Pumpkin Patch

Today we finally made it to the pumpkin patch. We couldn't have picked a better day because the weather was perfect. It was a little chilly when we got there at about 10 but then it started to get a little warmer so we could take our jackets off.

For the past several years we have been going to Belvedere plantation to the pumpkin patch. This year we decided to try a different one and we are so glad that we did. For one, it was a lot less expensive and we had more fun at this farm. We went to Sneads Farm which is just about five minutes past Belvedere.

The first thing we came to when we got there were the animals. Nathan loved to feed them and was really enjoying it. Lenny was a little hesitant after a horse sneezed on him. Don't tell him I wrote that in my blog. He asked me not to tell anyone that it sneezed on him. That's our secret. :-) It was cute though. At first Brooke had nothing to do with the animals unless I was holding her. Then after seeing that her brothers enjoyed it, she decided to give it a try.


The farm was so pretty. They had pumpkins and mums everywhere. You know what I was thinking--picture time. Unfortunately it was still too cold to take our jackets off but I wasn't going to miss this opportunity. I was so disappointed when I noticed that Brooke took her pretty orange bow out of her hair in the car. Ornery thing.


Next we went to the barn where the kids had a blast running around in the hay and swinging on the ropes. Brooke again wasn't too sure about the rope swing but she absolutely wanted to do it because her brothers did.


When we were done in the barn we headed to the pumpkin patch. On the way, we came across a zipline. Of course Lenny wanted to try it. After he tried it, Brooke and Nathan wanted a go at it too. Poor Dominic didn't get to go on it. I know that he wanted to though. It was long and high and I couldn't believe that the kids really rode on it.


Finally, the pumpkin patch. The kids each picked out a pumpkin. Well, with a little help from us. Otherwise we would have had some not so nice looking rotting pumpkins.


And on the way back, we had to stop at the barn to play in the hay again.


While we were waiting for the hayride, the kids played in a little tunnel and corn maize.


On the hayride. Brooke and Nathan were so tired at this point, I thought they were going to fall asleep on the ride. Each time I asked Nathan if he was tired, he would smile real big and tell me no.

The hayride was a lot of fun. We went through the pumpkin fields, past the asparagas, through the sunflower fields and even through a huge puddle of water. It was really nice.


Lenny wanted to go through the sunflower maze one more time before we left. As Dominic loaded Brooke and Nathan into the van, Lenny and I snuck over to the maze. He took me all the way through it.


We had a great time! I really do think this was our best pumpkin patch trip ever. We will definitely be going back to Sneads Farm. Actually, we've decided to go back there at the end of November to get our Christmas tree from them.

Pictures I Love

Here are some pictures from the past few months that I really like.

Brooke and Nathan watching Shrek while Lenny was at school.


Nate playing with the train.


Making sugar cookies.


It's funny how Brooke's face is covered with flour but the boys are completely clean. Not surprising.


She looks so sweet when she is sleeping.


At a Redskins game.


She looked so cute sitting there watching TV.


Yes, he was sound asleep.


She thinks she's a rock star.


Showing off our peanut butter cookies that he helped make.


I think that Dominic enjoys playing with the sidewalk chalk more than the kids.

Brooke and Nathan Start Preschool

I can't believe that my babies are in preschool now. It's just hard to imagine. I thought I would never make it past the first six months and now they are almost three and starting preschool. It's so sad in a way but so exciting in another.

In February I submitted an application for them to attend a preschool program in the high school that is right across from our neighborhood. I had heard about it from a few different people. It's for high school students who are going in to child development. There is a teacher in the class and then all of the high school students in the class are the preschoolers teachers too. It's really a great program.

You don't find out if the kids were accepted until September. Well, I didn't get a letter and was very disappointed that they didn't get in. I thought for sure I got their application in early enough. The only requirements were that they are potty trained and three years old. The teacher told me that as long as they are potty trained, it was okay that they don't turn three until November. Other places are not so lenient when it comes to the birthday.

On Lenny's first day of school, I was so excited to get a call letting me know that Brooke and Nathan were in the program. There were 23 people in line in front of us and luckily for us a few people were moving so Brooke and Nathan got in.

October 1, they had an open house so that the parents and kids could come in to meet the student teachers. We were to leave the kids there that day too. Brooke and Nathan were so excited that they were going to school just like their big brother. They would talk about it and let me know that I was dropping them off and coming back later for them. I had told them that many times so that they were prepared.

Here they are the morning right before they went to the open house.


They were so excited to go to school. They both reminded me to give them their snack bags. It was so cute!

