No more summer

Well, after that short week of sunshine, summer came to an abrupt halt and we've been under the rain and gloom ever since.  Except for those eerie moments when it rains while the sun is shining.  Isn't that weird?!

This has made the kids, especially Hollie, surprisingly antsy.  We've taken a few walks in the rain, but a recent bit of congestion has kept outside time to a minimum.

So, we've been keeping busy...experimenting in the kitchen (dijon-maple chicken, seafood gumbo, pumpkin bread, mmmm), visiting the library, preparing for a visit from Abuelita and her parents (see you tomorrow!!), and converting antsy into artsy...

Yep, we visited the pumpkin farm with Hollie's school, and lived to tell about it!  

In case you're wondering, she is holding a tiny kitten.  

Keeping the kids rapt attention + giving instructions to the big people.

When I found out that I would be driving one other student, and that I would be responsible for him and Hollie, I decided to leave little Blake with my friend Heather, instead of take her along as I had planned.  I'm very glad I did.  This farm was a madhouse of school groups being herded from one activity to another...and there was a LOT to do.  We played on a playground, watched a duck race, visited the petting zoo, rode a tractor trailer out to the field where we chose our pumpkins, and rode back to cap off the afternoon with some ice cream.  The little boy who rode with us, Cole, was a bundle of energy...and not a hand-holder.  He certainly kept me on my toes!  The best part of the trip (for the parents and teachers, I think) was going out into the field to choose pumpkins.  The open fields surrounding the pumpkin patch prevented any kids from making an unnoticed escape, unlike amid all the farm buildings where we were constantly mixed in with other groups and we could barely keep track of each other much less the two or three kids we were each responsible for.

The best part for the kids, I'm guessing, was the ice cream.  Because we were on a farm, naturally I expected that we were going to sample some homemade pumpkin ice cream made with fresh milk from a nearby dairy farm, or something like that.  I was sadly disappointed.  

The kids weren't!

You may have noticed Hollie's unusual outfit.  She likes to pick out her own clothes, and I like letting her.  She usually lets me point her in the appropriate direction for long vs. short sleeves, shorts vs. pants, etc., but that day, she started without me and came out of her room wearing this...

That's Cole, by the way.

That's a black skirt over blue pants with white spots.  Daniel and I saw her at the same time, and I think our jaws both hit the floor!  Of course, we never asked that she change.  It's just a trip the farm...if it had been for a nice dinner (with a three-year old??) we might have had to make some gentle suggestions!  Anyway, the more I looked at her clothes the cuter she looked, and her teacher loved it too.

It was a fun, busy day!  That's all for now.  Can't wait to see the girls' great-grandparents and show them our new home!

Second summer

For the past week or so, we've been enjoying a spell of unseasonably warm weather!  Before that, it was starting to get chilly and gloomy, and I was coming to terms with it, and then...poof!  Here comes the sun, little darlin'.

One Last Trip to the Beach [most likely]

This was the very first photo I took when we arrived at the playground, and I still had the camera on an indoor setting.  This photo is still definitely a keeper though!

Maybe you can tell...Blake does NOT like holding hands.  She is super affectionate in every other way...she has even started giving the most adorable kisses!  Not a hand-holder, though.

Anyway, upon arrival we were greeted with cries of "Hollie! Hollie!!" from the swings.  Two of her classmates were there!

Here is one of them (I didn't get her name), waiting patiently to use the monkey bars.

Hollie insisted on bringing her umbrella.  She cannot wait for the first rainy day, so we can go for a walk in all our rain gear!  We brought the umbrella "just in case".  Blake happily held it for her while she played with her friends.

What a back-drop!

Beautiful.

I think she really looks like Daniel here.

The only picture I got of them together.  They're not fans of that routine.

The three classmates!

We even got to see a train go by on the tracks that run along the coast.  

Blake was SUPER EXCITED!

Have I mentioned that I love living here?

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One night last week we got to babysit our friend, Cian!  In the past, he has made Blake a little nervous, especially when I hold him (mom holding another baby = not cool), but this time, she didn't mind so much.  

She even gave him a few kisses!

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I'm feeling much better.  We had another ultrasound which gave us a solid due date of April 13th (not a Friday, I checked).  Definitely getting a little belly.  

Last night was Mom's Night at Hollie's school.  All the moms got to spend an hour in the classroom letting the students show us around.  The hour went by really fast, and Hollie made it clear what her favorite things were.  She traced some shapes with a pencil on paper, had me read a book to her, and we did ALL the puzzles.  She loved it.  

Occasionally when I pick Hollie up from school, her teacher, Miss Cindy, tells me how much fun Hollie is.  She is always happy at school, and the other kids love her.  So strange for me to hear, because of course at home she has bad days and bad moods - though I have to say, since starting school, she seems happier in general.  

There's probably more, but I can't remember.  We still don't have the pictures from our photo shoot yet.  We have a busy couple of weeks coming up!  Can't wait.  :)

All in one day?!

There were three papers in Hollie's school folder this afternoon.

One was about her very first field trip, coming up next week.  This terrifies me, to my core.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to chaperone.  They're going to a pumpkin patch (aka child abductor convention, right?).  Lots of deep breaths.

The next was about the first round of parent-teacher conferences.  Not so terrifying!

And last, the proofs from her very first school portraits, which were taken last week.  The only danger here is of me crying every time I look at them.  She's such a cutie!

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All of this made me completely forget about Blake's photo session at a local park this afternoon!  We made it just in time, and she did great, and Hollie even jumped in for a few shots.  I'll be getting all the pictures electronically, so I'll be able to post them when I get them sometime next week.  :)