We love fall!

Hey Graham Fans!  Finally getting around to updating you on what we did in October.  We have so many pictures to choose from, it was hard to pick.  If nothing else, you should see that we had a LOT of fun in October.  Some of it was normal things we do, but definitely some special activities too (ahem, HALLOWEEN!).   One of our routine activities is to stop by Uncle Greg's.  Sometime we stop by during the day to play with his tractors and his cat, Odell.  Sometimes we go visit when he is there and play, maybe even have dinner.  Caroline loves Odell.  I like her too, just not as much as Caroline given that she is a cat lover.  I really like his tractors. 

We were able to take advantage of some nice weather and make one last trip to the zoo for the season.  We love the carousel.  Of course, Caroline picks the kitty to ride!  We also enjoy the tunnel viewing of the Macaques.  The monkeys will come right up to the glass but can't see us.  It is cool to see them that close!  Mom also caught a picture of us in the fake egg.  Do we look like we just hatched?!  

The family made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  The weather wasn't the best.  It had been rainy that day so we weren't going to go.  It cleared up so we went but as we were finishing picking out our pumpkins, it started to sprinkle.  We stood by the pumpkin measuring sign again, and always have to ride the pedal tractors.  I spent a little more time on the tractors this year, but then didn't get to explore the rest of the play area as much.  Oh well, I really like the tractors!  This was the first year we actually rode the wago out to the field to pick out our pumpkin.  We didn't know they had these awesome pedal go carts.  I rode with dad and also tried to make it go myself.  Can't wait to do that again!  Caroline liked it but not as much as me.  She did find a kittycat while we were out by the patch.  She LOVED that kitty!  We also sw a couple of cows on the other side of the fence.  They didn't seem bothered by us.

I believe it was mentioned in our last blog that I started playing football.   Our season ended in October.  We had some nice weather and some cold games too.  The picture below is me carrying the ball, but my flag was just pulled.  Bummer!



Caroline participated in a photoshoot for a magazine of sorts.  Apparently she was picked because a friend of Daddy's works at the publisher and this friend provided a bunch of pictures of kids she knew.  Caroline got picked to be the '2 year old'!  Mommy and I went along of course.  It was interesting if nothing else and we got some candy!  The magazine is "Lowe's Creative Designs".  Hopefully we will see her this fall when the issue is published. 

While there were some chilly days in October, we did have some fun outside.  We play with the neighbor girls frequently when the weather is nice.  In the picture below Carly is reading to some of the kids in the 'hood.  We also went to the park - sometimes on our own and sometimes with friends from preschool.  My favorite park is the digger park.  As you can see, it has a sandpit with its own excavator.  I could do it for hours!

Back in October, we had a Learning Partner day at preschool.  Mom was my partner for the day.  Besides doing everything with Mom at school, I had the rhyming bag.  You have to bring items that rhyme with two words the teachers provide.  Well I had some great things to rhyme with cake and rose like snowflake, snake, toes, bows, rake.  I reach in for the last item and pull out a DIAPER!  Everyone laughed!  Mommy accidentally stuck in a diaper for Caroline.  Mrs. Myers made the best of it and we all decided a stinky nose would rhyme with rose!



One of the highlights of October is Halloween!  We always go to Living History Farms to trick or treat the weekend before Halloween.  I was so happy to wear my awesome costume.  Caroline liked being a monkey even though it was a hand me down from me.

We don't decorate our pumpkins until a day or two before Beggar's Night.  Daddy does the carving with us and Mommy roasts the pumpkin seeds.  Yummy!  We went Trick or Treating with the neighbor girls.  Mommy stayed home to hand out candy.  After I had enough candy, Dad and I went home so I could pass out the candy and Mommy went out with Caroline and the neighbors.  I love to pass out candy.  I saved the good candy for the kids I know.  One boy stepped off the frontstep and fell in the bush.  He made a big scene because it was a prickly bush.  I made Dad tell the story over and over and over and over and over.  It was SO funny!

Back to School time

Hey Graham Fans! Happy New Year! It is the New Year but I am going to share with you what we did in September. Our editor is behind. We tell her she needs to get caught up. As you can see below we ate our first carmel apples! Grandma made them for us and sent them back with Uncle Greg. What a yummy treat!



