6 - 8th Night

Well I tried to post every day but I got behind. The sixth night (Christmas Day) was pretty chill. I was at home with the kids by myself while Johnny was working a 15 hour shift. Uncle Rocky came by to drop off the kids gifts which have been some of there favorite. A radio flyer scooter for Pennington and a vacuum for Piper.

For the seventh night we didn't even light the candles because we were driving up to the cabin with Grandma to meet Nonni and Poppy.

For the eight night we lit the candles at the cabin. Below is a picture of the whole family.

5th Night

For the fifth night of Hanukkah we lit the candles at home before heading over to Uncle Elliott and Leasley house for Christmas Eve. If you watch closely you can see Pennington trying to sing along. Enjoy!

4th Night

For the fourth night of Hanukkah the kids and I joined Nonni and Poppy at the Synagogue Hanukkah Party. There was lots of traditional food, including sufganiyot (aka donuts). This year they had the guy that sells the mini donuts down at the Saturday Market come and make donuts which was awesome. Pennington loved the suganiyot. Piper enjoyed the fact that she was able to dress up. She is really starting to be interested in her clothing and accessories. Below is a video of the kids dancing at the Hanukkah Party.

3rd Night

For the third night of Hanukkah we had our Havurah come over to our house. Our Havurah is group of other families with children of similar ages. The hope is to get our Havurah together several times a year. This was our first event and it was a hit. We lit the candles, had a gelt (chocolate coin) hunt (this is sort of like an Easter egg hunt except for you are searching for gelt instead of eggs), and colored pictures of dreidels and menorahs. We are hoping that our next Havurah event will be out to another families farm to see the baby farm animals after they are born in the spring.

2nd Night

The second night of Hanukkah was our extended family night. Papa, Grams (G.G.), Aunt Lisa, Uncle Mike, Cousins Bryan and Isaac, Uncle Elliott and Leasley, Uncle Henry, Nonni and Poppy were all there. Hanukkah is the festival of lights and the tradition is to make food that is fried with oil. Daddy both Mexican and Asian egg rolls and Nonni made Latkas (traditional potato pancakes). The kids got lots of really cool gifts from everyone. The biggest hit for Pennington was the football helmet from Uncle Henry. Piper really liked all of her gifts. She spent lots of time analyzing everything she got. Below are pictures of the kids on the second night of Hanukkah.

1st Night

The first night of Hanukkah was also Jesikah's company Holiday party. Before heading to the party we lit the candles at home and opened presents. This year the company party was at the Idaho Botanical Gardens - Winter Garden A Glow and we were encouraged to bring the whole family. They had a heated tent where dinner was served and then we were free to roam around the gardens. The kids loved the trains. Especially since Thomas and Percy were there. Below are some photos from the first night of Hanukkah.

Presents

We decided to go all out this year and get each of the kids 8 presents, one for each night of Hanukkah. Some of the gifts are big, some are small, some are toys, and some are necessities. We have numbered each of the gifts with foam numbers so we can talk about counting from 1 to 8. I was surprised to find out a few days ago that Nonni (my Mom and I still can't agree on how to spell her name) and Poppy got 8 presents for each of the kids as well. Boy are my children very spoiled and loved all at the same time. Stay tune for (hopefully nightly) updates on Hanukkah. Below is a picture of the mountain of gifts for Pennington and Piper.

Fish

I came home a few days ago to find a nice fish tank in Pennington's room. Was I consulted on this purchase for our children. . . . of course not. Pennington and Piper are now pet owners. We originally had 2 fish, got 2 more, they ended up taking a long nap, and now we are back down to the original 2 fish. On Thursday morning we discovered we are down to only one fish and that the one we have is missing a portion of his tail. We are still working on a name. Pennington vetoed the following: Buster, Bob, Gossie and Gertie. Hopefully we will have a name soon. For all I know by the end of the week we will have killed off all the fish. Below is a picture of the fish tank.

Johnny's Birthday Party

For Johnny's 30th we decided to have all of our friends over for dinner, drinks, and fun. Johnny and I used to have dinner parties all the time before we had kids. It is something we really miss doing. So I decided why not have a dinner party for Johnny's 30th. We provided all the food and asked people to bring a beverage to share.

