Fall Fun

Before Thanksgiving gets here I better post about our Halloween.  The day before Halloween we went to my brother and sister-in-law's house for a cook out!  It was a perfect fall day, a little chill in the air making a fire perfect.  The kids loved running all over outside and played so hard.  We watched football (my brother brought his TV outside for the occasion), ate yummy food, and enjoyed great company!

Helping carve the pumpkin!

Jump house fun

What boy doesn't love playing with sticks?

We had enough chicken to feed an army :)

The kids dressed up...

Riley is a butterfly and Quinn a puppy.  He would say "woof, woof".

Picture with the cousins!

On Halloween we got the kids dressed up after dinner and went trick-or-treating.  We just went to a few houses but the kids loved it!  At our next door neighbor's house (the 1st house) they figured out that people were putting stuff (I don't know if they realized it was candy) into their buckets and Riley kept signing and saying "more, more".  So our neighbor thought it was so cute and couldn't refuse her and kept giving her more.  We finally had to tell Riley all done and have her say "thank you". 

The loved carrying their pumpkins and putting the candy in them.

Aunt Cricket had a big bag of candy for them each! 

She spoils these kids :)

Sitting on Bella and eating a sucker, it doesn't get much better!

We thought they may want to ride in the wagon, they would rather push and pull it!

It was so cute how they were working together, and their pumpkins did get a ride :)

Happy Halloween!

When we got back to our house the kids were a little wired (sugar high) so we let them run around outside for awhile before bed.  At one point Geoff and Quinn were walking in the cul-de-sac holding hands.  Riley wanted to go join them and she and I walked up holding hands.  We told Quinn and Riley to hold hands and they did.  It was so sweet and there were all were holding hands and walking around together.  It just melted my heart and made me so thankful for my beautiful children! It's one of those memories I will always treasure :)

20 Months

I really cannot believe that in 4 short months we will be celebrating Quinn and Riley's 2nd birthday.  They are just growing up so quickly and I am really loving this age!  I have so many cute stories from late that I want to share. 

We have been doing more disciplining lately, the kids have a time-out mat where they sit to think about what they have done.  The other day as I caught Riley trying to bite Quinn I said, "Riley, we do not bite!  Do you need to go sit in time out?" She looks at me, turns and walks to the time out mat, and sits down.  Quinn goes and gets her lamby, brings it to her, and sits down next to her. It was nice that he was right there for her to say sorry (we are working on learning the sign for sorry) and give him a kiss when she was done with her time out!

In similar fashion Quinn had bit another child at church.  He was told that biting is not allowed and we had him sit off by himself (in time out).  He proceeded to cry some and lay down on the floor. Riley hears him crying from across the room, stops playing and goes over to him. She pats him on the back and kinda got down near his face, just checking to make sure her brother is ok. (Yes, lots of biting that we are working on correcting!)

While we were on vacation we were getting ready to leave and Geoff put Riley's shoes on her.  Then he told her to go tell her brother to come get his shoes on.  She runs over to Quinn, taps him on the shoulder, and motioning toward daddy says "Go, Go".

They love to be silly and make each other laugh.  One night when Geoff was gone and I was putting the kids to bed Quinn picked up this container that holds blocks.  It was empty and he puts it up on his head, like a hat.  Riley thought this was so funny and started laughing so hard.  It made me laugh and at this encouragement he kept putting it on his head.  He then took it around and put it on our heads as well.

Quinn seems to be encouraged by laughter.  If we laugh at something he does, he will do it again.  We have to be very careful about what we laugh about!

Quinn has also decided that when he says bye bye to any and everyone (including the pizza delivery guy that delivered next door while we were outside playing) he is going to blow kisses.  It's so adorable!  He also blows kisses as he says bye bye to the bath water going down the drain :)

They both love putting on my shoes and trying to walk around in them. They definitely need some dress up stuff! If Riley sees her shoes she has to have you put them on and she will keep sticking her foot up until you finally do!

They are getting so verbal!  Many of their words have their own pronunciations but along with their signs they communicate pretty well.

They love ketchup!  Would probably eat it as a food group all by itself but we try to give them things to dip in it, even if it's carrots :)  They love peanut butter too, especially dipping apples in peanut butter.  Oh and they love hummus, dipping pita chips, bread or celery in hummus.  I think they love all foods they can dip in :)

They love their loveys.  They will try to feed their loveys as well as give them snacks.  Oh, and they try to brush their teeth.  While we were on vacation we sat around being amused by Riley trying to get a diaper on her lamby, it was adorable!

We aren't doing any potty training yet, but often when Riley has a poopy diaper she will pat her bottom and lay down on the floor for you to change her.  She still wears a size 3 diaper and Quinn is a size 5.

When they got their tubes they got weighed and Quinn is just over 33 pounds!  Riley is still about 22 pounds, just an 11 pound difference :)

Riley got her first haircut on Sept. 28th.

Just trimmed the back a little, she was not quite as calm as her brother.

It was fun though, Quinn, Riley, and I all got haircuts at the same time!

