Characteristics to Develop

Sorry, no pictures of the kids this week, just mommy musings. Each of my children inspire me and exemplify for me characteristics of God that we should try to emulate.

Grant is obedient, and likes to keep me (and everyone) on the strait and narrow.

Sadie exemplifies charity. She shares the love of Christ with everyone around her.

Henry's determination is admirable. I love to watch him try to crawl. He never gives up. We call him the butterfly crawler.

I'm gonna go eat worms ...

 
While visiting downtown Boalsburg, Nathaniel managed to convince Grant to try a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. I'm not sure Grant grasped the meaning of every flavor. He unknowingly popped an earthworm-flavored bean in his mouth and I happened to capture his reaction on camera. Priceless.




... And speaking of worms, Henry crawls like a worm. I don't have a picture of my little monster crawling like a worm, but I did capture these gems. I love that smiley kid.

... And speaking of eating worms. This week started out as one of those kick-you-when-your-down weeks. On Tuesday, after an overwhelming day, I came home to a malfunctioning toilet, water-logged carpet, and bulging basement ceiling. It wasn't one of life's finest moments and I was once again reminded to count my blessings. Good thing I have these two angels to help me keep life in perspective.

Fall Traditions

State College is a great place for autumn traditions. One of our favorite traditions is trick-or-treating at the sports museum on campus. The student athletes crowd the museum to hand out candy to costumed kids. This year Grant dressed up as Thomas the Train (he was also Thomas the Train 2 years ago at the sports museum trick-or-treating festivities) and Sadie dressed up as a princess (Sleeping Beauty, to be exact--which is what she dressed up as last year). Henry dressed up as a monster. Don't worry--he wasn't a monster last year.





Taking a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch at Way Fruit Farms is another autumn favorite. We got to share this tradition with Nana and Papa this year.

Guess who is learning to crawl? Too bad he can only crawl backwards. Let's hope crawling backwards doesn't become an autumn tradition.

Lego building is quickly becoming a weekly tradition.  This week's creation: a monster truck that ejects its rider when it crashes into a wall. Hours of priceless entertainment.

Birthday Fun

We celebrated Grant's 6th birthday this week with a Kraft mac-and-cheese dinner for the kids (but they ended up just eating the spaghetti and meatballs we made for the adults), chocolate cake with rainbow-spiderweb frosting (thanks to Grandma Kiki), and a Wild Kratts Birthday Party.

Grant helped me plan all the games involving Animal Power Discs: Cheetah Tails Tag, Caracal Cat Balloon Catch, Aardvark Dig, Platypus Egg Carry, and Bat Bug Hunt. The party was exhausting for the parents, but based on Simon's excited recap of the party to his mom, it was a blast for the kids.

We have had so much fun with Grandparents visiting the past two weeks. A visit to the pumpkin carving festival stands out as one highlight. 

One last milestone note: Henry's first tooth made it's presence known this morning. We're enjoying the sitting phase and dreading the soon-to-come crawling phase.