Trip to the Apple Orchard

Late last month we planned to take a "mini vacation" to see my brother in Carbondale.  We strive to take a vacation (however big or small) each year with the kids.  Last year we went to Wisconsin and Minnesota, but we wanted to do something on a much smaller scale this time.  It's a good way to also let us unwind and make sure Chad takes vacation from work, since it's so hard to get in the Monday through Friday routine and never feel like you can miss a meeting.  Our plans were to go to Flora for the Halloween parade/Fall festival and then head to Carbondale and spend time with my brother while also allowing the kids to "swim" at a hotel.  Well, after two really rough nights of sleep for Luke in Flora, we decided that all four of us trying to sleep in a hotel room may just make us crazy....okay, may make mommy crazy!

So, instead we stopped off at Curtis Orchard in Champaign on the way back home and had a blast!  I'm really happy we didn't end up in Carbondale because we may have missed out on this impromptu experience.

Meredith entertaining herself on the drive down to Flora.

Chad's handiwork at getting a picture of Luke while we're driving (he is directly behind Chad in the passenger seat, rear facing).

The kids with Great-Grandma Reed.  I found it creepy that I don't know who's hands are on Meredith in this picture!

Hanging out with Great-Grandma Perry.

Luke and Grandma Perry at the parade.

Meredith with Great-Aunt Carolyn and Casey.  She LOVED that dog!

Luke getting a sink bath.

Our little piggy.

Meredith looked at this picture and said, "Mom's a cow; I'm a pig".  Gee, thanks!

We weren't sure how she would do riding a pony, since she tends to scare pretty easy, but she loved it!

My big girl!

This chair is just the right size for Chad :)

We decided to splurge (I would never spend that much for apples) and pick our own apples to take home.  To say Meredith was crazy excited would be an understatement.

Showing off her apple.

Good thing Daddy is tall!

She was fearless walking over the apples on the ground.

Now we have apples for homemade apple sauce and apple pie!

Luke was indifferent to the experience! :)

They're a Growin'

Luke and Meredith posing at Rader Farms Pumpkin Patch.  Luke looks almost as big as Meredith here.

What an explosive change has happened over the past month or so.  The kids are growing up FAST right before our very eyes.  Since I'm with them 24/7, you would think that I might not notice the changes quite so much as someone that only sees them every so often.  Just the opposite is true.  Meredith is constantly amazing us with her new vocabulary and the start of imaginative play she has begun with her dolls/stuffed animals.  Luke is growing like a weed and though he's not crawling yet (he doesn't even show a desire to), he is getting tall and beginning to babble like crazy.  Here are some random updates for both kids:

Meredith
Did I mention she is talking like crazy?  Well, she is.  Today while making supper, I had to tell her to stop talking for a minute.  I couldn't think straight!!!!  Here are some funnies that she has said to us recently:

• Chad was putting Meredith to bed recently and she told him she wanted to hold Jesus.  He told her that she could hold Him in her heart.  She then said, "I love Jesus so much" and "All my friends love Jesus, too."

• During a drive in the minivan, I heard her say from the backseat, "Move out of the way."  I asked her who she was talking to and she said, "The other cars."  Also, when I occasionally honk at another car or say something under my breath, she always asks me what's wrong.  She is definitely a sponge!

• Yesterday I overheard her tell her doll to "Be quiet and go to sleep."  Wonder where she got that from (she will often take an hour to fall asleep because she just keeps talking)!

• She is really into a Bible Storybook that I received at my baby shower.  It has rhyming Bible stories and she is fascinated by it.  We hear her talk about Jonah and Nineveh (that's a really funny word to hear her say) and she tells us she likes Goliath (we keep telling her he is the bad guy).  Her favorite story is "The Lost Boy" about when Jesus stays behind in the temple.

Mommy and Meredith after one of her stories before naptime.  

We have been more aggressive with potty training.  For at least 6-7 weeks now, I have been keeping her in a diaper, but still taking her to the potty.  It didn't work as well as I hoped, so last week we put her in panties, with the exception of sleep times and church.  We've had a lot of accidents, but I think we are making progress.  This week, she went two days completely dry and even woke up from a 3 1/2 hour nap DRY!  However, this is with me reminding her and taking her to the potty.  She still needs to be able to tell me she needs to go.  It's still a long road ahead, but God is teaching me a lot about patience through this entire progress.

Here's an action shot of Meredith running through the house in her panties.  This is how she has been dressed a lot over the past week.

Recently, Meredith has really gotten into playing "mommy" to her dolls.  She also asks, without any prompting, to feed Luke a bottle.  He's not too sure about it.

