E is still loving school. Since the last update we made a trip to Houston so Luke could run the MuckFest MS race with my brother in law (which they ROCKED and Luke raised about $300 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, so proud of him). My sis and I were planning on bringing the boys to play in the kids' mud pit area, but it was waaaay across town and looked like it would made for older kiddos based on the photos the guys sent, so we switched gears and went to a pumpkin patch west of Katy. It was HOT as all get out and E was not a huge fan of waiting in line, but we all enjoyed the patch, food, animals and play area.
Luke and I celebrated our 5th anniversary last week with 20 other families at a Hike It Baby camping trip out at Palmetto State Park. It was Emmett's first time camping and he loved getting be outside all weekend and sleeping in the tent. The weather was beautiful, we went on some awesome hikes, and we enjoyed cooking our food over a live fire.
In less bright news, my grandma Lehfeld passed away. Luke's mom came up to help watch E so I was able to fly up to Iowa to celebrate her life. It was nice seeing family, laying my grandma to rest and visiting a few favorite spots from all our summers in Iowa. And it was great getting home to my guys :)
6:40 a.m. It's still pitch dark out, but Emmett is up, so it's time for us to wake up too! I've been struggling with waking up before the sun and can be a little, ahem, unpleasant until after a cup of coffee or two. Luckily I'm feeling perky today and welcome E with a big smile. He climbs into bed with us and requests books, so we read for 15 minutes or so. Then Luke hops in the shower and we go pick out Emmett's clothes and head downstairs. E plays with his new train set and I make coffee and start breakfast.
7:15 a.m. Breakfast time! I'm feeling eggy after the delicious campfire eggs and bacon, so I scramble some eggs to enjoy with toast and fruit. And we scoop out some of the Confituras lavender peach butter - yum! E is enjoying a mix of pumpkin and Greek yogurt with his cereal lately, but today he starts scooping up the mixture and eating it before we even add the cereal. He eats the first 1/4 cup I served him so I mix up some more and this time get him to include some Chex in the mix. Luke and I debate the difference between jam and fruit butter, and I mention applesauce texture and E requests applesauce. Okaaaay. He hasn't had applesauce in months, but I have some on hand and he eats half. Cool!
7:35 a.m. Breakfast is over and the boys play. I clean up the kitchen while they enjoy blocks (E loves a good tumble tumble!) and Luke builds a lego llama. We hear the garbage truck moving around the neighborhood so the three of us hang out in the front yard waiting and in the meantime examine an industrious roly poly.
8:10 a.m. We say goodbye to dada and leave for a toddler led walk. We pretty much always take the same route, but E is mixing things up lately, so we have a good time exploring some new territory. We see lots of neighbor friends and dogs and trucks and airplanes. The best part is that I only carry him about a minute the whole 1+mile walk - go E!
9:40 a.m. Wow, that was a long walk. I change E's diaper and get him ready, pack the hiking carrier and we hop in the car to head to our Hike It Baby hike. The weather is great and there's a big group there - lots of friends! We head out with the adult paced group and enjoy a fun, lively 2.5 mile hike, exploring some different turf than usual. I'm proud one of the dads who joins us braves his first tandem wear with his 4 and 21 month olds - baller! I offer to carry his camelbak pouch on my front so he doesn't have to carry it, because hello! He's got enough going on. E enjoys meeting back up with the walking kids group at the playground and we play for a while.
12:25 p.m. We pull in the driveway the same time as dad. I start warming up lunch, but I'm doing it in the toaster oven for the best texture, so it takes a little while. The guys play more blocks and I run upstairs to power shower. We sit down to eat roasted balsamic chicken, mashed potatoes and roasted cauliflower. E's not a mashed potato fan (so NOT my kid) so he has some quinoa and edamame along with what we're eating. He's not super into it though (except the chicken, which he loves after he tries it). He prefers white rice to quinoa though, wah wah.
1:10 p.m. Bye bye dada! We tumble blocks for a few minutes and then I suggest milk and he's game. We head upstairs and he surprises me by asking to drink his milk in the chair by himself instead of in my lap (I later learn he did that with Luke last night). We read books and brush teeth and he goes to sleep around 1:45.
1:45 p.m. I clean up lunch and check email. Got a fun assignment from Whole Foods that involves some Pinterest Thanksgiving research. Then I spend time working on Emmett's Halloween costume - a turtle! I've been dragging on this for a while and determine to finish today. I have the last of the coffee from the pot and a remaining lactation cookie (I baked some for my friend getting induced tomorrow. They're basically oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with some brewers yeast and ground flaxseed added and sooo good. You don't have to be nursing to enjoy them!).
3:05 p.m. My friend Aubrie and her 16 month old William are here! We used to bake together before William but it's gotten more difficult with toddlers and busy lives. But I offered to make little white chocolate covered pretzels that look like pumpkins for Emmett's preschool class party tomorrow and she LOVES Halloween, so they came to make them together! I hadn't seen William since he started walking, so it was super fun having him explore around our place.
3:40 p.m. Emmett's up! I head upstairs to grab him and he's in a BAD mood. Crying hard and not into anything. I eventually get him to come downstairs and he's still having a rough time. Luckily William rolls with the punches and keeps doing his thing (he's so chill and happy) and after a diaper change we all head to the backyard and Emmett perks up. The boys enjoy toys, running around and playing with the garden. Then we head in to start the pumpkins. They happily play with toys, for the most part, in the kitchen (amazingly!) and we bang them out surprisingly quickly. Emmett tries one and loves it, so I let him have a few for a snack.
5:00 p.m. Aubrie and William head out. E takes his last pumpkin to his "snack throne" in the living room to watch an episode of Daniel Tiger. I take the chance to make dinner - Supercrunch Tofu Tacos. After a meat-heavy weekend camping, we're focusing on veggies a lot this week.When the episode is over we read books together, then we play with chalk in the front yard waiting for Dada.
5:56 p.m. Luke is home - hooray! I plate up dinner while the guys play and then wash hands, then we sit down to eat.
6:24 p.m. All done! I was considering heading to a Sha'bam class at Golds, but it's been a busy social week (Body Jam Monday, and I brought dinner to my friend last night, Luke is going to a mutual friend's birthday dinner tomorrow) so I stay home to have more family time. We go on a walk and enjoy sunset. E has a great time for the most part (lots of running!) peppered in with a few tantrums ;)
7:10 p.m. We're back home and the guys read a book while I rinse off dinner dishes, then we head upstairs to start tubby time. E is super giggly tonight and we have some fun! Jammies, bottle, book, toothbrush and night night!
8:05 p.m. E is asleep and we head downstairs and chat/clean up the kitchen. Then Luke grabs a beer and heads upstairs to work on his racing game wheel (it had a glitch) and I sit down to write this post and work on Emmett's costume some more, with a glass of wine ;) I have How to Get Away with Murder on and then The Mindy Project. And I bag up the pumpkin pretzels and glue on the decorations for E's turtle shell.
9:20 p.m. I head upstairs and check on Luke's progress - not going as well as he'd hoped :( He opts to keep tinkering and I climb into bed to read.
10:28 p.m. Oops, I fell asleep with the book in my hand and the light one. I roll over and turn it off and sleep peacefully until E wakes us up at 6:30 the next morning.
