Orchard

Fall is my favorite time of year and always goes so quickly.  Our social calendar is booking up quickly and before we know it it'll be too cold to be outside.  I had to work on Saturday and lucky for me the weather was kind of rainy anyway, so we made plans to go to the apple orchard on Sunday.  I wanted to go right away after lunch so that we would miss the crowds of people that would show up after the Vikings game.  Luckily, Derek sacrificed watching the (only?) game that Vikings actually one.  Unfortunately, everyone must've convinced their husbands to skip the game because the orchard was packed!

I always love taking photos at this orchard because there are so many cute vignettes set up around the grounds.  This year, however, I told myself that I was going to get one good photo and be done.  There was no need to wear the kids out with me taking pictures, there is plenty to do at the orchard!



This year we let the kids pick two activities to try.  They chose the pony ride and the jumping pillow.  They loved the pony rides.  Punky saddled right up into the horse like she was a pro, even knowing to put her left foot in the stirrup so she could swing her other foot over the horse and get on the saddle.  Buddy was sliding around on his saddle and was leaning pretty far to one side when he came around the bend.  He was holding on tight though!

Buddy and Chip

Punky and Dusty

The jumping pillow was basically a bounce house without sides.  They had a lot of fun jumping and being tossed around.  Buddy took quite a few nose dives on the mat but didn't care at all.  We could tell Punky was getting pretty tired (and thirsty) because she was crying and complaining that bigger kids were jumping near her and she was falling down.  Isn't falling down the fun part?

We ended up spending almost three hours at the orchard- checking out the animals, playing in the hay bales and other structures, and buying our apples.  Maybe one of these years we'll actually have time to pick our own apples!

Activities

We registered the kids for a couple of community ed classes again this fall.  Punky had taken the gymnastics class twice before, so we signed her up for Ballet, Tap and Jazz class.  And, well, because there aren't many options for the 2 and 3 year old set, Buddy is in gymnastics again.

Punky's BFFs had mentioned that they were going to try dance, so we decided to join them.  This park and rec class is a great way to find out if she really likes dance and wants to take classes at a real studio.  (I am not too keen on spending hundreds of dollars on costumes, wearing makeup, spending entire weekends at recitals for a 4 year old, etc.)  Tap shoes were required, but I was able to find a hardly used pair for $8 at Once Upon a Child.  We did "splurge" and buy a new leotard, tights, and ballet slippers.  Because it is cute.  Punky was very excited for dance to start, especially knowing that her BFFs were in the class with her.



The first class went well.  During the ballet portion, they learned the first two positions and a few other skills.  Buddy was a wild man that night and had to be taken out of the room multiple times, so I missed seeing the tap portion.  Parents aren't allowed to view any more of the classes, but I am hopeful that we'll get to see a bit of the last one.

Buddy is still too young to be in a separated class, so his gymnastics class is with parents again.  We were surprised that he was the only boy this time around.  I don't think he noticed at all.  He was one of the older kids and had taken the class before, and you could really see that he had improved a lot in strength and coordination.  Listening, and not running around like a crazy man, well, we're still working on that!

We'd like the kids to take swimming lessons this spring and maybe sign up Buddy for karate in a year. But, these two classes are on two different nights and it is exhausting keeping up with these activities. I am sure I'll look back on this post in a few years and laugh!

ABC

Finally! Punky's first day of preschool was this morning! For the past few weeks, I have been seeing friends and family post their first day of school pictures. We've been itching to get back into a routine and now that the weather seems to have changed, we are all so glad the day is finally here!

Punky was very excited to be heading back to school. I am sure it had something to do with the fact that I had signed her up to be special helper on the first day. This morning, she had no worries about missing friends that moved to kindergarten last year or that her favorite teacher is now doing the MWF class. She was ready to go! On the car ride to school, she told me "I think I'll be best friends with a girl this year". We'll see what the year brings!



It is hard to believe that next year at this time, we'll be sending Punky off on a yellow school bus to her first day of kindergarten!

New Auntie

This weekend Uncle Sean got married and the kids got a new Auntie named Hilary! Hilary has been a part of our family since Punky was a baby, so we were all very excited they made it official!

We headed to SD on Thursday morning and made it in time to take Buddy out to eat at the restaurant of his choosing. For his birthday, he wanted to go to the "Buffalo restaurant" (Buffalo Wild Wings). He's only been a few times before but he loved the corn dogs. This time he ordered mac and cheese.

After lunch, Daddy picked up his tuxedo and we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the night. We tried to play outside, but it rained just as we were heading out. We did get to see an amazing rainbow stretching the whole length of the horizon though. It was still pretty hazy, so I didn't get a great photo. But it was the first real rainbow Punky has seen, and she loved it!



On Friday morning, Grandma and I visited my Grandma in the nursing home before we headed to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. That day was Buddy's actual birthday, and Uncle Sean and Hilary surprised Buddy by singing "Happy Birthday" to him at the rehearsal dinner. He was trying to hide the smile on his face, but he didn't get shy and I think secretly loved the attention. They also gave him a present which definitely helped pass the time that weekend!

Daddy was the best man in the wedding and was pretty busy throughout the day. The ceremony was short and sweet, but was still so hard for Buddy to sit through. I guess always attending the nursery at church has it's down side. After Sean and Hilary exchanged rings, Buddy shouted out "All done!". Luckily, only a few people around us were snickering.

No More Photos, Mom!

Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Max were able to help us out quite a bit that day. They drove the kids to the reception, so that I was able to join the wedding party in the limo. After the reception, Grandma and Grandpa drove the kids back to their house and delivered them back to us the next morning. Therefore, we had a lot of fun and a lot of drinks!

Cousins

Great Grandma, Great Grandpa and all 4 of their Great Grandchildren

Of course, Punky and Buddy were most excited that day for the wedding reception and the dance. The chicken dance was high on their list, but they really both had so much fun running around and dancing with all the kids. One of the bridesmaids told me that she heard Punky go right up to a boy and ask him to dance. The little guy said NO and ran away. Well, I guess that didn't stop Punky, because we saw her hand in hand with another little boy. Buddy was not sure what to think of it. He came up to me with a concerned look on his face and said, "A boy is dancing wif my sister." He followed them around and made sure they were behaving! Oh what a good brother Buddy is going to be!

Chicken Dance

I love Buddy's smile- he is so glad that other boy is away from his sister!

It was a beautiful day and we all had so much fun. Welcome to the family Auntie Hilary!

Three

Our baby boy is now three years old. Birthday posts are always so hard for me to write because I get so sentimental and sad looking back at the past year, wondering where time has gone. But at the same time, I remind myself to soak in the moment because I know that one day, sooner than I wish, Buddy will be turning 13 or 23 and I will long for the day when he was 3.

So, instead of getting all sappy, I will just write about what Buddy is up to at this age.

Animals. Seriously this little boy loves animals more than anything else in life. For his birthday, he asked for a warthog, meerkat, hyena, wildebeest and baboon. What 3 year old knows and loves those animals? But really, he had to ask for the exotic ones, because he already has all of the regular animals like horses, dinosaurs and giraffes. His love of animals has really made parenting a little easier. We just have to relate everything to an animal and it is suddenly the best thing in the world! Don't want to go upstairs for pjs and bed? Let's climb the stairs like mountain goats! Don't want to eat your veggies? Let's pretend we are rabbits and eat these carrots!

Buddy is an energetic little boy. He doesn't sit still for too long. He loves to climb on the back of the couch, and jump from one corner of the couch to the other.

He doesn't eat much for breakfast or dinner. But that 4 to 5 o'clock hour? All the kid wants to do is eat, eat, eat. I try my best to keep him out of the kitchen, but when I fail at that, he does do a good job of eating healthy snacks.

Despite that, Buddy weighs as much as Punky. I randomly weighed the kids a few weeks ago and both weighed 36.6 pounds. They are also both wearing the same size shoes. A few times this summer, Punky has been wearing a 3T dress and Buddy's been wearing 4T shirts. Punky's still got a few inches on him, but I suppose that probably won't last for long either.

Buddy is still a sweet little boy. He gives the best kisses and has developed a little pet name for his mama (buh buh). He loves his sister and plays so well with her. Everyone comments on how he looks just like his daddy.

Even though we'll always think of you as our little 18 month old toddler, we can't wait to share many more birthdays with you and see who'll you become. We love you, Buddy!

Celebrate

Buddy's 3rd birthday is coming up.  (Let's not even talk about how my little baby boy can already be 3.)  We decided to celebrate his birthday a little early this year because Uncle Sean and Hilary are going to be married the day after Buddy's birthday.  So, this past weekend we had all of our family in town to celebrate at our house.  The party was very casual and low-key, just lunch and hanging out.

Once again, Auntie Shannon decorated a cake to fit with the birthday theme (animals, obviously!)

Buddy had the biggest smile on his face when everyone sang him Happy Birthday.





He got some great presents. He was pretty excited about opening presents this year.  He asked Grandma Debbie if he could open the present when she came and she said he had to ask his mom. Without skipping a beat, he said confidently "She said it's okay." What a stinker!

The huge T-rex was definitely his favorite. He had been peeking at the gift pile as guests were arriving and saw the T-rex's tale sneaking out of the gift bag. He came up to me and whispered, "It's a T-rex!"

On Sunday, we went to the State Fair with my parents, sister and nieces. The weather all week long had been in the high 90s and very humid. Finally, on Sunday, the weather cooled and it was a gorgeous day for the fair. Unfortunately, all of Minnesota thought so too because it was so packed. 236,197 people were there- breaking the all time attendance record for one day. It was so busy, we had a hard time walking around as a group. I didn't really get a lot of photos that day either.

The bus ride to the fair is always a highlight of the day:





Buddy was much more adventurous when it came to the food. He had a pronto pup, cheese curds, and a bite or two of a malt. Punky had a slice of pizza.


We let both kids pick one ride at the Kidway (and they got to go together, so they did two). Punky chose the trucks and Buddy chose the bumper boats. Punky would not lay off the truck horn throughout the entire ride. The poor kid in front of her covered her ears the whole time. Buddy was splashing in the water, and a worker told him to keep his hands inside. He got pretty scared after that and didn't smile again.





We did manage to have a fun time at the Kidway, Midway, Animal Barns, Lil Farm Hands Exhibit, and the Giant Slide. We didn't get to see everything we hoped, like the Miracle of Life barn and the DNR fish pond. Luckily, Derek and I had been by ourselves earlier in the week, so we had already eaten all of our favorite fried foods and seen some extra things. Oh well, something to look forward to for next year!



This afternoon we had a few friends over for a lunch playdate. Again, it was very casual, but also very important to celebrate our little Buddy's turning 3! We'll be out of town for Buddy's actual birthday, but we saved a gift for him to open (the 5 animals he asked for- warthog, meerkat, hyena, baboon and wildebeest) and we hope to treat him to ice cream or do something special that day. Stay tuned!