Kids, Kids, and More Kids

We've been having some friends come over to play lately.  The kids enjoy having play dates, even though sharing toys can sometimes be a challenge.

 

Joel VW

Eden and Eliza VZ

Emma K

Tate K

Eli D - I must not have taken any pics of Eli, but he was at our house one day too.

Fun For (Almost) All in the Fall

Even though we had snow early in October, this fall turned out to be better for raking leaves.  It probably helps that this year both kids can play outside and be entertained while I rake.  I even raked two days while baby-sitting other kids.  It was fun for all...well, almost all.

Notice Emma in the upper left on this picture.  See how she's smiling?

What happened to that smile?

Tate and John had fun jumping and rolling in the leaf pile.
Tate, John, and Emma had fun running to the big pile of leaves.

But Emma would turn around before jumping in the pile.  She's not a big fan of the leaves, which is too bad because I love taking pictures of the kids in the leaves.  I think I have more than 30 of John and Tate playing.

At least I got one cute picture of Emma...even if she wasn't in the leaves.

John wanted me to take a self-portrait while he threw leaves on my head.

Lunch Date

I watched Tate again today. Tate and Emma really had fun this time since they're both walking. They chased John all around and had quite a bit of fun. I could tell they wore off a lot of energy because they ate A LOT for lunch. These are pics of Tate and Emma eating their dessert (lemon pudding) This was after 3 helpings of macaroni and cheese and half a hot dog. Emma had also eaten pears and green beans. You'd think I didn't feed them a good breakfast (eggs, toast, and fruit). It was a fun day, and after Tate left, John kept saying, "I'm sad about Tate." Translation: I want Tate to come back.

Emma's Boyfriend

I've been blessed to be "back-up" day care for a friend I taught with up in Ankeny. Krista was the teacher-librarian at NW last year, and we were both pregnant at the same time...along with a few other teachers. We got along really well even though we really only taught together until mid-January. That's when Krista had Tate, and then I had Emma before Krista came back from maternity leave.

It's been fun over the school year so far to watch Emma and Tate as they grow and reach new milestones, and they always do such funny things that I, of course, just HAVE to catch on camera. The last couple times, I've fed them lunch sitting side by side in the booster seats. However, I've had to move them apart in order to eat since they grab each other's food and hold hands. Ahh...

This one was taken back on December 31 before I had two booster seats.