Loving Fall!

We have been having a great couple of weeks around here! Enjoying the weather and lots of things to do! This picture above is of us before we took Lilly & Owen to their open house at the "school" they go to on Tuesdays. Paul got to meet their teachers and see where they go to school. I think the kids had fun showing daddy around. We got dressed up and went to dinner first while Baby Ginger stayed home. It was a fun evening!



These pictures are totally out of order, sorry. Today Paul and the twins carved their jack-o-lantern. This is the first time we've done this with the kids, they had fun. Actually I don't remember the last time we ever had a jack-o-lantern...we don't get trick-or-treaters where we live but it's fun for the kids. Owen wanted a scary face on the jack-o-lanter, and Lilly wanted a happy face....so Paul came up with this.

I got the kids some popcorn balls from the store, that was definitely a hit. We sat outside and enjoyed the morning while Daddy mowed.

I impromptu-ly (not a word, huh) gave Baby Ginger her first food yesterday! I saw these things at the store that I used to give Lilly & Owen. They are called Baby Mum Mums - they are rice rusks that dissolve very easily in your mouth. Ginger gummed on it and had a FIT when I tried to take it from her to adjust it in her hand. She loved it I think and in fact I gave her another one today which she polished off as well. Traditionally most pediatricians want you to wait until babies are 6 months old to start solids. Ginger is almost 5 months but I think she's ready for a little something more. I bought the rice cereal and baby oatmeal at the store today, so I think we'll start having a little fun with that. I'm pretty sure Ginger's gonna wonder why we've been holding out on her once she start's solids!

This is Owen and Miss Debbie, his teacher. Such a sweet picture! We love Miss Debbie!

These adorable pumpkins were a gift from Paul's parents' neighbors at their summer cottage in New York. Janet and John love the kids and have got to see the twins each summer for a few weeks for the past 3 summers. They have a huge garden which I love to wander in when I'm there. They carved these names into the pumpkins when they were still green, and this is how they turned out. Unfortunately, Baby Ginger's pumpkin didn't make it... The kids had lots of fun picking (not ripe) apples from Janet and John's apple trees this summer. Janet kept telling them they were going to get a stomach ache from eating unripe apples, but it didn't phase them.

Paul's company had their annual BBQ cook off last weekend. We got to go on Saturday and enjoy the fruits of their labor. My kids love BBQ, especially ribs. I'm pretty sure that Owen thinks this is what Daddy is doing when he goes to work now..making BBQ. He mentioned it more than once this week when we mentioned Daddy being at work...

Fingers or toes, fingers or toes. My big girl is loving putting everything in her mouth now!


In other news, I survived (with much help) 3 days and nights without Paul last week. This was the first time he's had to be gone since Ginger was born. I have to say it went much better than expected. Thankfully Aunt LaLa, and Gma and Gpa Brown each took a night to help get everyone fed and to bed, so I was really only alone on my own one night. Even so, it really makes you appreciate what single moms or moms who's hubbys are deployed or gone a lot, must go through. I am very thankful Paul is rarely gone for work!

We have lots of fun planned this week, and of course, are looking forward to Halloween! The kids get to wear their costumes to school and to story time this week, so it should be lots of fun. Oh, and I can't wait to post pics of Baby Ginger's costume next week....SO ADORABLE! Can you guess what she's going to be???? We did a trial run yesterday and there were many tears so hopefully she will be happier next time around!

That's whats going on with the Browns. So I hate to beg, but I will...haha. If you are reading my blog, leave me a comment! I'm not too good about leaving comments on other people's blog either, but it sure makes you feel good to know someone besides the grandparents (no offense) are reading it :)

Say it with pictures...

Typical weekday morning...my kids LOVE dressing up, and I think it's great too!

I've been catching Owen being sweet on Baby Ginger quite a bit lately, it's so sweet. He wanted to hold her the other night...

We have MUCH sibling rivalry over these heels.

Made Lilly and her friend matching "pillowcase" dresses. They turned out really cute...after ripping out many, many seams. Next ones will be a cinch. Lilly put it on, said it was pretty, then said she wanted a purple one instead.

Ms mellow Baby Ginger, always happy as long as the scenery is changing..wonder where she gets that from?

Owen created his cowboy outfit all by himself. Took me a few days to realize Lilly's easter hat was his cowboy hat..until he asked me to take the ribbons off his cowboy hat...oh. And those would be his cowboy pants...aka mouse costume pants. Don't worry, I made him a REAL cowboy outfit since, that he loves! Still wearing that easter hat though...

Heard Owen yelling from the dining room "I'm a cheerleader!" No idea where he picked that up from but I love his creativitiy!

Funny girl with her funnies

A great big bro.

Grape stomping at the Montgomery food and wine festival...no food or wine for us, just hot, and the grapes felt great on my feet. If it was 20 degrees cooler and we didn't have 3 kids with us..oh what a day!

Train ride at the wine festival.

BABY GINGER!

Activity has picked up in our household. We just re-joined the YMCA and are having fun going there during the week. I like the exercise and the kids are doing pretty well in the child watch - I think they like getting out of the house too. I signed Lilly and I up for a mommy & me ballet class so we're looking forward to that! She literally screamed out of joy when I told her about it!

The twins are doing good at school and Owen is taking it much better and I think he really likes it because he really doesn't put up much of a fight anymore and it is short-lived.

We are still doing good on our no TV thing and getting stuff done. We do watch some TV, but don't have cable and it is probably only on a few nights a week, usually the weekend. I've been sewing, cleaning out closets and cabinets, and working on a long-overdue photo album. I haven't done a photo album since the twins were born...or really ever :( I decided doing it on Shutterfly was the way to go and am making progress. Hopefully I'll get caught up until now, and then I can be better about putting new pictures in regularly, rather than scrounging for three years worth of digital photos.

We've moved Ginger from our room into her crib finally, and she seems to be sleeping a little better, although definitely not great. She is still up SEVERAL times a night but this too shall pass. I end up sleeping in the bed in her room, but Paul at least is getting great sleep now! That's OK because he lets me sleep in every weekend :)

Ginger had her 4 month appointment last week and she is 26 inches long...that's the 95% for height! Guess she is going to take after her Daddy. She is doing great and big and healthy. She really is a mellow baby and pretty happy most of the time. I've figured out that she likes to see what's going on...one of those girls who doesn't want to miss anything. As long as she has something to watch, she's pretty happy. I plop her down on the floor for the twin's story time at the library and she is happy as can be watching everything going on.

We are doing great, and still waiting on that fall weather...grrr...It was 97 with a heat index of 104 today...so much for my plans to make banana bread....just doesn't feel right!