Pumpkin Carving

Halloween is almost here. We went to the branch trunk or treat on Saturday. Unfortunately we took the camera but not the memory card so we don't have pictures. But, we have another chance on Friday. The kids had fun. Madeline kept handing her candy back to people and asking them to open it for her.

On Monday night we carved our pumpkin for FHE.

Calvin had spilled dinner on his shirt, that is why he is with out one (he is normally fully clothed).

He had a great time helping with the carving and cleaning.

Madeline was terrified of the inside of the pumpkin. Here she is screaming when Mike pulled the seeds and strings out.

I tried to be a bit more diplomatic about showing her it was harmless and she calmed down but still wasn't too sure about it.

By the time we were done we had talked her into touching the seeds. She was very proud of herself for touching it! Anna Elise wasn't really that interested in carving the pumpkins...

But we talked to her into cleaning out a couple of handfuls of seeds.Mike absolutely refuses to put his hand into pumpkins or touch anything that comes out of the pumpkin. After a few scoopfuls I got exasperated and switched places with him.

This is how you clean a pumpkin out!

Mike carved three different faces onto the pumpkin. I took some pictures and he didn't like them. So he deleted them and after taking only 1 picture the battery died. So I don't have pictures of the other two sides of the pumpkin. Here is the 'space man' face that Mike liked, you're missing out on the 'nervous' face as well as the 'happy' face. Happy Halloween!

Grandma Brown and Grandpa

Grandma Brown (my mom) came to help out with Lilah. She got here Wednesday night, only a few hours after Lilah and I came home. She was a huge help playing with the kids, doing my dishes, helping with Lilah and babysitting while we went to the Dr and while I took a nap most afternoons. Grandpa came for a day too and the kids had a great time playing with him. They left to go explore more of the east coast on Thursday and we miss them!

I do have to mention that Calvin was very interested in how they would get home, what color their airplane was, was it the same airplane we would ride to go see them, ect. After this converstation, Calvin watched them leave and load their stuff into their rental car. He ran to our door, lifted the mail slot and yelled "Grandma, how are you going to get your car home?" He is always thinking and asking questions. It cracked me up. We then had an in-depth converstation about rental cars and how that works.

More Lilah

The kids continue to shower Lilah with their love - constantly wanting to hold her and touch her. Madeline is so excited everytime she sees Lilah - I don't think she has realized that the baby is staying. We were able to get some pictures of all the kids together - I've included several because the different expressions on their faces just crack me up! We also got several more pictures of Lilah - every day the swelling goes down, her eyes look bigger and she gets cuter!

Yeah! We finally got a good one!
Anna Elise and her fake smile -
Madeline
Calvin wouldn't look up at the camera
Lilah

Lilah's profile so you can see that she does have hair in the back and you can also see the pronounced ridges on her head (they should go away in another week or so)

Lilah Claire Russell

Lilah was born at 4:24 pm on October 14th. She weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces. Everything went very smoothly and we were able to come home after only 24 hours in the hospital!

Lilah had a fast trip and has some light purple bruising, was VERY swollen, and has some ridges on her head, but all that will be resolved in a week or two.

Here's Lilah with Daddy
with mommy
getting her foot prints
about 48 hours old at home

The kids LOVE Lilah. All three of them want to hold her, hug her, feed her, carry her, ect.
Anna Elise carried her, Madeline tried to feed her cheerios, Calvin lays on her when he hugs her (and he is heavy) and she is still alive. I hope to get a few pictures of Lilah with the kids in the next couple of days.

Last Pregnancy Update

Here are a couple of pictures that Anna Elise took of me. We had to take a lot to get a couple!
I had a check up 10 days ago and I'm "ready", really "ready" - she can come anytime. My midwife is actually surprised I haven't had her yet. I'm hoping to wait until my induction. We are scheduled for 7am Tuesday morning. That's my to do list in the back ground, it should be cleared off by Monday. I've got everything planned and I'm hoping that this baby cooperates! Check back late next week for baby details and pictures!

Where'd Maddie Go?

Here's a picture of what is usually in that kitchen cabinet...
And here is what is currently in that cabinet!
Madeline loves to play in that cabinet. She empties it out and sits in it. She'll eventually turn sideways and tuck her legs into the cabinet and shut the door. We play peek a boo. I ask 'Where'd Maddie go?" and she shoves the door open and yells something inbetween 'there she is' and 'peek a boo'. I couldn't get a picture of her all the way in the cabinet because as soon as she saw the camera she wanted to pose for pictures instead.

Happy Birthday Anna Elise!

Anna Elise turned 5 yesterday. She has been looking forward to her birthday for months. We've been counting down for weeks! We started the day by getting donuts for breakfast and then opened presents. She spent all morning not sharing her presents and then chasing after Calvin when he took them. That evening after dinner we had a few friends and family come over for cake and ice cream. Anna Elise and I picked out, ordered, and bought the cake ourselves! It was a Barbie, Diamond Castle cake. She had a good time getting more presents and playing with her new stuff!

Finally the Fair!

It was finally our turn to go to the fair. It seems as though everyone has gone except for us. I guess Virginia is just a little bit late. This was our third year going and the kids loved it. This year Mike's business had a booth there so he spent more time on the fair grounds then he wanted to and he isn't done yet. On Monday we took the kids and some friends and had a great time. We saw the duck races, where Calvin got picked to race one of the ducks, the pig races, the horses doing something or other, the aereolist (whom Anna Elise LOVED), the animals, the tractors, and Anna Elise and Calvin got to go on one ride each. We had lunch at the fair and also got a bag of cotton candy for the kids to devour! They loved it. We were glad to have help with the kids - since I just concentrated on walking from one event to the next - I couldn't push the stroller or carry anyone. Below are some pictures of the duck race, trying out a tractor, and the kids on their first fair rides!