Chloe's First Field Trip

Chloe's first field trip was spent at Linder Farms. Linder Farms is a pumpkin patch that has hay rides, corn mazes, a petting zoo, snacks, a hay bail maze for the kids, etc. After an emotional and overwhelming start I can say that Chloe thoroughly enjoyed herself. The kids got to pick a pumpkin from the patch then they got to go on a hayride through the farm where they got to see a Zebra and a Camel among other animals and finally they got to run through the hay bail maze. It's amazing how fast Miss Carolanne can get a group of 16 kids (not just kids, 3 and 4 year olds) through a field trip in an hour. I asked her how she does it and she just replied 23 years of experience. She also said that if I thought that was impressive just wait until they go to the zoo.

Chloe had a great time and couldn't wait to call Daddy and tell him all about it. What a great first field trip!!

My last night at St. Luke's

After nine years at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center it was time to say good-bye. I think I will always remember October 6, 2008...it was my last night at the hospital and what a bittersweet night it was. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom, but when it came time to make that decision it was a lot harder than I thought. I was 18 years old when I was hired at St. Luke's and for a number of women I worked with I was like a daughter to them. They have watched me grow up...from dating Brian, marrying Brian, and then finally becoming a mom, they have seen it all. I will never forget all the memories I made at St. Luke's and I will never forget any of the friends either.

On my last night the ladies threw me a potluck and I made my rounds and said my good byes. I think the hardest part was taking down all the pictures on my locker and emptying out my mailbox. I still haven't put any of the stuff away from my locker. It's almost like it's still not real! I will miss the job, but mostly I will miss my family there at St. Luke's. For any of my co-workers reading this...Thank you for nine wonderful years of advice, support and most of all love. Remember don't forget to invite me to any get togethers...I will being needing the adult interaction more than ever!!

This is one of my co-workers, Ainslee, who had just had her baby a couple days before my last night. I got lucky and got to take care of her baby, Carlee on my last night of work.

Discovery Center...

There was no school on October 2nd & 3rd and so my sister-in-law, Sara and I decided to take our girls to The Discovery Center. It was so fun watching the girls figure things out. Makayla was probably a little more into it than the little girls, but they still had a great time. I think some of the highlights were the grocery store where they could shop on their own, the tub of soapy water where you could blow huge bubbles, and of course the veterinary office where they were able to take care of all of the stuffed animals...complete with
x-rays. It was a great way to spend a day off of school and a great chance to hang out with their cousins.

Roasting Marshmellows!!

A couple of weeks ago we were invited over to our friend's, The Shoplock's, to just have a nice evening of hanging out and letting the kids play and roast marshmellows in their backyard wood burning stove. They have two little girls Izzy and Ava, whom Chloe loves to play with. We always enjoy hanging out with The Shoplock's and the kids seem to really enjoy each others company. Chloe loves Izzy's dress up clothes and it seems we never leave there without her trying on every single one of them (and she has a lot!!). All in all it was a fun time had by all and we got to have some adult interaction and take some cute pictures of the kids.

Ava and Chloe swinging

Hailee swinging

Huddled around the fire

Bath Time!!

Bath time is always an exciting time at our house!! Between both the girls I think more water ends up outside of the bathtub than in, Chloe thinks she needs to help me out by pouring cup after cup after cup of water on Hailee's head, and now Hailee has figured out that she can pull herself up using the side of the tub. One of these days (heaven forbid) she is going to fall and it's going to be ugly! Here are a couple cute bath time pictures!!

Hailee is Crawling!

This is a couple weeks behind, but our little Hailee is crawling!! About three or four weekends ago she finally put it together and took off in a matter of hours. It's funny how you anticipate it for so long and then boom, it just happens. She is so proud of herself and since that weekend she has figured out how to climb the stairs. YIKES! We have yet to find a baby gate that we trust at the top of the stairs so you have to be watching her at all times. We don't totally keep her away from them because she does need to learn how to go up and down them, but it is the rule that Mommy and/or Daddy have to be present for her to climb. She thinks it's funny to try and sneak away toward the stairs and when she sees one of us coming she tries to hurry as fast as she can to get to them. It's cute!! It's amazing how with the freedom of mobility comes their personality. She definitely isn't a little baby any more...:(

Proud Chloe!

It's has been amazing to me the difference in Chloe since starting pre-school. It's like she has grown up over night. Even how she treats Hailee is different, more mothering than usual. Chloe still absolutely loves pre-school and comes home every day and pulls her school work out to show us what she has done. They are still working on their colors, but recently they have started to learn how to use scissors. This makes me a little nervous, but the fact that we only own chicken sheers calms my nerves a lot! I am very impressed with how well she can cut though. Everything she brings home is cut practically right on the line and you can definitely tell what shape it is. I'm am just constantly amazed by my little girl and am so proud of her! We are anxiously awaiting her very first field trip which will be a trip to the pumpkin patch and yes she can not stop talking about it and wants to be told several times a day when they will be going...stay tuned for that adventure!

The Rainy St. Luke's Women's Fitness Walk

Note to self...when purchasing a stroller and they offer you the rain cover, always take them up on it because you just never know. Yes we were just three of the many women who braved the rain to participate in the annual St. Luke's Women's Fitness Race, however, had it been raining when we left the house we probably would have just stayed home. Luckily I always have an umbrella in the car and because it was so chilly that morning I put in extra blankets for the girls and left them in their footy pajamas. It was quite the site though with the rain pouring down and crowds of women, children and strollers trying to find a little shelter while waiting for the race to start. My girls did really well waiting for the race to start, all things considering, but as the race got started I quickly realized that this was going to be just too long of a walk for the girls and after just a couple of blocks we turned off to head back to the parking garage where we had parked. It was a bummer not to do the race completely, but as we got back to the car and I realized how soaked I was (all the way down to my underwear) I wasn't so sad. After all there is always next year!!