A Beautiful Fall

We had a beautiful day to carve our pumpkins.  The kids could not wait another day to cut them open.  I warned them it was too early.

We woke up few days after we carved our pumpkin to a pumpkin smashed on the street.  Owen was panicked that the culprits might come after his pumpkin, so he hid them away in the garage...

Where they molded and rotted to a disgusting end... not even lit up once.  But they were cute... in the beginning.

A lovely Rapunzel and dashing hot dog were my Halloween escorts... and a tired baby who got too messy with dinner and required a bath and a change out of her cheerleader outfit.

 Nothing like trying to force a picture because the day was so beautiful... I guess I should have just taken pictures of the trees because the kids were not happy about this. Does it come through in the photo???

 

Owen is becoming my little photographer!

And another beautiful day to harvest our corn.  We cut out of school early and came down for some harvest fun.

Anna was lining up the next semi as we waited. She's kind of a big deal.

And we got Daddy to come home for a little bit to sing Happy Birthday!  Gets more handsome every year, I'd say!

A Birthday and Pumpkins and Growing Babies

Owen is getting too old for cupcakes! I can't hardly fit another candle on that cupcake!  How can my first baby be seven already?  He is full of energy and questions, rarely sitting still or keeping quiet.   He can be a handful, but he has his very special qualities too.  He won't let me drop him off at school without saying a prayer for him and giving me a big hug and kiss.  And he still doesn't care if anyone sees him kiss his mama!  

Our little Anna is growing so fast. Walking and talking... every day something new.  She loves to sit and look at books and color with her big sister. She cracks us up with a ready "no" answer to any question.  She's learning her animal sounds and can keep up with her siblings in dance moves.

And Chloie just couldn't be any happier at school.  She wakes up every morning asking if it is a school day... very disappointed when a Saturday or Sunday rolls around.  She starts playing school the minute she gets home from school but ready to be the teacher!  She very thoughfully asked Matt and I the other day, "What should I be when I grow up?  A teacher? or a restaurant-er?  or a store-er?"  Already making plans!

We had such a fun time at a pumpkin patch with Grandma Peggy and Aunt Emily. 

Everybody got to ride a pony!  Anna was unsure.

 A real natural here.

And completely terrified here...

Owen vowed to find the biggest pumpkin.  This was not the biggest pumpkin, but the biggest we would let him get.

Chloie picked this one first. but realizing it was heavier than she wanted to carry...

Opted for this nice little, carrying-sized pumpkin.

And what would fall be without some harvest pictures.  This year has been a challenge to get the kids involved.  Too many riders... and a big farmer wannabe who hogs the combine spot.  But we are still enjoying our time outside with Grandpa and Daddy.  The weather has been beautiful so far.

Such blessings....

A little drool never hurt anyone...

Back to School

Oh my!  The summer is over and school is here.  How I fear the morning routines, but I also look forward to the routine of our day.  

I love this picture because it perfectly sums up their feelings about the first day of school.  Chloie couldn't be more excited to start kindergarten, and Owen... well, his face says it all.  

However, I don't think Owen really hates school so much as he gets nervous about the unfamiliar.  I think it's easier for him to just say he doesn't want to go because he doesn't like it rather than admit fear.  Hmmm... sounds pretty human to me.  He finally whispered that he really was excited to start first grade as I tucked him in the night before school.  

Anna was ready for school too!  She's taking off with the backpacks.  No time for a picture!

Not sure what Owen is doing here??? Maybe if he looks dorky enough I won't send him??  Sorry, Owen, I looked dorky all through school, but my Momma kept sending me...

It has now been a couple of weeks into the school year, and they are both doing well.  Chloie plays school the second she gets home, and can't wait to put her school shoes on in the morning.  Owen requires a bit more encouragement to get going, but I have found that Chloie is a good motivator for getting us to school earlier this year.  

Spring and Summer 2015

Well, another Davis birthday has come around, so it must be time to make a post! 

 

Another season of planting has come and gone...

It was a difficult year to get everyone involved.  Daddy only has so much room for riders, and we keep adding more riders!  

When it wasn't Owen's turn, he would whine mercilessly and even at times chase the tractor around the field.  Being completely sure Chloie was not enjoying it as much as he would, he reasoned that he should get to ride 99.9% of the time.  As for Anna getting a turn, that was just ridiculous.  How could a baby even like it at all?!!

A school year ended...

 Owen raced around the gymnasium in his homemade tractor racer to end kindergarten in the Kindy 500.  It would seem Owen has inherited my serious lack of talent in creating things... or being patient about it.  However, he was extremely pleased that he beat out his opponent in his race.  Though by a mere margin... as he kept his head turned almost completely backward to see if she was gaining on him.

And there's my little Chloie (in the middle of the back row wearing a bright pink bow) rocking out Pre-K with some 80's jams.  My favorite was hearing her practice on the back porch in the days leading up to the program.  She would sing her little heart out... as long as she was sure no one was listening.  Sounds like her Mama as a little girl.

And then there was summer...

Lots of backyard playing.

Not so much of anything else...

Which leads me to our birthday girl...

I can't believe it has been a year since we first met our little Anna.  She is sweet and silly and getting wilder by the day. 

So many sweet cousins and aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas made Anna's birthday so special.  

We learned from Chloie's first birthday that a candle (at least when supervised by Daddy) is not a great idea for the first birthday.

Anna approves of my cupcake!  Hooray!  Though not everyone cheered so lively for them.  

Anna even got a visit from her Godmother all the way from Washington DC to celebrate with her.

But by the end of the weekend, her napping schedule awry, Anna breaks down... the party is over.  Time for rest and another year of adventures!

A 2015 Update

So April is nearly over, and I'm thinking I'd better hurry up and write something before December hits!  The time just flies with a baby who is still up a couple of times each night and eats what seems like around the clock and two older kids who need to be driven to school twice a day and also seemingly eat around the clock.  Oh, and that husband who seemingly works around the clock... and eats a lot too!  

One thing for sure, 2015 has made Anna just about the cutest thing we've ever seen... though this is what we said about our other two when they were this age.  But something happens around the two year mark.  Maybe it was that they started talking and their demands lost the adorableness of those sweet baby shrieks.  Anyway, I digress, Anna lights up our lives.  Owen and Chloie's lives a bit too much as they constantly hover and smother and really honk her off much of the time, as siblings tend to do.

I have waited, as a good farmer's wife would, patiently for the slow season when Matt would be home a bit on the weekends and spend an afternoon relaxing on the couch... however, as spring looms in the air, I am forced to admit there is no down time for my beloved.  He spent his every winter moment chainsawing and wood chipping, changing the landscape of his farm from a gnarly woodland stream to a lovely, free flowing ditch.  

It was a challenge to make it out for a visit, but we managed to be moral support a couple of times anyway.

 

And it can't be the end of April without a happy birthday for our Chloie.  She has only asked every day for the last month, "How many more days until my birthday?"  

With a bright and early 6:00 wake up, she eagerly began her 5th birthday! 

So many family members and friends made her day so special.

She is one loved little girl.

From 6:00 a.m. until nearly 10 p.m., even out playing Owen, she partied and played, our dear five year old, Chloie Marie... (who looks like she's 7... she will insist).