Gardner Village

Gardner Village is a fun place to visit this time of year. Different silly witches spread throughout a small place to walk around and do some window shopping and try some yummy treats. It usually is a family affair but with the boys at work we decided to make it a girls day. We got there just in time for lunch we packed and sat at the picnic tables in the shade. The weather was perfect.

 Hallie was so excited about going and wanted to wear her costume to match all the other witches.

 After eating our lunch  Kimber bought donuts to share complete with fall sprinkles

 Gracie enjoyed it...alot if you couldn't tell(what a ham)

 Hallie was a little hesitant to sit next to the witches but her we are me and my girls

 Then there was the idea of putting all the kids together...that was fun...but really they did great

 The petting zoo was a first for us the kids had a great time petting the goats, horses, donkey, shetlan pony, ducks, lamas, cows, sheep, and rabbits which I think was the favorite.

 Hallie loved riding the horse swing...pretty clever indeed

Some pictures of my sweet witch. A big thanks to my mom for making her dress she has spent a lot of time in it over the last couple of weeks and was thrilled when I let her wear it all day today!

 By the time it was time to go we had two kids asleep and two kids ready to go to sleep but we did manage to get a group pic just know the two babies are in their carriers.

 We had a great time it is definitely something we look forward to every fall. We made it home just in time to get to swim lessons. Now only one more day of October to enjoy Hallie is so excited for the trunk or treat!

Bike Riding

Hallie loves to ride her bike and has been riding her bike in the garage a lot lately now that the weather has cooled off. Saturday once it warmed up we headed out for a walk just she and I. She has mastered the pedaling and now is just working on the breaking and pedaling. She did great keeping up and it was fun to see how proud she was of herself.

I think riding a bike is such a milestone for kids and so much fun but it makes me sad she is growing so fast.

Braids

This is what I would call my 1st pathetic attempt at braiding Hallie's hair. Its hard since her hair is still not full thickness and has a bunch of baby hair. She was very good to hold still so there is hope.

1st Snow of the Year

I love the look of wonder that kids get when they see the snow outside I remember as a child and still now the giddiness that comes with the snow and watching the white flakes falling from the sky. This last week was the first time I have had that feeling in a while. 

Last winter the only time we got enough snow to build a snowman was when I was in the hospital the day after having Gracie so Im really excited to get in some playing in the snow this year. Oh I love how kids help remind me of the magic in the simple things in life.

Gracie place at the table

Since Gracie started eating she has been sitting in her bumbo but she is getting a little to squirmy and wiggly for that so we decided it was time for her to have an official seat at the dinner table.

She quite enjoyed it although I think a lot more floor cleaning is now in the works for me. Oh our growing Gracie why don't you stop awhile.

Hallie's Heart Echo

When Hallie was born they heard a murmur but after seeing a pediatric cardiologist at a year they decided to wait and see if it would go away on its own(I guess 80% close in the 1st 5 years). When I took Hallie to her 3 yr check her pediatrician decided that it was time for an official dx and the way to do that was a heart echo. We went in on Thursday morning, we left Gracie with a babysitter so I wouldn't have to wake 2 of them up and ready. I woke Hallie up just in time to get to the hospital. For a couple days before I had been talking to her about it and we had played dr to show her what it would be like(I think in retrospect it helped ALOT). When we got there we were met by child life who gave her a doll, ball, and bubbles. 

 She got to draw a face on her dolly and get her dressed in the same kind of gown she had to wear for her echo.

 Then it was time for the echo...they put on her monitors and she watch Tangled with her blankie while they completed the test. She did great and never whined once. They had peds sedation there just in case but she was very cooperative so that made it easier.

 When we were done she got stickers and a color book. She was very proud of all of her prizes.

 Then we waited for the results so to kill sometime we watched a movie and ate cookies while Gracie had a rest.

 They called shortly after lunch and said the murmur that was almost so small they could hardly see it would be dx as an innocent murmur but could possible close itself by the age of five. It is a ASD(atrial septal defect) with a flap that was causing the murmur. It was quite a relief to know our sweet girl is a-ok

 That night before we put her to bed once I had taken her hair out it was crazy but she thought it was so cute...like princess hair.

That night I went to make sure she was tucked in before Matt and I went to bed to find her surrounded by her baby stuff. Cradle and stroller next to the bed, diaper bag by her side and the babies lined up next to her all tucked in for the night. She is at such a fun stage...but then again I think that about all of them!

Consistent FHE

 Truth be told we have never been good at doing official FHE. Matt and I grew up spending lots of time with our families but never having consistent FHE so needless to say it isn't something we have ever done consistently. We spend a lot of time doing things together but decided it was time to make the goal of doing official FHE. So we sat down over the weekend and set up lesson plans for the month and decided a date and time for us to do it each week. So yesterday was the day...we covered our responsibility chart and discussed savings jars which we will finish next week(short attention spans)

And of coarse everyone favorite part...treats(raspberry filled donuts)

Hallie has been really excited about her chart and savings jars so now we just have to keep up the consistency and hope she stays somewhat excited but here's to setting goals and taking steps to achieving them!