We feel so blessed by how many people turned out for the party. The food was amazing and there was plenty of beverages to go around. We needed up breaking out Pictionary and playing it on the kids easel. It was a battle of the sexes and I am sad to report that some how the men won. I have no idea how except for the fact that the version we played involved rolling the die and the men kept rolling sixes and the women kept rolling twos. Basically the men are better at rolling die then the women.

After Pictionary a bunch of us headed downtown to go dancing. It was blast. It made us feel like we were 21 again. I have to say I think it is very healthy to turn back time every once and a while so you can remind yourself how great it is not to be 21 anymore. If we had to party like that every weekend in our thirties we would be in big trouble. Below are some pictures from the night.

Picture of some of the guys that came.

Picture of the winning drawing. Johnny knew the answer in about 2 seconds. It is Mickey Mouse of course.

Hand, Foot, & Mouth Diasese Part II

Surprise, surprise. As soon as Pennington starts to feel better Piper ends up getting Hand, Foot and Mouth. The only saving grace is that Piper doesn't have it in her mouth but rather on her bottom. Honestly Piper doesn't even know she has it which is 180 degrees difference from what we experienced with Pennington. Hopefully Piper will get better soon. It would be nice to be able to hang out with other kids and not infect them.

16 Months Old Going on 16 Years Old

Earlier this week I told Piper we needed to get ready to go to the store. I turned around to find her with her play wallet and cell phone. I think I have a 16 month old going on 16 years old. Looks like we are going to have our hands full soon.

Daddy Turns 30

Daddy turned 30 on Wednesday. He had the whole week off from work but not from being a Daddy. Daddy got to spend his 30th birthday taking care of sick little Pennington. Happy Birthday Daddy. Welcome to the Thirties!!!

Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease

On Tuesday morning Pennington told me he wanted to lay down because he felt sick. I asked him why he felt sick and he pointed to his mouth. I felt in his mouth and it felt like he had a canker sore. I thought he just bit the side of his mouth when he was eating a banana for breakfast so I went ahead and took him to school. A few hours later I got a call that Pennington wasn't feeling very well and had been sleeping all morning at school. I was told that another child had hand, foot and mouth so I called Dr. Booth to see if he could see Pennington that afternoon. Dr. Booth confirmed that Pennington did in fact has hand, foot and mouth. Below is some background on hand foot and mouth.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a common childhood illness. It causes sores in the mouth and on the hands, feet, and sometimes the buttocks and legs. Mouth sores can be painful and may make it hard for your child to eat. The disease is not serious, and it usually goes away in a week or so.

This sickness sucks. Pennington cried for about two days straight. He only had sores in his mouth which made eating and drinking really hard. It has been three days since he was diagnosed and he is finally starting to recover. Below is a picture of Pennington at his doctors appointment. This pictures is deceiving since he looks totally fine but after this appointment he cried for a long time.

Like Father Like Son

Below is probably the only baby photo I have ever seen of Johnny. Some would say that Pennington and Johnny look a lot a like others would disagree. Regardless we know one thing for sure. They both LOVE football.

Bronco Basketball Game

Johnny and I have been wanting to take the kids to a Bronco Basketball game. So last night we took them to a game. Before the game we went to dinner at the RAM. Both kids did great at dinner. After dinner we headed over to the basketball game. We went to the game with Poppy, Bella and Grandma. For the game they were running some sort of deal where you could exchange your football ticket stub for a basketball ticket. Even though we only had three football tickets the lady was super nice and gave us 7 free tickets to the game. What a deal! Both the kids really enjoyed the game. Piper was walking and climbing up and down the stair constantly which was a bit annoying. Pennington couldn't keep his eyes off the game or Buster Bronco. I asked Pennington if he would like to go see Buster. He said yes. So we walked down to the basketball floor to see Buster. Buster gave Pennington a high five and took a picture with him. Below are some photos of the kids at the basketball game.

