Happy Halloween!!!

Door to door trick or treating at church kicked off our Halloween fun on Friday... lots and lots of candy gathering. My friend Carma majored in costume design at BYU... she looked amazing and I would have never recognized her. She easily put on forty extra years ;-)

Some other friends that simply stunned me with their Egyptian theme.

When Sonia got to the front of the Halloween parade, KC exclaimed "What a tiny little elephant we have here!"

She didn't think she was an elephant... Sonia is Slon! At music class we sang for her about Slon.

Saturday brought more candy with it. Our neighborhood turned into a great place to go trick or treating at night. First door we knocked. Is it how tracting feels when you are on the mission? ;-) More candy than any of us ever wanted plus some really creative decorated porches. We said hello to some friends and made some new friends. Sonia was brave to knock on the door of a very old lady in a wheelchair. Sonia cheerfully said "Trick or Treat!" and "Happy Halloween!" to her. Some other neighbors asked if we were Republicans, since we have got an elephant with us. ;-)

Jeremy pushed both kids in Sit and Stand. When I lamented about both of our children being comfortable, Sonia corrected me and said "Childs." We've got two childs this Halloween ;-) It worked great! I had free hands and could sort of keep up with everyone. I would have not missed this night for any naps ;-)

At home we feasted on candy instead of dinner until no one could eat any more. Sonia tried hard to convince her papa that he could have another one.Candy usually just doesn't happen at our house... here is Sonia's first lolly pop ever. Yummy! Next time we have to wait until Spring and Easter ;-)

Highlights of the week

Last week was our first full week all on our own without any help and we managed well. Life is falling into a new routine; with occasional sleepless nights and some sleepy nights. I also catch naps during most days and that makes my recovery go much easier ;-)

In the morning we wake up and have some snuggle time, play games and read in mama's bed.

Then we get out of the house to run to the library on one day or music class on another. Come home for lunch and naps. Then we do some crafts and arts. We colored a scarecraw this week.

We have dance and music at night to get the wiggles out and then papa comes home. Books, dinner and more snugles finish up our day.

Pumpkin carving

Last month we checked out lots and lots of books about Autumn, changing leaves, harvest time, pumpkins and Halloween. Sonia would say "Halloween comes we are going to carve our pumpkin". Last night was such a night.

Sonia and papa found a nice, happy and super easy pumpkin design then they went to work.

Pumpkin turned out to be super thick. It is a sweet pumkin that has lots of flesh. I am thrilled because we are going to make some yummy pies this Sunday!!! But for now it is a jackolantern; we come downstairs in the morning to look at it and light it up at night. Sonia and I are so excited about it!

That day Sonia made stars and spaghetti with play daugh. Sonia is such a good big sister. She loves talking to Feo about all she is doing. Feo's cord fell out that morning too... our big boy ;-)
He does play favorites... mama is his favorite for now ;-) Papa calls him "Mama's boy."

Right outside front door

We stepped out into the fall- the leaves changed colors during our four days inside. With all four of us together we played right outside our front door for a long time. Sonia covered Feo... I only wish I had a better angle on this photo.Peace and serenity was in his eyes as he gazed at all she could do.Our guard dog took good care of Feo. On Wednesday when I couldn't bring Feo downstairs, Mischa napped upstairs next to my bed. When Feo stirred, he would ran downstairs to let me know. He was better than a baby monitor. Jeremy thinks Mischa got much more protective over night.Running away from mama... way too many pictures. Sonia just wanted to play that day and I wanted to freeze these moments in my memory.

One week flew by

It was fun having papa home for extra couple of days last week. Sonia loved papatime and I got much needed rest. Tuesday papa took us out to a playground. Feo's first time in the car seat. He loves when Sonia and I sing silly songs in the car. So far he is very patient with car rides. Here is Sonia in the car seat going on her first trip out of the house. She is four days old. On Wednesday we were on our own... we had some fall outs but we managed through the day and got full night of sleep with a couple feedings in between. I learned a lesson that even great planning can run into trouble with execution... when Feo was asleep by 2 pm, Sonia who always naps at that time refused to go down for a nap. She is back on her regular routine now and we all manage to get a nap during the day.

Thursday went by with a trip to the story time right around the corner and doing some clay... bumpy and smooth pumpkins and a scarecrow. Friday we ventured to the music class because Sonia was couped up and that put us right on the routine with nice nap during the day for everyone!!! We are also working on some greeting cards for grandmas and grandpas.
"Feo look at my painting!!" and he does look at her painting and at all she does. He loves watching Sonia dance around and play with him.A few things that make my day:
Sonia's cheerful "Good morning" to Feo starts our day on the happy note. She loves talking with her little brother, calling him "My Feo", singing to him in the car (her singing improved all of the sudden ;) and playing with him when he is awake.
Feo coos and talks. He doesn't cry when he is hungry; he just coos. Feo smiles when I kiss him on the cheek. He can turn his head from one side to another and his whole body fallows his head.

Very early Saturday Morning

At 12:15 am I whimpered... "Jeremy, please pass a brown pillow!!" "What brown pillow?" I heard a sleepy reply. "We only have one brown pillow, a big one and I need it right NOW!It is on your side of the bed!"

