Trick or Treating Fun (until it got too cold and windy and kids got too hungry!)

 

Football Night at the Alcorns

Last year Monday Night Football was on Halloween, so the kids were all dressed up from trick or treating.
(Jake, Kari, Ashlynn, Jenna)

This year we decided to have another costume photo, even though it was a couple days early. Joel and Ty are the newest additions, and Ashlynn wasn't able to make it this year.
(Joel, Jenna, Jake, Ty, Kari)

More little lion photos coming soon!

 

Pumpkin Carving

Kari's first real pumpkin carving experience.

We convinced her to put her hands in the gunk, but after the photo...

... she used a spoon.

That's what we get when we ask her to smile now.

 

Pumpkin Patch Visit #2

Look at all those pumpkins!
Kari's been asking if we could go to the pumpkin patch "another time." The kids and I went with some friends, and Kari got to pick out another pumpkin, actually two-- one for carving and one for holding.

(Hannah and Kari)

Allison, Hannah, and Kari graciously trying to pose for our pumpkin shot. That's Kari's "I'm feeling kind of shy, but really having a lot of fun" face.

We learned that the short squatty, more reddish pumpkins (like the big one in the cart) are "Cinderella" pumpkins.

Kari loved the girls' attention. Thanks, Hannah, Allison, and Cyndi! It was fun!
Sorry you couldn't make it, John.

 

Low-key Weekend

We had a pretty relaxing weekend--good thing, too, since everyone in our household has a cold. Kari has been taking good care of all her "babies." Friday evening she lined them all up on the couch. They're such obedient children. She's also been putting them to sleep in anything she can find that resembles a crib. She has a cradle and a doll size port-a-crib, but four of them have had to sleep in laundry baskets. I overheard her singing"Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" (one of the two songs she sings every night with us before going to sleep).

Saturday evening we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa A.

Joel survived a traumatic highchair fall that night and seems to have recovered just fine.

She had fun licking many envelopes (the kind that comes with your junk mail like credit card pre-approvals) and putting stickers all over them. She also colored a lovely picture of a pumpkin with Grandpa.

 

"All my hair" big girl ponytail

The last few mornings when we're get ready for the day Kari's request has been "all my hair in one big hairband," which translates ponytail. Her hair is finally long enough to get all in "one big hairband." Doesn't she look grown up? After looking for the animal farm pictures and seeing all those pictures when she was so small, I started thinking about how big she's getting--going to be 3 soon! It's crazy!

Another [messy] ponytail pic.
(She had blueberries and a peanut butter & honey sandwich for lunch.)

 

Girl farm play vs. Boy farm play

Here's Kari (17 months old) playing with the animals and farm the way the creators intended.

And here's Joel playing with the farm. Now, granted, he's 9 months younger than the above Kari, but he even so, he seems more interested in just throwing it around and banging various objects on the top of the farm.

Here he managed to scoot and push it up against the coffee table and then proceeded to continue kicking it against the table until I moved him and the farm back to the middle of the room.

 

Liepold Farms--Corn Maze

We had a great time going through the corn maze this morning.

It even had a bridge we went over a couple times.

Kari thought it was pretty fun to either run ahead of us or lag behind so she couldn't see us. I caught her coming around the bend.

Here we are coming into the tunnel.

Lost in the Maze

Kari took over the map and became our maze guide.

While she was in charge of our directions...

... we got a little turned around and ended up going in circles.

Our guide got tired, so we helped her out.

More Liepold Farms

Lots of fun stuff.

In the corn box.

 

Choosing her pumpkin

She picked the first little one she saw and wheeled it to the scale all by herself (well, almost).


The proud pumpkin owner.

 

Afternoon play time

We haven't done much exciting the last couple days, but I wanted to post some pictures for you, Grandma Andy, so here's our Friday afternoon activity. :)

Kari's sharing her strawberry "smoothie pop" with Joel.

She said, "Watch out, Mommy, I'm going to run into you!" (She was pedaling at top speed.)