with a resounding "no."  The girls were excited about their sibling before he was even born (when they didn't know if the baby was a boy or girl) and now that he is here, they are in love with him.  In fact, I find myself saying several times a day, "ok, give Jack some space ..."

Now that Jack is a little older and able to support himself slightly, I am letting the girls hold him more often.  They have also started referring to themselves as "Jack's babysitters." 

Jack has always loved bath time.  Even if he is slightly grumpy, just setting him in his bath seems to do wonders for his mood.  I am anxious to move him out of his baby tub (and into the sink), but that won't be happening until he can sit up on his own.  In the meantime, we have been giving him some toys to play with and the cloth seems to be a major highlight for him.  He enjoys sucking on it while relaxing in the warm bath.

Jack has not successfully rolled over completely on his own yet.  He will roll to his side to reach for toys and he can roll to his belly with a little assistance.  Once he is on his belly, he tries really hard to get out that position.  He's not a fan of "tummy time."

This boy loves his feet.  In fact, he's the happiest when he can reach for his toes and pull them right up to his body.

Lately, with the cooler weather moving in, I have been making a habit of putting socks on him a little more consistently.  However, this little stinker just keeps pulling them off.  I foresee a full-time job for me this winter in making sure his toes stay some-what warm ...

Jack's fine motor skills are phenomenal for his age.  He has perfected reaching and grabbing for random items, and now my jewelry and hair are almost always caught in his tight clasp.  I have to make a conscious effort now to keep items out of his reach.  The other day, he managed to swipe the bag of grapes on the counter.

This month has been difficult for me in terms of Jack's nighttime sleeping habits.  Up until about three weeks ago, Jack had been sleeping consistently for about 8 hours and then waking for one feeding before going back down to bed for a few more hours.  What started out as a growth spurt (wanting to eat every three hours) has dragged on for too long.  He has continued to wake every 3-4 hours to eat every night and it has been draining for me.

We have tried a few different ideas in an attempt to revert back to the longer sleeping stretches at night, but nothing has been successful.  I finally made a decision this week to start him on a little rice cereal at night.  He has been showing some signs of being ready and I decided that it was time.

(Babies can start on rice cereal as early as four months of age now, but doctors encourage mothers to wait until around six months if possible.  I waited until the girls were six months old to introduce it, but Jack just seems ready, and with him now being five months old, it was worth a try).

I set Jack up in his bumbo seat (I held off on bringing the big high chair up out of the basement for now), and mixed up a small bowl of rice cereal with breast milk.  Of course, it is more of a runny suspension for now until he gets used to it, but he loved it!

 

 

He actually ate more than I even expected.  Once I put the spoon in his mouth, he slurped it right in.  Both of the girls used their tongue for a quite a while and kept pushing the cereal back out until they got the hang of it.  It seemed to come a little more naturally for him.  (Maybe that is a sign that he was more ready...).

So far, the couple of nights that he has had a little cereal have not made much of a difference in helping him to sleep a little longer at night.  But, I think that it will get better once he begins to fill up a little more on it and we can break the pattern that he has fallen into.

During the day, I get two nice naps out of him (once in the morning and once in the afternoon).  He usually sleeps for 2-3 hours and is so peaceful.  He loves sleeping in his bed ...

Hopefully, we can reach a solution soon to make nighttime a little less exhausting for me.  I am grateful that he nurses and goes back to sleep relatively quickly, but I am only getting a couple of hours of sleep here and there.  He's definitely hungry when he wakes up, and he is surely getting enough milk every time.  It's just that my little man is growing ...

Fall is Here!

It's no secret that Fall is my absolute favorite time of year.  I love the crisp, cool mornings; I love the bold Fall colors (burnt orange, crimson red, mustard yellow and all of the others associated with this time of year).  And I love the smells of the season -- apple, cinnamon, pumpkin, etc.  This is why Steve and I got married in the Fall ... I couldn't imagine a more beautiful time of year.

Even though the temperatures here have been hovering in the low 70s during the day, we have still been waking up to cooler mornings (in the 50s) and I love that.  My house is decked out with Fall decorations (with some Halloween ones interspersed) and I am excited to be able to leave all of the pretty decor out until after Thanksgiving.

With this time of year, we always bring a few pumpkins home with us every time we go to the orchard.  I have been going quite a bit these last few weeks for meetings, so the pumpkins are starting to pile up outside of our house.  The girls love it! 

 

The next picture just cracks me up.  It's as if he's thinking, "Ok, Mom.  Enough with the pictures already ..." 

 

Poor kid.  His sisters are just used to it already.

This girl is my serious one.  Always pensive and one to follow the rules.

And then there's Sophia.  Always laughing and joking.

This Halloween is going to be a fun one!  The kids have already chosen their costumes (Sophia's and Jack's are ready to go.  I need to finish putting Sam's together).  There's going to be a lot of pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating on our agendas!  I can't wait!

Picking Gourds

Earlier this summer, Steve planted a few gourd plants from seed in my front flower bed.  I wasn't really too excited about his little plan because I envisioned the long vines taking over the entire landscaping at the front of my house.  And I was right. 

But, the girls were so excited to watch their "little pumpkins" turn from bright, blooming yellow flowers into actual gourds.  And those long vines actually produced a fair number of offspring -- at least 10 gourds were finally ready to be picked and displayed as decoration for the Fall season.

Samantha was a natural.  She applied just the right amount of torque to free the gourds from the vine.   

It wasn't long before Sophia was involving Jack in the activity. It's just in her nature to always include him.

The girls have such love for their little brother.  And I couldn't be any happier.

He's going to one protected little man ...

My little trio.

Jack is the happiest outside in nature.  The grass didn't faze him one bit ...

Those cheeks just crack me up!  (They say that the camera adds 10 pounds ... I think that all 10 pounds of "camera weight" go directly to his cheeks!)

Fall is here!