Belvedere Plantation (and a ton of pictures!)

Fall is definitely here in Virginia and the weather is BEAUTIFUL! I think we start planning what we are going to do on the weekend Monday evening because we can't wait to be outside together enjoying it before the cold East Coast winter hits. We spent last Saturday at Belvedere Plantation, a 645 acre farm built in the 1760's. They have hay rides to the pumpkin patch, a corn maze, zip lines, playgrounds, inflatables, pedal tractors, giant slides, animals, food, a barrel train...and so much more! We had an awesome day and the kids were wiped out by the end. I think they have a big after Halloween Harvest Festival in November that we may try to go back for. The kids had a blast and we love finding places like this where they are able to just run free outdoors!

Savannah's Quilt

Some of you know that last semester, while Stephen was very busy with school, we decided I would take a 4 week quilting class. It met one night a week and was supposed to teach you how to quilt, from beginning to end and was also supposed to serve as a small dose of sanity and quite time for me. After I had Savannah, I had dreams of sewing blankets, dresses, costumes...but also didn't know how to sew a stitch! So why not jump right in-skip the basics of sewing, how to mumbo jumbo-and go right for the big time!

I found gorgeous fabric online and began stock piling it for a twin sized quilt for her bed. The quilting class did teach me the basics, but also never finished the small quilt (it sits unfinished in a closet somewhere) and I was left hoping I knew enough to pull off this much larger and more expensive project without falling on my face.

I found blogs for several wonderful and amazingly talented women (Camille Roskelley, Heather Bailey, Jennifer Paganelli, and Sandi Henderson) who inspired me and taught me how to get through making this quilt! I know this isn't the most exciting post, but I am really proud of finishing it and super-happy that Savannah likes it:)

The Rave

So You Think You Can Dance has added more fun and entertainment to our lives! We record it, mostly because Stephen thinks it is lame and I LOVE it, but also because the kids love to watch it. Michael has even been known to watch it, ask me to rewind it, watch it again and then try to do the moves lol! I caught this at the tale end and had to restart the song, but when I walked into the den we had an all out rave happening! I wish I had caught the whole thing because it was awesome watching them dance and sing without anyone watching them!

Elvis Lives On!

You may remember the Elvis singing ornament we "won" during an ornament exchange at Christmas time...Michael singing with Stephen "stuck on yyyouuu!" Who knew it would live on-all the way through July!!!! The thing must have Energizer batteries because it keeps going and going and going....

"Say Hippo"...a Savannah Update

Savannah LOVES to sing-she sings the same songs every night (the night-night baby song, Jesus Loves Me, and Itsy Bitsy Spider), asks for the same songs at nap time (usually Twinkle Star and You are my Sunshine), and has started singing her ABC's, which are hit or miss at thier best! Her favorite song is "Itsy Spider" and she sings it ALL THE TIME!

It's also become a fun game to try to get her to say big words-I know it may seem cruel but it's usually hilarious. Our favorites are rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and Mississippi. Speaking of hippos, Savannah could watch the Polar Bears at the zoo ALL DAY LONG! She loves them and it makes me think about when I was little and had a stuffed polar bear that I loved until it about fell apart. We still have it (hiding in one of their closets because I can't "bear" to get rid of it!)

It's also hilarious to see what Savannah decides to wear each day. While I may dress her in the morning, she accessorizes throughout the day. This is what she wanted to wear to a BBQ at a friends house a few days ago-stroller, bunny ears and barbie shoes! You've got to love this little girl!

Superguy and a bike-A Michael Update

In other news, the Wal-Mart bike saga continues as we returned to Wal-Mart to buy the bike we were supposed to get the first time. We left the store with an assembled 12" bike that Michael is in LOVE with! He has no trouble getting on it, using the pedals and even crashes gracefully! He can seriously scoot on this bike and I can't wait until he can go ride with Stephen!


Also, the superhero collection is growing. As a reward for good behavior, Michael is earning new action figures. We added Superman to Aquaman (aka Superguy and Nemoguy) and now have a vicious fighting force! Good luck to the dinosaur population in our back yard, as some serious muscle has landed!

Big Girl Bed!

Savannah came home from a weekend with Lovey and Pops to find her big girl bed all set up!
She LOVES Michael's bed, even says she is going to nap in it and tucks herself in, so we thought she would be ready.

She was obviously excited, jumped on it, and very quickly snuggled in!

Praying she sleeps well tonight and naps aren't too much of a challenge...next step, potty training UGH!

Holiday Weekends, Aquaman, and pink sunglasses

I love holiday weekends because for some reason that vacation feeling seems to run into the days preceding it! For instance, this past weekend was the 4th and the whole week before we found fun things to do and it just felt holiday-ish. We played with buckets of bubbles in the back yard, rode paddle boats at Shelby Farms, decorated party crowns for absolutely NO reason, amd spent the 4th in Montgomery. We've also bought a Wii and are LOVING it! More on the Nintendo adventures later...


Michael has a Super Friends book that he picked out at the bookstore a few weeks ago. Since then, he has become obsessed with the book and the "super guys" in it. I found a few of the same Super Friends at Target and bought them to give to Michael as a special reward. So far he has earned Aquaman-aka Nemo Guy. He has lost his head twice in two days and I am glad he is so durable! Thanks goodness for plastic! This makes me feel like Michael is more of a little boy now and not just a toddler...he's growing up so fast!


Oh, they do love each other!

Paddle Boats at Shelby Farms. Savannah can't leave home, or anywhere for that matter, without her pink sunglasses!