the library

A few days ago I got our property tax bill, which had a fee for the library on it. I always kind of thought we should go check out the library, and once I saw how much we actually pay for it, I decided it was time to get going! :) Nothing like utilizing the "free" services in your area! :) We had a good time, but since the trip 2 days ago, Samantha has ripped a page out of one book and colored in another one...I think it may be a little early for unsupervised library-book-reading (she never does that to her own books --???) but trips to the library are certainly fun & we'll be doing it a lot this winter! 

Getting ready to go in... (excuse the phone photos....great for a phone but not great compared to a camera!)

Sammi loved opening the doors.

She also loved hanging out in the lounge & looking at all the Halloween artwork.

The library has computers made just for kids 6 and under full of games. Sam totally gets what she is supposed to do, but gets frustrated trying to move the mouse and click and the same time. Soon she will be more advanced than me! :)

Showing off her 10 books and 1 movie (Little Mermaid)! She now wants to be a mermaid for Halloween. Maybe next year... :)

The library is great and has enough books to last us a long, LONG time!!! We will be going back a lot!

zoo boo with friends

Yesterday we met our friends, April, Adam, Caleb, and Keller at the Indy zoo for their halloween at the zoo (Zoo Boo). April and I have been the best of friends for years and even though she only lives in Bloomington, our distance, work schedules, and kiddos make it hard to get together as much as we'd like! So we had this trip planned weeks ago and  it was sooo good to see them all!!!! 

All of the kids dressed up, so Sammi was super excited to put on her fairy princess costume! Her Grandma Brand took her to the store to pick out her own outfit last week & she was kind enough to send them down to us for our Halloween celebrations too!

Samantha is OBSESSED with having long hair now! Her favorite movie is Rapunzel, and if she's not wearing this wig at home, she either has a scarf hanging over her head as her "long hair" or she walks around holding a blanket up to her head as her "long hair". It's hilarious! Too bad the kid's real hair just doesn't grow fast! 

Sam loved petting the sharks!

Poor Natalie - mommy put her in her pajamas as a good under-clothing for her CUTE costume (also picked out by Kathe), and then I apparently forgot to put her actual costume in the car! So, Natalie was stuck wearing her pajamas and a raincoat and hat (what we happened to have) for warmth!!! Oh well, she didn't care. You'll just have to wait until Halloween to see her costume!!!! It's adorable! 

Natalie liked looking at the animals as much as her sister! And Caleb enjoyed playing with her all day too!

We went trick-or-treating at the zoo as we saw all of the animals!

Keller and Caleb are growing so fast! Keller loved holding Natalie!

Keller and Samantha danced while waiting to get in the bounce zone!

Caleb entertained Natalie while we waited on the girls to bounce!

Bounce, bounce, bounce!

April, I love you sooo much and I'm so glad we got all the kids together!!! Would you ever have imagined this photo 17 years ago?! I LOVE IT!!!

Had to include this hilarious photo of Natalie.... She enjoyed trying on Sam's wig when we got home! 

natalie update

Natalie is 9 months old! She was supposed to have her 9 mo appt at the doctor last week but our doctor called in sick with the flu! We rescheduled for today and I got a call last night that the physician's assistant that we were going to see today called in sick!!  Oh my! Once we finally get in for our appt, I'll post her new stats! I can tell you that clothing Sam would have fit into for about 4-5 more months, Natalie is outgrowing - mostly width wise! :)

Natalie has suddenly developed the cutest little personality and she is so fun to play with! She laughs at you, is ticklish, loves to point and clap, says mamamama (and I truly think she is referencing me when she says it), and BOY does she love to stir up trouble! She definitely knows the word "no", but sometimes will continue to do what she is being told "no" to and just giggles and crawls away.  What a stinker!!!

"I'm just gonna sneak into the bathroom where I'm not allowed to go so that I can dip my hands in the toilet, which mommy LOVED the first time she caught me.....she tries to keep doors closed and watch me but it's hard with a toddler sister and me being so fast!"

"Who me?! I wasn't going into the bathroom!"

I can stand!!!! Okay, only for about 2-20 seconds at a time, but I'm working on it everyday! I like to try to take a step when I'm standing but I always fall!

"Who me? I'm not crawling at the speed of 50mph with the remote I'm not supposed to have!"

Most people comment that Natalie does not look just like Sammi anymore, and I agree! They do look like sisters but they each have their own look. They have the same head, hair pattern,  face shape, ears, nose, and (lack of) eyebrows, but their eyes are different colors & shape, their hair color is different (Natalie is more blonde) and their mouths are different too. :) 

One thing that is the same is the amount they eat! And, I have two hungry girls ready for lunch so we're off to make something to eat! Have a good day!

the park with friends

Staying home a few days during the week gives me the opportunity to do really fun things with my other mommy friends & their kids - and today we had a great trip to the park! We met Becky and her girls, Bree and Kate, at an awesome park. 

