Jersey Day and Sisterly Love

Today was jersey day at McKenna's school.  I thought she was super cute in the PSU jersey and I had to snap a quick picture.  

I also couldn't pass up this photo opportunity.  McKenna is an amazing big sister and Kinley adores her.   I wish I could describe the little giggle that Kinley does when she sees McKenna walking down the road after school.  It is the cutest thing.  I pray they will always have a close bond. 

Big Big Bed Means No More Baby

This finally happened.  As much as I desired to put it off, it was time to take the crib down and put Kinley in a bed.   She was excited but when it came time to go to sleep it was a bit of a different story.    The second night went better and now she seems to have settled in.   The good news is that she won't get out of this bed and come to our room like she used to!

It's hard to believe that the only piece of baby equipment we have left is our stroller.  I already am realizing that even my days with a toddler in a stroller are soon coming to a close. 

I remembered to snap one last picture of her with her toddler bed.   I continue to be amazed at how fast this life seems to be going.  

Pre Halloween Prep

The costumes are hanging in the closets and the Halloween preparations have begun.  I wanted to try to make this a fun week for the kids leading up to the neighborhood Halloween party and trick or treating Friday night.   Yesterday we made monster cookies.   They are delicious and sort of cute, too!

Tonight we carved pumpkins...

As per usual, Cooper was not thrilled to get the seeds out of his pumpkin. 

McKenna carved her own pumpkin start to finish this year.   She was pretty proud and rightly so. 

Kinley didn't shy away from the icky pumpkin goo.  I helped by doing the carving and she took care of putting the light in at the end.  

We ended up with three great looking pumpkins and a wonderful evening of family fun. 

It's Pumpkin Picking Time

Last weekend the kids and I made our yearly pilgrimage to the pumpkin patch.    Our yearly trips are something we look forward to doing.  Sometimes we have friends or family with us but this year it was just the four of us since Daddy was working.    

We loaded up on the wagon and off we went.   Kinley wasn't quite sure of what to expect with the hay wagon ride.  She was sure that it was going to be loud and spent the minutes leading up to the ride holding her ears.  But, it was big sister to the rescue.  McKenna held Kinley on her lap and that seemed to cure the insecurity.

Kinley looked over lots and lots of pumpkins before finding one that was just her size.

And Cooper literally picked one, got back on the hay wagon, got back off the wagon to find another one and then finally ended up with the original pumpkin.   Such decisions!

McKenna was set on finding one that was perfectly round.   And preferably did not have mud on it.   As you can see she had to deal with a little bit of dirt.

In the end, everyone was happy and the 2014 pumpkins were picked.

I have to look back a few, or more, years to find the first picture I have of McKenna next to this measuring stick.  She sure is growing up.  I hope she will still want to pick pumpkins next year!

Crazy Sock Day!

Today was crazy sock day at the intermediate school.  I had to snap a picture of the snazzy socks!  And I have to say that I love these girls.   They are growing into such wonderful young ladies.  It's hard to believe that their friendship began six years ago!  McKenna will tell you that it's strange that they are such good friends because they have so many differences.   But I think that just may be their secret to success.  They complement one another so nicely and have just enough in common to keep their friendship fun and interesting --just like their crazy socks! 

What Are You Looking At?

Wednesdays have recently turned into appointment days for our family.  This week it was a Wednesday morning trip to the eye doctor for Cooper, McKenna and me!   

This was Cooper's first eye exam.  He asked a lot of questions on the way to Danville.  McKenna told him it was more fun than the dentist.  I will second that!

Turns out that for all his other issues (his teeth and his asthma) Cooper has what the eye doctor deemed "perfect eyes".   We were both glad to hear that!

McKenna had a great appointment also.  The doctor switched her to a new contact that has proven to be much easier for her to put in by herself.  

As far a I go...well, it seems I'm getting old and so are my eyes.  In the next few years I will need to make some adjustments to my contacts but for now I have a reprieve.  

It might not sound like a fabulous way to spend the morning but the kids and I actually had a nice time hanging out together.   Stay tuned for next weeks trip for ...wait for it...flu shots!!

Leaving Your Footprint

After a lot of debate, I decided to push our family doctor for a referral to take Kinley to see a podiatrist.   Her feet have not concerned me until recently and though lots of people have told me stories of their flat footed kiddos, I wanted to hear that her feet were fine straight from the mouth of a specialist.  

Our visit lasted no more than 45 minutes and involved some X-rays, some conversation and some visiting.  The podiatrist we chose happens to be the mother of one of Cooper's friends.   We enjoyed chatting about our little girls and by the end of the appointment she had this to say:  Kinley's left foot, which was affected by her position in the womb, is essentially fine.  One of the bones (the talus) is pointed down a bit.   Her tibia is also bowed slightly to compensate.  So, we will be ordering inserts for in her shoes that will help straighten out both bones and hopefully prevent any other problems as she grows.  Kinley had her foot tracing done and soon her orthotics will be arriving from California.

The outcome was pretty much what I expected and I'm glad I finally made the appointment.   I'm happy that things weren't worse and that she is getting just what she needs. 

Whirlwind of a Weekend

This weekend has been circled on our calendar for months.   We had a lot of fun to pack into 27 hours.
Friday afternoon I packed the car and waited for the kids to get off the bus.  As soon as their backpacks were off, so were we - to Lewistown.  Our weekend plans started with dinner with Mom-Mom, Pappy, Nicole and Jon.   We were hoping to spend some quality time with Jon.  He is deploying to Afganistan in October for a year. 

We enjoyed a sleepover at Mom-Mom and Pappy's.  The kids and I occupied the living room just like Julie, Nicole and I used to when we were kids.   We slept well and were up early Saturday morning for the next phase of Operation Crazy Busy Weekend.

We made a short trip across town and dropped the kids off at Aunt Carol and Uncle Frank's house.  They had graciously agreed to keep all three kids while Earl and I were at the Penn State game.  Aunt Carol was really excited to spend the day with the kids.  They were excited to see her since they weren't able to camp with us this past summer.

By 9am Earl and I were on the road to Happy Valley to meet the Dugan's and two other couples.  When I say "on the road" I really mean stuck in traffic.  Lots of football traffic.  

Forty five minutes and five miles later we were at least moving faster than 2 miles an hour. 

The highlight of any football game is time spent with family and friends.   Turns out that was about the only thing good about this football game.  The actual game was downright awful.  But a few hours sitting next to my "soul sister" cheering for our favorite team was awesome.  Did I mention there were no kids that needed our attention?

Oh wait, these kids were there.  Luckily they didn't need much attention.

Earl and I have always loved time at Beaver Stadium.  I'm so glad he decided to convert from that Ohio team.  Ahem. 

We rounded out the weekend with a birthday party for a very special little girl who turned 5!  Lauren had her birthday at an art studio and we had a blast painting and eating and painting and spending the afternoon celebrating her!   I will have to post pictures but I don't have them at my fingertips at this moment.  Suffice to say that you will see big smiles and beautiful paintings.

It's hard to believe that was all a week ago already.   The delay of this post is testament to the busy week we have had since our fabulous weekend LAST weekend.   I've started and stopped this post no less than a dozen times this week!  So, on to another Monday and more adventures!