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!