Animals and Insects

We could not resist dressing them up. We finally decided to take them trick-or-treating in the immediate neighborhood. It turned out to be a very good way of connecting with the neighbors. Actually, only Max went out with them. I stayed and had fun with my little elephant.

Big ears

JB wore this elephant outfit at about 9 months and it fits Benaiah tighter at 6 months!

Look, I can sit now!

Here's big foot!

zipline fun

We went back to the pumpkin patch and tried out the zipline this time. It was less intimidating without the mud I guess (last time it had rained and was muddy).

JB and Gloria as babies

Gloria as a baby in Jump Up

JB at 2-3 months

I think I know what Benaiah is going to look like in about 3 months. This is JB at 9 months. Benaiah is now 6 months. See the resemblance between brothers?

6-month old Benaiah

He's just starting to sit, although I have to be with him because he might tip over. He only "slithers" backward on his tummy. He can roll over from his tummy to his back but not from his back to his tummy. He kicks his legs a lot and hard! I think he's always checking to see if he'll bounce like he does in his beloved "Benaiah Bounce Up"...otherwise known as Johnny (or Jolly) Jump Up. He loves sucking his thumb.

Beautiful fall day

Our outdoor swing was being put to good use (birthday present from Max to Tams) with Gramma Shell reading to all three grand kids. They sure do love having grandparents around...me, too...since I can watch from the sidelines. I was sick all last week (along with Benaiah) and still getting over the tail end of the nasty cold, so this was a much needed break last weekend!

Max's Birthday

Duncan and Michele came last weekend to surprise Max on the belated celebration of his birthday. Michele made a yummy brownie ice cream layer cake. There were too many candles to count:) and it was too windy to even light the candles. We lit them inside on the remainder of the cake the next day. I think the kids blew out more candles than Max did.

already?

JB made what he called a "girl catcher" today. It was one of Max's old Air Force patches attached to a shoe lace. He discovered that he could get it stuck in girls' hair (mine and Gloria's) if he twirled it around like a lasso and then threw it on our heads. One time it took out Gloria's hair band and JB was very proud of that...Gloria didn't like it so much.

You have what in your shoe?

After attending childcare our church this morning while I went to a women's Bible study, JB and Gloria really wanted to use their "barellas" (umbrellas) in the rain, which was pouring down. I pulled the car up under the church awning and loaded Benaiah in the car, while JB and Gloria got their barellas. I let them play in the rain in their flip flops and barellas for a while, watching from under the awning to make sure they were safe from cars, then called them back to the van. When Gloria got back she said in a distressed tone, "The parking lot is in my shoe!". I was confused for a moment until I realized that she had a little piece of asphalt stuck between her flip flop and her foot. It was a pretty easy fix considering the parking lot was in her shoe.

Monk JB

...I mean fireman. This is a raincoat that Gramma Shell made for him. I think it will fit for a long time. It is lined with fleece, which makes it cozy.

I think the reflective tape works. Gloria says that she is he is a fireman and she is his sweetheart.

Sporting some new clothes and accessories from Uncle Justin and Aunt Alison. Gloria's gloves are so cute with little puppet on each finger and numbers 1-10. The raincoat and necklace are also new. JB loves Spiderman and just got a Spiderman umbrella. Thanks Aunt Alison and Uncle Justin!

Pumpkin Pictures and More Fun

Benaiah is getting close to sitting, but was mainly just leaning on the other pumpkins.

JB and Gloria thought this was pretty cool.

Man! JBs dream...a giant tricycle to ride around a track. He did this for a while too. Gloria's legs were a little too short, but she found other things to do.

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch!

Benaiah enjoying the view.

Benaiah was happier sitting up in the front seat of the stroller than in his car seat, so Gloria happily sat in his car seat with her muddy shoes sticking out.

This is part of the tractor-train. Can you tell that Gloria is having a good time?

This was duck racing, where they raced rubber duckies using water pumps and halved pipes. JB and Gloria played with this for about an hour.

I've been to about 5 pumpkin patch places before, but this one was the best. I didn't get a chance to take pictures when we were actually picking the pumpkins at the patch because my hands were full with Benaiah and pumpkin.

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch!

Nursing Animals

JB and Gloria have a lot of stuffed animals...enough apparently to have a nursing party! I was getting ready for the day in my room when JB comes in a tells me I have to come and see something. I go into their room and he says "Look, Mom, the animals are nursing just like you nurse Benaiah!". They had each animal nursing on their same kind, small dog nursing on big dog, little bunny nursing on big bunny, little elephant nursing on big elephant, little cat nursing on big cat, little bear nursing on big bear, etc. I thought it was so cute I had to take a picture.

Here is Gloria riding on a cow? with a saddle at the "American Farm" section of the Wichita zoo. I could not get them away from the horses, sheep, and goats... animals that they see all the time, especially in Colorado!

Never mind the animals that you have to go to Africa or China to see! Kids are funny.

Max and JB camping...

...in the backyard.:) JB was so excited to go camping with his Dad. He helped Max set up the tent in the backyard and they pretty much slept in the tent and that was it. It was enough for JB though; he loved it! They'll camp further and further from home as JB (and Gloria) gets older.

This camping "trip" was promised when JB kept his pull-up consistently dry at night.

Next time they plan on bringing the fire pit out in the grass and roasting marshmallows.