Just as I expected, Brooke didn't even care that I was leaving when it was time for me to go. She was too busy checking things out. Nathan on the other hand was not happy and started crying when I left. I felt just terrible leaving him when he was crying.

When I returned, I got there a little early and was able to watch them through the window. The teachers were putting on a puppet show and all the kids were watching. I couldn't see Nathan from the window but I could see Brooke sitting with the other kids. I snuck in just in time to hear the teachers ask the kids to raise their hand if they want to volunteer to be an actor. Of course, Brooke's little hand went up pretty fast. She was chosen. I watched her walk up and go behind the puppet show. They were acting out the three little pigs and Brooke was the wind. They had to hold her up for that part because she was so short. Then I could see her trying to get into something on the table behind her. I then saw an arm scoop her up to get her to pay attention again. Yep, that's my Brookie.

I finally found Nathan when I walked into the room. He was sitting very quietly with a student teacher and looked like he was enjoying the play. He was very happy to see me though. Brooke too. She kept giving me hugs. Nathan wouldn't let me put him down.

They go to school on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8-12. It's a very long day for them and they are certainly ready for a nap after we have lunch. This week was their first official starting week. Nathan cried when I left on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday he was fine. I was so happy. Lenny and I were practically giving each other high fives when we left. Lenny kept saying, "He didn't cry!"

The teachers told me that Brooke tries to console Nathan when he cries. They also said that if she can't play with him, she cries. That's the only time that she cries. Silly girl.

Lenny goes with me in the morning to drop them off. Then we head back home so that he can catch the bus to school. I think that Brooke and Nathan really like it that Lenny goes with us. They think Lenny is the coolest.

I'm definitely looking forward to the extra few hours a day that I will have to myself. It's been great so far.

The School Bus

Lenny was so excited to finally get to ride the school bus when school started. He looks like such a big kid getting on the bus with everyone else. It's so cute. And believe it or not, he still likes riding the bus even after what happened to him the second and third week of school.

The first week of school was great. We had no problems at all. Then at the beginning of the second week of school, he missed the bus home from school. I was a little disappointed that it happened especially since he is in Kindergarten. I thought for sure that the teachers would be standing there with a list of kids and their bus numbers. Nope. It was completely up to Lenny to know what his bus number was. He, along with another girl in his class who rides his bus, missed the bus. Neither one of them could tell the teacher their bus number. I still think that the teacher should have had their numbers there to help them.

Anyway, Brooke and Nathan were waiting with me at the bus stop. When the bus came, all the kids got off and Lenny was still not there. I asked the bus driver and she said that he wasn't on the bus. She quickly radio'd the school to find out where he was. He was still at school and waiting in the office. They tried to call me but I had already left for the bus stop and didn't take my cell phone. I always take it now.

So I quickly loaded the kids in the van and headed off to the school. It's only five minutes from our house so it wasn't that far to drive. The entire time I was thinking that Lenny would be upset and worried. It was completely different. I got to the office and they said that he was in his classroom. We headed back to his classroom and he was playing and not worried at all. It made me feel so good that he wasn't upset.

So then the next week, it was even worse for my little Bo Benny. The bus arrived early and I was still on the other side of the street when it got there. I started walking across as the kids were unloading. Lenny will not get off the bus if I'm not there. One time I was by myself without Brooke and Nathan. Lenny didn't know for sure if it was me. He stood at his seat in the bus and said, "Mommy. Are you mine?" It was adorable. The bus driver smiled and said, "Yes, she's yours."

Back to my story. The kids were unloading as I was walking across the street. Then I hear another mom telling Lenny that I was there and she was showing him where I was. He then took one step down the stairs. He tripped on his coat that was in his hands and he didn't hit another step. He landed flat on his face on the pavement. My poor little guy didn't even try to stop himself with his hands. I got there just in time to see him hit the ground. I wanted to cry. I was so afraid to see his face when I picked him up. He had a red and swollen face, a huge bump on his forehead and a bloody nose. He looked terrible.

He just kept saying that he wanted to go home. I think he was embarrassed. While I was helping Lenny, a few other moms watched Brooke and Nathan for me to keep them out of the road. Then we all walked back home. It's a little bit of a walk too. Lenny was crying and each time a tear rolled down his face he said, "Mommy, is that blood?" He did that a few times on the way home. All the while, he was screaming very loud and I'm sure the neighbors probably wondered what in the world was going on.

We got home, I cleaned up his face and put a band aid on him. He kept asking for one and I didn't want to put it on the wound so I just put it in the middle of his head. Below is a picture of him.


So Lenny's experience with the bus wasn't the most exciting the first few weeks of school but he still loves riding the bus. He is very careful now when getting off of the bus and he can tell you that his bus number is 253.

