Pumpkin Patch!

We are always THE latest ever at getting our pumpkins! I believe it was just a couple days before Halloween last year that we finally realized we really better get our pumpkin if we're going to get one at all. And here we are in the same situation this year. With the move and all, time sure has gotten away from us! But with the fabulous weather we're having here this week we couldn't pass up a chance to go to an orchard today! I didn't get as many artsy shots as last year, but I definitely got some good family pics AND we had good fun in the process (sometimes I try sooo hard to get good pictures that we can't enjoy the moment)...

Train Ride: Happy Faces and Free Snuggles

First of all, scroll down to the previous post to read about our train adventures and see the beautiful scenery pics. (click pictures to view larger)

Here we are, ready to go!

waiting anxiously for the train to go

Hannah got all snuggled down at the beginning of the ride...

making Mommy think she's going to take a nap just as I hoped

one of the only pictures of me

...and then Hannah was up and ready to play, no nap!

yay! Hannah was having a blast! (until the second half of the ride when she realized how tired she really was)

these next two are precious to me

I love the bored look with the foot dangling down and the oldness of the seat.

snuggling as they watched out the open window. I was praying that Eli wouldn't fall out!

Grandpa was holding Hannah and pretty soon Eli was climbing on too!

Train Ride: Scenery Pics

A couple weeks ago I went shopping with my mom and Hannah to pick out my bridesmaid dress for my brother's wedding. While we did that my dad had a special day planned with Eli--they were going to ride the train in Boone. Well, because of road construction along the way they pulled up just in time to watch the train ride away without them! They still had fun exploring the stationary train cars and going out for ice cream. But we've been hoping for a time to try again for the ride, and now that Kevin's back and this is the last week the train runs for the season, we decided to go for it! It was an almost 2-hr ride at 1:30pm (aka right at nap time) but it all worked out, and I'm convinced it was worth it! And boy, was it a beautiful day to go! High 60s and sunny with low winds! Amazing, especially for Iowa! As always I have a ton of favorite pics, so I'll start with the scenery pics because it's what I started loading first. But check back later today for the rest of the pics of some smiling faces!

Sleep report!

I'm afraid to say anything because I just might jinx our good fortune but Hannah has FINALLY started to sleep better at night again! She slept through the night for her first 5 months and then started waking in the night around 4am that just kept getting earlier and earlier until she was starting to wake 4 times in the night starting around 11pm! It was really getting insane, and I was getting so desperate for a good night of sleep! We had really been pushing the food on her for quite awhile but she wasn't taking to it. Then just a week or so ago she FINALLY started to actually do okay with it. And now she's doing great (turns out she likes her food just a little warmer than I had been preparing it), getting three meals a day, plus nursing 4 times during the day! I also started letting her cry at the 11pm wake and then again at 3am if she woke up since I knew she had just eaten 2 hours before. And now she's only waking twice in the night--around 12 and 4ish. I'm still quite anxious for a full night, but I'm okay with the progress!!

Family together once again!

Kevin's home! He pulled in around 8:30 last night (Jeep still in one piece and an uneventful drive, praise the Lord!), and the kids were both still up. Hannah was fed, asleep, and just about to be put down, and Eli was still up and about. Eli's reaction to Kevin being home was AMAZING! No words can describe it. He was just SO HAPPY. Gave Kevin BIG HUGS every couple minutes, and kept saying "Daddy home!" He'd look at him and just smile as if thinking "he's really here!" So great for all of us! It's sooo good to have the family together again! We've spent the whole day in jammies, just bumming around the house on this cold and gloomy weather day. So good to see my hubby again! =)

a pic from today that shows just how happy these boys areAnd good news on the job front... Kevin heard from his friend Craig in Nebraska that if Kevin passes the test, he'll for sure be getting a job offer. And they're planning on doing the test the end of next week or 1st of November. So FINALLY things are progressing, and hopefully we'll be hearing something SOON! Kevin also got a call from eastern Iowa telling him to send in his resume again and he could probably do an interview AND test in the same day next week. Turns out they're hiring about the same time as Nebraska when we thought they wouldn't be hiring until April, so it looks like we might have a couple options out there for us! Very exciting!

We're ready and waiting!

It did work out for Kevin to drive back with his dad. They more like hopped along the way and met for meals, stopping at a hotel in Ohio last night for good sleep. Kevin's dad has to drive slower with his truck, so Kevin usually went on ahead and waited for him. Whatever. So anyway, he should be back in a few short hours. We went to the store today and the fridge is now stocked up with bacon, whole milk, and pancake mix, and warm oatmeal cookies are in the oven! Soon, soon! Can't wait!!!

It's official!

Kevin's officially out of the Navy as of yesterday around 10 a.m. when he turned in his badges. The house is empty and cleaned out, and he'll be (if not already) on his way home to us today!! Kevin's dad is a trucker and he had a load in Maine this week, so they're trying to coordinate it so they can meet and drive together from Pennsylvania to Chicago. It would be awesome if that worked out! Give them both a companion on the roads, someone to chat with (Kevin has a CB too), and maybe even someone to share meals with. I know it would be something special for both of them! So anyway, pray for his travels the next two days as he makes his journey home!

Still no word from Nebraska. He tried calling the last two days but I guess the H.R. lady is out of town until the 29th. So Kevin is going to call his friend Craig who works there to see if he's heard anything. We'll keep you updated!

In the meantime, we're just excited to see Daddy again!!

Go see!

Check In Light of the Truth to see pictures of this really cool cardboard kitchen I made for Eli! More posts coming there soon, but for now I'm off for the weekend!

8 Months!

Wow, I cannot believe Hannah is 8 months already! She's going to be a year before I know it!! Well, Kevin's only been gone for two weeks but I feel like my little baby has changed sooo much in that time! She's all the time sitting up on her knees at things and just this week starting to pull up to standing! She zips around crawling and ever so quietly gets into things. I'm going to have to be careful with her because she's so quiet and sneaky! And just yesterday I noticed her first two teeth are coming through! And finally FINALLY she's starting to do a lot better with food. She's still not a great eater, but we're definitely making progress! So far she's had sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, bananas, bread, goldfish, and fruit puffs. She seems to really like sweet potatoes because she actually opens her mouth a little bit for the spoon with those, and she also does pretty well with carrots. So for lunch and dinner we start with a little bit of baby food, until she's done with that, and then she eats on puffs for the rest of the meal time while the rest of us eat. She does really well with them now, and it's fun for her to start participating in meal time instead of just sitting there with us! Sooo, hopefully the food will help her sleep better at night. She's still been waking up 3 or 4 times most nights, starting as early as 10:30 or 11:00 pretty consistently. We shall see what this next month brings!

I love how she crinkles her nose sometimes when she smiles!