Our September

Life has been a weird combination of busy/crazy and boring/normal. I feel like I run around all day, and yet, at the end of the day, it feels like nothing got done...? I'm not sure how this works. In any case, the kids are still cute and still growing up! It blows my mind to think that we've had two kids for almost a year. And survived! Life is good to us. :)

Bowman put Danny in this swing, and I was sure he shouldn't be in it, since the weight limit says it's 25 lbs. But then Danny had a check-up, and only weighs 18 pounds! He sure feels heavier as I carry him around the house.

Danny love to offer his little snacks to us.

Let it be known that Rayna is potty-trained! I thought about and tried a few different approaches since last winter, but the one that worked the best was the "let Rayna decide when she's actually ready" one. And it was great! Once she decided she wanted to do it, she was golden. I think I can count on one hand the number of accidents she's had since we started, and I am so proud of her! She earned her ultimate prizes, the Mickey and Minnie Mouse!

I got bitten by something awful a few weeks ago. I had to document the damage! I thought I was dying of a brown recluse bite, but I don't think there are many of those in Michigan. Just as I was deciding to go in the doctor and find out how many days I had left to live, the swelling went down and I recovered my will to live.

 

We had our first visitors at our new house! Abe and Marcie came to visit, with Grandma Mitchell and their adorable kids! We were all in heaven having these guys in town. They were up for all kinds of adventures too, like the playground Spicer's Orchard. The kids loved playing in the corn box. Rayna got the corn dust everywhere. :)

I loved the little corns sticking to Autumn's skirt. These kids jumped into all the barnyard play stuff with no hesistation.

The kids were so cute on the pirate ship. Danny loved peeking over the railing.

Maylee making her "pirate face"

The whole gang outside the store at the orchard. Grandma Mitchell got all the little kids their own candies! They loved it!

These three were quite the crew. I thought it was too cute to see them all lined up on the couch with their blankies and sippy cups, watching a movie. Rayna loved having cousins at her house.

Maylee and Ben doing their artwork

Rayna earned her Mickey and Minnie, but she loved putting stickers on her chart so much that she begged for another chart after she had filled up the first one. I made one with tons of squares, 50, and when she filled it up, she went on a fancy date with Bowman. Princess dress, fancy hair, and ice cream-- she loved it!

Danny keeps his feet constantly flexed like this while he sits in his high chair. Once we noticed, we had to check every time, and sure enough, they are always like this. 

Rayna's friend Zach came over to play, and I caught them strolling around the backyard, hand in hand. So cute!

Rayna is potty-trained, but not quite independent enough to do everything all by herself. She yelled to me in total frustration, "Mooomm!!!! I can't know how to rip it off!!!" I came in and had to laugh at the long trail of toilet paper with 6 identical rip attempts in it. She's getting there.

We have a fire pit in our backyard that has gone unused for the entire summer. What a shame! So I finally decided that we were going to use it make some s'mores. As I was getting the kids ready to go outside, we had a little barfing incident (child with a sensitive gag reflex + a cough = lots of barf... sigh) so I decided to just bag the s'mores idea. Then I remembered that we have a gas stove! This is what gas stoves are for, right?? It ended up being a good time!

Rayna got a surprise package in the mail with a big Hello Kitty pillow and blanket! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa B!

She also got a gorgeous dress which she has insisted on wearing for at least a few minutes every day since it arrived. It's quite the dress, so I can't say I blame her! I let her sit and (carefully!) help me make some brownies. You can tell how much she liked "helping." :)

Danny boy was wearing his handsome new shirt too! He loves eating snacks out of his little snack bowl. He also loves just chillin' with his hand inside, clenching a handful of cereal. He'll ride in the car for half an hour like that. Whatever floats your boat Danny!