Bishop's Pumpkin Farm

This year we had planned on making our annual visit to the pumpkin farm this past Sunday, but the weather had other plans. Earlier in the week I noticed dreaded rainclouds posted to Sunday's forecast, and I was worried that the boys would be horribly disappointed if we had to cancel our outing. Luckily Gigi was more than willing to keep an eye on Simon so that I could take the big boys there on Wednesday. I was a little bummed that Mitch was working and couldn't go with us this year, but the boys seemed to really enjoy our "Mommy-Big-Boy Day" together. ♥


I let the boys take the lead, and they chose (naturally!) to ride the train as soon as we got there


Next, we visited the hay bounce trampoline

We made some new friends in the petting zoo. Sawyer found this teeny baby goat hiding under the feeding trough. He fed the goats and eventually even let one of them eat right out of his hand!

Sutton was a little leery of the goats at first, but he soon warmed up. "I just only want to pet the little baby ones."

We hitched a ride on the pretend wooden train

and posed for some silly pictures

Then it was time to load up into the tractor and take a hay ride out into the pumpkin field

We came home with three big pumpkins, two kid-sized pumpkins, three ears of brightly colored Indian corn, and two baby pumpkins for their baby brother.

We had a fun day at the farm, just the big boys and me!

Kari's Baby Shower

Last Sunday was my sister Kari's baby shower. She's due in late January, and she'll be adding yet another BOY to the family! I have three sisters (no brothers) and a ton of cousins (our family is huge!) where the number of girls outweighs the boys, yet once we all started having kids of our own the boys are now outnumbering the girls 5 to 1! I'm so excited to meet my new nephew...and I can't wait until they decide what to name him!


Cousins Kelley and Lesley and sisters Krista, Kari, Jessica and me :)

Apple Hill

Last weekend we took the boys up to Apple Hill and visited three of the apple farms - Abel's Acres, Boa Vista, and High Hill Ranch. It was SO crowded, which is expected on weekends this time of year, but it was even more crowded than I can ever remember. We still had a lot of fun despite the long lines and traffic, but we've decided that next year's trip will most definitely be on a weekday!



This was the first year that the boys were interested in the hay maze at Abel's, and they loved it so much that they went through it about four times!

Simon (worn in his carrier) and I went through the maze once with the big boys - it's harder than it looks, even being able to see over the hay bales!

We got lots and lots of pears and apples (caramel apples too!) to take home

Our last stop of the day was the orchard at High Hill where we picked our own apples

Brotherly Love

♥





Simon & Sutton baking breakfast cookies together

Weeks 3-4

(hey, at least all FIVE of us are in the shot, right?)


Simon meeting Papa Ron

The big boys and I made tie dyed shirts for all of us, and naturally they insisted we all wear them on the same day ;)

Week 2

It's been a busy week for the Tooth Fairy around here! Both of Sawyer's front teeth had been loose for quite awhile, but an accidental tangle with the neighbor's trampoline enclosure net resulted in him losing his first tooth. The second tooth was much more wiggly after the trampoline incident, and a few days later a wrestling match with Daddy ended with his second tooth coming out too. I think he looks adorable ♥


Sutton and I made homemade lemonade this week with the lemons that Grandma and Grandpa brought us. He was quite serious about doing his job well - he asked me to inspect every lemon after it had been squeezed, "Did I get all the juice out of this one, Mom?" He's such a great helper in the kitchen ♥


We harvested the pumpkins from our garden. They're all nicely shaped, and we thought it was perfect that we ended up with three of them. "Three like we have three boys" Sutton said.

And what did sweet little Simon do all week long? Why, the two things he does best:


Intently observing his new world...

...and sleeping (preferrably snuggled up with Mommy or Daddy) ♥

The First Week

I don't want to jinx myself while we're still in the honeymoon phase, but so far we have had a super smooth transition into having a newborn around again. It's been a great week watching my three boys interact and get to know each other. Sawyer and Sutton have been incredibly helpful, and Sawyer is especially eager to help hold and feed his baby brother.


Sawyer & Sutton meeting Simon for the first time in the hospital

They're pretty much smitten ♥

How could you not be in love with this cutie!?

My four most favorite boys in the world ♥

Just what every house with a newborn needs, right? Coincidentally, we happened to run across this awesome kids drum set this week...for free, we couldn't pass up the deal!

Preschool Rock Band at rehearsal

No worries...baby brother is totally unaffected by all the racket. He must have gotten used to his loud older brothers while he was still in the womb!

All snuggled up and dreaming while wrapped up with Mommy. It feels so nice that he loves being cuddled so close to me ♥

If these two are in the same room, you can bet that you'll find Sawyer all snuggled up with Simon. He absolutely adores his new "biggest brother" role and gives the baby dozens of hugs and kisses.

Sawyer loves to hold him, and Simon is always so calm and peaceful in his arms.

Two sleepy snuggle buddies

My newest piece of "Mommy jewelry" to commemorate the occasion. I ordered it from StephieMc Designs on Etsy - about a month turnaround time, but worth the wait (she's actually having a huge sale and free shipping on her site Tues 9/21 - Wed 9/22 too!)!

Simon Harrison

September 13, 2010, 2:31 pm * 6 lbs, 14 oz * 19 inches

Welcome to the world, Simon!

Work Day With Daddy

Sawyer got a special treat on Friday morning when he got the opportunity to go to work with Mitch for a couple of hours. They picked up a rental tractor and delivered it to Granddad on one of his "work-jobs."



Granddad is in the process of digging out and renovating an existing basement, a real rarity in our area!




Peek-a-boo!

Mitch said that the grin on Sawyer's face was about a million miles wide! He was thrilled that he got to check out the jobsite and visit his Granddad on the job :)

Waiting...

Not much new to report here, but it's been over a week since I posted anything so I figured I owed y'all an update :)

We went for an ultrasound yesterday morning to get an estimate of how big the baby is since my OB was concerned that my gestational diabetes might lead to a big baby. Fortunately, the little guy is measuring in at a petite 6.5 lbs (just about average), likely because my own diet has been so limited lately as well. I'm having a tough time finding things that I want to eat that don't spike my bloodsugar too badly, but for now I'm doing really well controlling the diabetes through diet alone (yay for not having to give myself insulin shots!). I'm down almost 5 pounds in the past month, but the doctor said it's normal on a severely carbohydrate restriced diet, and she isn't worried about it. As of last week's checkup I was dialated to 4 cm and 60% effaced (sorry if that's too much info LOL!), so it will be interesting to see if I've made any more progress when I go for my next checkup tomorrow.

The induction is still scheduled for the 21st since baby is doing well, staying normal sized, and there isn't any other medical reason to induce me earlier - though I'm not quite sure that my state of constant terrified paranoia about accidentally delivering another baby at home wouldn't qualify me for some sort of psychological pass! In case you somehow missed that story, my last birth was less than an hour from first contraction (about five contractions total!) until accidental homebirth via paramedics - yikes! Don't get me wrong, I think that homebirths are a great option for some women - when you're expecting and planning for them - but with all the complications I've had I definitely want to make it to the hospital for my delivery this time around! I'm getting incredibly anxious and can't wait to meet the new addition to our family - VERY soon!