Lately...

We have been doing some fun fall activities of late. It has finally cooled down enough to be outside most of the day and be comfortable. The boys have been loving it.

We spent the day in Williamsburg last weekend, shoe shopping for the boys and just enjoying the area. We let the boys loose in Colonial Williamsburg and they tore all over the place, free from the constraints of a stroller and an outlet mall.

We did our yearly trek to the local pumpkin farm to let the boys play in the hay and visit the  petting zoo. Colin just wanted to jump off the hay bales head first.

The best picture of the bunch. We only got smiles after Colin insisted on holding ALL the pumpkins on his lap, and than Jack had to have the BIGGEST pumpkin next to him...and they are not even looking at me. Real life, right there.

I was able to sneak in a picture with my littlest man. The real pumpkin was the obvious star of this show.

Those are the painfully close faces of two people that have been married 6 years and spent their anniversary at a pumpkin patch with their little boys. Fun, but not the most romantic. Maybe next year, the boys will be old enough to hold the camera for us :)

I also turned 31 this week. Celebrated with a little cake at home with my three favorite men.

What are you doing on these fall days?

Step Up!

A couple of weekends ago, my little family had the privilege to be a part of the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads Step Up for Down Syndrome walk. That good looking group up there? We were the Reese's Pieces team!

And THIS is my sweet Reese, the reason we all went on this walk. Isn't she the sweetest? She is a feisty little fighter, this one. One of my favorite things about Reese is when she is really tired, or getting sick or just wants to snuggle, she will ask to be picked up. She will snuggle in, suck her thumb and hold on to your earlobe. It is her little comfort thing. Her thumb, your earlobe and snuggles.

I have known Reese's mommy for the last 5-6 years. We worked together and had our first babies together. Lots of nursing and napping play dates for us. Soon after that, there was Reese. A few months later, we had Colin and now their little lady #3 will be coming soon! So excited for a new girl to snuggle. We make the boys, they make the girls, we keep this earth evenly populated. :)

They had lots of fun things for the kids to do before the walk. Bounce houses, live music and even face painting. Jack got his face painted for the first time! He is not too sure about it, but he ended up loving his spider.

We had lots of fun on the walk, especially Reese. Don't you just love a laughing, running child? So much energy and joy.

Colin did almost the whole mile and a half walk all by himself!

It was such a fun morning and for such a good cause. We were so proud to be on Reese's team and look forward to doing it again next year.

To find out more about the  DSAH, click here.

To read about Reese and her wonderful family, click here.

Six

Today I celebrate being married to the love of my life for six years.

On one hand, it seems impossible that it has ONLY been six years, as we dated for much longer and I don't really think of life without him in it.

On the other hand, it seems like just yesterday that we walked down the aisle to say "I do."

Six years seems legit, though. Like we are a real married couple, with a few years under our belt.

Either way, I look forward to many, many, many more married years with my man.

He is my love, my best friend, my confidant, my heart and the father to my babies.

I am excited to see what adventures lies before us.

Highs and lows, good and bad, if Ryan is by my side, I know I can go through it.

Happy Anniversary, my love.

M&Ms

We really want to start potty training Colin. He is over 2 now and we are done with diapers. Colin also gets horrific diaper rashes from certain foods and diaper changes are painful for him. Most of those issues would be alleviated once potty trained.

Colin show some signs of being ready, but mostly just tell us NO! when we ask if he wants to go potty like a big boy.

So today I bought some M&Ms, his very favorite candy, as incentive to have him start to THINK about going on the potty.

Here is a snippet of our conversation today.

Colin: "I want an M&M"
Me: "You have to go potty on the potty first."
Colin: "I don't want to go potty. You go potty. I want an M&M."


Yeah.

We have a long road before us...

Observation

Matchbox cars on my window stile.

Or transforming Autobots ready to defend Earth from the Decepticons.

Just depends on how you look at it.