Fat Squirrels and Felt Circles

Yesterday we got to see nature at its finest!  We still have a pumpkin we never ended up carving for Halloween and have noticed little chunks missing.  The squirrels in Ann Arbor are FAT so we had an idea of who the culprit might be.  And lo and behold, we looked out our window to see this:

We had a nice time watching.  Ingrid was yelling at him to get away but I reminded her that everyone needs to eat, and why not let him eat a pumpkin we were just going to throw out anyway?

We also played for two hours with felt yesterday.  I wanted to make another garland so we sat down with the felt box and I was overcome with the urge to clean it out (which has never been done before.)  So...piece by teeny piece I went through it and threw away the scraps that were too small for anything.  Along the way I cut out leaves for Ingrid's giraffe to eat.  Then she got out her other animals, so we also made a fish for the penguin and a bone for the dog.  She had so much fun feeding them their felt food!

I got some cute shots of her yesterday.  I have to say it, she's pretty cute.  I can't wait to see what Otis looks like!!

I feel so blessed that this is my life.

Jack'O Lanterns

Yesterday was a great day.  I got some sewing done, and I am loving the fact that Ingrid gets excited when I get out the sewing machine now!  She wants to throw the scraps away, she begs for it!  We made this little number for a friend:

It's this cool sensory "book" that is just squares of flannel with Velcro, so kids can rip them apart and stick them together.  I also added some ribbons to one, and to cover the stitches on the front, I put a little piece of flannel with her initial on it.  I love how it turned out!!  The thing I love most is that the 4mo old for whom it's intended will love it, but so will her 2yo sister!  Ingrid loved the thing, I might have to make one for her today while it storms.

Last night after dinner Brendan decided it was time to carve the pumpkins.  I'm sure glad he likes to do things, because I could care less about carving pumpkins.  Ingrid was not so sure about the goop on her hands.  Where did this come from??  She could be messy from head to toe (and usually is) but once something gets on her hands, she freaks.

And please get a hold of Ingrid's outfit.  We did laundry yesterday and every time I would take something out of the basket, she'd want to put it on.  That's how we got this look.  A stripey shirt, Christmas dress, cookie pajama pants, and orange mary janes.  Good look for you, honey!

Pumpkins!

Saturday was insane.  We live a block away from a university football stadium, and Saturday was a big game with the local rivals.  It was estimated that our small little college town had an extra 120,000 people in it!  The game started at 3:30pm but people were tailgating and driving obnoxiously starting at 8am.  There are some serious fans around here...

Anyway, we decided the best idea was to get out of town for the day.  We went to a local pumpkin farm and had another wonderful family day.  It was hot out, and Ingrid was tired, but we managed to have a great time.  They had animals.  They had slides.  They had a big sandbox filled with corn--it was awesome!  What a great sensory game for kids!  They were going nuts and it hit me that most of these kids have probably never been allowed to play in a big bin of corn, rice, lentils, etc.  What they have been missing out on!

After we did the kid's area we got donuts.  Of course!  My favorite part of fall is the donuts and cider.  Ooey gooey cinnamon sugar donuts and tart apple cider, could there be anything better?  I caved and spent three times more on a little plastic pumpkin cup for Ingrid, how dumb is that?  I swear, people know how to get money from parents.

Then it was time for the hay ride.  They had big tractors with wagons hitched up to them, and the ride was the perfect length for Ingrid.  She didn't seem to care about it one way or the other, actually.  But she loved the field of pumpkins!  She had so much fun running from one to the other and rolling them, trying to pick them up, sitting on them.  Fun times!

Fall Time Fun

Today we went to a farm that's by our friend's house.  It was pretty great for a short morning out with two crabby toddlers.  We got cider and donuts that were HOT and gooey and sugary and so yum.  Unfortunately the bees came swarming over and attached themselves to us, so instead of sitting outside in the gorgeous day, we ended up inside.  Oh well.  Better than drinking a bee (they were diving in our cups!  Gross!) or getting stung.

There were pony rides and a little petting area with piglets and goats.  I love goats.  I think I've said it before, I'd love to have a goat or two someday.  And some chickens.  Ingrid liked to pet the goats but when the pigs would come sniff at her she got the most horrified look on her face and then kept wiping her hands off.  She's got a thing about getting her hands dirty lately, MY messy child!

We'll have to go back with Brendan and get our pumpkins--they had huge ones for $5!  Wherever we went last year wanted an arm and a leg for them, so this is a much better deal.  And Ingrid didn't get to ride a pony today because we just didn't feel like it, how's that for lazy?!  Two pregnant mamas with a sassy two year old each, we were all about the donuts, not so much about the horses!

In baby news, our midwife appointment went fine yesterday.  I've only gained 7 lbs in the past five months, which totally makes me see why I'm so tired all the time--this damn baby is sucking me dry!!  I by NO means watch what I eat, I eat all day long it seems like, so there's no reason I shouldn't have gained weight.  I'm not complaining, but it suddenly made sense why I always feel so tired and worn out.  He's kicking like crazy and making my belly all alien like.  It's so funny to watch my belly and see it move, knowing there's a human being in there!  It's like science fiction, people!  And he's only the size of a small banana now, when he's a melon it'll be even worse!