A lesson on the difference between the X and the Y chromosome.

No I am not announcing the gender of our baby. Sorry to all that want to know but we will be keeping that a secret even to ourselves until the "birth" day!

We had the privilege of having our friend Olivia spend Saturday and Sunday with us while her parents went to a wedding. It was a delight. I had a little taste of the difference between girls and boys. Let me demonstrate (yes I realize I am being very general and stereotypical):



We went to Bass Pro Shop where they were having some Halloween activities.



Girl: A little more hesitant of the witch.
Boy: Talks to witch, asks how she put on her make-up.



Girl: Interested in free "laser gun" arcade to watch the cute raccoon jump out of his tree trunk when you hit the blinking target.


Boy: Could spend all day at the free "laser gun" hunting arcade to perfect his shot.


(It really wasn't too violent, the kind like at a theme park.)



Girl: Spent 30 minutes painting her mask pink and purple while chatting with me and being careful not to get out of the lines.


Boy: Slap some paint on there and call it a lion mask, then back to the hunting arcade.Girl: Cautious of climbing up the rock wall, asking for guidance up and down the first few times. Mastering it on her own being sure to not fall.



Boy: Run, climb, jump- No Fear!
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:

At the end of the day after the boys fell asleep, because they had run themselves ragged, Livi and I had some girl time playing board games and painting our nails.

Okay now just for some pictures. And the moral of the story...

Girl: Cute, Fun, does what comes naturally to her

Boy: Cute, Fun, does what comes naturally to him

We also went to Great G and G Slaughter's house. Where there is always fun to be had.

See the deer in the background, Sam was actually able to walk very close to him before he ran off.

Our Little Linus

Sam has a blanky but more beloved is his doggy pillow. It is a quilted pillow sham that has three dogs on it. He mostly uses it at home but will sometimes take it in the car with him. He has loved it to pieces, literally. It has holes and is falling apart, and that is just how he likes it. Recently one of the dogs completely came off, just small enough to hold in his hand. Now he is able to take it with him where ever we go. He calls it his "pillow piece". We already had a scare and thought it had dropped at the grocery store. But Keegan found it in the back of the van. He hadn't gotten upset when he thought it was lost, but I had flashbacks of Clara losing her "Jessica" doll. :) I am totally fine with him having a lovey. It can be important for kids however I think there is more thumb sucking with it. Which honestly is so darn sweet, I don't even care. He will outgrow it one day.

This and That

So can you tell I have my energy back and am living again, because I am blogging more! I have made it past the first 12 weeks and have been reborn! Thank God for Josh, he has really stepped in (as always)and picked up the slack while I was completely worthless, well unless you consider surfing the web productive. This is my good time from now and for about the next 12 weeks!

I thought I would take pictures of my tummy to see how the bean is growing or rather how my stomach gets larger. Since this will be my last pregnancy I want to soak in all of it.

13 weeks

I have some random pictures of things we have been up to...

Jeni shared a great idea with me. Use an egg carton, write the numbers 1-12 in each spot in the carton, put in two marbles, let the kids shake it up, then it is a numbers game. Sam can work on identifying the numbers, Keegan can practice addition, subtraction and even times like he said. They thought this was the best game ever. Keegan liked seeing what numbers the marbles seemed to repeatedly fall into...his were attracted to ten and Sam's to double sixes.

The circus was in town! We actually didn't go to the show. We've been for the last 3 years and I decided to save our money. When I told Keegan we weren't going to go this year he said, "That's fine, Mom, you are the one who said you wanted to go." :) We did go early the morning of the circus and watched them set up the tent and saw the elephants with our neighbors, the Brown's.

We have been doing A LOT of hand washing lately, with many germs floating around. Sam has had a cough but it seems to be getting better. Josh has a sinus infection, but got the miraculous anti-biotic Zythromax and kicked it. Keegan and I have coasted through with just a sneeze and a slight runny nose here and there. So here is Sam washing his hands and you can see my most recent home project-painting the bathroom cabinets and trim white. Brightening it up and getting rid of the oak.

Field Trip With Sam and Genesis Montessori

Sam went on his first field trip and I got to go with him! We went to Faulkner's Pumpkin Patch. It was one of the best field trips I had been on, very organized, fun and great kids! Our tour leader was dressed as a scarecrow and was very animated. She kept the kids entertained by telling stories and instructing them to walk like a scarecrow, fly like a butterfly or mosey like a cowboy. Sam liked when I was next to him or sat by him but he was fine running up to be with the group or stand by some friends, independent. Keegan on the other hand will usually stick right by my side and look back for me at these kinds of things. Kind of interesting. Here are some cute pictures.
Ready for his first field trip!

I asked Keegan if he would take a picture of me and Sam, so we could have a picture just like we do of Me and Keegan before his first field trip! Here is a flashback of Keegan's first field trip. He was just 3. (Yikes, I remember I had a tragic hair appointment then!)
First school bus ride. They had car seats for all the kids!

Going in the corn maze.
With some friends at the end of the corn maze. This sign tells how many pounds the world's largest pumpkin weighed...

Doing a finger play with the "scarecrow" leader.

Cheering on the other kids as they crawl through the blow up caterpillar...

On the hayride.

Sam and Emma on the hayride...

Feeding the animals.

Sam and his friend Spencer (pencer) having a snack together. Looking for just the right pumpkin in the patch. Is this the one?

No this is the one!A GREAT DAY!

I'm picking out a baby pumpkin for you....

Here is a short video we caught of Keegan telling us some thoughts on our new addition:

Just when I thought...

I was all caught up on my laundry this is what I find hiding in my laundry basket...

The cutest laundry I've ever seen!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Today was another perfect Fall day...we went to the little pumpkin patch just south of Pleasant Hill. We like to go each year, many times we have family with us but today it was the four of us! It is not one with all the bells and whistles but very cozy. We still have two other pumpkin patch trips planned. The boys picked out a few funky gourds and a pumpkin for each of them. Keegan also got a white pumpkin - he saw an idea in a pumpkin carving book, where you use a white pumpkin and scrape into it to make a mummy. So we are going to try it. I LOVE pumpkin patch pictures, the colors are always so eye pleasing!

Welcome to The Great Pumpkin Patch...
Sitting on some BIG pumpkins...All together...
In the corn stalk hut...Giddy up horsey!Tally-Ho!Keegan picked a baby pumpkin out for the baby!Sam liked picking up the apples that had fallen off the trees...Ahhh how sweet!Daddy and his boys...BrothersGoodbye, we'll be back to the pumpkin patch next year!

Just because...

I took this picture because I thought Keegan was looking so cute and academic that morning!

Looking very similar with the new haircut, don't ya think?

Second Grade Field Trip

I went along with Keegan and his class on their field trip to Burr Oak Woods Nature Center. We actually just went there a couple weeks ago. But this time they had a guided hike where they got to find bobcat scat, try seeds out of stick tight and find other signs of what animals eat. I absolutely LOVE Keegan's teacher Mrs. Bailey. She is so easy to talk to and she and I have/had the same teaching styles so that makes it very comfortable. When we returned from the hike I could tell her group must have been a little more stressful than ours so I offered to go get her a diet Coke from Sonic before we all met at the park for lunch. She accepted and I felt good because I so appreciated parents who did those little things for me as a teacher. The park we went to was great, as a matter a fact I think we will go back there today. The weather is gorgeous! I always love to see Keegan in his peer setting and that he still wants his mama to be around. He chose to leave early with me and we got to have Friday afternoon at home.

Waiting in line. Our friend Grace next to Keegan.Keegan and some of his classmates.