Thanksgiving Tree - reposted

Last year I posted about our Thanksgiving tree and had several comments/emails in response to the idea.  As I was thinking about preparing our tree to start on November 1st, I thought I'd post the idea again for those of you who were wanting to do it this year.  There are a bajillion ways you could do this, but here's what we did last year:

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It's amazing how quickly my perspective changes when I take time to really look at our blooming Thanksgiving Tree.  We have SO MUCH to be thankful for!  A basket of leaves sits on the table and each morning at breakfast we each get a leaf to write on something we are thankful for.  We started on November 1st and I love seeing how full the tree is after 22 days of being focused on gratitude.  Seeing as how we usually write during breakfast, there are lots of food-related leaves!  One of my favorites being "bacon and strawberries and cereal".  But with a bit of encouragement to think beyond the present, Rooke has been pretty creative.  We let him decide what Gretchen is thankful for as well: "warm pajamas", "her bottle", "being able to walk". . . it's been a great exercise for all of us to grow our Thanksgiving Tree.

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Big Brother

I'm 18 weeks along in my pregnancy and Rooke continues to surprise me with glimpses that he's thinking about his new sibling more than I give him credit for.  He's full of questions, comments, asks if the baby needs to eat, wants to know if I can feel the baby move, talks a lot about being a daddy . . . he is already a thoughtful big brother.  I can't wait to see him love on another baby now that he's older and more aware of what's happening.

While watching a ladybug crawl on my hand: "Don't eat the ladybug.  The baby won't like it." (for the record, I don't make it a habit to eat ladybugs)

After I showed him a picture from my 12-week ultrasound: "Where are the clothes???"

When asked if he thinks the baby is a boy or girl: "I don't know.  If it's a girl, is she wearing a bow right now?"

"I think the baby will really like it if you eat another banana."

Rooke:  "Is the baby really in your tummy?"

Mommy:  "Yes"

R: "Right now?"

M: "Yes"

R: "But that's where your food goes after you eat it.  The baby can't be mixed up with your food."

M: "You're right.  Can you say, 'uterus'?"

Rooke: "How will the baby be there?"

Mommy: "You mean how will the baby get out of my tummy?"

Rooke: "No.  How did the baby get in there?"

Mommy: Worked to come up with an appropriate answer for a 3-year-old brain!

the Pumpkins

Rooke was as excited about painting the pumpkins as he was about picking them!

Once the pumpkin was painted, he moved on to his hands and arms

She pays attention and follows his example, but didn't want to mix her colors

We set them outside and had them lit before Daddy came home

Fully Fall

We don't have a tree in our front yard, but the wind brings us more leaves than any of our neighbors.  It really feels like Fall!

Fun on the Farm

It was Friday morning and the kids were still in their pjs at 9.  I had planned for us to just hang out at home.  But the weather seemed too perfect to not go exploring.  So I whispered to Rooke, asking if he wanted to go pick a pumpkin.  "YEAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  He'd been asking about pumpkins all week.  We changed and headed out.

It wasn't quite the farm experience we've had in the past, but they had plenty of pumpkins and that's really all this boy needed to be HAPPY.  

Rooke wanted to make sure everyone in our family had their own pumpkin, so we picked out five!

They also had u-pick sweet corn!  Yum.

Checking out the little snail that Rooke spotted

We finished off the morning with a strawberry snack, which was Gretchen's favorite part!

A Peek at our Week

Happy Birthday cards for Daddy in the morning before cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Birthday date night!

There was serious time and focus invested in finishing this one particular coloring page.  

Fun on the Farm . . . more pictures to come.

Have you heard of the game Perudo?  My family played it a lot growing up (even my brother-in-law is a huge fan) and now Gretchen is enjoying it - in her own way!  It's been great in helping her learn her colors.  She asks several times a day, "Play dice, Mommy?"

Happy Birthday to My Man

Today is Ryan's birthday!

He's the perfect father for our children, an amazing husband, and a man worth celebrating.

He's my favorite.

Happy Birthday to my man.  

I love you!

Salcey Forest

Before Fall set in, we spent last weekend with summer-like weather exploring Salcey Forest.  It was a beautiful morning and with minimal whining from the little legs, we made it through our loop to enjoy a yummy picnic at the end.

There was a path called "Tree Top Way" that led up to the very tops of the trees where you could look out over the surrounding villages and cities.

The kids didn't like the view as much as getting to run down the Tree Top path!

Gretchen has a special love for stickers.  I used to make sure I didn't leave the house without at least two little cars.  Now I make sure to have cars and at least one small sheet of stickers.  On this particular day, she found my sticker envelope . . .

Swimsuits in September?!?!  Crazy weather.  We love it.