The Rest of Massanutten

While on the trip, there were two "hikes" that happened around the building where we stayed.  They were short but intense because of the steep hills!  Here is Parker and Ryan on the "rocky trail". 

 

He had the best time!  

On Sunday, we woke up first thing and headed out to Carter Mountain Orchard for some apple picking.  This has been a tradition now since 2008 (minus last year).  We love going up to the top of the mountain to take in the gorgeous view and grab a few fresh apples.  

Did I mention that Parker wore his backpack almost all weekend?  It was pretty cute.

 

This little girl was not in the mood to smile that day.  It was pretty cold and SO muddy.  Our shoes were covered in mud and there are still stains in some of the clothes Audrey and I wore (ivory sweater for me and ivory leggings for her--clearly I was not prepared for getting dirty).  We both ended up carrying them up and down the hill to get to the apples. 

She was pretty interested in the process.

Trying to get this boy to cooperate and smile "normal" is always interesting.  This would not be the last picture of the day where he's banging someone on the head!

Again with the not smiling.

 I was trying SO HARD to get them to look and smile!  A half smile from Parker and an irritated screech from Audrey is all I got--haha.

At this point I threw an apple to them and Parker gave it to her to eat.  I love seeing his face as he's telling her to take a bite as well as his hand on her waist.  The sweetness is just too much.

 

Actually, this was the first picture after I tossed over the apple.  Playing bongos on her head?  This makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Classic "CHEESE!" face.  At this point I was wrangling with both kids while Ryan was going to get the car.  Notice the intense mud beneath his feet!

Making the trip to Charlottesville to visit Carter Mountain is one of the many things I love about fall.  It brings back so many memories of all the trips before.  It's fun to see how our family has grown since we started going:

Oh hey, babies!  How are things back in 2008?  Disclaimer:  this was taken at Monticello, but we did go to Carter Mountain during this trip! :)

Pregnant with Parker.

Parker at about 8 months old.  Disclaimer:  I forgot that this year we went the Carter Mountain's sister orchard in Crozet that lets you pick your own pumpkins.  This picture was actually taken at a nearby vineyard.

Parker at about 20 months old.  I was a month pregnant with Audrey!

.....and here we are today!  Looking forward to next year's trip already :)

Massanutten Festival

Two weekends ago, we traveled to Massanutten with my mom and sister for a short trip due to a super great deal my mom found for a condo.  We went just for a getaway but there was a festival going on while we were there.  The festival overall was not that great, but Parker tried a rock-climbing wall and Audrey tried...........some cheese fries.  Haha!

 

Sharing with NayNay.

Good to the last fry!

Stepping into his "gear."  We couldn't believe he was actually doing it.  Usually he says he'll want to do things and then back out at the last second.

 

Getting the hang of it with the rock-climbing guy.

I thought he did pretty well!

....aaaaaand then he was done.  

More to come from Massanutten and beyond! 

Labor Day

On Labor Day, we went to the beach in the morning and then went to Ryan's parents' house for an afternoon celebration.  I completely forgot all about taking pictures at their house!  Once we got there, I set everything down and didn't pick any of it back up--including the camera!  Anyway, here are the pictures I took at the beach.  I tried to get more of Parker, but he would not sit still and look at the camera at the same time for the most part.  We really enjoyed it and I'm still hoping to get back to the beach at least one more time before summer is completely gone. 

LOVING the pigtails on this girl.  Seriously.

Going to try to use this one as a silhouette.  We shall see if it turns out.  

This boy is happy in the water!  Even when he's shivering and his lips are turning blue.  Haha.

Parker's First Day of School

Parker had his first day of school in his new preschool class today!  He is going three days a week and has two new teachers--Ms. Plante and Ms. Amy.  He was pretty excited because his BFF, Wyatt, is now in his class, too!  When we got to school, he was a little hesitant, though.  He said he wanted Audrey and I (or even just one of us) to stay.  He was a definitely sad, but he did not cry.  I didn't cry either, but I felt like I could this morning!  I am used to him being gone and used to him being at school, but I just felt this little tinge of sadness this morning when he wasn't with Audrey and I.  I definitely missed him and was constantly wondering how the big "first day" was going. 