Piper 15 Month Checkup

Today Johnny and I took Piper to her 15 Month Checkup. Of course the only concern I have relates to the fact she has NEVER sleeps through the night (meaning more than 6 hours in a row). Dr. Booth told me the same thing he has told me at least 5 times before that if I want her to sleep I need to stop feeding her in the middle of the night. So I will continue to work on that.

Below are her stats:

Height: 30 inches (31st percentile)

Weight: 20 pounds 8 ounces (13th percentile)

Both Johnny and I were totally shocked by her weight. Piper eats pretty much anything you put in front of her and typically eats at least twice as much as Pennington does. To see that Piper is in the 13th percentile is crazy to us. I don't think she has gained any weight in over a month. Dr. Booth didn't seem to be concerned. Piper is just super active. Below is a picture of my little munchkin eating away.

Pennington Speech Assessment

On Monday we finally had Pennington's speech assessed. Six weeks ago he was saying 10 words at the most. Now he attempts to repeat anything you ask him to repeat and is learning to say new words everyday. So as expected he is now at age level when it comes to language. The ladies that met with us on Monday said that if he didn't progress over the next six months that we could call them back but we all agreed that the likelihood of that happening was very slim. I'm glad that I got him assessed because it made me realize how much he really does now. It is so amazing to watch children learn things for the first time. Definitely one of the greatest joys of my life.

One of his favorite things to do right is find objects within the pictures. We call it "I Spy". It is amazing all of the new words he is learning from "I Spy". We have to look at "I Spy" books every night before he goes to bed. It is so cute to hear him say "I don't know" when he can't find something in the picture. It feels really good when the next time you ask him to find an object that he couldn't find the night before that he is able to find it.

I hate posting without pictures so here is a recent picture of Pennington.

Storage Unit

I realized recently that we have been paying $88 a month for almost 2 years to store some of our stuff in a storage unit. This is crazy to paying that much especially when we are really enjoying living with my parents and we have no plans of leaving anytime soon. So I have set a goal to get everything out of the storage unit by the end of the year. Last weekend Johnny and Poppy made one trip to the storage unit to get some boxes. The kids had a grand old time helping us organize the garage so we could fix what was in the storage unit into the garage. I turned around at one point to find Piper half way up the ladder. Below are some pictures of my two little climbing monkeys.

Thanksgiving 2011

For Thanksgiving this year Mommy, Pennington and Piper joined Nonie, Poppy, Uncle Henry, Uncle Elliott and Leasley at the cabin. Daddy wasn't able to join us because he had to work. It's hard to give up time and a half on holidays especially during these hard times. Mommy picked Pennington up early from school on Wednesday and drove up to the cabin with Piper and Poppy. As hoped for both kids slept most of the drive.

When we go to the cabin the Luangaphays get the "Bunk Room". The bunk room as two bunk beds in it which each have a full mattress on the bottom and twin on the top. While Pennington would love to sleep on the top we tell him he has to be five years old. Mommy tried to get the kids to sleep together on one of the bunks but in the end we all slept together on a full bed. Mommy decided she wasn't going to do that again so she forced Piper to sleep in the pack-and-play for at least half the night and Pennington to sleep on the other full bed. That worked much better the second night.

Pennington and Piper enjoyed exploring the cabin since they hadn't been there since May. There was a few inches of snow on the ground so we spend some time outside. Pennington tried to make snow balls but wasn't very successful as the snow wasn't just right and mittens are not easy for making snow balls.

As usual we ate plenty of delicious food and watched looks of football. Mommy asked Pennington what he was thankful for and he said "football". This shouldn't surprise anyone.

Below are some pictures of the kids at the cabin.

Sleeping

Thursday was the the day. The day I decide I had enough. The day another mom told me it is okay to go cold turkey on your child to get them to sleep. So that is exactly what I decided to do. From now on when I say it is time to sleep, Piper will sleep. No more letting her sleep with me. No more being a human pacifier. NO MORE!

