Chicago Pictures - Goebbert's Farm

I thought I would begin posting pictures of our trip up to Chicago.

On Sunday afternoon we went to Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm. It was a cool and windy fall day. We saw a lot of pumpkins and they even had a petting zoo. Out of all the animals I think Hayden liked the goats the best as they would gobble down the food he gave them.

They had a mechanical pumpkin eating dinosaur. Hayden thought it was great smashing the pumpkins until the head came down low and it seemed to look right at him and steam came out of his nose. Anders was holding Hayden and when it did that he screamed and hid his face. So Hayden!!

We then went through a corn maze which we thought would be easy. Nope!! It took all 10 of us about 30 minutes to finally figure out how to get out. They hay maze was a lot easier though.

It was fun all of us being together and the cousins getting to spend time with each other.

Winnings

My box arrived from Simple Scrapbooks Magazine with the albums I'd won in the sweepstakes. I'd been anxiously awaiting for it to arrive to see what I got. I got three albums. I like all of them but especially the pink 8x8 album. All of them are very nice!! It's so much fun to win something and especially when it's a scrapbooking item.

My Little Pumpkin

While up in Chicago we went to Goebbert's Farm. I'm still working on the pictures but had to just put this one out there. I just love this picture of Lily. She really is our "lil' punkin girl"

We're Back

We're back from Chicago and had a wonderful time!!! The kids were happy to see the family and Lily was kissed and spoiled by her famor and fafa (Danish for grandma and grandpa.) The weather was cool but nice. I went shopping at IKEA and Archiver's, as usual. Pictures will be coming soon.

Again...Chicago and family were GREAT!!! Now, back to reality.

Cross-Stitching by Will

Will is required to take Home Ec this semester in middle school. He came home showing me this project he made. He did a fantastic job for his first time cross-stitching. I love it!!

Apple of My Eye

While at the orchard, we got a lot of apples and Will found the tiniest apple. Even though it was tiny, it was perfect. We decided that this little apple was made for Lily.

I Wanna' Hold Your Hand

I was taking pictures of our haul of fall goodies from Englebrecht orchard and pictures of the little ones. Each one picked out their own pumpkin and look at the variety of the gourds we got.

Hayden wanted his picture with Lily and was wanting to hold her hand. She wanted nothing to do with it and didn't want to hold his hand. Poor Hayden, he loves her so much but sometimes she just doesn't want him to touch her. I think these pictures are so funny of the two of them. You can see the displeasure in Lily's face.

Eye Candy

I just got the new fall issue of Pottery Barn in the mail. I just love to look at everything and see the georgous rooms and furniture.

Here's some of the rooms that I think are fantastic and my style.

7 Months Old

My girl is officially 7 months old today and she is "my girl" too. It started two weeks ago but she will now reach for me and if she's being shy or in an uncomfortable situation, she'll bury her little face in my chest. It's SO cute!!

Here's the information about her at this time:

- She loves her family. Gives the biggest smiles to daddy, Will and Hayden and tries to give us all slobbery kisses on the cheek.

- When she sees Will she will sometimes say "bro-bro-bro" Will says that she's saying brother. I'm not sure but it does sound like she's saying it as it seems she'll only do this when he's around.

- Eating a lot more baby food. So far her favorites are sweet potatoes and applesauce. No matter what we're eating or drinking she wants a taste too. I always give her a tiny bit which then comes with some funny faces.

- Wearing 9 month clothes. They're a tiny bit big but the sleeves are all long and I need to cuff them. (She must have short arms)

- Speaking of the arms/hands. They're QUICK!! Those little hands can grab something in the blink of an eye and then it's in the mouth.

- Likes to play with her toys. Has fun putting things in something and shaking it and then dumping it out again.

- She will cry big tears if playing with something and Hayden takes it from her. She's no longer the passive little baby who let's him do it. She now voices her disapproval and his eyes get real big and then he gives it back to her.

- Starting to snuggle up to a little stuffed grey elephant. I think this is going to be her item for when she gets sleepy.

- Likes to fall asleep holding something on her chest. She prefers it to be your hand but can't be there at all times so the little elephant is starting to become a substitute.

- Is now the champ of splashing and kicking water. Those little legs go so fast while taking a bath and the look on her face is of sheer determination to make that water fly up in the air.

