Fall events

This fall is just rolling right on by.  One of the highlights of our October every year is when the farmer comes to harvest the crops in the field behind our house.  Last year they got the soybeans in the beginning of the month; this year we decided to make some predictions about when the corn would get harvested.  Anna was closest.  She guessed October 31 and the corn officially came down on Monday (the 28th).

Kate, Ethan, and I spent a good part of the chilly morning watching the progress.

The girls didn't manage to get out there to play on Monday afternoon, but Tuesday they explored all of their favorite "islands" for well over an hour.  Can you find Kate and Anna in the field?

Ethan and I joined them for awhile, but then we headed back to the yard to let them play.  Ethan figured out how to climb into the wagon.

The girls finally returned with many "treasures".

I'm sure there will be more playing in the field to come yet this year before the snow flies.

Over the weekend we kept up with some fall chores.  The garden is tilled; almost all of the flowerbeds are cleared out; and the firewood is in the basement.  We're working on collecting leaves for next year's garden little by little, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the more relaxing times indoors :)

Last Friday Ethan turned 11 months ... yikes!  It's hard to believe that he's almost a year!

I took his 11 month pictures while both girls were at school on Monday.

At first he wasn't too thrilled about the photo shoot.

Then he started warming up to it.

Then he started getting the giggles.

Then I couldn't get him to sit still because he was laughing too much.

And then he heard an airplane outside :)

He's not walking yet, but we've tricked him into taking one or two steps on his own lately.  He's trying more and more words, although they probably wouldn't be recognizable to anyone but us :)  In the last week, he's mastered the sign for "more" (clapping), waving good-bye, and pointing.  Anna and Kate love teaching him new things.

Unfortunately, we've had a round of mild colds go through the house.  Anna had a bit of congestion last week; Kate was tired and crabby over the weekend; Matt and I came down with things this week.  Nothing too bad, so I won't complain.

We had Kate's fall conference with her preschool teacher this week.  No surprises there.  She's a kind, cooperative, independent preschooler who loves to learn and is very proud of herself when she accomplishes something new.  Her teacher loves having her in class :)

Anna and Kate are enrolled in swimming lessons this fall at the high school pool.  They're actually in the same level and the same class this fall, which is working out very well.  Kate feels a bit more comfortable because Anna's with her and Anna feels a bit braver because Kate's nearby, too.  They both love playing in the water :)

And we carved one of our pumpkins last night!