9.30.12 ~ The Co-Sleeper

Saturday morning we folded up the co-sleeper for the last time. Friday night I was watching Nora trying to get comfortable in it and every way she turned, she hit a wall. So, it was finally time to move on to the real crib.  I don't know any other baby who slept in a co-sleeper for almost eight months. I will miss photographing her in it since obviously I loved doing that:

2/23/12

9/25/12

9.29.12 ~ Apple Picking

Saturday Night Live said apple picking is the Mormon Mardi Gras. So, it was fitting that I got a recommendation for a new farm to visit from my dear Mormon friends for our annual apple picking trip. This year we trekked all the way out to Barton Orchards. It was far way but totally worth the trip. We piled into a rented minivan with our kids and Shannon and Mike to meet Kim, Greg and their kiddos at the orchard. We fed animals, listened to live music, jumped in moon bounces, slid down slides, rode a train, went on a hay ride, ate doughnuts, drank cidar, conquered the corn maze, and played on the playground. We almost forgot to pick apples because we were so busy. 

 Hey, hay.

 Give me that cup, lady. 

Head inside the train, Anna! 

 Pigs!

 Posed.

But this one is perfect.  

If we took him to a farm every weekend, his diet would be a lot more nutritious.   

Concord grapes are really good.  

 Moon bounce.

 Shannon discovering the delights of baby wearing.

 Mission.

Kim and her sweet Ethan. 

That sky. 

Corn maze! 

 More maze. 

A rare family shot. And it isn't terrible.  

 Hay ride. 

 Nursing in the pumpkin patch. 

 Eating applies I

 Eating apples II

Eating apples III

 Eating apples IV

 Love for Daddy.

 Love for Nora. 

Total Daddy's girl.

Total. 

9.21.12 ~ Baby Ryan

Meet baby Ryan, the newest Hetzner baby and Sydney's new little brother. We got to spend some time with this little darling last weekend. I've been missing his sweet every day since then.

Also, he made Nora look huge and highly capable. She was like a teenager next to him. I'm thinking about telling her to go out and get a job!

9.19.12 ~ My Theory on Three Years Olds

I am allowed to develop very scientific theories and then share them because I have a PhD. This is my theory: Three is the cutest age - physically cutest, that is. Three-year-olds have outgrown the awkwardness of baby- and toddler-hood and are mini children in many ways. They are shedding the baby chub from their arms and legs, they can move, jump, and run with fluidity, and they often mimic adult mannerisms. But, three-year-olds still have the chubby cheeks and big round eyes that babies have. This child-like/baby-like combination, to me, makes them visually irresistible .

I believe that evolution has made three-year-olds this cute because three is also the most irritating, demanding, and testing age. The cuteness is a survival mechanism so that their own mothers don't turn against them. If you have a two-year-old and are congratulating yourself because the "terrible twos" aren't that bad - well, you just wait. And if you have a four-year-old, please call me to tell me that they are wonderful because I need to hear that this little negotiating, defiant, impatient, loud, terror that I'm living with will go back to his dark hole and that my sweet Liam will return in his place. Well, to be fair, sweet Liam is here about 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time I am trying to focus on how cute he is.

9.19.12 ~ 7 Months Old

I got my computer back on Monday, so here is 7-month old Nora. A little overdue, but still pretty cute.