We started with a visit to the nature center, which was full of turtles, lizards, birds, and snakes! 

Becky is pointing out some sort of reptile! :)

Sammi looks for turtles and lizards.

The nature center has a craft area where they have projects for the kids. Today we made jack-o-lantern masks!

Sam LOVES playing with coins and money! She has a ball adding to her piggy bank at home, and loved digging through this treasure (followed by a prompt hand-washing, of course!) Hopefully we can teach her how to save some of her coins instead of spending as she grows up!

Natalie spent most of the 1 mile trail in the stroller, but we did get out for a swing! Note her tons of teeth coming in... 3 on top and 4 on bottom with one more on top close behind! She is getting SO BIG! She can actually stand on her own for about 2-15 seconds now! She'll be standing and then walking in no time!

My girls. :) Samantha almost always has a weird determination to never ever ever look at my camera. She purposely will stare at the ground any time I have it pointed toward her. As soon as I put it away, she is always back to playing and smiles. SO weird! Oh well, you get the idea....they had fun swinging together! 

Becky, THANK YOU so much for suggesting this park and meeting us out with your adorable girls! I wish we would have gotten more photos of all of them together, but one of the four was always running in a different direction! :) We'll definitely make this play-date a regular occurrence!!!!

natalie is an eater!!!

My little baby is eating real food!!! It's pretty crazy - I remember always being SO cautious with Sam, but Natalie has been eating so many foods! She can't have nuts, honey, or shellfish due to potential allergies, but otherwise -- if she can mash it in her gums, she can eat it! She doesn't choke nearly as much as Sam did.

And she LOVES food! I made mac n cheese for Sam last week (who to this day hardly ever eats) and she didn't want it, so Natalie ate almost the entire bowl! I think Natalie eats enough for them both!

Here are some of the foods she's eaten so far (all cut into small bites):

-grilled chicken, ground beef, turkey, ham, hot dog (not my first choice for health but was the only option at the farm), cheese, bread, pasta, chicken casserole

-strawberries, pears, peaches, mandarin oranges, bananas, grapes, tomatoes, pineapple

-green beans, peas, corn, potatoes, (sweet potatoes she does not like), bell peppers, olives, mushrooms

-cheerios (could probably eat an entire box in a sitting if I let her), ritz crackers, yogurt bites, biter biscuits, and I'm pretty sure Sam has snuck her fruit loops and coco puffs!

The only other thing I'm trying to stay away from is sweets. The girl eats enough as it is -- and I'd like to make her birthday cake the first real dessert she has! It's so nice to let her feed herself -- but it sure is a mess to clean up! :) What a big girl!!!

trip to the farm

Last night we went to Russell Farms in Noblesville with my parents & it was so fun! My parents live in an "active 55+" neighborhood, and the community does so many activities, you practically have to make an appointment to see my parents! It's awesome! So, Britton Falls sponsored this night for grandkids and we were excited to go! (My camera battery died so these are all iPhone photos -- not bad!!!) :)

We did the corn maze...

We had to find all 3 buckets...

And Sammi collected one seed from each bucket so that she could claim a prize at the end.

Sammi got to paint a pumpkin while Natalie tried to eat one! :)

We saw lots of farm animals...

Rode on a "tractor". They actually did have a hay-ride but it was COLD in Indiana (40ish) so we skipped it this time!

We dug in the sand...

Natalie stayed happily bundled in her stroller for much of the cold evening!

We ended the night with a bon fire to roast marshmallows!

Sammi's favorite part of the night! Smores!!!! (Or maybe that was mommy & daddy's favorite part!)

Happy fall!!!! It's officially here and we can feel it in the air in good ol' Indiana!!! Our heater has been on at night and we've pulled all of our hats, scarves, and mittens out too! Thanks mom & dad for treating us to our first true fall activity this year!

parker family reunion

Last weekend my mom organized a Parker Family Reunion in Cincinnati for a day. We met at Winton Woods and had a picnic lunch, celebrated my grandma's 84th birthday, and had fun seeing the family. My grandma (one of my favorite people in the whole world---always say that and it is TRUE) is in this first photo with all of her great grandchildren. Happy Birthday, Grandma!!!

Obviously the Brand Family showed up in their Colts gear, seeing as it was a game day!

Samantha always enjoys spending time with her cousin, Annika!

Melanie was born just days before Natalie! Once they are older I'm sure they will love to spend time together!

It wouldn't be a Renee event (that's my mom) without games! Sammi loved popping people's balloons! She wasn't too concerned with winning, seeing as how she popped her own balloon first! :) 

The day was complete with a kickball game. The "Out of Townies" won, thanks to Dan's THREE homeruns!!!!! GO DADDY! :)