Fun with hummus :)

A man bag?!?

I cleaned out my closet and put some purses in their toy bin and they love putting stuff in them to carry around.

Riley's version of a bag on her shoulder.  She doesn't actually have it over her arm so she's using her head to keep it up there, so funny! Oh and notice another purse in her other hand, Ha!

They LOVE to play outside!

And take a little water break :)

And give kisses! 

They both give the best kisses :)

And smile real big!

While going to give daddy a kiss.

Isn't he a cutie!

Going so fast down the driveway. 

Helping with the landscaping.

How to keep 20 month olds quiet during a baby dedication...dum dums!

Here Riley was set in time out (on the rug), Quinn brought her the lamby

and then sat on the other rug (that's used if they both need time out).

He's so sweet to check on her and what's funny is that if he's in time out she just keeps right on playing :)

"Mommy can we get a saddle to fit Haley?"

Playing with the cousins.

Jumping on cousin Ford! 

These kids love their big cousin Ford and love to rough house with him too!

Quinn and Riley,

  These past 20 months with you have been such a joy!  Thank you for being such sweet children and for making me laugh daily.  I treasure these days and love all of the memories we are making together.  Thank you for making me a mother.  I am learning so many lessons as your mother, lessons in patience, and sacrifice, and seeking the Lord for wisdom.  Thank you for these lessons and for many more that are to come (I am sure)!  I love you my precious son and daughter and I will always be here for you!

Love,

Mommy

Isle of Palms Vacation

We spent a wonderful week on the Isle of Palms with Geoff's parents (Grammy and Pop).  What made it even better was that his brother was able to come for the first half of the week.  The kids hadn't gotten to see their Uncle Pete in awhile so it was so great for them to have so much family around! Here's our week in pictures...           

***Warning: there are a bazillion pictures!  I wanted to remember it all and I do this blogging thing as my "scrapbook" so this is one LONG post!

First morning arriving at the beach. 

The kids had seen the beach last summer when they were about 4 months old,

so this was their first true beach experience!

Riley was not so sure about getting her feet dirty

I think it was love at first sight for Quinn! 

He loved everything about the beach, the sand, the water, the shells!

Riley was not such a fan, especially of getting dirty!

She preferred to be in mommy's arms (good thing she's so light).

We took them both out into the water,

and mommy got kisses from her sweet boy!

Jumping a few waves!

The weather was perfect! The water was a little chilly,

 but we could spend hours outside without being too hot!

We went into Charleston to enjoy the battery and play in the park!

Quinn loved his freedom!

So many adults made it easier to keep up with them out of the stroller :)

Good view from Uncle Pete's shoulders

Happy girl in her new overalls!

We definitely hit the outlets and did some great shopping :)

Playing with Pop

She probably heard a loud noise,

every time a truck or bus or plane goes by she clings to mommy.

Serious about her lunch

Quinn wanted to help daddy in the kitchen,

so Geoff got him his chair and had him picking the cilantro apart for dinner.

Sliding with Uncle Pete

Boone Hall Plantation has a Pumpkin Patch that we went to one morning.

Quinn's turn :)

Smiling girl, loved running around and climbing on things!

Quinn loved sitting on the big wheel!

Family Picture

Daddy and Quinn on this huge air pillow!

So much fun jumping :)

Riley took a turn

Then she got brave and was running everywhere.

I'm not showing the picture where mommy is hovering b/c she is being so wild and making me nervous.

Feeding the goats

Trying to keep their hands flat (so they don't lose any fingers)

Happy kiddos

Gymnastics?!?

The house we staying in had a beautiful screened in porch where we spent lots of time.

So much fun with Uncle Pete!

Wish he could have stayed the whole week, but so thankful he came!

Some guys came to do some landscaping and at first they were scared of all the sounds.

At the end they were just laying pine straw and the kids decided it was fun to watch :)

Quinn loves to slide!

There was a great playground nearby and we would ride the golf cart over and play.

Riley loves it too!

She may look concerned here but she is really happy.

Fun with daddy!

Quinn loved playing and cried when we would leave!

Riley didn't want to stand on the sand or in the water. 

Grammy was trying to get her to put her feet in some

Grammy put Riley down and she wanted to come to but Grammy wouldn't carry her.

So she had to walk, and she finally decided that the beach and sand wasn't so bad after all!

In fact, she decided she liked it! 

 She ran around yelling and smiling from ear to ear!

See that smile!

Walking around downtown Charleston on our last morning.

This was after we got filled up on a yummy brunch at Poogan's Porch!

They liked pushing the stroller better than ridding in it!

Our attempt at a picture with Grammy and Pop!

Thank you so much for sharing this week with us,

we loved every minute!

 

Our family picture didn't come out much better.

They just don't like to be held in one place. 

I don't have pictures of all the yummy food Geoff cooked, reading I got to do, games we played, and just relaxing and watching these funny kids that we did.  It was a great vacation! 

This mommy especially enjoyed all the help with the kids, and the detox that we had to do after vacation when it went back to just being mommy was even worth the trip:)