sweet peas and other things » the family behind sweet pea photography

Well, once again it has been over a month since my last post… and seeing as how this is supposed to supplement my scrapbooking… and the last scrapbook page I finished was for April… things are not looking good!

Anyway, some big changes around our house… Eden is starting to talk!  She can say “mama”, “dada”, “ba-bye”, “ha-yah” (hello), and I think I heard her attempt “kitty” yesterday.  She waves at everyone including the cat (too cute) and just last week started putting the toy phone up to her ear and saying “ha-yah” — which is how I know that means hi!  Plus, she knows the sign for “more”, which is very helpful at mealtimes. So much fun.

The recent snow has also been lots of fun.  Averhy and I built a snow princess, which (mostly) lasted through the rain and ice last week, until Averhy went out to play in the snow yesterday and pushed it over.  Time to build another! We are busy getting ready for Christmas around our house, and Averhy’s program at school will be this Weds, and her church program will be Sunday.  I’ll post some pics afterward.   Last week, aunt Amanda and her friend Kevin took Averhy to a movie at the movie theather!  Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium… a big hit, and Amanda definitely qualifies as a cool aunt.  Tonight we’ll all go to the illini basketball game, so we continue to stay busy, busy, busy!

On Friday, it was time for our annual outing with the Nash family to the corn maze at Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch in Rantoul.  It’s hard to believe that we’ve been doing this for SIX YEARS!  After loading up everyone (front: Cara, Ashton, Cullen, Eden, Averhy; back: Mike, Melissa, Sky, Allyson) , we headed north and got to the maze around 7pm.  Cara, Cullen, and Ashton (Cullen’s good friend) were excited to be able to run through the maze on their own this year – such big kids! – and were determined to beat the adults!  It was certainly not as cold as some years (thank goodness) and there were lots of people out in the maze.  Averhy commented a few times that she was feeling a little scared (it does get quite dark out there!) but she did a great job holding the flashlight and “leading” the way.  Although we didn’t find all of the hole-punch stations in the maze, the kids did and were glad to flaunt their accomplishment!  Afterwards, we headed back to our house for some pizza, buffalo wings, and hot chocolate for the kids.  It was a great evening and a fun tradition to continue!

Well, a sure sign that your kid(s) are in school:  life gets busier, even though on paper you have more “kid-free time”.  The fact that it has been a month since I’ve blogged is a testament to this…

September was a fun month.  Averhy is having a blast at school and really enjoys her class, despite getting “stepped on” one day and scraping up her leg another day.  They’ve already taken a field trip – to Curtis Orchard to pick apples – and had a special “Winnie the Pooh day” as well.  Next week her class goes to the fire department, and I’m hoping to go with them, if Eden is in a happy mood.  Usually she is falling asleep in the car as we leave Averhy’s school, and after she naps (and I clean up the house as she sleeps) we try to squeeze in a quick trip to the gym before picking up Averhy.  As I said, the “kid-free time” disappears quickly.

Eden had some fun milestones in September – after she learned how to wave in August, she really mastered it in September, and near the end of the month she added clapping to her list of skills.  She is also a climber – just last week I went in to her room to get her up from her nap… and found her STANDING and hanging on to the crib rail.  and she won’t be 8 months old til next week.  eek!  I don’t know if I can handle a 9-month old walking around here! 

We were able to all go up to my parents’ boat in the middle of September, for a chilly but fun weekend of sailing.  Sky’s parents were able to come too, and the girls did great. The waves rocked Eden to sleep, and Averhy had fun riding the waves… and there were some big ones!  It is such fun going out on the boat, and we can’t wait until next summer when it’s down in the Gulf (hopefully!).

Last weekend, Sky and I attended Helen and Allen’s wedding in Chicago (beautiful!) and the girls spent the day with Papa and Aunt Melanie & Uncle Ismael – at the Morris CornFest Carnival!  Averhy was excited to report that she went in the bouncehouse, on the carousel, and she even won a stuffed animal dolphin by playing a game… oh, and we can’t forget about the delicious “fluffy stuff” (cotton candy). 

Now we’re looking forward to October!