Slowing Down

My last post was about going to the Pumpkin Patch with the girls. We had a blast, but later that day I started having contractions, and had about 3-4 an hour for a few hours. Although I called the doctor they did not seem worried, and told me to call back if I had 5-7 contractions in an hour, and also recommended that I slow down. I want a full term baby, and so I am slowing down.

My mom has been a great help. She came Monday and just left yesterday. She helped with the girls, meals preparation, cleaning, and laundry and made sure that every day I got a nap. What an amazing Mom I have!! And how generous my Dad is to share her with me and the girls for a few days!! She brought with her a small pumpkin that we cooked, mashed and then used to make pumpkin pie and pumpkin pancakes. Such tasty treats on some wet days - YUM!

Pumpkin Time!!

(WARNING: I took 90 pics today at the pumpkin patch, so there are a lot of pics on this post. It was just too hard to pick!)

Today Hannah Kate and I headed to the pumpkin patch with our Mothers of Preschoolers group. The tour included a hay ride, a corn maze, a pumpkin and going home with a water and a coloring book. It was a warm day today getting up to about 85, so although it didn't feel like fall it was really fun to do something fallish.

Ready to go to the pumpkin patch!

Hannah's bag for her pumpkin...the girl comes prepared!

The beginning of our adventure was climbing over huge pumpkins...


...to the hay ride...
...then through the corn maze...

...to get to the pumpkin patch!
We made it!!
Kate was hot, and went for the first pumpkin she saw.
But then she changed her mind and picked a different one instead.
Hannah searched far and wide to find the perfect pumpkin.
She was not about to settle for any pumpkin, even though her sister was hitting meltdown...
Then when she found it, she called it her "special pumpkin"
and carried it around the rest of the time.
What a special day I had with my two monkeys. Can't wait for pumpkin carving!

My Little Writer

The perk of Hannah no longer napping in the afternoon is that she and I get some one-on-one time together. We usually play a little and work a little on letters or numbers. Today she learned letter R, completing her entire first and last name.

She's brillant, people. Simply brillant!

Park Time with Friends

This is Hannah's new friend, Tabby.

This is Kate's new friend, Charolette.

The only thing that can make park time more fun is playing with friends!!

Celebrating My Super Husband

Raven Hill Apple Orchard

Today is Jeff's birthday, and to celebrate this last Saturday we took a short 1 hour drive to go apple picking in Julian, a place where Jeff's family used to vacation often when he was growing up. It was a fun day, and a beautiful day despite the weather forecast predicting 30% chance of THUNDERSHOWRERS! We picked apples...

ate apples...



...and had a great time being a family.

Happy 32nd birthday, Jeff! I can't wait to celebrate with you next year as a family of five!!!

California Girls!