Big Boy Haircuts

I've debated cutting Owen's hair shorter for awhile now.  His hair is beautiful!  Shiny, the

perfect shade of red and just a bit of curl at the ends.  But...it was getting a little long for my

taste.  What used to look cute to me is now looking pretty shaggy and disheveled.  So I

decided it was time to take him in and as I put it to Mario, "cut off the riff raff."

Introducing Owen's first big boy hair do...

I think it looks AMAZING!!  I LOVE it and am so happy I decided to get it cut.  

In other big boy news, Joe (who normally clings to me like a spider monkey when they try to

cut his hair) went back and sat with the stylist on his own.  He wasn't even going to let me

get it cut, but Mario not only talked him into it, but got him back there without me!  That is no

easy feat.  I took a few pictures, but stayed back so as not to disturb the peace.

  Looks like two happy customers to me!

Happy Birthday Joe!!

Today we spent the day celebrating Joe!

We started bright and early with birthday doughnuts,

 followed it up with lunch and a cupcake (delivered by train) at the "choo-choo restaurant",

 he opened a present as big as he was,

 took his new gift for a spin,

 celebrated with Daddy at Red Robin for dinner, 

then finished the night putting together his brand new oversized puzzle.

We did our best to make him feel super special all day and he seemed to love the attention.

I would often catch him singing, "happy birthday to me."  And he definitely knew how to work

his birthday to his advantage.  When it came time to pick what show we were going to watch

Owen made a request, but Joe quickly shot it down explaining, "but it's my birthday."

Way to work it buddy.  It is your birthday, we love you and we hope you had a great day!!

Apple Picking

Today we made our annual trip to County Line Orchard.  It is one of my favorite activities all

year!  We woke up and drove there first thing so we got there right when it opens.  That way

we skipped the crowds, and more importantly, started our day with a pumpkin doughnut.

We bought our tickets, got on the wagon, and the tractor pulled us out to the orchard.

We picked a few apples,

 tried them to make sure they were good,

 then took some time out to pose for a few pictures.

One of the more comical parts of the day was the Moo-choo Train.  Ryan had the privilege

of riding along with the boys.  He volunteered and thought it would be fun. 

 That was until the lady pulling the train drove in about 15 aimless circles around

the muddy parking lot.  As you can tell from the picture, Ryan was super excited.

It makes me laugh every time I look at it.

 We finished our day with a trip through the hay maze,

and a visit to see Peter the pumpkin eating dinosaur.  Joe greeted him with his signature

"ROAR!" 

 It was a fun (and delicious) day!  I even topped the day off with an apple pie ala mode for the car ride home.  Talk about a sweet ending to the day.  YUM!!!

Morning Smiles

Most mornings start the same way.  Owen and Joe are the first to wake up and Ryan takes

them downstairs so Miles and I can get a little more sleep.  As soon as they hear any

movement upstairs, they come right up to see Baby Miles.

Looks like they're all happy to see each other. 

Mosquito - 1, Owen - 0

As if mosquito bites aren't annoying enough already...

check out what happens when Owen gets bit by one.

Yep, one little bite to the forehead and he swells up like Quasimodo.

 Looks like we'll be keeping bug spray close by from now on.

Who Am I?

Owen's class decorated the bulletin board in the main hallway of Pilgrim with a fun

"Who Am I?" theme.  They each drew a picture of themselves then gave clues

so the parents could guess which child was theirs.

 Most of them were the same.  They gave their eye color, hair color and other

distinguishing physical features.  Then I came across this one...

 Owen is one of the most loving, affectionate kids I know.  He'll be in the middle of doing

something and randomly stop and say, "Mom, I love you."  And he insists on hugs and

kisses at every drop-off, pick-up, nap, bedtime, etc.  I was secretly hoping this was his

because it was so sweet that the first thing he wanted people to know about him was

he liked to hug his mommy and daddy.

 I was right.  Say hello to Owen. One of the sweetest boys I know.

Pumpkin Cookies

Today we made our first batch of pumpkin cookies for the season.

Yay...Fall is officially here!!