Pumpkin Pickin Time

Our family made it to the Pumpkin Patch! (For one reason or another we weren't able to go last year.) It's a tradition that we always look forward to.

One of our first stops was at the chicken coop. This was interesting to Jocelyn as she has never seen a chicken before, let alone a hundred of them all at once! Aubrey had a blast chasing around the chickens with our friends' children. Jocelyn tried to stay close to big sis for added comfort.

Ah yes. The all time favorite: tractor. I'm not sure why but Jocelyn has a huge fascination with tractors so it wasn't a question that we got a picture of her on one. She looks pretty content up there, wouldn't you agree?

Jocelyn (along with daddy) spent a large portion of the time on the farm feeding the animals. The llama and horses were being forced fed by many, many children. I'm sure that the animals didn't mind so much!

Aubrey and her girl friends ran ahead to play on the barn swings. She'd swing for a little bit, hop off and get back in line and then get right back on it again. This went on for quite awhile. I think this picture shows how much fun she was having. Naturally, it was like pulling teeth to get her off the swing when it was time to go pick our pumpkins.

We searched up and down the pumpkin patch for a little while - watching both of the girls running around trying impatiently to find their perfect shape (& shade) of orange. Here are their final picks. I have to say they did quite well. And boy were we all in need of food and naps by the end of our adventure. :) Can't wait until next year when we can do it all over again! We had so much fun.

Sunday Stroll

{Photo I took at the Sunken Road. I wanted to capture this Fall evening as the sun was setting through the trees.}

The girls woke up from their naps/quiet times after church and we had some time to kill before the Birthday festivities began so we thought it would be fun to drive to downtown Fredericksburg and take a walk. We've lived here for almost two years now and still haven't seen a whole lot in the area so we had a good time. Most of downtown Fredericksburg is filled with shops and restaurants and since we don't shop on Sundays, this got a little boring a few minutes into our walk. So we hoped back into the car and drove down the road to the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitors Center. Of course it was closed but they have a path for a walking tour so we just read the signs along the way. This particular place was called the Sunken Road. It's just amazing how much Civil War history there is around here. To actually be standing on a piece of land that was once filled, some 150 odd years ago, with troops fighting one another; many lives lost. There are many places in this world that are very influential to us today. I'm glad we get to visit these sights and learn more about our country and the brave soldiers that fought for us.

The girls had a lot of fun walking, sometimes running, up ahead of us playing with the leaves, stepping on rotten walnuts that had fallen from the trees above and watching the squirrels chase each other in the grassy field next to the Sunken Road. Of course this road today doesn't look much like it did as it did back then but if you look here in these photos, you can see that they still resemble the same spot. The wall, I believe for the most part, has been reconstructed but still stands where it once did during the battle. I feel saddened to say that I didn't even know of this place before we pulled up and discovered it this Sunday afternoon. But I'm really glad we were able to stop here with the girls, just minutes from our home, to see this place and learn more about what took place during the war.

{I really like how this photo of Jocelyn turned out. It almost looks like she's floating in the air - like her surroundings are blurred only capturing her little body running towards her sister.}

Aubrey Turns 9

Aubrey is officially 9 years old now. It's hard to believe that our 1st little baby is that old already! We had a family party at home with a homemade birthday cake and the meal she requested: Parmesan chicken and mashed potatoes. To help stay within our budget, I took cupcakes in to her classroom on Friday so she could still celebrate with her friends. She really seemed to enjoy that.

"Happy Birthday sweetie! We love you so much and hope you had a great party with your favorite fans: US, of course!"

(Please excuse the last picture as we didn't have anyone to take the shot for us and had to improvise by having John take it with us all squeezed in together. The camera has a timer but I can't seem to figure it out. Now that I don't need it, I'm sure it'll come to me! Isn't that how it works?) Here are some pictures from the Birthday girl's special day:

Extra Cuddles

If there is even such a thing as extra cuddles. I remember when Aubrey went through a lot of cuddling phases when she was Jocelyn's age and I really miss those times. As Jocelyn's mouth is in the process of pushing through more teeth, she's been very clingy and snuggly. Trust me. We're not complaining! We love our girls and do not see this as a negative thing. We'll take all that we can get and give all that we can give. In the past week or so I have snapped a few shots of John and Jocelyn during this extra clingy time. John loves reading to both of the girls (as do I) and in return, both of the girls love to read!

P.S. I haven't been purposefully leaving out updates on Aubrey. Not much new is going on and while she's at school during the day, I fill up that time at home with Jocelyn. Aubrey is doing very well in school though. Her pre-report card (to show us parents how they are doing before official grades come out) had all A's and 1 B. She's doing excellent in piano and fall soccer too. In fact, her soccer team made it to play-offs again and will start that on Monday. Be on the look out for some updates on Aubrey soon though. :)

Update on Jocelyn's 2 Year Check-up

I'm a few weeks late on updating Jocelyn's 2 year check-up but after we had her blood drawn about 2 weeks ago, her doctor's office called to report that everything looked GREAT and that her low weight must be because she's on the smallish (petite) side. I'm happy to hear this news. I am in no way trying to be overconfident or do an "i told them so" but I knew all along that she was fine. Mother's usually know these things. But I'm still glad that they checked anyways to confirm that she's fine. She goes in next week to get her weight checked. I'm not holding out for her to weigh more than she did 3 weeks ago but if it makes them happy...

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

The Itsy Bitsy Spider is one of Jocelyn's favorite songs. I caught her singing the song over and over with her puppy dog on the couch and took a video of it. Arm motions and all! :) (First mute blog music on the right scroll bar to hear video.)

Itsy Bitsy Spider 10/08

Results Are In

My doctor called and said she had good news: the fetal fibronectin test came back NEGATIVE! Whooo Hoooo! I'm so happy about that. She said that this news should bring me some comfort and less worry and it does. They want me to be seen on a weekly basis from here on out to keep a close eye on me but as far as these contractions go, she says there's little to no risk involved. If I notice any water leaking, bleeding, or more pressure/pain in my pelvis that that is when I will know there's more going on and need to be seen immediately. For now on, I'm just going to take things slow and rest whenever possible. The longer I can carry him to term the better! BIG sigh of relief though. Thank you to all who kept me in their thoughts and prayers. I love and appreciate you.