Goats, Pigs and a Big Ol' Toad

Jeff's recently spent a week in San Francisco for work, so the kids and I flew to Ohio to visit with my parents.  This being my first time taking two kids on a plane, my mom generously offered to fly with me. (We'll do the trip back to Charlotte on our own- yikes!)  It was also Lincoln's first airplane trip,  (He barely made a squeak) and Ayla's first plane ride with a terrible cold (she was a trooper- runny nose, coughing and all).

The next day, Ayla was feeling a little better so we ventured out to my Uncle Doug and Aunt Shannon's house for a bit of fresh air.  Oh, and to see their sweet little farm.  My cousin Molly actually does most of the work with the animals- so I'm not sure who the farm technically belongs to. Ayla was like a kid in a candy store.... or rather a kid at a petting zoo.  She even sang "Old MacDonald" as we drove up.
At first she was a little shy around the animals.  These little oinkers were named Hammy and Porky.

But then she grabbed Netta's hand (my mom) and asked if she could go in the pig pen and say hello.
They were just as interested as she was...and a little hungry, trying to nibble at her shoes and shirt.

We moved on to the goats and got to feed them crackers.  This kid's name is Mocha.

And her mommy's name is Olivia. She was much more interested in the crackers.

Then we made our way into the chicken's cage home.

This chicken (un-named, I believe) had just laid two eggs.  Ayla got to grab the still warm eggs and add them to the collection from the day before.  (Our treat was to take home the eggs for our breakfast the next morning.)

She wanted to sit down with her eggs.

 Ayla's favorite animal was little Shirley.  She followed her around with a giant grin on her face.

It was a beautiful day for this time of year in Ohio, so we went outside to enjoy it. She found a cat also soaking in the sun.

 It was a bit bright for Lincoln.  Check out the shades Shannon let him borrow.

As Ayla was chasing the chickens around trying to pet them, she spotted this toad.  Now, let me tell you something about my little girl- she LOVES creepy crawly things.  I'm talking about all the things some other kids are skiddish about (worms, bugs, lizards)... and this toad fits right in.

She wanted nothing to do with Rosie, the sweet, fuzzy bunny (would barley touch her) but was all over "Froggy the Frog" as she fondly named him. I love this picture.

We moved from animals to vegetables as Uncle Doug took us over to pick carrots from the garden. Oddly, Froggy was not interested in eating- even with Ayla's encouragement as she shoved the carrot in his face.  Luckily for him, it was getting close to nap time and we needed to say our goodbyes.

Our last stop was at my grandparents house, (which is on the same property) so Ayla and Lincoln could say hello.  

I didn't get a picture of it, but Ayla found these little wind up toys that I used to play with when I was a kid.  She had so much fun watching them hop across the table.  Linc enjoyed just watching his great grandma and grandpa.

Lincoln: 1 Month

Well this post is a little late.  Lincoln is past one month, but I thought I'd share his one month pictures anyway.   We decided to do a monthly picture with the chalkboard showing his likes and dislikes.  Babies change so dramatically month to month so this will be a good way for us to remember the little details...as well as see him grow!

 

He and Ayla were very different at one month old.  Ayla had a very quiet cry.  She would make a small whimper and I'd lay her down in the bassinet, knowing she was getting tired.  She would look around a bit, then fall asleep.  Lincoln couldn't be different!  When he cries, boy does he cry!  He goes from level one to ten in just seconds.... the kid knows how to get your attention.  Linc wants to be held and ROCKED or should I say bounced.  In fact, the bouncier the better.  Then, and only then will he fall asleep.

I think it was all the chasing Ayla around I did when I was pregnant.  He got some serious movement when Ayla and I would go to the park and "run the bases"- a game Daddy made up.  So, yes Lincoln might be a little more challenging in the daytime sleep department, but he's a champ at night.  And I'll take solid nighttime sleep over daytime sleep any day.  

Isn't it funny how different children can be?  I like to say Lincoln is just more of a snuggler. One thing's for sure ... I'm excited to see other ways our two kids are alike and different.

Pumpkin Carving: Part 1

Ayla has a mild case of Halloween obsession.  She can't get enough of it.  Pumpkins, spiders, ghosts, owls...you name it.  After our trip to Riverbend farm, she couldn't wait to get started carving our jack-o-lanterns.  Thinking it was a little early to carve pumpkins (they always seem to rot pretty quickly), we chose to start with just one.

