Devouring a good book...

Beckley

I would like to introduce the newest member of our EXTENDED family. This is Beckley. He lives with Grammy and Grampy. He is a shitzhu puppy and weighs almost 3 1/2 pounds. As with all things Seth does, it took some warming up. We told him only that G&G had something new and we were going to their house to see it. I asked what he thought it might be. "I don' know." That's the answer to pretty much any question you ask Seth. However, with some prompting/leading you can usually get to something more interesting. I think he guessed a kitty once. Or he was looking out the window and one of the neighborhood cats was walking past (just a note here - if you want a cat, get a cat. I like cats. But I don't want my neighbor's cat. And I definitely don't want my neighbors cat or its five kittens, which will be another five soon I'm sure, etc. So if you get a cat, it's your cat, not the neighborhood's cat. Sorry, just a peeve I guess I needed to vent about). SO, Dave suggested we were going to see their new kangaroo. I had to jump in as the voice of reason and ask Seth if he knew anyone else who had a kangaroo in their home. Then Dave suggested a giraffe. This time Seth looked at me like, huh?? So, we got there and found this little guy in a little box filled with towels. Seth's question, "what's he doing?" So we explained he wanted to live at Grammy & Grampy's house. We asked Seth if he wanted to touch him. Seth said no and went to get out some books instead. Of course Luke thought touching was great - or more like grabbing a big hunk of the hair off his head, but I intervened! Eventually Seth warmed up and gave him a couple of kisses before we left for home.
Now if only visiting mom and dad would fulfill Dave's need for his own dog. But I'm not sure small and fluffy is what he had in mind!

Punkin patch

I don't say "punkin." I say "pumpkin." So, how do little kids just know that when they say "punkin" my little heart will melt?? Our October Saturdays are filling up fast so we seized the day and went to the pumpkin patch. Of course, I missed the memo that it was going to be August again and nearly melted, but some would say that's better than it being cold out. I don't agree but for the sake of the kiddos, it's probably true. Anyway, there's a great pumpkin patch not far from us that has lots of fun kid activities to make that admission fee a little more bearable.

There was a sandbox with construction type toys. Kinda nice as the toys did more of the digging and Seth did less of the digging.

There were cutesy little cut-outs for the older boys, errr Seth and Daddy, to stick their faces in and humor Mommy.
The biggest deal of all - I thought the carousel ride was brave, but Seth rode a real pony! He LOVES horses so we let him watch a bunch of kids ride. He kept saying he wanted to do it so Dave bought the ticket, all the while thinking, there goes $3, but he did it. Very brave. And I think he loved it.
Then there was a tractor to sit on. Tractors are pretty cool too these days.
And a pumpkin eating dinosaur. He was a little loud but even that didn't seem to bother him too much. I thought it was a little annoying and tried to leave the fun to go find food but Seth actually wanted to stay and watch him.

We took a little hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

Seth and Daddy set out on the quest to find the perfect pumpkin, or two.

Seth apparently thought this one looked pretty good.

I know which one I would pick!

Or maybe two!

It was a really nice time to just be together and have some fun. We are truly blessed to have these two little guys to remind us that simple things like a hayride and a pumpkin eating dinosaur can be crazy fun!

Times they are a changin'...

To me, nothing says "big kid" like that first ride in the grocery/store cart. Appropriate for me that Luke's first ride was at Target. It's a big deal for me because I think my least favorite stage in baby time is that awkward period where babies are too big for the big infant carrier that sits in the seat and yet not big enough to hold their own heads up/sit up in the cart without falling over and smacking the sides. But Lukey mastered this skill mid-September so we are unstoppable now! Of course, timing is everything and he recently fell over, asleep, in the cart. So, I'm remembering to take a sweatshirt of mine in case he needs a little pillow! Then there's this milestone! He spent a good deal of time like this. Just like this. On all 4's, motionless, and staring at whomever would look his way. But about a week and a half ago, he put some motion behind it and scooted/crawled a bit. Grammy was here, along with Mommy and Daddy, to witness the big event. He's now unstoppable. My role has changed immensely. I'm planning to record a few key phrases so they can be played over and over (Seth, pick up your Hot Wheels so Lukey doesn't try to eat them; Seth, that is a baby toy and Lukey can have it; Seth, give that back to Lukey; Seth if you are going to take the Hot Wheel from Lukey you need to give him another toy) so I can save my voice for the really important stuff (Luke, let go of that electrical cord; Luke, not the wrought iron candlesticks - okay, so Seth didn't crawl until he was almost 11 months old so I thought I had some time!).
Also, there have been some "big boy baths." Luke has been using a little stand alone baby tub on the top of the sink, but courtesy of a need to bathe IMMEDIATELY one morning, I found out he does quite well in the bathtub. However, bathing both boys in the same tub is best if both parents are available. So, he's not completely free of the baby tub, but he does seem to enjoy the big tub.
And finally, a tooth! Grammy actually found it (do you Grammy types just stick your fingers in there when we Mommy types are not looking or what?). I seem to recall my mom finding Seth's first tooth too. Anyway, a picture of the tooth itself might have been nice, but have you ever tried to photograph a baby's one and only little bitty barely poking through tooth? Yeah, good times. But he loves to feel the tooth with his tongue, so that's what you get instead!

And finally, Seth is now 2 1/2 and he rode the carousel at the Museum. There are no pix as even I could not hold him on one horse, hold Luke on another horse, and take pictures of the whole event. I figured a call to Dave explaining a need for stitches, but a really great picture of the whole thing, just wouldn't be good! Anyway, Seth has previously either flat out refused to ride or got all excited about riding then cried the whole time! Well, my aunt gave me a little carousel that plays Christmas music and Seth begs me to turn it on at least once a day. So, the next time we went to the Museum I asked him if he wanted to ride, he said yes, and I nearly had to hold him back in the line. And we rode twice! I'm so happy that he's becoming a bit more adventurous. Guess that 1/2 after the 2 in the age makes a big difference!!