Happy Halloween

Just like the rest of America, we carved pumpkins last night. Except this year a power drill was added to the carving tools!

I think they turned out quite perfect if I do say so myself! 

Oh and Ady is 15 months old now. We had her well check yesterday morning and she's perfect as can be!

The Transformer House

So this man in Cleveland has been building life sized transformers since 2008 and this was the very first year I heard about it! We packed the kiddos up after dinner Tuesday and drove 30 minutes to see the exhibit and it was awesome. Optimus Prime was like 15 feet tall maybe?! They were incredibly detailed and even lit up. Drew was kinda nervous but Ady walked right up and stared at them the entire time.

Weekly Recap

So last Friday night I started off the weekend with several of my girlfriends for a ladies night out! We enjoyed an awesome dinner and drinks and, of course, lots of discussion on things like Justin Bieber's recent 'picture'! It was a great time and I'll miss these girls so much while we're in DC.

Then it was time for the local pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. Drew loved the hayride and corn maze and sissy loved carrying around a mini pumpkin.

I had tons of sessions this weekend seeing that it was our last full weekend in Cleveland but we were also able to squeeze in the neighborhood fall fest. At least I got pictures of the kiddos in their costumes if it's too crazy on Saturday! :)

Breath

5 more days and then we are off on our 18 month adventure in the DC area. So yes, this week is full of doctors appointments, 957 photography sessions, packing, goodbye's with friends, haircuts,  more packing, other appointments and more. Thankfully Mimi and Grandpa are in town to help and we're trying to enjoy the last of Cleveland when we can. Snapped this sunset that was watched last week from a pier on Lake Erie and it was pretty magical.

5 more days.
And breath.

The Opposite's Blog

My children are alike in so many ways, but in others they are complete opposites. I thought it would be fun to write some out so that we don't forget any of these fun facts!

walked late vs walked early

mellow baby vs active baby

back sleeper vs tummy sleeper

scared by loud noises vs thinks loud noises are funny
super slow eater vs super fast eater
blond vs dark hair
drooling champ when a baby vs doesn't drool a bit

I'll be adding to this in the future, but this is a good start for today!

Sissy's Sassy Face

Love it.

Love her.

Scared of when she's 13.

Ady vs Mommy

Me on the top at 14 and 15 mo old and Ady on the bottom at 14 months old.

Although we don't look alike much now (per about 95% of comments made), she was my twin when I was that age.

Apple Picking

So it's fall and that means it's apple picking season. I love this outing with my family and we were excited to have Uncle Bean and his girlfriend in town for the weekend to join us. We got a huge bag of apples and I intend to do some baked apples this weekend! We had absolutely beautiful weather and it was a perfect afternoon.

Drew picked so many of his own this year and ate just as much...

The little one just ate.
And ate.
And ate.

Drew made Uncle Bean drive him around on the go carts and he also enjoyed running around the crate maze.

And, of course, I made everyone smile for some pictures...

The Thinker

I've only caught this on camera 3 times (and yes, 2 of which she had the same outfit on) but she does it almost daily. We're calling it "The Thinker."

Generally, it's when she's standing and observing the world around her but sometimes it's when she's simply waiting for her milk to be poured. She takes 2 of her tiny fingers and wraps them together and will stand in that position, but often walks around like that. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen and a quirk that I absolutely adore.

Night at the beach

Things are moving fast lately. 

Too fast for comfort.

But our beach helps. It always has. Something about the waves and the sunset and being there with my people. Something about the boats out on the lake and the boardwalk that we stroll barefoot down. 

So we go there. 

Often.

They See My Rollin...

Our new evening routine after dinner involves a Jeep ride.
With Drew driving.
And Ady strapped in with a bungee cord.

Yes, a bungee cord. And it works. There's not a seat belt in this thing and I was a bit worried about her squirming out so Derek jerry-rigged a completely ghetto way of keeping our child safe.

Don't judge.

And here's a quick video to see the driving in action. Ady literally doesn't move a muscle the entire ride and then proceeds to throw a huge tantrum when the ride is over and we take her out. She's almost 14 months old and I'm still getting used to this sassyness and drama that girls bring!

Family Island Day

With our big move to DC coming up we've been packing in as much Cleveland family fun as we can. Derek and I love the island Put-in-Bay so we decided to take the kiddos over on Saturday for a fun adventure!

The fun started right away as we drove our car onto the ferry. Drew thought this was the coolest thing in the world. After the 20 minute ferry ride to the island, our first stop was lunch including our favorite lobster sandwich and lobster bisque. We ate waterside and watched some boats roll in and out. Then first up on our adventure was the Butterfly House. There are over 700 butterflies in this huge room and they are beautiful. The colors and sizes are so amazing and the kiddos loved watching them fly around.

Right when we walked in a gynormous one with blue wings landed on Drew!

Next up was Perry's cave which was essentially this underground area with some rock formations. It was nice and chilly down there and the tour guide had some interesting stories, but I was itching to play some mini golf! Drew did awesome and although we skipped a few holes (if you've ever played with a 4.5 year old, you know how long it takes), it was a fun time!

We originally had thought of putting Ady on my back, but we decided to just let her roam instead. The stinker kept trying to pick up the balls, though, so we had to get an extra one for her to carry around. 

Last up around that area was the kids maze. Drew had a BLAST as I followed him around (dad and Ady stayed in the observation deck) but I mostly just tried to avoid the huge spiderwebs hanging everywhere. 

After all that energy exerted, it was time for some sweets. And our sweets of choice is always ice cream!

Across the street from ice cream was an awesome park that Drew had a blast at.

Timeline of a 4.5 year old walking and losing balance on a balance beam!

 After that we made a last stop at a tall monument. The line was long to get to the top so instead we just explored the grounds and Drew told Ady all about pine cones.

We caught the 5pm ferry and head home with 2 sleeping babes in the car.
I'd say that means they had fun.