I have decided that once I have read her several bedtime stories and feed her for a final time, I will just kiss her goodnight, lay her down and close the door. The first night I think she cried for 30 minutes or so, last night about 5 minutes and tonight maybe 1 minute. Last night was the first night I decided when she woke up in the middle of the night I would feed her and then lay her back down. I have to be honest that I don't really know how long she cried when I laid her back down around 1:00 but it is possible it was for an hour and a half. I decided I wasn't going to go back into her room until I had slept for several hours. She woke again around 5:30 so I went to feed her and then lay her back down. I think this time she only cried for about 5 minutes. She then slept until about 8:45. It was awesome.

Today for nap time she cried for about 5 minutes and then about 30 minutes later woke up because she heard me going up and down the stairs. I decided not to go in and get her since she had only been asleep for 30 minutes. She cried for about 5 minutes and then feel back asleep for another hour and a half. Again, this was awesome especially since Pennington was napping.

Wish me luck again tonight, tomorrow night, ect. I think 15 months of no real sleep is long enough. I think it is about time I free myself from the disaster I have created. While some might say this is cruel I have to disagree. I have catered to Piper's every need from day one and I am one very tired mama. Below is a picture of my sleeping child. I took the picture this morning when I realized it was 8:00 am and she wasn't awake yet. I believe this is the second time ever that she woke up after 7:00 am in her crib.

Pityriasis Rosea

Starting last Tuesday we were concerned that Piper might have the Chicken

Pox. For those of you that don't already know this there is now a vaccine that Children get so not everyone gets Chicken Pox little when we were little. Pennington has had the vaccine and Piper is due to have it in about 2 weeks. So I was thinking just my luck she would get it 2 weeks before she gets the vaccine. We

ll a few days went by and the rash didn't get any better or worse. Finally on Sunday morning I decided I had enough of her not sleeping (not that she ever really sleeps) and that the rash wasn't going away so I decided to take her into the doctor. I LOVE the fact that I can take her to see the doctor on the weekend. Dr. Roy at Treasure Valley Peds saw Piper. I mentioned to him that I thought she might have Pityriasis Rosea since I have had it twice and it looks a lot like it. Well sure enough that is what she has. Dr. Roy was very impressed that I knew what it was. Below is the totally official wikipedia definition of pitariasis rosea.

Pityriasis rosea is a skin rash. It is non-dangerous but may inflict substantial discomfort on some people.Classically, it begins with a single "herald patch" lesion, followed in 1 or 2 weeks by a generalized body rash lasting about 6 weeks.

I had pityriasis rosea once my junior year of college and then again when I was pregnant with Pennington. Reading up on it again I found that it is rare to have it twice (weird that I have) and rare for toddlers to get it (of course this would only happen to me). They have no idea why people get it but they think it can be brought on my stress. They also don't believe it is contagious. I know that sunlight can help it and that the worst part is the first week or so. When Piper is driving me crazy I just dose her up on some Tylenol and benadryl but Dr. Roy told me to only do that when nothing else will calm her down. All in all Piper is doing fine. She is just not 100% sure herself. Boy do we have a long few weeks ahead of us if this rash doesn't go away soon. Below is a super sweet photo of my little rashy girl.

Chef Pennington and Piper

Nonie just got back from visiting her sister in Italy. She brought back some very adorable chef outfits for the kids. Nonie is the plural form for grandparent in Italian. The kids hats say their names and the aprons say something like "I help Nonie" in Italian. They are so stinking cute.

Stringing Work

I have to take a moment to brag about my son and the work he does at Montessori Home. For Halloween the kids did some stringing work. Below are the two pumpkins Pennington strung all by himself. I guess the teachers poke holes in the paper in the shape of a pumpkin and then start the stringing for the kids. The kids are then told how to sow by using a metal needle to go over and then under. I am so impressed. I have been told many times that Pennington is really good at string work.

Halloween 2011

We were very busy this year with three Halloween events that the kids attended.

First, my company (Deloitte) does a trick or treat event at the office. On Friday Johnny and I took the kids to go trick or treating at my office. The kids got candy, snacks and a Halloween coloring book. Below is a picture of Mommy, Pennington and Piper at the Deloitte Halloween Party. Piper was Little Red Riding Hood, Pennington was a Garden Nome and Mommy was a Fairy.

Below is a picture of Pennington's entire outfit. I know he looks annoyed but honestly he really enjoyed dressing up. Oh if only I could get this child to smile for the camera.

