Special Visitors

Maren:
This last weekend my cousins Smith, Adelaide, and June came to visit with my Auntie Deb.  They recently moved back to Nevada from Oklahoma and this is only the second time I have ever met them!  Well, I was super excited to have them come and we had lots of fun together.  A few of the days they were there we just hung around the property and played.  We had a great fire in the fire-pit, roasted hot dogs, and made smores one night and had a nacho party/movie night another.  One of the nights they were here my daddy worked so we all loaded up and took pizza to the fire station.  Daddy gave us all a ride in the fire truck and let us break doors down!  Since it was the weekend before Halloween we decided to carve pumpkins too.  We were supposed to visit the pumpkin patch, but of course it was raining the day we were scheduled to go.  So, mommy improvised and took us to the Walmart Pumpkin Patch!  We each picked a pumpkin and set to carving.  Once mommy convinced me to stick my hands down inside, I really had fun pulling out all of the "guts". 

Maddox:
I got to meet some new family this last week.  As you heard, we had a house full of cousins for a few days.  I think I was a bit overwhelmed by it all and didn't sleep super great at night but I sure had a blast!  I loved watching all of the commotion... man!  My cousin June is full of energy!  I loved it when she played with me and I loved to watch her run. 

Forward Motion

Maren:
Another fun filled week for me with lots of activity.  We had our annual trip to the pumpkin patch a few days ago and my Nonna came with me!  I was so excited to have her come and she even rode the school bus with me!  While we were at the farm we went on a hay ride behind a big tractor to a big field full of pumpkins.  I picked out a really cute little pumpkin to bring home!  We also got to feed the farm cows pumpkins... who would have thought that cows would eat pumpkin? Well, they loved it and we thought it was hilarious! 
The day after my field trip we were home with mommy and she thought I was getting sick (apparently a nasty tummy bug has been making its rounds through my school).  I had a hard time waking up and just wanted to hang out on the couch and relax.  I wasn't really interested in eating anything until lunch time but even then it was very little.  I took a 3 hour nap and then was back on track.  Mommy figured out that I must have just been really worn out from my week at school and all of the fun activities.  Thank goodness! 
We had a really relaxing weekend at home with mommy (daddy is off hunting again), played lots of games, and enjoyed the first hard rain of the season.  I finished the weekend with a nice overnight stay with my Nonna and Nonno.  Nonna even took me to dance class so she could watch all of my great moves!  My Auntie C's even sent me a new tutu with snowflakes to wear!  

Maddox:
Look out world!!! Here I come!  On October 14th I started to crawl!  The world is my oyster!! And my sissy is about to have a serious reality check! I have also finally mastered the art of pushing myself up into a sitting position once I have rolled over onto my belly.... so there is no stopping me!  I don't want to sit still even for a diaper change and I try to roll over and crawl away naked.  Which as you can imagine can be a very messy situation!  Luckily for mommy all of these advances mean I am back to sleeping through the night and she doesn't have to come in to rescue me. 
My sissy spent the night with Nonna and Nonno one night this weekend which meant that I got a lot of one on one time with my mommy and I loved it.  She spent the whole day crawling around on the floor with me, playing blocks, reading books, and teaching me how to love on our doggie Maxine. 

Fall is here!

Maren:
Fall is officially in the air... nights and mornings are crisp and cool but our afternoons are still filled with sunshine and outdoor fun.  The last few weeks have been pretty routine around our house with mommy trying to catch up on house work, get new projects started for Christmas, and the house all ready for the Harvest Season.  Of course I have been a huge help through it all!  With the start of the new school year and a new preschool class I am particularly interested in sharpening my reading and writing skills.  I really like to try and read to baby brother... but he just wants to eat the books!  I am really getting good at writing and spend lots of time practicing.  I even made my Nonna and Nonna a card to welcome them to Oregon. 
We spent this last weekend working hard but having lots of fun too.  One of my friends from school, Maylee, had a party out at Fort Vanoy Farms and we got to go.  Mommy, baby brother and I rode the Cow Train and spent lots of time playing there after the party was over. 
We also decorated the house for fall this last weekend.  I helped build our scarecrow and put out all of the decoration.  I am really excited for Halloween and to get all dressed up!  

Maddox:
I am now 8 months old and getting bigger every day.  My latest trick to get attention is to roll over onto my belly in the middle of the night.  Unfortunately, I still have not learned how to flip back over and my sleep sack makes it really hard to push into a sitting position.  So, I just get really frustrated and cry until my mommy comes in to save me.  Sometimes I let her just flip me over and I fall right back to sleep but sometimes that just isn't good enough and I scream until she cuddles with me!  I also am right on the verge of crawling.  I rock up onto my hands and knees.... and then I belly flop!  I can usually push myself back into a sitting position but sometime need some help with that still.  It wont be long until I am crawling.  I think my sister will be very disappointed when that happens because I will finally be able to chase her down and steal her toys like she always does to me! I also am trying to pull myself up on things but my little legs just aren't strong enough to support me yet.