We just got into the bed because that Friday I had about a million errands to run. Music class in the morning then Costco trip and a quick stop at the mall to get some much needed makeup. We ate our dinner around 10:30 pm and went to bed right after midnight. I thought to myself... the house is a mess, we are exhausted, I am glad the day is over.

After less than two hours of very hard work ;-) with lots of funny moments, fond moments and memories that will be treasured deeply in my journal... the baby slipped out in the water. I announced baby's arrival to Jeremy and Liz. They were rather surprised with such a quick finale.

Feodor was born in the caul and he surprised me... I was ready for a little girl but felt deep love for this little guy as soon as Liz (I held him and she had to check because I was a little scared ;) said he was a boy. His birth was an amazing experience for us. With no tears and with much stronger belief in Heavenly Father's guidance, my husband's love and confidence; trusting myself... I would go as far as to say, we just might have another baby some other day.

Just born. Our Feo ;-) all in pink... the other morning I asked Jeremy if it is okay to give away Sonia's 2T jammies. Jeremy seriously wondered why can't Feo wear them? They are jammies! I didn't know if he was joking but firmly replied "because they are 2T. How long can a boy wear pink?"

Next morning Sonia awoke to see her new baby brother. She has been suspecting that she will wake up one day and there he would be. She was right! We opened her baby Dear and played with our babies. She even has a mama made quilt for her ;-) I'll post all sewing projects soon

Papa and son look a lot a like... Feo has big nose and big wide-open eyes! He was born with great reflexes. Feo only shuts his eyes when there is a flash light ;-)

Sonia holding Feo for the first time and admiring her brother. Feo's first time wearing an outfit. Blue works well for them.These are my most favorite people in the world!!!!!

Zoo trip and baby car seat

We are trying to visit all places that will be hard to get to with the arrival of a new baby in a few days. On Monday we went back to the zoo. Monkeys had their lunch: lettuce, apples and pop corn. Coincidentally Sonia was munching on some pop corn too ;-) She thought it was funny. We saw a gorilla climb up big poles and walk around high up in the sky.

In the mammal house Sonia watched small rodens leap, jump and crawl and chased some behind the glass. Then looking at huge elephants was also fun.

Sat on panda and actually saw panda bear walking outside, usually they sleep. Sat on brown bear and watched them walk and just enjoyed being the three of us for not so long!

I finally got a car seat for the baby... Chicco KeyFit30 just under one year old. It should be perfect for the new little one who can grow up to 30 lbs and still fit. It took me more than a month and I feel like a high achiever ;-)

Autumn in the East

A visit to a farm in the Fall is quickly becoming our family tradition. This year we ventured out about two and half hours away to Market Miller Orchards and Hill High Farm up in the Appalachian mountains. This farm has been in one family since 1811. The farm house was built around that time and looks way cool. It is close to the border with West Virginia. People around us spoke with all sorts of accents and we have seen licence plates from New York to California but nothing was as fascinating as listening and watching local "mountain" people.

We picked Granny Smith, Ida Red, Red Stayman and Nittany fresh right off the apple tree to Sonia's delight. She wanted to find little apples, not big ones. I had to try every sort to determine if we liked them and so did Sonia: crisp and juicy... so good ;-)

Then we explored the playground with Noah's ark. I couldn't fit through all the ladders and crawling spaces; papa took over. The biggest attraction of the day was a cow train made of big water buckets and a lawn mower for an engine... first time Sonia wanted to go with papa. They both successfully fit into Bertha, the biggest cow.But soon Sonia rode Bella all on her own.Sonia managed to get on the train more than a dozen times and ride every cow. Thankfully it was a free day! At the end of the day I didn't want the baby to feel left out. So we joined the cow ride and surprised Jeremy when he turned around and everyone was gone ;-)

The biggest pumpkin I have ever seen!Two cute pumpkins and one huge one ;-)Just this picture made it worth the drive at 39 weeks ;-)We picked three gourds and plan to make funny geese out of them next week.

We had some hot and delicious pumpkin and apple cider donuts early in the day. Good thing because by 4 pm there was a donut line and people were waiting for about an hour to get some fresh donuts!
Then we piled up in the car and drove to a Hill High farm down the road; it was just a mile away and it was worth the hassle of getting into and out of the car!
Little calf came out of his house as Jeremy called for him.He licked Sonia's and Jeremy's hands. His tong was slimy and rough! His newborn coat was soft to touch.

Sonia ran after two chickens then watched huge turkeys in the pen. We pet bunnies all colors and sizes. One of the bunnies was really big.

Milking goats.

One of goats had very small ears and was very friendly.The blue grass Double Deuce Outlaws band played well and sounded not too loud. Even I stopped to listen for a bit ;-) We played on the old rusty tractor.Jeremy's could have made a good farmer ;-) Maybe this should be our next adventure?
Sonia discovered a new food group... french fries. I felt like a great mother... pretty good for making it without fries for two and half years ;-) She calls her play food fries "corn." I took more pumpkin pictures. It is such a classic ;-) We got our family shot of the day!!! Mischa was sitting in the car; he was not allowed on this farm. I would have used this picture for Christmas but the baby would be way too offended.
Happy harvest time and thanks for stopping by!