First Day of School

So Lenny is now a big Kindergartener. I can't hardly believe it. It seems like it was yesterday that I dreamed of the day that I would finally have a baby. Lenny made my dreams come true. He was a perfect little guy and I couldn't have been any happier the day he was born. It's hard to believe that it has been more than five years and he is now in Kindergarten. Needless to say, it was a difficult day for me emotionally.

He was so excited! I don't think he was one bit nervous but I sure was. He always loved preschool and I knew that he would be happy in Kindergarten.

Here he is getting ready to go to the bus stop. Of course it was raining that morning.


Dominic had the day off of work so he was able to go with us. I know that Lenny was happy to have all of us there to see him off to school. The picture of him getting on the bus cracks me up because of his backpack. It's huge! That's the backpack that he wanted. No matter how much I tried to talk him into getting other smaller ones, he wasn't going to change his mind. We added the little iron ons to make it special for him.

I couldn't do anything that entire day. All I kept thinking about was the clock and how much longer until I could go get Lenny from the school bus stop. The day dragged on. I knew he was having a great day but I missed him terribly. So did Brooke and Nathan. They kept asking when we could get Lenny. When 4 o'clock finally came around, we were all ready to go. Dominic even took Daisy with us.

Brooke and Nathan waiting at the bus stop for Lenny.

He's finally home!


As soon as he got off the bus, he went over and gave Brooke and Nathan a huge hug. They were all happy to see each other.


Brooke wanted to carry Lenny's bookbag home. It was almost bigger than her.
Lenny had been talking for months about a new Thomas movie that was coming out in September. He always knows these things before we even do. Anyway, I found out that the movie was coming out on the same day that Lenny started school. So Dominic went and picked it up for him. We gave it to Lenny when he got home from school. It was called "Hero of the Rails". He was so excited to get the new movie! I could hardly get him to tell us about school because all he could think of was the movie.


We all survived the first day of school. Lenny loves it. His teacher is Mrs. King and he has already made lots of new friends that he talks about everyday. I have noticed that the house is a lot quieter with Lenny in school. I always knew that he was the instigator. :-) Every day Brooke and Nathan ask about every hour if we could go "pick Lenny up". They miss Lenny when he is not home.

From the Mouth of A Five Year Old

Over the summer we were visiting some of our friends. We were all talking in the kitchen when Dominic said the word "dummy". I didn't even notice it but Lenny did. He said, "Aww. Daddy said a bad word." We then asked Lenny what he said because we didn't realize it. Lenny said, "He said gummy but with a 'D'". It was so cute. Lenny wasn't going to say the bad word. It was quite clever the way he told us.

From the Mouth Of

I haven't posted any in a while so here are a few for you from each kid.

A Five Year

Gloria was on her way to visit one day. Lenny said, "Can I call Nunny?" I said, “She might be in the car on her way here.” Lenny then said, “I can call her when she is in the car. Maybe she is at a red light. Like on rock band." The he started singing. “You don’t have to put on the red light. Roxanne. You don’t have to put on the red light. Roxanne.”

One day I was explaining to Brooke that she can’t go outside without asking me first. She is always trying to sneak out. I told her that she could get hurt and I wouldn’t know it. Then I wouldn’t be able to help her. That is why she should never go outside unless she asks me first. Because I wouldn’t want her to get hurt. Lenny, said “Me too, because she’s my cutie pie.”

“Mommy, when I grow up and am big like daddy, will I go to work with him?” I said, “Maybe. If that’s what you want to do or you might go to work somewhere else.” Lenny then said, “I want to work with daddy. Then can I have lollipops all day long?” Dominic works at a bank and every time we go to visit him at work, people are always giving them lollipops.

I can never remember how the Phineas and Ferb theme song goes and I always try to sing it. Lenny is always correcting me. Anyway, I was singing it one day and I said, “cause Phineas and Ferb is going to do it all.” Lenny said, “No mommy, ARE going to do it all”. He then said, if it was just Phineas it would be “is”. My five year old is already correcting my grammar!

Lenny is definitely at the age where he asks lots of questions and wants to know everything. Not long after Dominic's Uncle Jerry passed away, Lenny started asking questions. He asked Dominic if he is going to die. Dominic said, "Yes, some day." Lenny was so worried after that. He kept coming to me crying and saying that he didn't want to die. So I knew the conversations were going to start. I reassured him that he didn't have to worry about that at all.

