Happy Birthday, Grandma

The last weekend in October we celebrated Grandma's birthday.

I managed to get Joey to sit still long enough to get a picture of him with Grandma. There may have been promises of cake and cookies, but I'm a little fuzzy on the details.

The kids couldn't wait to help Grandma blow out the candles.

Jacob had fun talking to Old Grandpa and hearing his pigeon imitations.

He also had fun hanging out with Grandpa.

When it was time to go, my "workerman" had kisses to go around. We're so lucky to have such great family!

Five Already?!?!

First, apologies for the absence. It's amazing how much harder two is than one. And admittedly, I've chosen to spend almost all my free time with the kids instead of on the computer. But I digress ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOEY!

Joey couldn't wait to open his presents on his birthday. We let him open one before school. (Yes, that is Christmas wrapping paper. Don't judge me!)

After dinner, he couldn't wait to dive into the cupcakes. He had picked it out the day before at the store, and kept trying to eat it for a good 24 hours. I'm just glad he enjoyed as much as he thought he would.

Jacob also had fun. He's such a ham!

And yes, you can tell who wanted to take this picture, who didn't, and who was just in it for the cookie.

County Line Orchard

This past Saturday, we met up with some friends at the County Line Orchard in Indiana. We got there a little early, so Joey got a few rides on the Moo-Choo train before we headed out into the orchards.

 Jacob was a little too little for the train, but he had fun playing with the pumpkins and hay bales while waiting for Brother.

 

Once our friends arrived, it was a short tractor ride into the orchards, where both boys had fun picking apples from the trees.

Fire Fighter Joey

The birthday party coincided once again with the twins' grandparents' block party. So of course the fire truck showed up again! Joey couldn't wait to get on it.

The Amazing Spider Man

Our friends Kennedy and Kristopher celebrated their 5th birthday the last weekend in August. Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) visited, as did Spider Man. Guess who Joey was more excited about?!

Spider Man led them in a game of follow-the-leader, practicing their super hero moves.

Then they practiced crawling under and climbing over a "web."

The kids had so much fun with Spidey!

Joey couldn't wait to give him a hug ...

and get his autograph!

If you couldn't tell, Joey was the mini-Spider Man in the earlier pictures. It was just too hot to keep the costume on!

My Little Man

I can't believe how quickly Jacob is growing up. (And how bad I've been posting about it!) He's eating with his fork and spoon so well. Applesauce, yogurt, you name it. He has all of his teeth (except the two-year-old molars), which makes him look that much older. Can't we slow down time?

The Wright Museum and Memorial

Since we were already down in the Outer Banks, we wanted to stop by Kitty Hawk and visit the Wright Museum and Memorial. What sort of self-respecting aerospace engineer (and history buff) wouldn't? The kids didn't want to spend too much time in the museum, but they didn't mind running around where the first flights took place.

Here's Joey by the marker for the end of the 1st Flight. (No he wouldn't pose.)

The boys and I by the marker for the end of the 3rd Flight.

Uncle Ryan and Shae at the marker for the end of the 4th Flight. (Yes, we walked the WHOLE path.)

By this point, Jacob was exhausted, and took a little nap in the baby carrier. That was the plan all along, but I was nevertheless excited when it all came to fruition. (If you look closely at the bottom of this picture, you can see the original monorail the Wright Brothers used for take-off. At the time of the first flights, the land here was too sandy and soft, and they would not have been able to get enough speed otherwise. Of course, the sand and soft ground, along with the winds, were why they chose this location; it would minimize any damage when landing.)

Here's a picture of Rachel and Ryan on the monument. They were taking pictures of us while we were walking up the hill to get there, so I thought I'd return the favor.