Punkin' pickin'

We love this time of year because it means cooler weather, beautiful fall colors and pumpkins. Everyone had such a great time at the pumpkin patch and Ashley has been asking to go back ever since!

I've got your pumpkin right here!
Family pic time, our fave!
Katie and her man
Grandma and her girls
Too cute for words
Piggy!
The happy couple
Cuties
This little piggy
Let's hit the road, Sis
Working for my water
Sister squeezes
Is it pumpkin time yet, Daddy?
"There you go baby cow, I feed you hay. It's yummy!"
"Hi goat! I rub your ears. That's nice!"
Love my Grandma and Grandpa very much!
Still newlyweds
A giant hay spider - this ones for you Aunt Shawna
Doing Allen from 'The Hangover' - "Does this baby make me look fat?"
A baby pumpkin for a baby Natty
Pumpkin Princess
Worth my weight in pumpkins
Go ahead and snap your picture because this is as close as I'm getting to the skeleton, Mommy
Choo, choo! Train time!
Cruising in our OSU Beaver train car

101010

One hundred one thousand and ten
Ten, ten, ten
October 10, Twenty-ten
One oh, one oh, one oh
10-10-10
What a fun day!

Love, love, love

Happy 34th wedding anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!

Some kind of crazy

I realized the other day that I haven't shared much in the way of Ashley's developments and boy has she changed! First off, between July 23 and September 3 she grew 3/4 of an inch. I swear we could see and hear her growing! Plus her hair must have grown just as much because it certainly is longer then I remember it being at the beginning of summer.
She loves to sing songs. Currently her performance includes Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (which she sings to Natty when she's being cranky), Old McDonald, Lavender Blue Dilly Dilly, ABC's, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Happy Birthday, Love You Forever, Itsy Bitsy Spider (which she loves to sing to her Aunt Shawna!), Wheels On the Bus, Pat-e-Cake and Monster Mash (thanks to Aunt Katie!).
She likes to count and can easily count to 12 without a problem. Sometimes she will go as far as 14, though after she reaches 14 it's anyone's guess as to what will come next; sometimes 3, sometimes 17, sometimes 50. She recognizes the numbers 0 and 8. She gets confused with the numbers 2 and 5, but who cares? She's nearly 3 and already knows so much!
When asked how old she is she will say "I TWO!" and hold up both 'number 1 fingers' and put them up like horns. SO CUTE!
Ash can tell you what the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5 are when you hold them up with your fingers.
She's excellent at looking at something and saying "There are 2 pumpkins!" Or "Natty Kat has 8 toys!" Or "I have 3 colors!"
Continues to love Mickey Mouse and Cars. Will ask for Lion King every night at bedtime if given the choice.
Will ask for music to dance to - she LOVES to dance and "Shake my bottom! Shake, shake my bottom!" and she puts it.
Can recognize and name all of the basic colors: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, brown, black, white, purple and pink. When asked what her favorite color is she will usually say pink, purple or blue.
Knows and can name basic shapes: circle, square, triangle, diamond, heart and star. Loves to put her fingers together and make triangles and diamonds and then show people.
Recognizes a few letters but if I try and 'work' with her on learning them, says "That's okay, Mommy. I fine." and walks away.
Ashley is at such a fun age and stage. Aside from asking questions about really random things (Mommy, did Riley go potty? She gets a treat for pooping Mommy), she will tell stories of things that have happened days, even weeks ago. She can say the funniest stuff too and makes me laugh at least once a day. Earlier today Natty had a bit of gas and upon her letting it out Ashley said "Whoa. Sister had a stinky bottom burp!" There are times after I work out and am particularly nasty that she will come over and say "P-U Mommy you stink. Take a shower, please." And occasionally she will say things that aren't related to bodily functions like yesterday I was putting on my makeup and she came in and said "Mommy's makeup. Mommy so pretty. I like it. I love you Mommy."
We're learning to be extra careful about what we say around her as she will repeat just about anything (isn't that right, Katie! Ha ha ha!). Her vocabulary is amazing even though we will sometimes have problems getting what she is trying to tell us. Most of the time if we don't understand we ask her to show us. If she's not able to show us, and we still aren't getting it, she'll simply say "That's okay. I no mind."
I can't wait to see what the future has to hold with Ashley. She runs off of a nuclear battery as she's going, going, going all the time. She's wild and crazy, loving and kind, defiant and stubborn, independent and beautiful and we couldn't be more in love with her.

Aunt Lindsay - you weren't here to jump in pillowcases with me so I'm using Mommies grocery bag until I see you again!

Ten!

Natalie has reached the age where's she's been 'out of me' longer then she was 'in me'. Ten months, wow!
Here's a glimpse at what being Ten-Month-Old-Natty is all about:
* Improves her walking abilities every single day
* Loves saying Dada and Mama, but really enjoys walking around singing her own song appropriately titled "Ah! Ah! Ah! Ahhh!"
* Continues to develop her own unique personality, which includes a bit of a temper (oh joy!)
* Is hit and miss on breakfast, but doesn't go without her lunch or dinner
* Has enjoyed every meal ever given to her - there isn't a food I can think of that she absolutely dislikes
* Enjoys pulling Ashley's hair - watch out if Ash has braids or pigtails as it means Natty uses them as reigns
* Sleeps 10 hours before she wakes up, eats a bottle, and then passes back out for another 1.5-2.5 hours
* Does NOT enjoy or cooperate when it comes to having her diaper changed or getting dressed
* Seems to be getting blonder and blonder everyday
* Continues to be an absolute joy to Jake, Ashley and myself

Check me out with my bruised cheek and goldfish cracker remnants on my chin!

Honored

It's no surprise I love my family; they're my everything, The Greatest Thing. Every once in a while Jake can say something or Ashley and Natalie will do something that makes me melt and reminds me how honored I am to be a wife and mother. While at Farmer's Market on Wednesday, Ashley said something that had my heart swelling and made me walk on air.
Scene: Ashley is sitting at a picnic table with my dad and Natalie, behind her at another picnic table are 2 women, each of them breastfeeding their own babies. Ashley and Natalie are dressed identical in their pumpkin shirts and polka-dot pants.
Ashley (turned around to breastfeeding women): Shh! Those babies are night-night (points to their babies).
Women: (giggle and laugh) You're so cute! I like your shirt. Is that your sister dressed like you (points to Natty Kat)?
Ashley: I'm Ashley, that's my baby sister (points to Natty). Mommy loves us!
Cue heart bursting with love!

Every once in a while

Sometimes when you're extra lucky you can snap a picture that captures pure emotion. While at the beach for Kathy's birthday we were lucky enough to have such shots taken of us. Thanks to Katie and Lindsay for taking these pictures and giving us such wonderful gifts!

Thanks to Katie's keen photographers eye for this shot
Hugs to Lindsay for capturing these smiles