Later he came to me and said, "If we die, do we come back to life?" I said, "Well, some people think that we do and others think that we go to heaven. I think that we go to heaven." He kept asking me different things throughout the day. Then he came to me and said, "Mommy, Jesus died and came back to life. That's what I want to do too." We then had more of a conversation. He came back again and said, "Does God have toys?" "Does he have a computer? Because I would want to get on the computer." It was so cute to see him thinking of all of these things.

After we talked about all of it, Lenny then said to me. "Mommy, I'm not worried about heaven now because you told me all about it." He hasn't talked to me about it since and that has been a few months ago. I guess he feels good about it now.

From the Mouth of a Two Year Old Boy

Whenever Nathan talks to someone on the phone he says “Yo!!” or “Yo Gaggy!!” It's hilarious.

Nathan was talking to Dominic on the phone one day. I guess Dominic said, “See you later Bubba.” Nathan got off the phone and started laughing and said, “Gaggy call me Bubba.” More laughter. “Me Nate, Mommy.”

From the Mouth of a Two Year Old Girl

Brooke was going upstairs one day and Daisy was lying at the bottom of the stairs and she couldn’t get past her. Brooke looked at Daisy and said, “Excuse me, Daisy”. And it was as clear as can be when she said it. She has also said “Excuse me” to Dominic before when she has needed to get around him.

She was playing in the sandbox one day and our next door neighbor started his motorcycle. It scared Brooke. After she was done being scared, she was mad. Our neighbor didn’t even know Brooke was there but he revved the engine again. Brooke then yelled, “Ben! Stop it! Right now!” and then went back to playing in the sand. It was hilarious. If she would have been standing up, I'm sure she would have stomped at him too. Not only does she boss everyone in our house around, she's started on the neighbors. Just so you know, she really likes Ben so it was no biggy. He didn’t even hear what she said because the motorcycle was so loud.

Another motorcycle story. After mom and Ernie came to visit one day on his motorcycle, Brooke started singing a new song. For weeks she would sing it. It went like this. “Meemaw come, Onie bike.” Over and over again. Meemaw came to see her on Ernie’s bike.

Summer Fun

I bet you thought I completely forgot about my blog. Well...I'm back. It's been a crazy busy and fun summer and I can't believe that it's time for school already. My little guy is heading to Kindergarten tomorrow morning. Maybe I'm nervous and that's why I decided to update my blog to take my mind off of it. He is going to do great in school. I know it. I'm just going to miss him terribly while he is there. I told Dominic this morning that I've never been on this side of the first day of school before. This is my first year as the mom.

Anyway, here are a few (okay, a lot of) pictures from the summer. I will post our beach pictures on another day. We've had lots of fun making park and pool visits. We played in the backyard a lot. We also got together weekly with other friends for play dates. There were three of us moms and nine kids total. Wow! All ages 6 and under. It was a lot of fun though.

Fourth of July

This year we went to Quantico Marine Base to watch the fireworks again. It's really alot of fun. They have a few things for the kids to do, a band, and fireworks over the lake. We got there a little later this year and had to park far. The walk there wasn't so bad but after the fireworks when the kids were tired, it was a terrible walk. I thought we would never make it back to the car. Then we had to wait about an hour in the car before we could leave because there were so many people. Brooke and Lenny really liked the fireworks but sweet little Nathan cried for a while. I think he was mostly tired because it was past their bedtime.


Heading Out to the Park with Friends

Lenny took this picture of me and Brooke. I always forget to check for binkies before we walk out of the house but I usually notice them when I am putting everyone in their car seats. I can't wait until I can get rid of those. I took Lenny's away when he was 15 months old but with two of them at one time, it's been easier to just let them keep them. My goal is to get rid of the binkies by their third birthday. Wish me luck.


Enjoying Watermelon


Fun on the Slip and Slide

Waiting for daddy to finish setting it up.


Filling Up Water Guns with Daddy


Riding Brooke's Jeep Together

It's very cute because they each have their own but like to ride together.


Brooke loves to drive Lenny's John Deer tractor. She is hilarious on that thing and can easily maneauver it among the trees in the backyard while driving it fast.


Visiting with Friends

We finally got together with our friends Dale and Michele. Lenny loved talking to Tyler about monster trucks. Brooke had a great time with Ashley and loved playing with her dolls. Nathan is my little loner boy. He would go back and forth between spending time with Ashley and Tyler.


Trip to the Dentist

I was so happy that my camera just happened to be in my purse when I took Lenny to the dentist. I was telling him how cute he looked with the sunglasses on and I was able to show the picture to him.


Time for me to head off to bed and get ready for Lenny's big day tomorrow. It was difficult to get him to go to sleep tonight because he is so excited. Tomorrow I will post some "From the Mouth Of" stories. I've been saving up a bunch of them.