Random October Photos

Clearly I'm beyond behind when it comes to posting. Here are some photos I found in my October folder that never got posted. So, I'm going to backdate and try to get caught up this month...

Hannah likes to think she is big like her brothers and tries to use their scooter. She is 2 now, you know, so big scooters are the logical next step for her! 

My big helper, Jonathan, vacuuming!

Phone - check, mommy's sneakers - check

These kittens live a very rough life. 

Craft time - marshmallow ghosts on construction paper. Thank you Pinterest for this fun idea. I think they glued almost as many marshmallows as they ate!

Jonathan's school picture - turned out so awesome. Sad that I only ordered one 8x10!

Jonathan had pumpkin patch day at school and brought home this adorable little pumpkin.

Arts and Crafts

Since Hannah has learned to climb chairs and tables, our life has changed, dramatically. The boys love to draw and color and create at the kitchen table. This used to be a safe activity from a certain little girl, named Hannah. But not anymore. The second she realizes they might be doing something fun without her, she MUST be included and do what they are doing. Obviously someone failed to explain to her that she is only 15 months old and not 3 or 6!

And so, to keep the peace, she is given her own notebook and a very dull color pencil. She is still under the impression that crayons taste good and markers, well, that's just a nightmare in the making.

Painting

A couple weeks ago, I was hit with an ugly 24-hour stomach bug. Keith was awesome and tried to keep the boys quiet and entertained so I could rest and recover. He set them up with the watercolors and paper and the boys went crazy. The stripes at the top of the paper are Jonathan's rainbow. And Andrew of course painted something red - his favorite color!

The boys were a little freaked out that mommy spent most of the day on the couch. They kept checking on me to see if I was still sleeping. So cute. We were all happy when I was back to my normal self Monday morning!

Color Wonder

Jonathan helping Andrew with his preschool workbook.

So lately the boys have been really into Color Wonder! I had bought Color Wonder books for Andrew a year or two ago, and he basically ignored them. Suddenly they are the best thing since screen time! And Jonathan likes them too! I think there might be some new Color Wonder books in their stockings this year!

Craft time

Our finished product

Last week we tried to be crafty and use some of the beautiful leaves we found in the yard. I was inspired by the Kids Craft Weekly newsletter and wanted to create the No-Glue Seasonal Collage. Unfortunately we didn't have any clear contact paper, but we discovered that clear packing tape works almost as well! The boys weren't as into the craft as I was and were more interested in stamping and coloring, but that was fine too! It kept them quiet and contained for a few precious minutes!

SCISSORS!

It's been a crazy busy week. It all started on Sunday night when I sent Keith to the ER with a swollen foot and an out-of-control case of poison ivy. He had been battling it for a month, no exaggeration, and I had suggested several times that he see a doctor, but...he wasn't convinced that was necessary until his leg and ankle swelled up to twice their normal size. He's fine now and on some powerful antibiotics and steroids. He's very allergic to poison ivy, and I don't think it will take 4 weeks for him to see a doctor next time! So, he had to stay home on Monday to try to get the swelling under control and keep his foot elevated. Not so easy with two active boys in the house, excited to see Daddy on a Monday.

I thought maybe it was a good day for a craft. I love a bargain and I found these cute safety scissors on clearance at Target. I've been saving them, mainly out of fear of the potential destruction they could cause. But I dug them out on Monday as a new distraction. Here's how it went:

"Andrew, do you want to do a craft?"
"NO."
"Andrew, would you like to use scissors?"
"WHAT?"
"I have new scissors for you."
"Mommy! You gonna give me scissos!" (said with much shock and disbelief.)

When he heard that he could use scissors, he came running.

And in case the photos aren't clear - the scissors were a HUGE hit! At one point, he stopped cutting and counted all his fingers and announced, "I have 10 fingers!"
me: "Oh good, you didn't lose any!"
Andrew: "No I didn't!"
Andrew: "Cutting is fun!" This was declared repeatedly.


He has asked for his scissors and paper every day this week. Sadly, this activity requires more supervision and time than I can provide every day. But it is good to know that when I need a few minutes of quiet, I can give him his scissors.

Craft Day

Today the weather is freaky. I don't think we have hit 65 degrees today, and after a hot summer, this feels almost like fall, or maybe a little like North Dakota. Anyway, it's a little chilly, so Andrew and I made foam, shape puppets this morning while Jonathan took a short nap. Just when I think Andrew has the attention span of a fly, he surprises me and worked on his craft for a good 45 minutes. I'm sure the fact that I let him use the glue may have helped extend his attention span.

I was scolded several times for trying to take his picture. Intense concentration was required and there was no time for smiling for the camera!


And here's a picture of our smiley baby who has found his voice and all of the dogs in the neighborhood are begging for mercy. I cannot begin to describe the noises this little boy can make, but let me just say it hurts my ears, except for when he says "ma ma ma ma ma." That is a sweet sound especially since Andrew said "da da da da da" first. I will try to post a video of all these new noises soon. Jonathan is a little stinker and stops making noise when he sees the camera and flashes a giant smile instead. Such a little ham at 7 months! (Please excuse the green peas in his neck wrinkle. This picture was obviously taken pre-bath. And we discovered he's not a huge fan of peas - yet.)