Baby Update

I am going to post these for my own sake. I think if I don't write it down, I will forget. There is always so much going on. Anyways, I had my second prenatal appt yesterday (already!). I am 14w3days for those who are wondering. It was an awesome appointment! I had been feeling the baby move for over a week now, but kept it to myself b/c it is pretty early (I usually don't feel them until closer to 16 weeks). Anyways, it took the midwife and assistant a while to get the heartbeat on doppler b/c......he/she kept kicking it away! It was pretty amusing actually. They were all surprised as well. All of the boys were in the room and got to witness it and Jacob found it pretty funny. There is no feeling like that of a baby inside of you. Whatever crabby/grouchiness I had from the morning melted away after that! I am measuring small right now, but I am not too surprised. That will probably change once I can actually start eating like I should. And that is about it until next month :) This pregnancy is going by soooo quickly!

12 Acres Academy

Monday, our homeschool group took a field trip to a local Alpaca farm. The family that runs the farm is just starting to offer tours to homeschooling families, so it was totally free! We started the tour with an educational talk on the history of Alpacas as well as what they are used for (here in America, they are used strictly for fiber. In other countries, they are also used for meat). Their hair is unbelievably soft, by the way. After the talk, we took a break for lunch and then headed outside to meet the animals!

A few of the Alpacas.
This one is a female and I think her name was Ileana.

The little brown one, Chippy, is only a month old. Isn't he cute!

One of the several chickens that roamed the property. Blake is VERY afraid of chickens and every time it started to even walk in our direction, he clung to me.

Two of the very friendly goats. They have such small ears!

This little one kept trying to get the camera.

Parker LOVED the goats. He kept laughing at them everytime they came to smell him. A little later, the kids were able to feed the goats, but I didn't get any pictures of that. I was helping to pass out the feed. I think Parker would have fed them all day!

Some of the "feral" kittens. There were actually about 8 of them, but almost all of them ate really fast then scattered when the kids came to pet them. Jacob loves cats the most. He was busy most of the time trying to catch them so when they finally were still to eat, he was so happy.

The horses! They were pretty friendly, but were much more interested in eating then receiving pats.

Blake was VERY nervous feeding them the carrots. I finally grabbed his hand and just made him do it. He was a little upset with me, but I said "well if you are going to do it, you just have to do it". I am not sure why he is so afraid of animals and I am hoping this is a fear he will outgrow.

Nova, the horse.

My Reindeer

Jacob did not want to participate in the photo shoot...turkey.

Blake wanted to make this face. When he saw it, he said "it looks like I ate something good".

Dakota always has the same pitiful look.

Christmas Tree Time!

This past weekend we went ahead and got our tree. The boys were very excited and had been asking when we were going to get it since the Christmas decorations started appearing in stores. The trees seemed to be a little more scraggly this year then last, but we found one that seemed to work. I love the smell of fresh pine trees!

Their faces crack me up! Parker has a mask on his head for those who were wondering.
Hanging one of his ornaments.

Finding the perfect spot.

Who put that under the tree?

Blake was in a funny mood that night...he only wanted to make silly faces.

Picking their favorites.

Hanging one of daddy's ornaments.

I love Parker's lips...this is the face he makes when he is really concentrating.

The finished tree! The boys did a great job! Jacob seemed to be the only one that wanted to hang multiple ornaments in one spot. When he wasn't looking, I would rearrange them slightly, but by the end of the night, he was putting them in other spots on the tree. They loved looking at all their ornaments and remembering them. After we were done, Blake said "I love Christmas time". They went to bed with smiles on their faces and happy memories. It was a great day!

Random Shots

We have been finding Parker in bed with Jacob most nights lately. Although, the other night, he apparantley fell asleep while he was halfway under Jakey's bed. No picture of that though.

Parker's favorite way to "wake up" in the morning. He always looks for Dakota to snuggle with. Sometimes he crawls in his dog bed with him too!

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in NY this year. The boys were very excited about our trip...it had been a very long time since they were there (and they were too little at the time to remember). It was a fabulous time. They enjoyed spending time with their cousin, Brooke, as well as playing with their aunts, uncles and of course, Granny and Gramps! Peter was able to find some of his old legos which kept them occupied most of the time. They are still playing with them two weeks later. Jacob and Brooke seemed to bond instantly...they have very similar personalities. When it was time for baths, he jumped right in with no hesitation! It was very cute to watch them all interact with her. Unfortunately, out of the 5 days we were there, these are the only pictures I managed to take!

Baby Talk

The other day, the boys and I were snuggling on the couch talking when Blake started asking me questions about babies. He was wondering if you could decide how many kids you wanted. I told him sort of...most of the time it works that way. Then he responded with "I think you should have 6 six kids. Three boys and three girls". I had to laugh and then explained we don't get to pick if it is a girl or boy AND there would be no way we would be having any more babies after this one! I then looked to Jacob and asked if he wanted six kids too and he quickly said "no, we already have enough". Typical Jacob...he would be perfectly happy being an only child!

10 Weeks

I had my first prenatal appointment with my midwife today. Everything is great so far! We got to hear the baby's heartbeat...168 bpm. Nice and strong! Parker was in the room with me and seemed pretty interested in everything that was going on. When my midwife asked if he was going to be a big brother, he just smiled and shook his head no! Ha, ha. I don't think he is ready to give up being the "baby" of the family quite yet!

My eco-shopper

After unloading my bags, I usually set them by the front door so I remember to put them back in the car. However, Parker loves to take them and fill them up with things from around the house. In this bag he had his blankie (of course!), a plastic pumpkin container, some cars and a baggie of cotton balls (marshmallows) and Q-tips (sticks). He then presents the bags to any one of us saying "it's your birthday. Open your present!". We never know what will be inside.

Trick or Treat!

We had a great Halloween night! A mom from our homeschool group hosted a Halloween party at her house. It was so much fun. Everyone brought a potluck dish (lots of yummy food), the kids got to run around and play games in the dark- mummy tag, pumpkin races, they swung from a giant tree swing, and then we went on a trick-or-treat trail through the woods behind their property. At the end of the trail, they had lit a fire and the kids got to roast marshmallows. We didn't leave until almost 10 and the boys did NOT want to go home yet (but this momma was exhausted). I didn't get a lot of shots b/c my camera doesn't take very good night pictures, but I was able to get a shot of the boys before we left.

Our group is amazing. We have all become such good friends and it is great to have such a large support group for not just homeschool stuff, but parenting in general (we all have the same parenting and life philosophies). Peter was a bit skeptical about the boys having fun without receiving typical treats (all the treats given were healthy-muffins, organic lolipops, fruit leathers, granola bars, trail mix), but the boys did not ask once about junk candy, nor did they complain about their treats!

Before the party. Parker decided at the last minute that he wanted to be Nemo, again. Since he is such a peanut and never seems to grow much, the costume still fit perfectly. I will let you guess what Blake is!

Tasting some of their treats after hitting the trail!

Pumpkin carving time

Last night we carved the boys pumpkins that they got from the hayride at the Nature Preserve. These were by far the biggest pumpkins we have ever gotten from participating in an activity! Perfect for carving! The boys were all very anxious and had picked out their designs themselves. Blake was nervous about touching the pumpkin guts, but after seeing everyone else do it, he decided it wasn't so bad.

scooping the guts

checking out the inside

watching Daddy do his work

This pumpkin had already been scooped out, but they decided to put the guts back in and scoop it back out again. Parker was covered up to his elbows in pumpkin...he even had it in his hair!

Jacob's pumpkin

Blake's pumpkin

Parker's pumpkin

Daddy and the boys did a great job!