September for me meant it was time to go back to school. It was much easier this year. I knew what to expect. One of my friends from last year, Michael, is in my class this year. He and I made friends with another boy, Lucas. We are the oldest in the class. I call us the silly boys. I don't think they know that. We have a lot of fun together. :)

Caroline mentioned we got a new roof. That actually happened in September. They started early one morning and had all the old shingles off before we went to the gym in the morning. Then as we were about to drive off the crane truck delivering the shingles arrived. The lady driving the truck had a remote control that operated the crane. She put the shingles on the roof. It was pretty cool. After everyone in the neighborhood also got new roofs, seeing the truck became an everyday occurrence, not even that interesting.

We all went to KC to celebrate Nanny's birthday. She had a party with cake and other yummy treats. I ate my share! She even got presents, though no toys. She didn't look disappointed. I would have been upset if I didn't get any toys! We also spent time with Grampa and Susan and played at Benjamin's house for awhile. Sometimes we get silly, but we have a good time playing.



After fun in KC, we had to hurry back on Sunday for football practice. Yep, that is right, I had football practice. We started practicing in the yard the week before practice started. That was fun. Practice on a field with other kids, some of whom I did not know with parents watching, was scarier than our front yard. During practice, some kid pulled my flag. Was I ever mad! I didn't want to play anymore. I didn't want Dad to coach anymore. I was really upset! I was so relieved when practice was over (and glad to get the treats). Dad and Mom made me practice at home again later in the week. Then Mom of all people pulled my flag. Boy was I mad! How could she do it?! We talked a lot about it and by the next practice it wasn't so bad. Once we started playing games I even scored . More about that in a later blog.

Speaking of football, we went to a Drake game. It was fun. We started at the bookstore to buy shirts for Caroline and me. We each got a sweatshirt, which I love and wear proudly. We went out to lunch, then went to the game. My favorite part is always seeing Spike, the mascot. I made Mom sit down in front waiting for Spike to come to our end. It took awhile but he FINALLY came our way. Caroline won't stick around when Spike shows up. She does like to get the bulldog tattoo and will pet the real bulldog when he makes an appearance. It was kind of cold that day. When we left, Caroline fell asleep in the car. It was her nap time anyway, but the cool weather really made her sleepy!

The end of the month we went to Grandma's. The weather was great for playing outside. I found a push tiller for the garden so helped Grandma get her garden tilled. I have pushed around the rototiller in the shed before but since I am not big enough to used motorized equipment, I was excited to find the push tiller. I worked really hard! 

I started thinking about my Halloween costume probably in August, but Mom made me wait to pick it out. Labor Day weekend we were at Costco and they had all the costumes on display. We found Captain America with a shield! I also got a Spiderman mask shortly after school started. How cool am I? I wore my Halloween costume so much that I got a hole in it so Mom said I couldn't wear it as much. :/

That brings us to the end of September so hopefully we get October published soon. Keep your fingers crossed. I know how you all love the blog!

Fair

Hey there - My turn, my turn, my turn - yeah it is Caroline.  I am two and it is my turn to blog.  We are behind, we know.  Maybe someday we will be caught up.  We are just on the go so it is tough to find time to keep you all updated.  Unfortunately I have to go all the way back to August to bring you up to date.  So let's see, after Graham's birthday we went to the Iowa State Fair.  It was a cloudy cool day so not super busy.  We got there and headed straight to the tractors.  Unfortuantely they were all locked!  We have climbed in them in the past.  Mommy got them to unlock a big sprayer.  Then we wondered by the Public Television exhibit to see Clifford.  I wanted nothing to do with him but Graham gave him a high 5.  Onward to all the baby animals - pigs, calves, ducks, sheep.  We love the cute little animals.  The next stop was the Litte Hands on the Farm exhibit.  Little kids like Graham and I wander thru the exhibit doing little tasks like what you would do on a farm.  The best part is riding the pedal tractors and of course getting a treat as you leave!  We wondered down to see the big animals - boy, the big pig is REALLY big.  I liked to reach in to pet the sheep or the horses - oh, so soft!.  Finally it was lunchtime.  Graham and I had corn dogs - yummy!  Graham did the big slide with Dad again this year.  I wasn't interested.  I mean that slide was taller than our house.  No way was I going down it.  Anyway we had a good time!  Its a fun family tradition.