Second, we took the kids to Boo at the Zoo. It is a really fun event but super crowded. One highlight of going to the zoo is that we got to see the Lions in action. One of the Lions was only a few feet away from Piper and I. The zookeeper gave the Lions a box with a pumpkin in it. It was really fun to watch the Lions get the pumpkin out of the box and then fight over it.

Third, Uncle Elliott, Leasley, and Poppy took the kids trick or treating on Monday evening around the neighborhood. While the only made it to 10 house I heard they had a lot of fun. One of the highlights for Pennington was getting to see the moon. That evening when I was putting him to bed all he could talk about was the moon.

Below is a picture of Piper's outfit. I could never get her to wear the cape. She would take it off within 5 seconds of me putting it on her. Since she didn't have the cape on she sort of looked like St. Pauli Girl on the beer bottle. Yes we did have some people ask us if that is what she was which was a bit comical. Piper loved her costume. Specifically her super cool black patent leather Mary Jane's that make really cool sounds when you walk around on the hardwood floors.

Repeating Words

I know you all have been waiting for the update on Pennington's speech delay. The lady I was going to meet with had to reschedule the appointment so I don't even meet with her until November 3rd and that appointment doesn't included Pennington. So who knows when Pennington will finally get assessed. In the meantime he is starting to repeat words to us. He can now clearly say "Football" and "Touchdown". I know you are all laughing. This kids is obsessed with sports. This morning he just had to hold all three of his footballs. In the last few days he has made several attempts to repeat words we ask him to repeat. This is HUGE progress people. Just goes to show that when you seek out help all the sudden the problem isn't that bad. I'm still going to get him assessed but I am grateful to know that he is taking steps forward to being able to talk. YEAH!!!! Everyone keeps telling me that I should be happy that he isn't really talking yet because when they start I guess they wont shut up. I guess I will just have to wait and see. :)

Cheese

I would like to say that Piper's squinty eyes is an Asian thing but honestly Mommy does it too.

Piper Loves Yogurt

Piper is our super good eater. She will pretty much eat anything. Lately I noticed that she loves her green vegetables like peas, green beans, and broccoli. Boy am I very impressed since I don't particularly enjoy green vegetables myself. All I know if that I need to keep feeding them to her everyday or else she will turn into Pennington and decide she doesn't want to eat them anymore. Below are some fabulous photos Daddy took of Piper eating yogurt. Yogurt is so yummy but so messy. And yes my child does know how to use a spoon but it is just easier to drink it or lick it. Also notice a certain animal friend in the background. As usual he is waiting for some droppings.

Harmonica

Recently Pennington has enjoyed playing the harmonica. Uncle Ben gave him this harmonica about a year ago. Below is a video of Pennington playing the harmonica. On Wednesdays Musical Kids (a program run by the Boise Philharmonic) comes to Pennington's school. Denise has mentioned on several occasions that Pennington loves music class. Doesn't surprise me at all. I likes sing into a microphone as well. Hopefully I will be able to get a video of that sometime some.

Piper's First Football Game

This weekend Boise State played Air Force at home. Johnny was able to switch is Saturday shift to the morning so he would be off by 2 in order to go to the football game.

I took the kids down to tailgate in the morning. A good friend of mine Lara and I rode bikes down with the two kids. I'm not exactly sure how far it is but I think it is around 4 miles from our house to the stadium. With two kids, the bike trailer and all the stuff we have to bring along, pulling the kids is like carrying an exact 60 to 70 pounds. It is definitely a workout. The kids had a great time at the tailgate. Pennington watched the big boys play catch with a football and Piper just walked around looking at everything. Both of them enjoyed the food.

Around noon I rode back to our house so the kids would nap for an hour or so. Johnny got home around 2 and we headed down to the game. Another good friend of mine Teresa had an extra ticket and offered it up to me. Of course I was super excited about this but I knew I would have to bring Piper along. Johnny took Pennington into the game and I took Piper. We made it in time for the whole second half. Of course Pennington loved watching the game. He was pretty upset when it ended because he kept asking for more. Piper did great for the 3rd quarter but then about half way through the 4th quarter she had enough. I walked around with her until the game was done. It was really cute at the end of the game because she waved bye to the team. I should also add that she definitely knew to clap for the team.