She watched so intently as Daddy used the big knife to cut off the top.  Then it was go time. She dug right in.  Last year she was much more hesitant.

 Ok...she still wasn't a big fan of the goop factor.  This was Jeff smiling for me and Ayla asking for something to wipe her hands with.

Once she got over the "ick" factor, she had fun pulling those seeds out. 

Then it was time to spread these suckers out and get them in the oven.  

Not sure when we'll get to the other pumpkins, but once we cut faces and light them up for trick-or-treating I'll snap a picture. 

Lake Lure

Before I even moved to Charlotte, I remember hearing one of the great things about the city was that just a short drive could get you to the beach or the mountains. We have taken many trips to the beach, Charleston being one of Jeff's favorite places (hello volleyball!).  The mountains? Not so much.  So when our good friends Robert and Bonnie called to see if we wanted to spend some time with them at a rented cabin in Lake Lure, we jumped at the chance.  Our view was amazing.

Remember the scene from Dirty Dancing when Johnny and Baby were practicing their lift in the water? Yup, it was filmed right across the water.
Robert and Bonnie have two children so Ayla had a blast.  It took her a little bit to warm up, but by morning she and Raven were outside bonding over feeding the ducks.

This was her little dance she did after making the ducks happy.

After breakfast we headed over to the park so the kids could release some energy.  Ayla's favorite was the monkey bars.  She even made monkey noises as she played.

She couldn't get across, so Daddy came to the rescue and helped her out....

...then did a little "monkeying around" of his own.  Actually, the two guys were showing off their pull up skills.  That's my strong man.  Even Ayla has a look of awe. 

Lincoln was enjoying watching from the shade of a tree. He is such a sweet baby.

 And Wyatt was happy as a clam playing in the sand with a stick.

We finished up the afternoon by fishing off the back deck.  It was Ayla's first time to fish, and she was beyond excited.  No fish were harmed.  In fact, no fish were even caught. That's ok, it was all about the experience.

Now That's Love

Ayla is enamored with her brother Lincoln.  It. melts. my. heart.  Seriously can't get enough of seeing the two of them together.

She loves holding him and kissing him and helping me give him a bath.  She loves when he looks at her and can't get enough of holding his hand. When Lincoln starts to cry she does two things.
1. She gives him one of her toys.  Just places it right on his chest. 
2. When this (surprisingly) does not work, Ayla will run over to me and say "Uh oh Mommy, my brother is crying.  Can you pick him up?" Only she pronounces brother as [bwuder].  She is NOT a fan of hearing him cry.

Bedtime routine now includes a kiss AND hug for Lincoln. 

Did I mention how much I love seeing this?

Pumpkin Palooza

Last weekend we took a trip to Riverbend Farm in Midland.  We left the house later than scheduled, (We still haven't gotten the hang of getting 2 kids out the door.) so we didn't have as much time at the farm as we wanted.  But we did make the best of the short time we were there.

There was a small barn full of chickens, turkeys, and one miniature horse (with the warning "he will bite") but Ayla was more interested in animals of a different kind.  Like the giant pig she got to sit on...

....and the alligator who needed a kiss.  The girl loves anything with sharp teeth.

We took a tractor ride over to the huge pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect one for Halloween. I asked her to smile and she decided to plop down on the pumpkin .  Check out the "cheese" in that grin.

Before we left, Ayla had to try out the slides made from old farm silos. (Is that what those things are?)  I actually went down with her the first 2 times (wee!) Once she was feeling brave enough, she tried it out on her own. 

After the promise of ice cream, I managed to pull her away from the slides.  Lincoln was waiting in the car with Jeff and was starting to get cranky.  (Yes, Lincoln went with us, but snoozed the entire time.)  We went home with 2 perfect pumpkins and plan to do a little jack-o-lantern carving later this week!

Ready, Set, Go!

Welcome to our family blog!  I have never done this before, so it will be a learning process.  My hope is to share pictures and stories with our family and friends....and also with myself in 30 years.  So often I think, "I need to remember this moment", and then life happens and the moment is gone.  This is a way for me to remember those moments in time and be able to share them with our children when they get older!  So away we go!