Amazingly, the weather in August was better than in July.  We were glad the weather changed so we could play outside more. We had a lot of fun with the sprinkler this year.   It finally rained too.  We didn't like the rain.  One day it got really dark and scary outside.  The wind was blowing so much stuff was flying around outside.  Then it started hailing - not like I know what hail is.  I just know little white stuff was hitting the house and it was LOUD!  Next thing the tornado sirens went off so we headed to the basement.  That was okay with Graham and me - we just climbed around the storage room until it was time to go back upstairs.  A few days later, Mom realized the hail made holes in our siding.  Some guy came to the house to check it out and said we also needed a new roof and a few other things.  Eventually some men came and replaced the damaged siding and a few days later we got a new roof.  Boy were those loud days in our house!  Graham liked watching what they were doing - lots of ladders and when they brought the shingles it was on a big crane.  WAY cool for Graham! 

We went to Grandma's for a few days.  Mom and Dad went down, spent the night and then left.  Dad and Graham did go fishing.  Graham and I had a lot of fun though.  Grandma took us to the International Harvester store.  Graham found a pedal combine that he fell in love with.  He kept telling Mom and Dad that we needed to go get it when they came back. Aunt Deb, Uncle Tim, Sam and Kayla came too for part of the time we were there.  Dad and Mom apparently had fun too.

What else were we up to?  Here are a few pics.  Graham learned how to climb the tree in our front yard. Graham also really liked to get in bed with me before nap time.  We like to get our picture taken whil doing.  Graham is also getting better at some of his jobs  He made himself a sandwich one day.   

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Hey Graham Fans! I turned 4! Isn't that exciting?! Boy did we celebrate my birthday big this year! This was the first year that I celebrated with friends. We invited some preschool friends to the Clive Fire Station! Who would have thought you could have a birthday party at a fire station? Mom, Dad, Caroline and I got to the fire station early to set up. While we were getting ready, the firemen were so nice and willing to help out. Mom forgot a lighter for my candles and they offered a big torch to light them! While that would have been cool, one of the fire fighters walked to the corner and picked up matches at the convenience store. How nice is that?!


Would you believe that the first rain in weeks started right before my party was to start? My friends were really wet! Once they all arrived we left the party room and headed out to see the fire trucks. They had fire hats for us and everyone that wanted got to sit in at least one of the fire trucks. Eventually they even opened up an ambulance. It was all so cool. Best part was everyone having fun and I didn't have to be the center of attention. We only played one game - a water balloon toss. Everyone loved it. By the time we picked up the balloon pieces, it was cake time. I could have done without the song, but I ate two cupcakes! Next it was time for presents. My friends picked out some fun toys! I am lucky!

My fire fighter party was just the beginning -my birthday was two days later. It was a great day! We started out having breakfast at Krispy Kreme. We watched them make donuts then picked out what we wanted. I love donuts and sometimes can eat two, but not that day. I got one down but struggled to get half of another one. After the donut factory, we went back home to get ready for the zoo! We rode the carousel and the train and saw all the animals in between. Mom asked if I wanted to get my face painted, but I was not interested! We ate our picnic lunch outside of the zoo and headed home. After nap time, we headed to the John Deere store! We sat on the mowers, Gators, and small tractors. They even had a cat named Scruffy! Caroline loved petting the cat! I did too for that matter. For dinner we had hot dogs, then we went swimming!!! We went to the aquatic center in West Des Moines. Lots of fun stuff! On the way home we went to Culver's and had ice cream! The day ended with some presents - a mower for my tractor and a tablet (Leappad2). I was so excited to get the tablet I had wanted!

The fun continued! I still had my family party the next weekend! Grandma stopped by Friday night. Uncle Brad, Aunt Lisa, Benjamin and Joe came Friday night. We played and played. Lots of pure silliness! Saturday Grandma was back. Grandpa and Susan came. Nanny came. Aunt Deb, Uncle Tim, Sam and Kayla and of course Uncle Greg all came to celebrate my birthday. I liked the party but got kind of nervous with all that attention. I also wanted to unwrap the gifts first or at least eat the cupcakes! The cupcakes were awesome and I got some great gifts. I am a lucky kid!