When I picked him up, he was so excited to see Audrey and I.  He looked like he could have cried because he was so happy!  I love to see him like this and have him give me a hug so hard it almost knocks me over onto the floor.  Based on everything he told me about his day, it seemed that he had fun.  A first day win! 

I am just SO IN LOVE with this child.  I kept telling him to say "cheese!' and "happy!" and trying to get him to look at the camera and he was pretty much doing everything BUT that.  I did manage to get these few, though :) 

Of course we had to get a couple pictures with sister, too!

 

Until next year...... :)

A Few Things About Audrey

I wanted to share a few updates and different things about Audrey since I stopped doing her monthly posts when she turned one.  She is such a sweet little girl!

• She is now wearing size 12-18 months in most things.  I've bought 18-24 months for pretty much all of her cold weather clothes!  
• She can wear a size 4 diaper but a size 3 still fits her pretty well.  She will now tell me when she has "poopoo" in her diaper--really hoping this means we may have an earlier potty training experience with her!
• She says TONS of words now, some of which include: more, ball, cheese, milk, waffle, night-night, baby, girl, moo, brother, thank-you, welcome, whoa, oh no!, uh-oh, out, book, cup, hi, and bye.  I'm sure I'm forgetting at least a couple but these were the ones that came to mind!  They're not all super-clear to others but we definitely know what you're saying.  You also say "hunna" for Honey, "gaga" for Granddaddy, "aley" for Haley, "amy" for Omi, "woowoo" and sometimes Lulu for Lulu, and "cocka" for Parker.  You say Momma, Dadda, Mona, NayNay, Opa and Amy just fine! 

 

• I can ask her how she's doing or how something tastes, and she'll respond, "good!"
• Almost every time she gives us a hug, she walks up to us and just kind of falls into us and tucks her arms in.  If we pick her up, she'll tuck them underneath her.  It's very sweet!
• I stopped breastfeeding her last week.  I think 8/27 was the last day I fed her.  It hasn't been too much of an issue except that she is still asking me for milk every morning when she gets up!  Daddy and I distract her with books, toys and her cup, but it saddens me just a little when I have to tell her "no milk."

(playing peek-a-boo!)

• I don't think I ever officially "recorded" this but she started walking right at about 13 months old!
• Right now she is really into looking through books but does not usually want to sit and be read to.  She also likes to take them to bed with her. 
• She loves peek-a-boo and patty-cake.

• She and Parker love to play with each other--sometimes.  Haha.  They like to chase after each other and can be in the pack-n-play together for a while.  After a while, though, Parker will start to lay on her or hug her when she doesn't want to be hugged or stack toys around or on her and it gets on her nerves!  They also like to "talk" to each other in the car.  They will repeat each other and laugh--so cute!
• She eats SO many different things but does NOT like regular milk.  I have tried giving it to her so many different ways and she just refuses.  It's so crazy because Parker loved it at first sip!  The variety of things she eats amazes me.  She likes almost everything, but her favorites at the moment are cottage cheese, quinoa, noodles of all kinds, eggs, waffles, cheese and yogurt.  There are so many others but these are the current faves!

Like I said...just a few random things I wanted to record!  Love love love this baby girl! :)

My Comeback

Hopefully it's a real one.  It makes me so sad that I haven't blogged since the beginning of July.  We've actually had lots going on but when I sit down at night, I haven't had the motivation to edit pictures and write out posts.  There's no other explanation--basically just laziness!  To get things started again, here's a summary of what's been going on since Independence Day:

 

We've had some bagels with "cheese cream"...

...worn our hair in pony tails...

 

...eaten Skinny Dip and played at the park...

...and made friends with "go-go bounce" animals!

We've also taken lots of naps (when I say we I mean the kids--haha)...

...gone to church...

 

...done lots of coloring...

used Cookie Monster ice packs for booboos...

...and played lots of peekaboo!

We've had a really fun but busy summer.  I cannot believe it's almost over--Parker starts his new school schedule next week, and I am picking up another workday.  I have a few other things on my camera that I am excited to share, so here's to a renewal of my blogging spirit!