Down on the farm

 We joined the Groeber's on John's Island for some pumpkin pickin'.

 Erin forgot her camera, so I was in charge of taking pics of hers and mine. We meant to transfer the pics from my camera to her computer while we were eating bbq after the farm... but between her 3 and my 2... and overdue naptimes... and a messy lunch... we forgot.

I love these two pics of James swinging.

 But I really love this serious picture. His sweet little face!

 I can hardly see Cody and Landon together, doing their dad thing, without starting to rap "The Dad Life" in my head. "Got some dollars in my pocket, it's the dad's life".

 I love it!

 My sweet big girl and my handsome husband looking for the perfect pumpkin.

And handsome Sean's after the perfect pumpkin, too!

 What a good big brother, discussing pumpkins with James.

 Notice that mine isn't chasing around with these two.

 Instead, she was...

 And...

 And... (trying to be talked into a good mood by Sean).

 The Groeber's make a picturesque exit from the pumpkin patch.

 We made an exit, too.

 We gave up on getting a pumpkin and instead carried our big unhappy pumpkin out of the patch.

I bet when you saw this happy crew in the first photo, you didn't notice the unhappy member of our crew.
Next year, we'll take the group photo on our way into the farm...

Just some updates

 On the way back from Uncle Shew & Aunt Erin's wedding, Quinn developed a fever. Actually, we didn't realize that she had the fever until she woke up around 1AM. Poor baby... her fever was over 103 degrees the first night. The second night (Tuesday night), it hit 104.7! That involved a trip to the pediatric ER at MUSC. She was actually fevered through Thursday, and it appeared to be a random virus. She's all better now. There's nothing like a trip to the pediatric ER with a not-so-sick child to remind us of our blessings. Very thankful for this napping beauty. And thankful for a day to work from home to take care of her.

  I asked Cora what she was drawing. Her answer: Fishies. It was the first time that she didn't look at me like I was crazy when I asked her that. Later in the week when I asked the same question, her answer was "Papaw". Call me crazy, but in the midst of her scribbles there was a blank area. I think it was Dad's bald spot... :)

The Sullivan's Island Fire Station's Fire Detection Awareness Celebration was a huge hit with Cora. She was CRAZY about the fire trucks. When I announced it was time to leave, Cora was not happy. I practically had to drag her back to Miss Aimee's. Later I realized that we totally missed the helicopter. I wasn't happy that we missed it, either. Daddy was devastated that he missed helicopters and firetrucks. He had been talking about getting to go with her on a field trip to the fire station for a really long time...

 

We're really into forts these days.

Someone gave Cora a big slice of apple (Really, I can't remember who? We were leaving someone's house. Erin?). Cora was eating the apple part and leaving the skin part, and she thought it was really funny to put the whole thing across her lips like a smile. I was trying to capture the picture, so I told her to move her fingers... to which she responded with a really puzzled look, then...

She held her fingers out towards me and started wiggling them. It was really funny. I sometimes forget how literal she is.

And finally... Cora was in Uncle Shew and Aunt Erin's wedding.

I had a complete camera failure. Despite hauling our fancy camera all the way to Kentucky, and packing it for the actual wedding, I did not get one picture. Nada. Nothing of them with Uncle Shew. Nothing with them in their cute wedding dresses. Nothing of the bride and groom. In fact, other then pictures out celebrating the night before with Matt, I didn't even take I-phone pics!

But I do have this one funny gem of a picture.

We decided to leave Charleston for Kentucky Thursday evening, after work. The plan was for me to grab Landon from the Citadel at 6:30, so I had the task of getting the kids from daycare, feeding them dinner, getting them bathed, and back in the car, in about a 1.5 hour time period. Post bathtime we were in a sprint. Cora didn't know what to do. Honestly, because both of our schedules are fairly flexible, we hardly ever rush Cora. I got Quinn loaded (along with a thermos of coffee, some snacks, etc.), and finally said, "Cora, HURRY! Grab what you absolutely need and let's go". In all honesty, I had already packed up all of the toy favorites and popped them into the backseat. In Cora's last desperate second, what she grabbed from the house on her own was:

1. Her pink poodle purse

2. Her beloved fire hat (from the Sullivan's Island party)

3. Her Smokey Hound Dog ("Itsa Pearl GURL!"

4. Her talking/singing penguin... that matched her PJs, if you didn't notice.

Just the necessities, folks.

