Iowa

Two Hawkeyes getting ready for the game.


Cousin Isaac came for a visit! Olivia and Isaac make the best tunnels!

Goin' outside Iowa style

We wouldn't want to lose her in the corn!

Aunt Karla came to stay for a few days!
So did Olivia and Aunt Leanne, Mom and Dad had a houseful!

Sigh*

As I post this I am very grateful for the first quite morning we have had since Peter was born. The kids slept in past 6:30 so we were able to enjoy a cup of coffee this morning. It is the simplest of things that can recharge your battery!
My husband reminded me why I married him last night. When I was talking about a shirt I wore when I first moved to CT and how much differently it fit me now he simply said "we must have hotter water down here..." it made us laugh for a while... :)
The kids are on different nap schedules which means our days are pretty busy straight through. The library class is over until January, funny I think Peter and I miss it as much as Pieper!
We stayed here for Thanksgiving. We flirted with the idea of going to Vermont but I didn't want to miss the first Iowa vs. Nebraska game... turns out I wouldn't have missed much. But Jeff was grateful to not have to drive a great distance for a few days so it all worked out. One thing about making a 15lb turkey with all the trimmings is dinner comes easy for the next few days. We are still eating it!

Pete

Pete likes to bang on things... this is new to us as Pieper didn't really do that. I hate to fall back on boys will be boys but we have a real 'Bam Bam' on our hands!

Pieper at 2 years 3 months

Says 'bless you' when you sneeze or cough.
Will come running in the room if there is a loud noise to ask ' everything okay mama?' (where would she get that... :))
Will get Pete a toy if he is fussy and shush him. Especially when mickey is on.
Always wants to help.
She has always liked airplanes but since flying she thinks that every time we get in the car 'Pieper ride airplane'?
I always forget to mention how great she is at getting in an out of the double stroller, she hops right in and buckles herself in, such a big help when you are in a parking lot!
When you ask her a question she will think about it while saying 'um'
She is 37 ish" tall.
Loves books.
Counts
has started repeating the songs we learn at the library and others without prompting.
I just asked her what else she does... 'doodle plays'
enough said.

Snow in October...

Before we went home to Iowa we had a snowfall that you may have heard about... we only had about 5 or 6 wet inches in our area, about 20 miles north is where they had the 30 plus! It was very heavy snow!




Pieper and I went out and scooped the sidewalk while Pete and Daddy stayed inside...

Trip to Iowa

Pieper and Peter flew home with me on an airplane for a whole week while Jeff was in San Diego.
All in all the flying part of the trip went very well. I don't know how other people travel alone with kids but we made it! We had some help from some very nice people and some... 'not help' from others. Pieper was a great help. She even lost some of her shyness to let a handsome pilot help her down the stairs of the airplane! Already a softy for a man in uniform just like her mama. :)
A big thanks to everyone, it was great to see you all!
It has taken us a while to get settled back in, I think the kids were there after one day but I seem to have taken a bit longer to recover... I also picked up the 'airplane' cough... as we call it in our house, so that might be why.
I was glad to see so much color when we landed, we had just left a snow covered CT. The trees are lovely now so we are off to enjoy them... more later!

Reading

Pieper likes to sit in the bounce chair, even if it is on the couch after a vacuum! Of course she is reading... I walked back in the room after putting the vacuum away and found her reading to Peter who was in the swing...

Eating apples and oatmeal...

I waited to start feeding him oatmeal until he was 6 months... the benefit is he then gets to have fruit and vegetables right away to! His first reaction is the same no matter what you give him but he is a good little eater!

Sitting up

Getting ready to go...

He had good balance, he can catch himself if he starts to go over.

Fashion sleep

Not only do we have to sit on the floor to read now when we go to bed but we also have to put on our shoes, if only she would get back into bed before falling asleep!