It's a...

GIRL!!! We are SO excited to be having another girl and level the hormonal playing field around here!:) Bailey is beyond thrilled and can't wait for "Peyton Bre" to arrive - I have to say, I'm pretty excited myself.. can't wait to dust off all of my little girl clothes! ;)

Nick Jr.. this one's for you!!!

What do you do when you have 3 young kids and an abundance in costumes that have been worn once?? Why, recycle them of course!!! This year, we reused Bailey's monkey costume to make Hunter "Boots", we got Bailey a Dora costume, and thanks to AAA's maps, converted Landon into just that! :) Dora, Boots and the Map.. it doesn't get any more economy friendly than that! Who knew cheap could look SO darn cute?!
And just to make sure everyone knew, we inscribed Landon's new identity to his newly elongated upper half! :) Happy Halloween everyone!

The Big Cheese

It's official.. my baby is no longer a "baby"! :( Landon turned the big O-N-E yesterday! I think Bailey and Hunter (okay, and mom!) were more excited about the festivities than he was! Even the beautiful cake Bailey and I made didn't get as much love and recognition by his belly as it did by the floor.. odd, since literally EVERYTHING else has seen the inside of that squishy midsection! lol. For all those who see a resemblance to mom here, I'm here to testify to you that it stops at the exterior... I would NEVER turn down a mountain of chocolate!!!

THIS, was literally the worst of it! Of course the day he's allowed to make a royal mess he chooses not to! ;P ..but seriously, can anyone get mad at that face?! Happy birthday buddy! :)

3 Cheers and a pink sparkly doughnut!

Okay, bare with me for a mommy minute.. :) Bailey has had 6, 30-minute skating lessons now and I am SOOO proud of her! They split the class into two groups, the one's that need a little extra help, and the ones that are stable enough to get more advanced instructions. Today, she was bumped into the advanced group and I could have cried! lol, she is doing so good.. leaps and bounds already over that 1st lesson just a few short weeks ago!!! After her lesson, we went out to celebrate and she picked out doughnuts - a pink "sparkly" one for her, and a blue sprinkled one for Hunter of course! :) GO BAILEY!!! :)

Spicer Orchards

We went on a field trip to Spicer Orchards yesterday for preschool. The kids LOVED it!!! We went on a tractor hayride to the apple orchards and each kid got to pick their own apples.. these were no ordinary apples either - they're like large grapefruits! and SOOO good! :)

Here are some of the kids from my class this year - GREAT kids!!!

We then rode over to a pumpkin patch where they got their own pumpkins. Hunter was more than thrilled with his choice! ;)

Bailey took a while to find the "perfect" pumpkin, but alas she did! :)

As if that wasn't enough we then had hot dougnuts and freshly made cider.. no words.. :) They also had a HUGE play area which the kids loved as well! Overall, a GREAT day!!!

Pumpkins AND a package!

One of our local grocery chains (VG's) had a "FREE PUMPKINS" promotion for kids 12 and under who would color a Halloween picture to be posted in the store. They insisted that Landon "color" a picture too so he wouldn't feel left out which I thought was pretty cute! ;) The kids were MORE than willing to color - which they would have done without an added incentive - for a pumpkin of their choice! They carried them in their car seats (minus Landon) the entire way home. Once we pulled in, we noticed a package on the doorstep from Grandma De Groot which was filled with presents for Landon's upcoming birthday, and Halloween goodies and shirts for all of them. Bailey and Hunter were besides themselves, "Hunter.. can you believe it?! Pumpkins AND a package?! Isn't this a great day?? This is a really great day!" "Mommy, can we wear our new shirts and take a picture with our pumpkins to show Grandma? It would make her SOOO happy. She's my special girl, and she misses me SO much!" ...how do you say no to that?! So, this one's for you Grandma! ;)
My word... I think I have trouble in store with this one! Look at that face!!! Welp, time to invest in a shot gun for Brandon... ;P

Hunter wasn't all that into sitting STILL for a shot yet again, so.. this is the best we have for now! :) ..I don't know about you, but I still want to just maul these two with kisses!!! LOVE boys I do!!! :)

Color Me BROWN

Not sure what a "brown" mood is, but I must be in one today since I unconsciously dressed all 3 of my kids in it! ..and when a crazy coincidence like this happens, it's only natural to snap a few shots in the yard right?? ;) It's too bad Brandon and I aren't in these.. and Landon's pants don't match.. because I would totally use these for our Christmas cards this year!
Not completely, but I can almost see why people ask if they are triplets sometimes.. lol!

Look at this little cheeser! I told her to do a silly face and her reply was, "Mom, princesses know how to smile beautiful for pictures all the time." lol, well okay then! ;)

I couldn't get Hunter to stand still long enough to get a real smile out of him...

He thought it was more fun to chase me around the yard trying to kiss me! I love this kid! :)

..and then there's Landon. Quite possibly the EASIEST kid ever to photograph! I only needed one shot and this was it! :)

Call me baised, but my word these kids are cute!!! ;)

Ice Princess

Bailey started taking ice skating lessons! It is SO fun to see her learn from someone other than me - every once in a while it's nice to just be the cheerleader! ;) I've got to give it to her... she's pretty darn tough! :) Here's a video of her last session (not bad for her 3rd time on the ice!). I love how every time she notices me she stops and looks shyly down.. as if I believe she's shy!! ;P

Going Digital

I have entered the world of digital scrap booking, and just finished our 2007 family book. After many months of trying to figure out what I could do to improve it, I am finally turning it over to the public (aka YOU!). I am terrified to print it, just sure that there will be typos or those dumb "little things" that you never notice until after the mulah has been spent! Lol. So, for all of you with nothing better to do, you can click on the link to see my scrapbook and give me your feedback before I take the dreaded plunge!!! ;P Drum roll please... here it is!

http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectId=811273&productId=11&projectSponsor=215084

Road Trip

Brandon and I decided to pack up the family and head out for one last hurrah before seminary and school started. We drove to Syracuse NY to visit my Grandparents and had a BLAST!!! We stopped at Niagara Falls on the way and due to the size of the crowds, whipped out these babies.. "harnesses" if you will, made by a sheer genius! Bailey was the puppy and Hunter the monkey, and our lives were SO much easier!!!:)
Niagara Falls was cool and all, but it had nothing on this place.. now that should be one of the 7 wonders! Mm mm :)

Bailey and Hunter were fascinated by Great Grandma and Grandpas gardens. Grandpa gave them both a flower and they were in child heaven!

Landon was hamming it up and winning hearts as usual! He is getting SO big!!!:(

We took the kids to the State Fair, and saw Aunts and Uncles that I haven't seen in 9 years! It was SO much fun and we look forward to going back soon!