Making Root Beer for Halloween

It is always nice when a holiday lands on a Saturday. It means Michael is home to help me do something fun for the kids. On Halloween we decided to make some root beer. It ended up creating quite the audience with the neighborhood kids. They were all fascinated with the dry ice. When we asked some of the girls if they wanted to try it they were worried it had alcohol in it (kind of funny, but glad we have good kids on our street). We told them to go home and ask their parents if they could try some. The kids thought it was a lot of fun. I thought it was very tasty.

I even remembered to take a video:

Primary Program

Miriam and Simon were excited to participate in the primary program at church last week. It was Simon's first program and Miriam's fourth. They both did an amazing job singing all the songs. They both remembered all of the words for their class parts. We love them and are so happy with all the great things they learn in primary.

we got Levi to stand still for one picture too

18 month check-up

Levi had his eighteen month check-up today. He weighs 21 lbs. 12.5 oz. (10-25%) and is 32 inches (75-85%) long. He has thinned out into a tall, skinny thing. Levi didn't like seeing the doctor today. He was really mad at the nurse for putting a bandage on his toe after taking some blood. I think that made him more upset than the shots. He is a big time mommy's boy.

Levi is talking quite a bit. Here are some of the words he says: shoes, Dad, poop, cheese, Mom, ball, outside, treat, cups, Blues Clues, Cereal, help, stuck, yes, blanket, apples, grapes, wipes, nose, eyes, mouth, iPad, happy, remote, and color. These are the signs he uses: more, please, Dad, airplane, milk, eat, dog, and hat.

I feel like 18 months is a big deal. Levi is no longer a baby. He is turning into a toddler. He is a really sweet boy. He has a fun personality that we all really love. He loves to color and read books. He loves watching Blue's Clues and singing all the songs.

Leesylvania State Park

Since Michael was out of town on Columbus Day we asked Trevor and Robyn if we could tag along with them for the day. We went to Leesylvania State Park for a hike and picnic. This is from the website:

Leesylvania is nestled along the tidal shores of the historic Potomac River. Native Americans lived on this land for thousands of years. Capt. John Smith visited the area in 1608 on his voyage of discovery. It's also the ancestral home of Virginia's legendary Lee and Fairfax families. Listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks, Leesylvania offers many land and water activities, including hiking, picnicking, fishing and boating. A universally accessible fishing pier, playground, boat launch, boat storage area, snack bar and store, visitor center and gift shop are available.

Robyn is a history buff and loves historic sites. I forget how much history is around the area we live in. It will be good to have her close and encourage us to see more things we take for granted. The kids had a lot of fun playing with cousins and collecting seashells.

(photo credit Paige)

(photo credit Simon)

We didn't realize until we got back that all the shells they collected were actually sea snail shells.

Therefore they smelled SO BAD!

The kids didn't seem to mind and spent all afternoon sorting and "cleaning" them out.

We let the kids play around near the playground for a while. I got a video of Levi swinging and sliding:

Paige's birthday was the next day, so after dinner we had a cupcake showdown. Paige has been watching a lot of Cupcake Wars and wanted to have our own little competition for her birthday. It was fun to watch Paige and Miriam decorate their cupcakes.

Pumpkin Patch

We love our yearly fall tradition of picking pumpkins. (2009, 2010, 2014) This year we went back to Wegmeyer Farms. They have the perfect stacks of hay for pictures. The kids had fun seeing all the really big pumpkins they had on display. It was a beautiful fall day and we loved spending time together getting ready for fall.

After everyone humored me with a bunch of pictures we ventured out to the patch. They had some interesting varieties this year. Miriam chose a blue pumpkin, Simon chose an orange pumpkin, and Levi didn't really choose but also got an orange pumpkin. Here are pictures of the kids picking out the perfect pumpkins.

seventeen and eighteen months

Levi at seventeen months:

Levi at eighteen months:

Playing Outside

Now that Levi is walking it is much more fun to go outside with him. He loves to play with balls and push his bike. Miriam and Simon spend a lot of time outside playing. It is nice when we can all be out enjoying the weather together.

A video of Levi playing outside: