OVERHEARD

Daddy! Hey Daddy! Mommy uses that...THAT SPATULA to spank my bottom AND scoop my ice cream!

Um.

What can I say?

It's a multi-tasking utensil.

Heigh Ho, Pinkie Pie, Away!

...And so Cowgirl Iris (that ever-vigilant protector of peace in the Wild West), along with her faithful sidekick, Lone Star Lydia, jumped on her trusty horse - in fast pursuit of some mischievous outlaws trying to make their escape on the trail just up ahead....

To The Apple Orchard We Will Go

This past Saturday, we loaded up the kiddos in the ol' Saturn and headed for Eckert's to do a little apple picking. The most memorable part of the trip, hands down, was the ferry ride we took to get to the other side of the river. Unfortunately, we had to wait a good while before it was our turn to cross, as the boat was just pulling away when we drove up.

Our lovely ferry

It was worth the wait, though. Iris LOVED it! She felt very Mark Twainish floating up the river. However, because somebody forgot to factor in ferry-waiting time when making the plans AND that same somebody is fairly particular about nap time occurring at home and not while driving in the car if it can at all be helped, there was actually a very small window of opportunity left for apple picking by the time we arrived at Eckert's. There just wasn't going to be enough time to do everything! So we decided to ditch the apple picking and just sample some of the other attractions Eckert's had to offer.

There was "apple" checkers:

Lydia was a bit confused about why she couldn't eat the "apple".

And a scarecrow growth chart:

Iris was amazed that she is three AND three feet tall!

A pony ride:

Say hello to Peppermint!

And even some baby animals:

Lydia got a kick out of the goats!

The girlies had a great time, and they didn't even notice the absence of any apples. Next up on our list: The pumpkin patch!

One Crazy Ride...

This week we've been celebrating the beginning of Autumn by taking some morning nature walks around the neighborhood. Iris has been inspecting leaves, collecting "cat-tails" (just weeds, really, but I don't have the heart to put a damper on the creativity I love so much, so "cat-tails" they are and will remain), and generally just noticing all the differences the change in season brings to God's creation.

And, of course, for Iris, nothing could be more exciting while out for a walk than pushing her baby sister in the stroller like a maniac!

She pushed her like that all the way to our mini-park - which is several blocks away, I might add, I couldn't believe it - Lydia squealing with joy the whole time! There's some Herculean strength hiding out in those skinny little arms and legs, I think. And I'm happy because with Iris doing all the work (hee, hee), I get to just enjoy a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood.

A Tisket, A Tasket...It's Lydia in a Basket

Iris: Daddy! Daddy! Lydia climbed in a "bas-tic" and can't get out!

(...And this is what Daddy discovered upon checking things out...)

Judging by the look on her adorable face, it appears that Lydia isn't too terribly worried about being stuck in a "bas-tic" - despite the frantic concern of her very vigilant Big Sister.

What a silly (and very cute, I might add) Little La...

Little Lurch

We're proud to present....


Drum roll, please....


Lydia Walking!!

I was finally able to get some decent video footage! I had to be pretty crafty and stealthy to obtain it...whew! Every time I'd bust out the camera to capture this milestone moment, she'd be like, "Forget trying to walk...I'm way more interested in this object you're pointing at me," and she would crawl right over into my lap and try to take it from me. After several rounds of this - me trying in vain to capture her first steps, Lydia not cooperating, I was forced to give up and admit defeat. So, I've been biding my time (sort of) waiting for a golden opportunity, which came last night while she was distracted by Iris and Daddy playing "wrastle, wrastle" (the noise you hear in the background)!

Isn't she so big?

She Wears Her Sunglasses...

Sock Monster

There's a sock monster living at our house who is apparently a Cardinals fan! Very strange...

A Little Family Vacation

We flew to Denver this past weekend to spend a lovely four days with my sister Emily and her family.

It was so much fun! Iris had a blast running around and playing with her cousins (and Katy Kat!). The daddies were so sweet and took the older three on a nature adventure along the creek behind their house on Friday and on Saturday for a hike on Lookout Mountain! It was Iris' first mountain-climbing experience (the hills of Missouri don't count), and she loved it - despite the fact that in my ignorance I didn't pack appropriate footwear. Lydia surprised us all by taking some tentative first steps! It was only one or two at a time, but I'd say it's a "step" in the right direction, don't you think? We're super proud of our big girl! I think all the extra encouragement helped boost her confidence. Todd proved he was worthy of his championship belt by defending his Catan title. And of course, I got to spend lots of time talking and hanging out with my sister. It's amazing how we never run out of things to say!

Thanks for the great time, Schildt Family! We love (and miss already) you! Christmas seems so far away...

Future WWF Superstars

Let me introduce you to a little game the girlies like to play called "wrastle, wrastle".

Now I know you're probably thinking, "Hmmm...is it really safe for your three-year old to be 'wrastling' with the baby??" And our answer would be, "Hardly. But we actually don't have a problem with it because they have sooo much darn fun while they're doing it!"

Besides, who cares about safety when family entertainment is at stake? (Just kidding! I'm just kidding! They are very carefully supervised at all times, I promise.)

Here's a little taste of the action:

I love how in this clip Iris looks like she's just going to give Lydia a nice friendly hug, but actually her ulterior motive was to body slam her sister to the floor:

Oh, I tell you!...It can get pretty crazy around here sometimes. They would do this all day if it were possible. Lydia doesn't back down either, as you can see. She really gets right in there and absolutely loves every stinkin' minute! Iris does too!

Who would have thought my girlies would bond over 'wrastling'?

Whoops.....There She Is...

It appears that Iris' secret hiding spot isn't so secret anymore!

Women Seeking Him

I just started a new bible study blog with my dearly beloved friends Sara and Sarah that I'm super excited about!

The first study we will be doing is A Woman's Heart-God's Dwelling Place by Beth Moore. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, please take a look here. We'd love to have you join us!

The Strongest Baby in the World

Did you know that when you hear people talk about growing pains, they are actually referring to both the mother and the child? I think I'm definitely experiencing some right now. Every time Lydia does something new, my heart hurts a little and I think, even amidst my excitement, "Oh, please don't grow up too fast! Wasn't it just yesterday you were born, my silly baby? How can we be at this moment already?"

We've been marveling of late at our little La's ability to stand all by herself for a few seconds. The first few times I saw her do it, I thought it was a trick my eyes were playing on me. Surely not, right? She seems too small! However, she's been practicing this skill more and more over the last few days and looks so pleased with herself while she's doing it, I can't help but laugh and squeeze her tight!

Is it possible we may soon have a walker on our hands?

The King of Catan

Forget the Olympics.

Our house is in a state of extreme excitement due to the fact that Todd finally brought home the coveted world championship Catan belt last night after winning a rousing three game series.

"It was nothing," he stated modestly upon being questioned how he was able to pull off this amazing feat. "Thanks to my hard training and awesome concentration and strategy skills it was no big deal."

Well said, Todd. Well said. Of course, we'll be displaying this wonderful treasure in a very prominent place of honor (like on top of the refrigerator...hee, hee!).

Congratulations from your very proud family!

The Big Winner

The Next Generation

Iris doesn't appear to be too enthused at the prospect of becoming a future Catan champion. She obviously takes after her mother!

Weekend at the Lake

We went to Milford Lake in Kansas this past weekend to spend some nice quality time with Todd's family. Luckily, both our little lovelies are great travelers. This makes long trips so much more enjoyable!

The babies were so cute hanging out together, and Iris had a fabulous time playing with her cousins. She even learned how to pedal a Big Wheel - next up is her bike (yay!). We're so proud! And, of course, they spent lots of time swimming.

Both girls absolutely loved being on the boat. Lydia laughed and bounced up and down as we skimmed over waves. She liked trying to reach out and touch the spray. Iris got to go on a minor rescue mission with Daddy and Grandpa Tom on Saturday when Uncle Chad's boat broke down on the water. Pretty exciting!

We really enjoyed our visit to the lake. It brought back good memories of younger days, and we liked that our girlies were able to share the experience with us. Todd and I agree that an end-of-summer lake trip may have to become a new family tradition!

Iris: (in the bathtub, singing to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb")

Mary had a little boy...his name was Jesus!

The Perfect Place

The weather's been so nice here the past few days, and we've been taking full advantage of the shade we now have on our patio underneath our deck. It seems like it's been a long time since we've been able to play outside in the middle of the day without getting scorched by the sun or melting into a puddle from the humidity.

Iris has found that the nook below the stairs makes a lovely spot for her dollhouse or to play donut shop with Lydia (Em - it may actually be Lydia who plays ponies with Ava when we come to visit - note the pink pony she's holding in her hand):

Lydia likes to hang out on her blanket with a scattered variety of her favorite toys. Sometimes she takes off exploring which can be interesting - I found her sucking on a piece of mulch just yesterday. And I won't go into the episode we had a few weekends ago when she tasted the Miracle Gro Gardening Soil. Yikes! If, in the near future, she has a freakish growth spurt, we won't be surprised! I have a feeling she's going to be the sort of girl who won't be satisfied just taking our word for it - silly La that she is:

(I just noticed that she's still holding the pink pony. I think Ava and Lydia might be kindred spirits.)

And this is just random...but I think it's so cute. Lydia figured out how to crawl underneath our bed this morning. I thought it was super fun when Iris figured out how to do this back in the day, and I've been wondering how long it would take Lydia to discover how to get under there:

Isn't she sweet? She's everywhere these days - our little adventurer!

Things You Wish You Never Knew...

My beloved sister over at Clucks from the Henhouse tagged me for a meme a few days ago, and I'm finally getting around to participating. It actually took a lot of thought to come up with six random things about myself!


1. I am not a hugger. If you see a look of utter horror on my face as you lean in to give me a hug, it's not because I don't like you. I'm just more of a "friendly wave" sort of girl is all. Physical touch is most definitely NOT my strongest Love Language.

2. I am a clutter-phobe. Todd is never sure when he goes to look for something if it's actually going to be there, or if I got rid of it in one of my frequent household purges.

3. I LOVE reading about World War II. Show me any book that even hints about WWII, and I'm all over it! It's my favorite period in history hands down.

4. I can be quite sentimental about movies and books with good love story plots (well-written, of course. I'm not talking about Danielle Steel-esque romances here). This may come as a surprise for all you out there who know that I am most adamantly NOT sentimental...usually.

5. I secretly love soap operas. I was devastated when they killed off Gus on Guiding Light and walked around for days seriously sad every time I thought about it. I know...crazy! You'll be glad to know that I'm mostly over this obsession. I only check in every few weeks or so now...I don't want to get too behind on my favorite storylines...

6. I'm a little OCD about lawn care. Right now in our back yard there are some suspicious brown patches that are causing me to lose sleep at night. Did the moles sneak under the barrier spray we so diligently applied? Is it some sort of fungus? Is it from the rabbits who've set up housekeeping in our yard? You can rest assured that I will be anxiously Googling for answers!

And there you have it...six random things you now know about me. Wasn't that fun?

I just realized that I didn't tag anyone to play next. Silly me! So....Sara, Sarah, and Jessica....are you interested?

Rules of Engagement:
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below).
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Now Playing....Bon Iver

(This is Bon Iver singing with the Bowerbirds. Bon Iver is wearing the yellow t-shirt holding the guitar. HT: Steve McCoy)

Just a Little Snack Between Sisters

I captured some sweet video of Iris feeding Lydia the other day, and I thought I would share it. Periodically, Iris likes to pretend that she's the mommy, and that often includes giving the baby her baby food. Lydia is more than happy to oblige her. Any focused attention from her big sister is like a marvelous gift. She eats (literally, in this case) it up!