Whole Lotta Stuff

So I know I haven't done anything on my blog for a while...sorry. I have been trying really hard to make all three girls costumes for Halloween so every bit of spare time I have had lately has been split between their costumes and exercising. So here are a few new posts, starting at the beginning:

Gwen's First Fieldtrip

Gwen is loving preschool. When she's not in preschool she's asking if she can go to preschool. On the 8th they took a fieldtrip-Gwen's first-to a local apple orchard to learn about and pick apples. I volunteered, among many others, to go on her fieldtrip with her class and was lucky to be picked as one of the parents. It was only for half the day (Gwen's preschool is all day, coordinating with the local school system which just switched their kindergarten to full day) but it was so much fun!! They got a real school bus and Gwen was so thrilled to ride it...she even took her own pictures out the window on our way home. When we first got there we learned about bees and how they helped in the apple growing process, and then we went outside to pick our apples. While out there we learned about moths, bugs and mice and what they use to repel them. We also learned a cute song about apples, heard a story about apples, played a version of red light green light but switched to red apples, green apples (with a cute yellow apple twist thrown in) and each of us got to eat a delicious apple. After apple picking the class went back up to the barn and we got to watch them use an old apple press to make apple cider. They even showed us where they put the leftover apple mash for a farmer down the road (he feeds it to his pigs) so that nothing goes to waste. It was so much fun and Gwen had a blast. She talked about it for at least a week and still mentions it every now and then thanks to all the fun apple art projects they did during that week (they even made apple crisp-yum!!). I may not get to go on any other fieldtrips with her but I am so excited to see what else they do!!

Gwen on her first bus ride.

Listening to our guide tell a story about apples while eating apples (Gwen is sitting in the middle with a big fuzzy beanie on and a pink jacket).

The kids watching them count the apples that they put into the cider press (can you see Gwen?).

The kids watching apple cider being made.

One of the pictures Gwen took out of the bus window.

Apple Picking With My Family

The Saturday after Gwen's fieldtrip we went apple picking with my family. My parents, brother Matt and his friend Jaime, sister Melissa and my sister Traci with her kids Aidan and Mae all went apple picking and we joined them. We had a lot of fun. The kids all picked an adult to help out with the apple picking and they ran around trying to find the trees with the yellow ribbons (the different colored ribbons were how you could tell what type of apple was growing on the tree) and finding the apples that were big and red. We picked three bags worth of apples (which we are still eating) and my mom made a yummy apple pie the next day. It was so much fun to do this with my family!!

Gwen and her apple.

Gracie eating an apple.

Georgia trying to eat an apple.

Traci's son Aidan.

Traci's daughter Mae.

Georgia and I.

Robbie eating an apple.

9 Months Old

Georgia is 9 months old now!! Boy is she getting so big. She is wearing 12 month clothes now and while she was playing the other day I flashed back to when Gwen was wearing the same clothes...but Gwen didn't start wearing them until she was a little over a year old. Crazy. Anyways, she is doing so much. She crawls so fast that one minute she's behind you and the next you're going on a hunting trip trying to find her. She can crawl up about 4 or 5 stairs before she gives up (so we have gates up around every staircase so she doesn't crawl up and then fall down) and likes to wave and say bye bye to people. She says mama and dada really well (especially mama when she gets hungry, tired, or hurt). She walks really well while holding onto couches, coffee tables...any type of furniture and I am practicing with her on standing and walking on her own. She loves all types of baby food, grains, and we have even snuck her a little ice cream here and there (oh man does she love that). I am going to start giving her the little Gerber Puffed treats now because she has found ways to sneak under the table and grab what her sisters have dropped before anyone can stop her. She is trying hard to pronounce other sounds and it amazes me every day how big she is getting. She is 18 1/2 pounds now and 28 1/4 inches long (a pound heavier and 3/4 inch longer than last month)-still growing well. She has 3 teeth now and has 3 more on the verge of popping through!!

As Grace would say, "thilly Georgia!"

