Any Day Now

So, Logan should be here any day now. In fact, even though my due date isn't for another nine days, the doctors thought that he would've come sometime this last week. On the 16th I had pretty consistent contractions and was pretty sure that we would have a baby before we got through the weekend. While I'm very anxious and ready for him to come, 37-38 weeks sounded too early to me. I would rather he come when he's ready. I definitely don't want him to be born on Halloween so I've started being more active the last couple of days in hopes that we can make something happen but no luck with that plan so far. My doctor was sure that I wouldn't make it to my due date and nine days sure sounds like a long time away. Now that I've made it this far, I would love to have two November babies. At this point we'll just have to wait and see.

Trunk-or-Treat

Lincoln decided that he wanted to be a skeleton this year for Halloween...or as he calls it...bones. We put several costumes in front of him including Buzz Lightyear, Wubbzy, Spiderman, and Thomas the Train. He quickly narrowed it down to Wubbzy and the skeleton and then when I asked him to choose one he quickly replied by saying, "Mama, two!" Explaining that he could only have one he finally decided on the bones. When we finally put it in him he didn't want to take it off. He thought he was so cool and special in his costume. He picked out a little green pumpkin bucket to collect his candy in. He also named that Happy. Now, any pumpkins name is Happy.

Lincoln seemed to quickly learn the art of trunk-or-treating. He would walk right up to the person sitting at the trunk, hold up his bucket and wait for the candy. Every so often we could get him to say "trick or treat" but body language worked out well for him. Luckily Ricky was with him to say thank you. I sat at the bed of our truck, with my big pregnant belly, handing out candy. Now that Lincoln is finally getting old enough to understand things better and how the holidays work, it brings a different and special meaning to them for me. I enjoy being able to see the holidays through his eyes. To experience the magic, enthusiasm and excitement as he does.

Pumpkin Patch

Over the weekend we took Lincoln to a pumpkin patch for the first time. It was more than just a place to pick out pumpkins. They had a corn maze, train ride, petting zoo, roaming chickens, a bounce house, and big boxes with dried corn for the kids to play in. Lincoln loved it! Ricky and I had a good time too. None of us had ever been in a corn maze before so that was my favorite part. They called it a mini maze because it only took about five minutes for us to get through it. There was a full size maze that would take approximately 45 minutes but the only thing I could think about was, one - walking for 45 minutes would probably send me into labor and two - it would be my luck that I would go into labor and be lost in the maze and nobody would find me...so we stuck to the mini maze this time. Lincoln ran down the paths as fast as he could and we let him choose which way to go. He's like his daddy - blessed when it comes to always knowing directions! The boys actually went through it a couple of times while I watched the animals and took pictures. On our way out Lincoln picked out another pumpkin (his name is also Happy - see previous post for details on Happy) but this time it was smaller so it's baby Happy. I think a visit to the pumpkin patch will be an ongoing annual tradition or us. It was a great way to get in the fall harvest holiday mood.

I think I liked the animals more than Lincoln. They only held his attention for a few seconds.

Lincoln loves tractors - old or new, big or small, he loves them all.

Mini Corn Maze

I could barely get him to slow down long enough for me to take a picture.

I thought this corn box was a really cute and clever idea. So much easier to get corn out of your shoe than sand.

Daddy was a good sport and took Lincoln on the make shift train ride since he was to small to ride alone.

Happy Halloween!

Visit From Tutus and Cousin Erica

Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa Tutu came to stay and they brought cousin Erica with them. It was a nice break for us. They helped entertain the kids but really Erica and Lincoln play so well together that they do a pretty good job of entertaining themselves. We had a fun filled weekend with lots of activities. We went shopping, went to the park, went to October Fest, played at McDonald's playground, and carved a pumpkin. The kids were troopers and we didn't have any major breakdowns.

I thought it would be really fun for the kids to carve pumpkins. Lincoln was not even a year old last Halloween so we didn't do much of anything festive last year at this time. Erica wasn't too into pulling out the pumpkin seeds but it was probably a good thing considering Lincoln really wanted to pull out all of the seeds by himself. Once he was done I cleaned out the rest of the pumpkin and carved a little classic happy face on the front. Lincoln appropriately named him "Happy." We put Happy out on the porch and lit the candle. Lincoln and Erica were so excited that they would take turns sitting by Happy. It was cute to watch them try to interact with the pumpkin. Later that night as I was cuddling Lincoln and getting him ready for bed, he abruptly sat up, pointed down the hall to the front of the house, and with a very concerned voice said...Happy? I reassured him that Happy was alright and that he would get to see him in the morning. Of course, the next morning, Lincoln went to the front door (which he can open by himself if it's not dead bolted - scary - I know) and wanted to see Happy. He of course was sitting on the porch safe and sound. I think Lincoln was relieved.

We also spent a couple of hours Saturday night at October Fest. They hold the event at the spring training baseball fields that are by our house. It's an annual event where they showcase German food, music, dancing, games for the kids and a few crafts. Never having been before we were a bit nervous about how fun it would be. When we got there it was a much smaller event than I had anticipated but nonetheless we were able to stay occupied for a while. The kids rode on some swings, went in the bounce house and did a couple carnival like games. We shared some dinner and cotton candy (Erica wouldn't eat any cotton candy - I couldn't believe it. Nancee, you have to work with her on that!) and had a few other goodies that we picked up from the booths.

Thanks to Tutus, Ricky and I were able to enjoy a few hours out each evening. We actually even got to go to a movie which we haven't done in a while. We were also able to get some other projects done around the house in preparation for Logan's arrival. After their stay with us was over, they offered to take Lincoln over to Nancee's in Tucson where they were going to be visiting for a few more days. I was pretty hesitant to be away from him for that long but knowing that he would have such a fun time continuing to play with Erica that we let him go. It was hard and we missed him but it was also really nice for Ricky and I to have a few more days by ourselves without having to chase Lincoln around. It was an awkward feeling though not having him around to make noise and messes and we were able to actually stroll through stores without having to worry about how long Lincoln was going to last. It was pretty relaxing. Thanks Tutus!

They weren't quite what to do at first and I don't think Erica was very impressed with the slimy seeds inside but Lincoln sure loved to pull them out.

Happy Halloween!

October Fest at Surprise Stadium. I thought it was cool that we actually got to go on one of the practice fields for the Kansas City Royals. They share the stadium with the Texas Rangers. That was the best grass that I've ever walked on....pretty fascinating.

Even though both Lincoln and Erica were a tad too short for the required height the guy working the swings still let them go on. They seemed to do fine - in fact - they went several times and loved it!

Lincoln is big into Diego and Dora right now. Grandma Tutu got him this new little backpack that he wore all over the house with his teddy and fire truck in it. He calls Diego, "Go Go." I think he looks so big and grown up with the little backpack on. It's sad and cute all at the same time.