At Rader Farms this year, Meredith was a pro with riding the "train".  Last year, she screamed during the ride.

What a little ham!

Luke

He is growing up way too fast!  He will be 8 months next week.  Seems impossible.  Over the past month, he has gotten his two bottom teeth.  It's amazing how I keep comparing him and Meredith.  It's so hard not to.  She was 8 months before she got a tooth, so he has her beat in that category.  However, looking back at videos of Meredith at his age, shows that she was quicker to begin crawling and exploring.  He is usually pretty content just sitting up playing with the toys within his reach.  I've tried placing toys further away in hopes that he will learn to crawl, but if he can't reach it he just doesn't worry about it or gets fussy.  He's not a fan of tummy time, so that's probably part of it.  He has been taking longer naps (finally more than 30 minutes) for me and even begun occasionally sleeping all throughout the night because he has discovered how to sleep on his belly.  Finally!  

This week he has begun to roll like crazy.  If you place him on his back, he will just roll around on the floor to get things.  It's funny to watch!  He also loves bathtime and recently learned how to splash....enough to get the bathroom floor wet!  Chad and I were talking about the kids' personalities - we're thinking Meredith is more like Chad was as a kid, being very bubbly and social butterfly, whereas Luke is a bit more like I was as a kid, very reserved and quiet.  It will be interesting to see how Luke's personality develops.

He didn't actually pull himself up here, but he is learning to balance on his legs.

This is typical Luke.  Sitting up straight as a board, chewing on something!

Mommy and her little man.

Since I can't put bows in his hair, I was trying a new hairstyle on him.  

He has started to self feed, things like puffs and toast.  He also is doing fairly well with a sippy cup.

Us

The main update for Chad and me is that we have joined a small group at church.  The group consists of four other couples, three of which we already knew.  We have wanted to be in a small group for quite sometime, but have never found a good fit because of the kids' schedules.  It's nice, because we have a few hours on Sunday with a babysitter to watch the kids, allowing time for us to grow with others in Christ.

Baby Dedication

This past weekend, we dedicated Luke at our church.  We took an oath before everyone there that we would raise Luke in a Christ-centered home and church, thereby dedicating his life to the Lord.  It will be so amazing to see what our children will become in Christ one day.  In the meantime, it's such a good reminder for us to remember that we're not just taking care of our children's physical needs (food, clothing, shelter), but we are to be their guide in their spiritual walk as well.  Definitely puts a new perspective on my journey as a stay-at-home mom.  Well, that's probably another post in and of itself.

Here's some pictures from that day:

Chances of both kids looking at the camera at the same time:  Zero!

Luke loved the waterfall behind us...this is what most of the pictures looked like, just seeing the back of his head.  I don't blame him though, it was pretty!

Yay!  A keeper picture.

With Grandma and Grandpa Perry

With Grandma and Grandpa Prentice

With Pastor Mike Baker

The Prentice Family

Fon du Lac Farm Park

For Labor Day, we really wanted to get out of the house and take the kids to a pumpkin patch or apple orchard.  But, as Chad was looking online, he came across a park in East Peoria called Fon du Lac Farm Park.  It was geared towards kids and had animals to see and feed and other attractions.  We decided to give it a go and we are so glad we did.  It was a really fun day and we will definitely be going back again!

Getting ready to go in...boy was the sun bright!

We bought an ice cream cone with animal food that could be fed to any animal on the property.  It was really fun, but didn't last long since we were really generous with the ducks.

Such a beautiful view of one of the ponds.

Did I mention it was very kid friendly?  They had a nice little walking trail that I could EASILY push the stroller on, unlike a local pumpkin patch that shall remain nameless :)

Spending some Daddy/Daughter time together.  I love this picture!

She's on a mission!

The goat ate the last of our food...literally!

By this point, they were really tired.

Once again...super kid friendly place.  Just in case your kid was bored with seeing every kind of farm animal imaginable, they could also play at this park too.

Just chillin'

We stopped off to get some ice cream at the park restaurant and Meredith made herself at home at this picnic table that was just her size.

Milking a cow (fake, of course).

Hanging out with Mommy.

It looks like she's choking him, but he really enjoyed it.  I promise!

Daddy is such a sport.  They climbed to the top of a barn and came down this slide (which looks like a silo).  Not sure the slide was made for a 6'3" man.

Petting the bunny.

This is one of my favorite memories of Luke.  We decided to let him try and pet the bunny and he let out a squeal once he touched it, then started laughing out loud (captured in this picture).