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.

Germs? NO WAY!

Are you feeling guilty for avoiding making a dentist appointment for just one more month because you hate going there so much? Hope that no one saw you pick your nose while you sat at the traffic light? Overcome with shame because, in your house, cleaning for guests just means shoving stuff into drawers and closets? Well don't be! Not Me! Monday was born out of MckMama's desire to admit some of her imperfections and reveal a few moments she'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!

I did not take my kids to Cici's Pizza (a buffet) on Friday night to show support for Studebaker Elementary.  With all the illnesses going around, I would not subject my children to a restaurant full of kids touching the same serving utensils as us.  And even if I did go, I definitely would not keep a container of hand sanitizer in the middle of the table to be used every time we got a plate of food.  No way...that's going a bit overboard.

A New Look

Thanks to Alyssa at AG Design, I have a new look to my blog.  Doesn't this look SOOOO much better?

Visiting Grandpa and Grandma Wiederstein

John and Emma enjoy driving trucks with Grandpa.

 However, they seem to think that Grandpa is a jungle gym.

Another Blog Entry Already?

Yes, but it's from a couple weeks ago.  Enjoy pictures from our trip to Adventureland.

Are these really MY children?

John thoroughly enjoying broccoli...

 

and Emma NOT eating mashed potatoes and green beans.

They must be someone else's kids.

EMMA went POTTY!!!

Yes, you read that correctly. Emma, age 18 months and 8 days old, went potty.

Let me back up though...for the last week or so, Emma has been VERY interested in the potty and pulling at her diaper after she wets it. So earlier this week, we brought the little potties upstairs.

Since then, she's sat on the potty A LOT, often fully clothed. The funniest part is watching her go get a book to "read" since I rarely get her to sit long enough to read a book. Sitting on the potty hasn't helped that though. She mostly just gets up and down.

Anyway, when we came home from Grandma VM's house tonight, I took her clothes off to put jammies on. Then I said, "Do you have to go potty?" She went running to her little potty in the bathroom. After drinking her milk for a little bit, I gave her toothbrush to her and went to put water in her sippy cup.

When I got back to the bathroom, she was looking down in the potty. I lifted her up, doubting that I would see anything, but she really did go!!!!

Needless to say, we cheered and told Daddy (who had just come in from parking the van in the garage). Even John crawled out of bed to see...he was supposedly sooo asleep when we got home that HE couldn't go potty. YEAH, EMMA! Then I gave her a smartie (and YES, we brushed teeth AGAIN). Amazingly enough, John had to suddenly go potty as well. (NO, he did not get rewarded for that, much to his dismay.)

Soooo...I guess we'll keep the potty out, and if she goes on it, great. And if not, that's just fine too. So here are a couple pictures taken after she has her diaper back on.

And You Laughed???

When I wrote this post a couple days ago, many of you laughed.  

But this is what we woke up to this morning...

Now you see why I did such a thing!  I usually enjoy the first snowfall of the season, but snow on October 10th is too early for that.  

John, on the otherhand, enjoyed watching the snow and wanted to play in it.  However, he had spent the night at Grandma VM's house, and his snowgear was all at home.  Oh well, I'm sure he'll be just as excited with the next snowfall.  

Hopefully it's not for at least a month though.

Cool Girl

Emma decided to try on John's sunglasses and Cardinals hat...all on her own. Unfortunately, I didn't capture the cutest moment, but I caught these in the numerous attempts.

Wordless Wednesday - Winter Gear

Emma's Mood Swings

These are a few of Emma's moods...all captured within about 30 minutes.

Calm and relaxed

Happy

Angry

Talkative

Frustrated

NewLife Camping

This weekend, we enjoyed our first NewLife Camping trip at Webb's RV Park east of Hartford. Despite the cold and rain, we had six families join us in campers and two others in tents. We're hoping to have better weather next year, but that's not within our cont3rol...other than planning our trip a little earlier next year. It was a beautiful setting, and many enjoyed walking, golfing, fishing, playing on the playground equipment, and cozying up to a roaring fire.

Hannah and Allana

Scott

Craig and Noah; Scott, John, and Emma

John; Noel and Julie

Emma

Allana and Emma

Scott, John, and Noah

Better Late Than Never

I've posted the blog from John's birthday party. Click here.

Also, I'll be changing the blog title to "What's With the Wiedersteins?" Thanks to those of you who voted in the poll!

Persistence

I was taking pictures of the kids during their bath tonight. It was very evident how much they look alike, especially when their hair is all soaped up and you can't tell how long it is.





Toward the end of our picture session, Emma started "playing" with herself. So I asked her if she needed to go potty. She stood up and reached for the potty, so I set her on it. She sat there for a little bit, but didn't go. So I put her back in the tub to rinse the shampoo out of her hair. That's when she gets really mad, so I took her out of the tub.

John decided at that moment that he wanted to get out too. After wrapping Emma up in her towel, I set her on the floor just outside the bathroom. While getting John out of the tub, Emma decided to stand up and go pee on the floor. If only I'd been more persistent in making her sit on the potty...