Trunk or Treat

We had Stake Conference this weekend, so our ward had Trunk or Treat on Friday instead of Saturday. The three wards in our building all participated, and there was a chili and cornbread cook-off, as well. They also had a popcorn machine and a small bouncy house for the little kids to jump in. Everything was outside in the parking lot. Adam took the kids around and I stayed at the car to pass out candy.

Lucy was a ladybug, and she was just the cutest little ladybug you ever did see.

Josh was a baseball player. Last year, he didn't like wearing his costume, so this year I tried to think of something he wouldn't mind wearing. I knew he liked to wear his baseball hat, so I thought he would be fine with a baseball uniform. He was lukewarm about the whole outfit at best. And he didn't want to wear the hat, which is why I picked the costume in the first place! Oh well. I think he still had fun.

  And here is Josh in the bouncy house:

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch yesterday for our playgroup activity. When we first got there , we were able to take a short hay ride, and then the rest of the time was spent eating lunch and wandering around the pumpkin patch. Josh had fun dragging the little wagon around and running around with his little friends. (When we got there I realized my camera was dead, so a big thank you to my friend Melanie for letting me borrow her camera!)


Josh liked playing with the hay.


This is some pretty fun stuff!


Here, Baby Sister, have some hay.


Lucy decides hay is pretty tasty.


How about a flower in your face?


Alright, time to go find a pumpkin.


Oh, here's a good one!


OK, off to find more.


Hmmmm, which one should I get next?


Ooooo, here's one for Baby Lucy.


OK, these look good.


Baby Girl thinks the pumpkins are pretty cool, too.

It turned out to be a beautiful day to run around the pumpkin patch. I'm so glad we got to go!

I think...

...they might be related.

Josh and Lucy, both at 9 months old.

Yep, definitely related :)

9 months old!

Lucy Mae turned 9 months old last week. At her 9-month check-up she weighed 19 lbs 7 oz, and was 26.75 inches tall. This past month's progress has included lots of crawling, shortly followed by pulling up on things and even some cruising. WHAT?! My baby girl is much too little to be pulling up and cruising! You know what comes after that? WALKING! Nooooooo! I'm not ready, I'm not ready!!

Ahem. Where was I? Oh yeah, crawling and cruising. Lucy has become a pretty speedy crawler, and she LOVES to pull up on things and walk along a couple steps. She is so proud of herself and gets the biggest smile on her face when she pulls up on the table or the couch.



She loves to help me load the dish washer...




...and play on the stairs. She has managed to climb up a couple of stairs now, so the baby gate is usually up when I'm not around to watch her.





She loves to play with this interactive table top, and we've since put the legs back on it so she can stand up and play with it.





Baby Girl also has a couple more teeth. Along with the ones pictured so nicely here, the fourth top tooth is also coming in. Lucy loves to use her teeth to chew on EVERYTHING, including her brother.
















She is just so cute, though, it's hard to get mad at her. She is always quick to smile and she loves to laugh.


She always brightens my day, and we love having her in our family!

Playgroup Petting Zoo

Our ward has a playgroup that we have attended since we moved here over a year ago. Josh has lots of fun playing with the kids, and I have really enjoyed being able to get to know the other moms. One of the ladies that comes to playgroup with her granddaughter lives out in the country. Years ago, she started a pony ride and petting zoo business to pay for her sons' missions. She has since stopped the business, but still has some animals on their property. So for playgroup this past Monday, we all went out to her house to ride the pony and feed and pet the animals.



Waiting for their turn to ride the pony.





One of Josh's favorite things to do is dig in the dirt, and there was plenty of dirt around for him to dig in.
Josh liked watching the other kids ride around on the pony, but when it came time for his turn to get on, he decided he didn't like ponies after all. Instead, we took the lead rope and Josh lead the pony around the ring for about half a loop, then we tried to put him in the saddle again, but Josh was having none of that. He did reach out and pet the pony, though.


























Even Lucy got to ride the pony. She was fine when it was moving, but as soon as the pony would stop, she started to cry.













Next was petting the bunny. This was probably Josh's favorite. He was sad when it was time to put the bunny back in the hutch.





Then we fed the goats and sheep.


















And finally, we fed the chickens and ducks.







Josh really liked the duck, too.





It was a beautiful day to be out in the country, and Josh had a great time with all the animals. I'm so glad we were able to go!

Fun with Grandma Pratt

My mom was able to come for a visit, and we had so much fun while she was here. The weather was just perfect, with lots of sunshine, hardly any humidity, highs in the 80's and lows in the 60's.

Her plane arrived in Austin Wednesday evening, and on the way home from the airport, we drove through the little town of Lockhart for some yummy BBQ dinner. This little town is able to support 4 very popular BBQ restaurants. Dinner was so good, and for dessert we had warm peach cobbler with ice cream. Yummmm!

Here are some of the other things we did with Grandma:





Ride tricycles

Read books

Build block towers and knock them down.







We also went to the park, went to book club, went shopping, played together lots and lots, watched General Conference, and went to play group. My mom also watched the kids on Saturday morning while Adam and I had a date going out to breakfast.

We took my mom back to the airport yesterday afternoon. We already miss her. Josh woke up this morning and asked, "Where's Gwamma?" I told him Grandma had to go home. Then he wandered around the house for awhile asking, "Gwamma, where are you?" We are so grateful for our families and all they do to help us and support us. Being in Texas, we miss seeing our families as much as we used to, and it's so nice when they are able to come out and visit. We can't wait until Christmas when we get to go home and see everyone again!