Hodges Dairy Farm

A few weeks ago Eileen & I decided one morning to take the kiddos to get pumpkins at Hodges Dairy Farm. It looked like it would be a gloomy, cloudy day, but it turned out to be perfect! We had such a great time, that our family went with the Swans just last week for a second time (so I guess we'll have two pumpkin posts :) Anyways, one thing Alathea loved most was running through the sunflower fields! They were gorgeous. She kept smelling them, much to my amusement because her face would be covered with pollen as she smiled at me afterwards.

And my ever so happy "abbers" as I keep calling her. (I'm trying not to, as it's not a nick name I prefer, but it keeps slipping  out!). I had left her in the stroller on one end of the pumpkin patch as I wandered with Alathea looking at pumpkins...and when Eileen pointed out how way far in the distance she was, I ran back to find her like this. She's just sooooo joyful!

All the kiddos minus Anna Cate, happily sleeping on her Mamma.

Its hard to believe we have 5 kids between our two families already! It seems like our 1st babies were just born yesterday!

The kids LOVED this adorable baby goat just roaming around. One thing I love about this Farm is that there is a little bit of everything- pumpkins, animals, moon bounce, wagon rides...

and lots of space to run...as the girlie's are doing below. They are so cute together.

After much deliberation, Alathea proudly shows off her pumpkin. She took a nap with it that afternoon :)

Here is Alathea trying to decide which pumpkin to choose- a very difficult decision for a two year old. I discovered before we left that she had put a few tiny extra pumpkins in the bottom of my stroller- I think hoping I wouldn't see them. Fortunately I found them :) 

Days like this make me appreciate fall. It's sadly  my least favorite season- I'm not fond of cold weather, shorter days and I really hate Halloween. But...I'm really loving making the most of it with our girls!

The latest and greatest of our Family

Here are just a few more pictures that my friend Liz took of our family a few weeks ago. She did a great job- especially considering how tough it is to get any good pictures of our girls- especially our biggest one (you can see me talking to the culprit above :) We had quite the adventure too...we started off in a field by our neighborhood and with in literally 60 seconds two of the meanest ladies I've ever encountered kicked us out of the field. Then we ended up at this vintage general store around the corner and eventually got eaten alive by misquitoes.  Liz was so generous with her time that we went to a third location- this beautiful field (I have this thing for fields and photography right now)- which happened to be right as the sun was setting. It was like God was saving the most perfect light for us at the end. The girls were pretty beat by this point, but we got some pictures. And we got lots of Joe & I. So a huge thank you to Liz (you can check out her website at www.elisabethsheaphotography.com) for her time and talent! 

I Love Him

I really, really love him. More and more and more every day. It's amazing. Just thought I'd let you know. My friend Liz took some amazing pictures for our family...she's amazing. Maybe I'll put some more up in the morning. Oh, and Abigail is the first picture and Alathea the second. Good guesses!

You think they look alike?

I've heard the entire range of comments about who my girls look like. On almost any given day I'll hear that one of them looks just like Joe and then the next comment is that they look just like me. We've decided Joe & I look enough alike that they are a good blend :). But I also hear a range of comments on whether or not people think that Alathea and Abigail look alike. I've always thought that if you looked at pictures of them at the same age, they look almost exactly alike. I was especially amazed when I came across these pictures! Can you guess who is who? Joe actually could not tell! I was amazed they were even making the same expressions! Take a guess :)

.Alathea Joy.

Anyone who knows Alathea at all knows that she is a complete JOY most of the time- but, as I've often joked about, her highs are really high (she's really happy), but her lows are really low (like the whole world is falling apart) and they both can exist in the same 2 minute period...what a girl :) The pictures above & below can demonstrate- my sisters friend Kristen took them the same afternoon (www.kristenleighphotography.blogspot.com)

This is how you'd find Alathea playing- cooking Bunny food in her kitchen (above), putting her baby down for a nap (and be careful, she'll get quite upset if you walk into the room after baby is asleep (gee, I wonder where she got that from :) (below)

I thought I'd do a little update on my biggest girl.  Alathea is now 2 1/2 years old! I can't believe in less than 6 months I will have a 3 year old! She has really grown up these past 7 months that she has been a big sister. I'm amazed looking back at pictures on her 2nd b-day (just 3 days after Abi was born) and how young she looks- it almost looks like I had two babies. But now she seems so grown up. She enjoys helping me and mothering Abigail. Its wonderful, but sometimes she carries it too far, like today when I caught her spanking her little sister. Abigail had this quizzical look on her face as I walked around the corner and discovered Alathea in the act. When I asked her what she was doing, she said Abigail didn't obey "all the way, right away, the cheerful way"  as if I should totally understand :) We had a little talk, and I trust she knows not to do that again, but it gives you a little glimpse into Alathea's personality. 

Alathea hasn't grown a ton this year, she's still a peanut, weighing only 2 pounds more than her 7 month old cousin. And I'm sure not much more than Abigail. We've actually started buying the same size diapers for them both (yep, not potty trained yet, but I'm at least thinking about it). 