Below is a picture of Piper in her cheer leading outfit at the tailgate. She is standing inside the bean bag toss hole. She saw Pennington do this so she just had to copy him. I just love this little girl.

October 2011 Update

Sorry for the serious lack of posts. There are two reasons for this: (1) I have lost the bloggie and (2) I just haven't had a lot of free time after the kids go to bed to write. So here is the update.

Lets talk about Piper first.

Piper is really starting to vocalize. I am amazed at how much she is saying already and how much she understands. She is already starting to make animal sounds and say yes and no very clearly. She has had some issues with bowel movements lately (as in multiple each day). It was as bad as 10 times a day but now it is down to 3 to 5 times a day. This is crazy for me since when my children were first born I was super concerned about them only going once every few days.

Piper can climb up and down the stairs now. She does it totally differently than Pennington did. She slides down on her bottom instead of on her tummy like Pennington did. It is really nice to know that I don't have to hover over my children anymore when they are going up and down the stairs. We still put the gates up mainly so I can contain them instead of for safety purposes.

Piper is still not really sleeping. Honestly there are nights she gets up like 5 or 6 times. Last night was a good night. She only got up twice. I really think I need to stop breastfeeding in order to get her to sleep better. Right now I pretty much only feed her at night. Not sure I really recommend breastfeed as long as I have. The reason I say this is because now Piper asks for it by pulling on my shirt. The problem is I have no idea how to cut off the breastfeeding. I just keep hoping she will decided she is done so I don't have to make the decision. She like soy milk now and can drink it out of a bottle or sippy cup. My plan is to get rid of the bottles before January when she starts school.

Okay on to Pennington.

Since the beginning of September Pennington has been going to school three days as week. This has been really great for him on so many levels. He is really starting to enjoy school. He still gets a little sad when I drop him off in the morning but never wants to leave when I go to pick him up.

Pennington is totally potty trained at school and he is really starting to be interest in wanting to go on the potty at home. I realized a few days ago that Pennington doesn't like the potty we have at home. He would rather use the potties they have at school. Denise (Pennington's teacher) gave me an extra one and it has worked wonders. He goes at home now. In case you are wondering the Baby Bjorn potties are much better than the ones that look like little potties with lids (I think the brand is Safety First or something like that). The reason is because the Baby Bjorn ones are taller in the front so that when little boys sit on them the pee doesn't go out of the potty. It is so exciting to know that we are one step closer to being potty trained. Pennington is starting to refuse to wear diapers and only wants to wear pull ups or underwear.

I have finally decided to call the Infant Toddler Program about Pennington's speech delay. I should have an update within the next week or so once he has been assessed. While I am certain that he will talk someday he is definitely behind as most children his age would have around 70 words. Pennington maybe has 10 words. I have noticed an increase in the number of animal sounds he is making which is good.

Pennington can now ride a tricycle by pushing the pedals and has pretty much mastered the balance bike. By the way, I highly recommend the balance bike. Pennington loves it and it is easier for him to ride than a tricycle. Basically they are totally worth the money.

Johnny and I have tried our best to limit TV watching for both our children. However there are times where we have let them watch TV. One show that we let Pennington watch is called Kipper. Kipper is a British show about a dog and his adventures. I really like the show because it is very simple. It is usually Kipper and a few other objects that kids can identify with. Usually the background is all white. It is just very simple and I believe not over stimulating like other children's programs. Pennington loves watching Kipper. Piper isn't really into TV at all. Pennington on the other hand if the TV is on he will watch it (especially if it is soccer, football, basebase, ect). This is why we have to limit the amount of TV he watches.

