A snowy Halloween

It's only the end of October and we officially had our first snow. Flakes fell from the sky and covered the autumn leaves, smiling jack-o-lanterns, and colorful mums that are synonomous with this time of year. It is very unusual to see this kind of weather this time of year but we made best of the situation. Instead of carving pumpkins and gearing up for some tricks and treats we spent the day baking cookies, drinking hot chocolate, and watching Christmas movies. Maybe we are jumping the gun but when you can't beat mother nature, join her! 

The weather is still on the chilly side but tonight we'll take our own little pumpkins out for some Halloween fun. Hope you all have a great night!

4 years old

Dear Braeden,
Happy birthday buddy! How have these years gone so quickly?! It has been 4 years since the first day I held you in my arms, kissed your sweet little head, and fell more in love then I could ever have imagined. You are growing into such a sweet boy and your dad and I couldn't be more proud. 
You wake up each morning with a smile on your face and wear it throughout the day. You're full of energy, charisma, passion, and heart. You are a wonderful big brother and make Cole so happy. He laughs at your funny faces and when you are being silly. You love making him smile. You love sports, playing outside, and any chance you get to dribble a basketball or have a catch with your dad you take it. You love Transformers and have about a hundred action figures. You wanted the "big" Optimus Prime this year so your dad and I got it for you. You were very thankful. You love spending time with your family including grandparents, aunts, and uncles. We are very lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives who love you very much. You are becoming more creative and into art. I come home everyday to home made pictures that we proudly display on the refrigerator. You can write your own name and you can write daddy's too. 
It really does seem like just yesterday you let out that first cry, had your first smile, took your first step, said your first word. Just today your dad took you mini golfing and you got your first hole in one! You are growing up so fast and I am so grateful to be able to enjoy your firsts and your many each and every day. Wishing you a very happy birthday my amazing little man!!! We love you B!


A few days old:

1 year old:

2 years old:

3 years old:

4 years old:

Bouncing baby boy

I'm not exactly sure if this is what they mean by the saying...but it sure does seem like it! If there's one thing this kid loves to do, it's bounce! 

Wine tasting 101

This past weekend my friends Karen, Amanda, and I went wine tasting. Peace Valley Winery is an adorable little gem located in Bucks County, Pa. They offer variety of their home made wines from dry reds to sweet whites. They also carry a delicious spice wine that is served warm and perfect for this time of year. 

After sampling every wine on the menu we took a tour of the land and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather. This particular winery also has apple and grape picking but as we walked through the fields all the grapes had already been picked. There were only a few solo one's left on the vine. We strolled through the fragrant orchard of apple trees hoping to take some home. I could smell the apple pie baking in the oven. No such luck there either. The red and golden delicious varieties had all been harvested or fallen to the ground. Note to self...when we go next year make it a couple weeks earlier so we don't miss out on everything! Regardless of the lack of fruit we still had a great time. I love spending time with these two lovely sisters.

6 months

Baby boy is 6 months old today! How has half a year passed already? He is ridiculously cute and smiles non stop. I don't have any current stats to report until next week when we go to the doctors. He has started sitting on his own and loves just being plopped on the ground with his toys. He sleeps from about 8pm-5:30am. When he wakes up he has a serious temper until he gets his breakfast. He loves his jumperoo, laughing at his brother, being outside, peek a boo, listening to stories, music, giving kisses, and snuggling. He is such a sweet little baby. Cole, we love you!

School days

I just wanted to give you a little update on Braeden and how he is doing in school. I just have to say the kids loves it. Every morning when he wakes up the first thing he asks is if he has school. My answer is either not today or yes. His response is either an disappointed awe man or an excited oh yeah followed by him running into his room and putting on the first thing he could find. The yes response is also always followed by me letting him know that school doesn't start for another couple hours and that he needs to get a bath, eat breakfast, and brush his teeth before we leave. 
A few things. He always insists that Cole come with us when we drop him off. I know he likes showing off his little brother as much as I do. He proudly shows me his artwork that is hanging in the hallway on display. He is so excited to point out his as he knows how his name is spelled. The kid is really talented and we recently put up our first piece of refrigerator art! He has so much fun with all the kids and his teachers. We even put him in an extended session called lunch bunch this past Tuesday. He stayed 3 hours longer, played, and had lunch there. The teachers were very impressed by how well he did his first shot at it. I love picking him up each day and asking how it went. He is so animated when he tells me all the fun he had that day.
I am so glad that he is doing so well and exceeding all of out expectations. He has always been such a special little boy and I love the person he is growing into. 

A weekend of fall fun

The weather was gorgeous this weekend. A nice change from the ridiculous amounts of rain and gray skies we have had for the past 2 months! Indian summer was upon us and we took full advantage of October and all it's goodness. 

 Friday night proved to be very disappointing. Our favorite fightin Phillies lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 0-1 in game 5 of the NLDS. The team favored to win the World Series with a record 102 wins this season fell short and the 2001 baseball season is officially over as we know it. Saturday we packed up the kids and headed out to the Philadelphia Premium Outlets. It was a beautiful day to walk around outside and window shop. Later that night we invited my sister Kaitlyn and her boyfriend Fred over to hang out. After a delicious dinner we headed outside for a fire, smore's, and some spiked apple cider. 

Sunday we made our annual trip to Merrymead Farm. We met up with some friends and enjoyed another warm autumn day picking out pumpkins, looking at the animals, getting lost in the corn maze, eating delicious food, and playing games. 

We have so much fun with these boys. They are the 2 most amazing little kiddos I have ever met. These weekends and fun trips are so important to me. I hope that our boys remember these times together as a family. Special memories and traditions that hopefully continue with them as they grow and have families of there own. I hope you all had as much fun this weekend as we did! Oh and in case your were wondering, all came back great with the house appraisal. One step closer till moving day!

Photo challenge cont...

Day 5: High angle

Day 6: Low angle

Day 7: Fruit