Lots o' fun!

Last night we kicked off our Halloween festivities by going to our church's Harvest Festival. The kids looked adorable and Cash thoroughly enjoyed the Trunk or Treat. :)

Since we're hosting both of our families (at once!) for Thanksgiving this year, I thought it'd be nice to paint the first floor of the house beforehand. Especially since I knew Drew would be the one doing all the painting. :) He's already gotten a LOT done and I'm loving it! Here's a sneak peek into our new kitchen. Can't wait to show off the finished product!

About 15 months too late...

I had placed the bottle of freshly pumped breast milk on the desk while I put the pump away only to walk back into the room to find Cash drinking it.

I almost cried.

Blah Blah Blah!

Its been awhile since my last post. Probably because of my newly-acquired maturity causing me to spend my free time doing things like cleaning my kitchen, sanitizing our house from "viruses like the 2009 H1N1" (thank you, Clorox commercial that I see a million times a day), folding laundry, and daily personal hygiene.

So to catch you up...

Apparently whoever coined the phrase "Terrible 2's" wasn't a parent. Because from my personal experience, and other parents around me, the "terrible ___" phase begins roughly around the age of 18 months. Guess how old Cash is now....! Well, close. 17 months. He's started a month early and so we are not only dealing with the fun side of this age: talking (with my interpretation, of course), running, climbing (not sure thats on the "fun side" list), feeding himself, and the like; But also the really not fun side of this age: temper tantrums. He's a smart little booger and knows exactly what he's not supposed to do and the prime time to do those things - either when I'm nursing Corrinne or on the phone. :) Yeah. Any advice on this particular part of parenting would be greatly appreciated.

Corrinne is inching near the 3 month mark and seriously gained about 5 lbs overnight, it seems. She's got such a sweet smile and is very laid back. Which is good considering the paragraph I just wrote about Cash. :) She likes to lay on her back and roll from side to side and is starting to reach for her toys now. She also enjoys chatting a lot with mommy during our 5am feedings and loves anytime Cash is nearby. Well...I take that back. She didn't enjoy when he climbed on top of her last week to drive his car on her boppy while she was laying on it. Sorry, Corrinne! One things for sure - she's gonna be a tough cookie!!!

I realize I'm rambling and should probably go do some dishes and try to find something decent to wear. I had forgotten how hard it is to find clothes that fit properly post-baby. (Can I still be considered "post-baby" even though she's not technically a newborn anymore? Please tell me I can, otherwise I might cry because I feel like I still look 20 wks pregnant!)

Until next time...

Strange things are goin' on....

Minutes ago I uttered words I thought I'd never say: "I love the feeling of having a clean kitchen. It actually makes me sleep better at night." I feel victorious when I'm finally able to clean the teeny tiny little burnt on something off the stove. I've noticed I gravitate towards the home decor section in stores before making my way to the clothing (and even then I usually start out in the baby/toddler section). I've asked for throw pillows and curtains for Christmas. I look up decorating ideas online. I spend hours looking at paint chips trying to find THE color for the downstairs. I notice things like water spots on my kitchen sink and have actually cleaned the sink before doing dishes. I actually wanted to cook dinner for my family - complete with placemats and no TV around our dining room table - 3 times this past week instead of eating out. I realize these all may be common place for you, but it hasn't always been like this for me.

I retract my statement from a few years ago; Not only did I inherit my mother's "too fertile for my own good" gene, but I think I just may have gotten her "domestic diva" gene too!

Apple Orchard 2009

Drew and I took the kids to Anderson's Apple Orchard last Wednesday and had so much fun! Cash really enjoyed having so much space to run (and being free from the stroller!). He had a little bit of confusion with the apples, thinking they were balls, so we had to keep telling him not to throw them. We also realized we should never ask him to say "apple" when we're at church. Sounds more like another word that'll get him in trouble for saying. ;)

I'm looking forward to taking them next year when Corrinne's old enough to join in on the fun. Next I'll have to post pictures of my first attempt at a 100% home-made apple pie...(Is it really sad that I'm almost 27, have 2 kids and have never made a homemade apple pie?!)

Apple Orchard 2009, cont'd

Little Miss Corrinne is now 2 months old! She's tipping the scales at 12 lbs 8 oz keeping her in the 90th percentile. :) We fall more and more in love with her everyday. She's such a sweet little girl and I truly can't imagine my life without her in it. This is one of my favorite photos of her. It cracks me up! :)

Oopsie!

Sadly I have to admit I can be a bit paranoid at times.

(Is it really that uncommon for someone to worry about their house being invaded in the middle of the night and who knows what other kind of evil happening?! I mean, I see it happen all the time on TV...)

One morning last week I was up with Corrinne around 4:45. She was having trouble going back to sleep and I kept having to get up and give her the pacifier (over and over...). Her pack n' play is positioned right in front of our bedroom windows, which face the street. The way our neighborhood is laid out, you pretty much have to drive down our street on purpose, mmkay? So I'm up placing the pacifier in her mouth and notice headlights stopped 2 houses down from us. Then they drove down to our neighbors house, stopped for a bit, then drove on. They did this for most of the houses on our street, except for ours. Knowing that this could potentially be my murderer I was quick to get a description of the vehicle: red minivan, older model - blaring loud music. Well, of course I watched them and tried to figure out what they were doing. The only conclusion I could come up with was that they were probably criminals scoping out the neighborhood to see when people got up/left for work so they'd know when to break in. Obviously.

The next morning I told Drew what I had witnessed and let him know I should probably be President of our Neighborhood Crime Watch since I'm so sneaky and observant. And up at random times in the middle of the night with my 8 wk old.

Well! My investigative skills were put to the test again yesterday when Drew and I pulled out of our driveway around 5:45 pm. I noticed the same red mini-van driving down our street and stopping at houses for a few seconds again! I pointed out the suspect vehicle out to Drew and said, "LOOK! Thats the car that I saw the other morning scoping out the place..." We watched for a few minutes and then Drew turns to me and says, "They're dropping off newspapers, Bethany. Its a paper boy."

Paranoid. My pictures probably next to it in the dictionary...