Grace is getting big as well. She is in 3T clothes and is getting so close to 4T clothes. She speaks like a 3 year old in mostly clear sentences. She picks up on things so fast!! I have stopped trying to potty train her because we will probably be moving again by the end of the year/beginning of next year into our own place and since she is having a hard time getting the hang of it I am holding off on the major, every half hour she needs to use the potty kind of training. I still put her on the potty often but not as intensly. She is 28 pounds now and 36 inches long (4 lb 3 oz heavier and 1/2 inch longer than at her 2 year checkup in July). She is still such a snuggly little sweetheart and I hope that never changes. Oh, and her new thing lately? It's to constantly tell us that she wants her baby brother. Yeah...um...not gonna happen any time soon (at least until we know this job is gonna continue for another year and we have our own place). She will even scream at us for him and when we tell her that she doesn't have one she insists that she does (so then I have to tell her that maybe she does in heaven still but not here). And she will continue to tell us that she has a little brother. I asked her the other day to show me where her brother was and she actually pointed to a place in the room and told me where he was. A little freaky...could it be a sign? Who knows...I know kids can see things we can't though.

Gracie creating with playdough.

Gwen...goodness, I can't believe that in a few months she'll be starting sunbeams and turn 4 years old!! She is absolutely loving preschool and all the new friends she's making (and I'm hating all the illnesses she brings home with her). She is learning how to write her own name and has gotten so much better about sharing and listening since starting preschool. Unfortunately she is still the tiniest little thing...very small compared to other kids her age at preschool. Wish there was something I could do to get her to gain more weight, but she has such a high metabolism that even the extra calorie-packed foods I give her don't help much. Oh well...guess tiny isn't such a bad thing. Gwen is 37 1/2 inches tall and only weighs 27 pounds 2 ounces (2 1/2 inches and 3 lb. 2 oz. heavier than at her 3 year checkup in January). It takes her forever to gain weight...ugh. My poor peanut. She is doing very well developmentally though and loves to pretend play.

Gwen taking a nap with my dad.

I am busy with the three girls...running Gwen back and forth to preschool, and my crafts. I am making the girls their Halloween costumes from things found at second hand clothing stores and a little bit of fabric. I am also finishing up some old projects and have a ton of things to start on...lots of baby stuff for my sister and Christmas cards (I know it's early, but I'm worried that if I don't start right after Halloween I will never get them done). So I am trying to keep myself busy and do things in a cheaper way to help save money for our own place, which we are hoping to move into once Robbie has his evaluation at work at the end of this year/beginning of next year. We have decided though to just find a place to rent for now because we don't know how long this job will last and since Robbie is still applying for other jobs it's just not a good idea to buy a house until we are really settled in (and not still looking for another job). Oh, and I got a calling this past Sunday. I am now on the Relief Society Board, which is the equivalent of what they call the enrichment committee (spelling?) in Rexburg.




Robbie really likes his job though. He hopes that it'll be a permanent thing and last for a couple years. He gets a good work out while at work because he helps do a lot of the physical work as well as being in control of the whole project. His offical title is a superintendent, which means that he is in charge of overseeing and operating the job and making sure everything happens the way it should. My dad (who works for a big construction company here in Vermont) said that it's really good for Robbie that they hired him on as a superintendent. He said that his company would never hire someone straight out of college and put them into that position...he said they would be put in as an office engineer first (which was what Robbie was in Rexburg with his job at the hospital). So this will not only give Robbie some really good experience in another field of construction but it'll look good on his resume too. Robbie also has a new calling. He is the first counselor in our wards Young Mens presidency. We have really been blessed so far by the Lord and hope that he sees fit to continue to bless us.

Pumpkin Carving with Grandma Congdon

This past weekend we went down to Rutland to spend some time with Robbie's parents since we won't have that chance again until the first weekend in November. While down there Rob's mom got out their Halloween decorations and had the girls decorate their house. She had also bought a pumpkin and she let the girls gut the pumpkin before their bath Saturday night. They had so much fun doing it, and even Georgia tried to help out. The girls are so excited for Halloween...let's just hope that mommy can finish their costumes by then (I forsee a lot of long nights!!).

Gwen's squinty smile.

Grace and Gwen taking the guts out of the pumpkin.

Georgia playing in the pumpkin.