- Hates being on her stomach and won't tolerate it more than 3-4 minutes which means we're not rolling at all.

- Wants to sit up at all times. She has things to watch and see.

- Got her first real illness last week. Fever and vomiting. She was a sick girl for about 36 hours.

I'm A Winner!! I'm A Winner!!

Yesterday afternoon the phone rang and on the caller id it said "CK Media." At first glance I thought that Creating Keepsakes must be calling me about my magazine subscription.

The woman on the other end asked to speak to me and immediately told me that I was a winner of the Simple Scrapbooks July/August 2008 mini album giveaway. I was so excited!! I remember going to the new Creating Keepsakes website and registering for the sweepstakes, as the albums in the article were so cute but never did I think that I would actually win.

They sent me an email with some forms that I need to complete and once they receive them back, then my prize will go out the beginning of next week. Here's the email that I was sent:

Dear Amy,

Thank you for entering Simple Scrapbooks magazine’s online sweepstakes “Super Huge Mini Album Giveaway” published in the July/Aug 2008 issue [page 13]. Congratulations, your name has been chosen in a random drawing as one of our winners!

As a winner, you’ll receive the following: three mini-albums from any of the following manufacturers: 7gypsies, American Crafts, BasicGrey, Clear Scraps, Cloud 9 Design, Cosmo Cricket, Heidi Grace Designs, KI Memories, Making Memories, and Tinkering Ink.

In order to verify your eligibility, please fill out the attached “Affidavit of Eligibility” and W-9. You may fax, scan and email or mail these forms back to me. Please be sure to do this within 10 days of this email. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture and the prize will be awarded to another entrant.

Once again, thank you for reading Simple Scrapbooks magazine, and entering our online sweepstakes!

Sincerely,

Carolyn J.
Editorial Assistant ~ Simple Scrapbooks magazine
14850 Pony Express Rd.
Bluffdale, UT 84065

Brothers

Will and Hayden peeking at me from the back of the van....Boys?!?!

I Want To Learn To Knit

I've been bitten by the "knitting bug" and the above photos are what has encouraged me to want to learn. Aren't these just the cutest hats and wouldn't they look adorable on my little Lily girl? Surely these can't be too hard. I've been doing some reasearch on-line and I'm going to purchase this week some knitting needles and yarn. The hats above are from a store on etsy.com called "Knitty Bitty Apparel."

I sent out a SOS call to my Aunts, as they know how to knit, but we're far apart from each other. If anyone reads my blog knows how to knit and is close by or can offer any suggestions, please send me an e-mail. Are there any classes here in the Evansville area?

The Weekend

I had a very nice weekend. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. I love this time of year when the fall season is beginning to settle in. The trees are starting to turn and in the morning it has that cool nip in the air. Yep...fall is here. :-)

Friday night I got to go hang out with one of my best friends and her little boy who's just a month older than Lily. It's cute to see babies looking at another one their exact size. We were shocked as Lily was up the entire time. No fussing but just up. She slept the next day till 10:00 am. Little girl was worn out!!

We went Saturday as a family to pick fresh apples. While there I wanted some mum plants, gourds and tiny pumpkins to make fresh pumpkin pies. I couldn't wait to take pictures of all of us and had my camera right on of the diaper bag. I was SO disappointed to realize my camera battery had died and I didn't pack my extra. Argh!!! So I'll have to photograph pictures of our bountiful harvest of fall goodies. Even Lily picked a perfect tiny apple for herself but then big brother #2 (Hayden) took it from her and popped it in his mouth. It was a small apple but Lily definitely understood what happened and cried big tears. She's growing up and is figuring things out.

I worked this afternoon at the ER from 14:30-18:30. It was over in a flash as many people were coming in. Some for the strangest things but whatever??? I met Anders and the kids at Cracker Barrel for supper. They went earlier and fed the ducks at the lake behind the restaurant.

Hayden is still talking about the ducks today and the chicken he saw yesterday. He told me that he's "gonna' take them home as they live in a E-I-E-I-O house." That is what he calls a farm, an E-I-E-I-O house. Ohhhh...my sweet Hayden.

My pillow is calling my name so nighty-night.