The biggest change in Alathea is how much she talks and you can understand. She'll still tell stories that go on and on, complete with her laughing hysterically at herself as she tells it, while Joe & I have NO idea what she's talking about. But for the most part she's starting to speak English. She loves to sing and now knows all the words to the  Gospel song and is pretty proud of it. 

The girls have their own special way of communicating to each other through raspberries and the like. Its so cute. They have huge smiles and laugh the whole time. The sweetest thing is hearing the two of them "talking" in the morning before I get them. Abigail usually wakes up first and "talks" and then I hear Alathea say, "Is that MY Abi!" Then for a few minutes I just listen to them "talk" to each other across the hall and smile and listen.

Alathea has also been a great sport adjusting to the new schedule that a little sister brings. We can't go to the park or friends houses or anywhere until Abigail wakes up from her nap. She must hear it alot from me, because tonight we were looking at pictures on the computer and everything she saw she'd get excited and say, "Yay-Yay like the beach, Mommy!  Yay-yay go to beach after Abi's nap? Oh, Yay-Yay like pumpkin patch! Yay-yay go to pumpkin patch after Abi's nap? Yay-yay like park. Go to park after Abi's nap?" 

And the biggest "new" thing is that since Labor Day Alathea has been sleeping in her big girl bed! The first few days it took a few hours until she finally fell asleep, but now she's doing great. Its been fun being able to lay in bed and read stories with her at night. Sometimes the whole family is in the little twin bed. The crib is still in the room too- but for now Abigail is in a pack n play in the office. One step at a time. Eventually the hope is that they'll share the room.

Anyways, thats a lot of writing :) I am a blessed woman to have these sweet little girls!

Abigail in Asheville

Abigail came with Joe & I on our "romantic get-a-way" to Asheville this week and we had so much fun having her along. We really enjoyed getting some alone time with her. Since she's so content, at home its easy to leave her in a room and forget she's there...especially with miss queen bee big sister around who tends to draw our attention :). She is our delightful, happy baby Abigail whom we love so much! I also enjoyed taking so pictures of her crawling around in this field on the estate.

Birthday Weekend

My birthday was earlier this month but last weekend I got my two favorite gifts: a visit from my Dad (Fri-Sun) and a get-a-way with My Love (Mon-Tues). It was like a week long celebration! I absolutely LOVE when my Dad comes to visit. We always have a great time and he completely spoils us. We spent lots of time at Starbucks, going on walks and going out to eat. My favorite was my birthday dinner on Saturday night- we went to Brixx up in Birkdale, ate outside and afterwards hit Starbucks and listened to a live band play. Alathea had a blast dancing to the music. It was one of those perfect evenings. Unfortunately I haven't loaded the pics from Dad's visit yet, but I do have the pics from our get-a-way! We decided to make the most of our season passes to the Biltmore and go to Asheville again. 

This is a GORGEOUS time of year in Asheville...the leaves haven't changed yet, but the weather is perfect. Joe surprised me for my b-day gift and booked our room at the Princess Anne Hotel. It was lovely and we had a suite so Abigail had her own room. We drove up on Monday and ate lunch at an outdoor bistro at the Biltmore and explored the gardens and farm area. After a quick dinner we spent the rest of the evening at the Princess Anne. It was wonderful to relax together. 

Abigail did amazing! Both days she only had her morning nap- yet was never fussy. I'm getting really spoiled with her. Tuesday afternoon we did the "Legacy of the Land" tour and she fell asleep on Joe. He really enjoyed the snuggle time and she stayed asleep while we walked around the house. Our season passes expire in a few weeks. I think we've been to the Biltmore 5x with them...we somehow aren't tired of it yet...we'll miss having them!

I sure am grateful beyond words for this man...I love you baby! Thanks for a wonderful b-day!

.sisters round two...

Here is another batch of Kristen's pictures of my girls. I like how in these Alathea actually looks proud to be Abigail's big sister. And she even looks happy in a few :) Something that is harder to get nowadays...as soon as the camera is out she thinks its "fun" to run the other way or at best bury her face in her hands. So I appreciate all that Kristen did!

Sisters...

These girls are certainly blessed to have each other. I know how much I LOVE my sister and we are seven years apart! Sisters are one of Gods greatest gifts!! My favorite thing about this season is watching their relationship blossom. Its fun to hear them "playing" together in their room, or to walk in and find Alathea "reading" Abigail a story. Anyone who is with us at all knows that we have our fair share of big sister sitting on little sisters head...or yesterday Abigail was crawling on all fours and I found Alathea sitting on her back with her feet in the air. And somehow Abigail supported her without crying. oh, my! Nonetheless, the peaceful times between them are sweet times.

I just received these pictures in the mail from my sisters very talented friend, Kristen. She took them while I was visiting in MD back in July. I personally love looking at pictures and get inspired to grow in my photography skills by seeing them. But for you non photo lovers, I apologize for the sheer photo overload my blog always has :) And to warn you...I may post more of these later this week.