Who did that?

Mom: Auden, I think you need a new diaper. You're stinky!
Auden: Daddy did it.

Apparently, Auden is a child prodigy when it comes to blaming others for stinkiness. Well played, my son.

What a lot of time has passed since the last post! We've been to the apple orchard, which was quite different now that both boys are completely hands-off mobile now. Showing no fear, Auden climbed up the steps to the big tunnel slide and went down all by himself. And this year the mazes were particularly attractive to both boys. While Logan made his way through the wire-fence maze, Auden made the most of his diminutive height and crawled under the fencing, which was elevated about 1 foot off the ground, thereby bypassing the challenge for him and the boredom for us, since we didn't have to wait until he made it to the exit the right way. Thank goodness Grammy Renee and Papa George were there for backup because once the boys hit the hay bale maze, all bets were off. Two kids entering a tunnel/maze + four possible maze exits that empty said kids into a crowded play yard= anxiety-ridden mother. Thank goodness we all made it out alive--even after spending some time at the petting zoo...and subsequently de-germing our hands.

After visiting the orchard, we thought the only sensible thing to do was decorate for Halloween, which Logan is super excited about. I found out after unpacking our decorations, however, that we need more stuff. Guess what we'll be doing on the Saturdays leading up to Halloween!? Craft projects, kids!

Oh, and I promised a picture with Auden's new hair, so here it is. This is how excited we are about Halloween.

Speaking of craft projects, Logan's been doing lots of those at school these days. Every day he brings home a necklace that's been strung with pony beads, straw pieces, and pipe cleaners wound in tiny spirals. I think his fine motor skills should be fine tuned by mid year...or maybe sooner, because he's actually writing his name pretty well on his own now.

Haircut

This weekend was a rather eventful one. Eric's coaching cross country, so he's gone until early evening through the week and all day on Saturdays. I spent most of Saturday doing what I usually do on Saturdays: Doing housework. But this time I had games to get ready for our Sunday school kick off as well. It didn't make for a happy Carly situation.

I seriously need to find a way to change my habits so that I don't get so crabby. Between wrangling the boys and trying to catch up with the household chores solo, my mood usually goes south. Maybe this weekend, I'll just take all of the junk that's littering the house and all the dirty clothes, make a nice pile in our patio fireplace, and torch it all. We could make s'mores. That would surely improve my mood--enjoying a delicious treat while tidying up a bit.

Anyway, the games were a success on Sunday, and we stopped by Kite Fest afterward. It was perfect weather--the breeziest we've seen the fest, so all of the huge kites were out. Logan flew his dragon kite solo again this year and had fun...until it wasn't fun anymore. Auden was enjoying his new cropped cut...oh, yes. Eric decided to cut Auden's long hair, which I really loved...with clippers. It was horrible. His bangs, cut horribly short, straight across, made him look like Jim Carrey's character in Dumb and Dumber, and his hair was still long in the back, which looked startlingly similar to a mullet. I had to do something. So I took him to the Hair Cuttery. The woman who cut his hair was politely tight-lipped about his hair until I explained the situation: Daddy decided to cut his hair. "Don't worry, hun. I'm just going to start with a 3 and fade it toward the top. It will be finger-length, but it will look fine again." And it does, look fine, that is. He just doesn't look like my little boy anymore. How can a haircut make a kid look like he's grown a foot and put on a few pounds? Anyway, I'll post a picture soon. Mom, you won't recognize him this weekend. Be prepared! :)

Frogs and Friends

We went to the lake house today with our neighbors. It was a beautiful breezy day and the boys had so much fun playing and swimming with their friends. Nate, the dad component of our neighbors, and Eric drove crazily around a crowded lake on the wave runner.

There is either the dumbest or bravest of bullfrogs who likes to hang out at the dock, and Eric once again caught him in the net for the kids to see. He even let Zion, Logan, and Joylin hold him this time. Wish I had some pictures, but alas, I forgot the camera. Another image I wish I could share is all of the kids lined up on the back of the pontoon boat, legs stretched out and toes dangling over the seat. I wondered if years from now I'd be able to look at the picture and pick out Logan and Auden's heads from the crowd. (Our neighbors have four kids, so it was a bit of a crowd today.)

Since I'm dealing with some sort of yucky cold/flu virus (oh, my aching and stuffy head, my sore throat, oh, the chills...), we decided to take off after dinner time. But we prolonged the trip enough to make a roadside stop and pet and fed some horses. Logan wants one. So does Auden....and Eric. Of course.

We hope you're enjoying your Labor Day!