Goodbye Paci

Sylvia has always loved her paci. She used one quite a bit longer than I would have anticipated allowing her to. I guess I let it go on because she only used it at nap and nighttime and willingly gave it up when she awoke. However, she started to lose it at night and would come into our room asking me to come find it for her. That got old quickly. She and Eric were going to start sharing a room at the new house, and I didn't want her coming in and out of her room multiple times a night. Plus, I figured I'd be getting up enough at night with the new baby. I didn't need to be hunting for a pacifier as well. Shortly before moving, I talked to Sylvia about getting rid of her paci. I made sure that she knew they would be permanently gone but told her that we could go to the store and "buy" something with them. She agreed and later that day we headed out to run some errands. I was planning to take her to Target but was uncertain how much money I wanted to spend on this paci exchange. I didn't really want to tell her "no" to something since this was going to be a little difficult for her. While driving, I asked Sylvia if she wanted to buy a game or a toy. She responded that she wanted a toy and shortly after said she wanted a vacuum. On the way to Target, I planned to stop at Goodwill for a couple of things. We usually swing through the toy aisle while there. I couldn't believe it when Sylvia came around the corner pushing a little vacuum. I was more than willing to spend $2.37. When we got up to the counter, I had Sylvia put the vacuum up and then give the man her pacis. He looked at me, and I whispered/mouthed, "Can you throw them away please?" Then I put the rest of my things up and paid for all of our purchases. It all went more smoothly than I had expected. She did ask Dan for a paci the next time he put her to bed but was fine when he told her they were all gone. I guess it was worth a try.

Packing

I do not recommend moving with a 19 month old, an almost 4 year old and while 8 months pregnant. But, we survived. Fixing up the new house and packing was a slow process. We're very thankful to our family and friends who helped along the way. Moving day actually went very smoothly and rather quickly. We're still in the process of finishing up projects and getting settled in...and probably will be for the next year or so. But, it's beginning to feel like home. Just last night, Sylvia asked, "Why are we living here?"


It was a little difficult to pull out of the driveway at our old house for the last time. Sylvia asked why I was sad and she cried a little too. She suggested that someday we could remember what our old house looked like and we could build it again. She also wants to make sure we will be able to watch it get torn down.

Outdoors on Eastmoor Drive

I thought I'd share some picture from our last couple of months living on Eastmoor Drive. As you can see from the pictures, we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful September weather. We're going to miss our backyard although we did bring the swings and sandbox with us. The kids have already enjoyed getting out in our new backyard to play. Hopefully, by the time we fill our sandbox next spring, Eric will be done with his eating sand phase. That boy doesn't just put a little sand in his mouth, he will consume it by the spoonful if you're not watching.

Apple Orchard

We took advantage of the warm October weather earlier this month and took a trip to Wilson's Orchard. Grandma and Grandpa were watching Ben and Katie that day and joined us for the fun. We enjoyed a picnic lunch despite all the bees and then went for a tractor ride. There weren't any apples left on the trees but the kids hunted around on the ground and found a few that didn't look too bad. The girls rode the tractor back to the store while the boys hiked back and even walked across the creek. We all had apple turnovers, ice cream and apple cider slushies before heading home. Ben wanted to make sure they were home in time for the Iowa football game.

Sylvia's attempt at climbing a tree.
Getting ready for the tractor ride.
She's getting so tall.
Sylvia and Ben
Sylvia and Katie
Eric had a blast running around the orchard.
Picking (up) apples.
Eric collecting apples.
Eric and Grandpa
Mommy and kiddos
Our attempt to have all four kids looking at the same time.
Ben and Eric

Black Eye

Sylvia got her first black eye earlier this fall. She was running to the living room in our old house to wave goodbye to Dan when she somehow hit the window trim right at the corner of her eye. Thankfully, Dan was able to come back in and help out with Eric while I comforted Sylvia. When we moved our couch to the new house, I put a small footrest in front of the window so the kids could still look out. I think Sylvia jumped up on it and expected to have the back of the couch there instead of the wall. The previous day she was running down the hall and ran into the bathroom door frame leaving a vertical bruise on her forehead. She looked a little beat up for a week or so. Everything is healed now but we've noticed you can still see where she hit the window trim.

Red Day

Each month, Sylvia's preschool class learns about a new color. They sing the color song each day and practice spelling the word. The class also collects color pictures from the children. During the month of September, the color was red. Sylvia has known The Red Song for quite some time now since I used to sing it with her before she started preschool. She was so excited to start singing it with her preschool class. On the last day of the month, children wear the color of the month, and parents are invited to stay for the first few minutes of of class to hear the color song.

This is the red picture we sent to preschool.

Here is a picture of Sylvia on Red Day.

Sylvia's class singing The Red Song.

Boating in October

The kids and I went for one last boat ride with Grandma and Grandpa on October 4th. I didn't know if Sylvia would want to swim or not but I went ahead and packed her swimsuit. She and grandpa ended up getting in the water and swimming for quite awhile. We had to convince her to get in the boat when she started to shiver. Eric dipped his feet in the water but I didn't think he's appreciate going for a swim. We stopped at Sugar Bottom beach to complete one last thing on our summer list...swimming at the beach.