Parenting Books

At the kids 1 and 2 year old appointments I was asking Dr. Booth if he had any suggestions on good book to read about parenting toddlers. He had a few suggestions but nothing that he highly recommended. At least none that I remember. About a week later Johnny came home from Hastings with several parenting books for me to read. I guess Hastings was having a 4 for $20 sale or something like that. One of the books he brought home was a book about Jewish parenting. My first thought was "Really??? I am not a super religious person and I am pretty sure that religion is not going to help me be a better parent." Surprisingly I ended up LOVING this book. To date it is the best parenting book I have read. It is called "The Blessing of a Skinned Knee" by Wendy Mogal, Ph.D. The idea behind the book is using Jewish teachings to raise a self-reliant child.

A few take aways I got from the book are as follows: (1) teach your children to respect you (i.e. Honor Your Mother and Father), (2) every child is unique (i.e. respect your child's strengths), (3) it is never to early to start chores even if all they can do is put their shoes on and put dirty clothes in the laundry basket, (4) don't over protect your child (FYI - I am really good that this one. Most parents would freak out about how much trust I have in my children), (5) eating dinner together is VERY important (in Judaism this all centers around Friday Night Shabbat Dinner with family and friends), (6) teach your children the value of work (I think this one is really important since a lot of parents these days are not doing a very good job at teaching their children how hard you have to work for somethings), (7) teach your child to value the present moment (smells in the air, the scenery around you, ect. The idea behind this one is that the world around us is moving so fast that we need children to know what boredom feels like and to appreciate what is currently going on in the world around you) and (8) spend time with your children (not just being in the room with them but really being with them. This one makes me realize that just because you are a stay at home parent doesn't mean that you are really spending quality time with your children. Working parents can actually be better at spending quality time with their children.)

Honestly I could go on and on and on about how wonder I thought this book was. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. The book even comes with group discussion questions about each of the chapters. All I can say is this book was fabulous.

Pennington's First Bronco Game

Two weekends ago the Broncos had an early afternoon game against Nevada. We decided to take the kids down for a little tailgating before nap time. One of the tailgates we went to had "Gus the Bronco Bus". Gus is owned by a few of my current and former co-workers. Below are some pictures of the kids driving the bus.

Johnny decided that he should take Pennington into the game for at least the first quarter. Pennington was able to stay long enough to see the first Bronco touchdown. Below is a picture of Pennington and Nicholas Ploetz at Pennington's very first Bronco Game.

Pennington definitely knows who the Broncos are. Daddy bought him about about Buster Bronco which we read at least 3 times at week. He loves his new Bronco football that his great grandma got him. He also asks to wear his Bronco gear a lot. I have to remind him that he I would prefer that he waits to wear his Bronco gear on game days. Go Broncos!!!

Harvest Festival

Pennington, Piper and I went to the Harvest Festival this afternoon at the Botanical Gardens. We all had a fabulous time. At the Harvest Festival we picked out pumpkins, walked through a mini corn maze, went on a hay ride and listened to some blue grass music.

Piper was really excited about her pumpkin. She insisted on holding it while she was sitting in the stroller. Both of the kids colored on their pumpkins when we got home. Below is a picture of Piper coloring her pumpkin.

Pennington ran through the mini corn maze while Piper was a bit hesitant. Piper and I never made it through the mini corn maze but Pennington sure did. It was a bit scary being the only parent with two young children in a corn maze. Good thing Pennington was able to figure his way out.

Pennington LOVED listening to the music. When we were up at the pumpkin patch area he looked at me and pointed to his ear to say that he could hear the music and wanted to go see it. He sat with his eyes glued on the band for at least 5 songs. Piper decided she should sit in Pennington's lap. Surprisingly he didn't mind. Probably because he was to focused on listening to the band.

There were several hollowed out trees where the pumpkin patch was. This is one of the hollowed out trees that Pennington walked through.

The last thing we did was go on the hay ride. Pennington really wanted to go on the hay ride. Every time it past us he would look at me like I want to do that. While I don't think this is the best picture of the three of us, we are all looking at the camera. The kids were very quiet on the hay ride but I do think they enjoyed it.

Overall, the kids were fairly well behaved. It is always a bit scary to venture out by yourself with the two little ones. I have to say that I do officially have a runner on my hands. Pennington did jet off a few times. One time on a full sprint which honestly is pretty fast for such a little guy. Oh the joys of a two year old boy.