I'm bigger!

Cora sometimes complains because Quinn grabs her hair or kicks her. We've found ourselves having a lot of conversations about what Quinn can do because she is a baby (kick, pull, tug, squeal), but Cora can't do. We're also trying to tell Cora what Cora can do because she isn't a baby (stay up a little later, eat treats, go down slides, bounce on ponies), but Quinn can't do.

Because of these conversations, Cora has started to declare "I'm bigger!!!"

Quinn: 7 Months

 Quinn's personality is starting to emmerge.
When she's nervous she puts her fingers in her mouth.
When she's mad or really sleepy, she puts her hands up behind her head.

 Quinn isn't a big fan of food, and sometimes she goes on a hunger strike.
Right before food gets to her mouth, she scrunches up her face like she just experienced the worst taste... even though it is BEFORE the food gets to her mouth.

 I love this series between Landon and Quinn. Landon obviously didn't know I was spying from the kitchen.

She is rolling everywhere, and constantly squealing. Her eyes are so big. Everyone says she looks like Landon - I'm still saying she looks just like me. Our sweet baby Quinn. I cannot imagine life without her.

Uncle T's up a MOUNTAIN!

All hands are usually on deck for bedtime.
Landon gets home in time for dinner at 7. Afterwards, after baths, one of us takes C and the other takes Q. Since C&Q share a bedroom, we're all in the same room til C falls asleep.

Last night, Landon was working with her in the Baby Einstein's Big Book of Words book. It's pretty standard. Page after page loaded with squares of simple words and pictures (banana; peacock; tractor; rain). They had finished and moved onto another book when Cora set-up straight in bed, making it clear that she had something to say.

When Cora has something to say, she gets excited, begins to talk really fast, and starts using her hands (I don't know where she gets THAT behavior...). She started quickly repeating something about something up on a mountain. Landon started guessing airplane, but that only made her frustrated. He reached for the word book, and flipped to a picture of an airplane. She got even more frustrated. She grabbed the book and flipped to the page of animals, then pointed to the deer, exclaiming "T's Mountain!". Landon said, "You mean Uncle T's mountain house?" From there it was Cora communication chaos.

Cora: Uncle T's up the MOUNTAIN!!!
Cora: I ride in the tractor!!!
Landon: You mean the gator? (which confused her because she knows the word Aligator and she clearly didn't ride THAT)
Cora: (making vroom vroom noises) No the big truck!
Cora: I see horses
Landon: Did you see goats?
Cora: No! Uncle T's up the MOUNTAIN!!!

Everytime Landon got her to calm down, she started again. Several times she was almost asleep, then she murmered, "Uncle T's up the mountain. With deer."

Is it even deer season in Virginia? If so, she was probably right about Uncle RT's location...

Halfway to a year

Quinn is half of a year old, and as happy and grinny as ever.
In fact, her grin has a couple of additions... two new teeth!

On Saturday:

Landon: Ow! Quinn bit me!
Carrie: Landon, Quinn doesn't have teeth.
Landon: Yes she does.
Me: (Grabbing Quinn and putting her on my lap) Ow! Quinn bit me.

Two little teeth pushed through her bottom gum.

Still, I wouldn't describe Quinn as having many fussy moments to get to the tooth breakthrough.

In fact, not only did she get new teeth, but she is also sitting up without much problem, able to roll and helicopter to get to what she needs, and will no longer allow toys to be taken without protest. She clearly prefers me, but happily smiles at anyone who makes eye contact.