It was a BEAUTIFUL day

First, this is what AP's hair looked like the morning after the sponge rollers. It was really cute at first, then sort of turned into frizz, but I think that was because of the weather :)

I could skip right to a monster post about all of the wedding festivities that we were a part of this weekend, but I would not be doing justice to the fact that we fought the freezing drizzle and mud at the pumpkin patch on Friday morning! As Maria said, when the plans were made we accounted for everything but the cruddy weather. We endured, however, and the kiddos didn't even seem to notice the weather!

Here they are looking very attentive in the "learning barn." They were learning about how pumpkins are pollinated and the different types of pumpkins.

Milking cows (or watering cardboard cutouts depending on how you choose to look at it)

AP loved looking at these little chicks under a warming lamp.

The cutest littlest pumpkin there, my nephew T :)The main attraction for the little ones was the vat of corn kernels. Time to pick our pumpkin! We're outta here!

Warm Reception

Sometimes I wish I went on the business trips so the kiddos would get this excited when I came home!

While daddy was away AP got her first cleaning lesson. I'm sure once the novelty wears off she won't think it is as amusing :) You've got to learn sometime. I remember going to college and being amazed that I had friends that didn't know how to clean their own toilet. I even sent my mom a thank you note for teaching me.

We are trying a trial run for the sponge rollers tonight. AP thinks she is hot stuff with her own "curlers". I am interested to see if she wakes up tomorrow with any left in her hair. (And yes that is a swimsuit top she is wearing. She likes to sleep in it and it is one of the battles I choose not to fight)

Shortly after she was all rolled, Nanna arrived! AP talked a mile a minute from the moment they walked in the door. C was his usual cool-as-a-cucumber self , "Oh hey Nanna". AP insisted on Nanna reading to her tonight.

Then Nanna had the idea to put bloomers on AP's head to keep her curlers in. The things we do for beauty!

Getting Ready for the Do You Takes

This coming Saturday is my cousin's big wedding. All four of us are in the wedding. So, yes, things have been a little crazy trying to get everything ready. I've been making sure the boys were fitted, picking up their tuxes and making sure they have the right socks and shoes. AP and I have been fitted and refitted and finally have our dresses steamed and ready to wear. We have the right shoes and AP has just the right tights. We all have rehearsal dinner outfits planned, even down to a new matching bow :) (for AP not me). Wedding gift has been purchased, but not wrapped. Hair appts have been made. My mom and sis and their crews will be here late Thursday night so I am trying to tie up loose ends before then.

Today was spent on a search for winter dress shoes for C. His foot is THREE sizes bigger than it was last fall/winter. I went to NINE stores today and left empty handed. I couldn't find a decent winter dress shoe in a size 13 to save my life. I got a few suggestions from my Facebook friends and will try that tomorrow. I also still need to figure out what to do with AP's hair in the wedding. She is the flower girl and has a flower halo to wear. The problem is that her hair is so fine that I have no idea how I am going to attach the flowers. There is no way bobby pins would stay. Any suggestions? Maria, I thought about trying sponge rollers like you did with Ellie.

Why I've Been MIA

For the last week or two I've been using all my spare time to work on making samples, burp cloth/bib sets, and school T's to sell and display at the Harvest Moon Festival our town had today. This is the first time I've put the stuff I make out there for the world to see. I shared the booth with two friends, one that made bows, and one that sells jewelry. It was the perfect combination. The problem was the crowd was very sparse. I think the chilly overcast weather kept many families away. But it was fun! We decided we were there to just "try it out" anyway. We may be doing more booths together soon! Here are a few pictures of our booth and our day.

Blessing From Above

Just another Monday around here. AP had her last swim lesson of this session today. She is still not swimming on her own, but is much better and can manage to get herself back to the side and out of the pool when she jumps in.

We got AP's speech progress report today, too. She has "mastered" almost all of the skills! There are a few more sounds that they are working on, but she has made huge improvements. Several family members have commented lately that they can understand her so much better. Her speech therapist has added another girl in one of AP's sessions each week and is using AP as the "typical peer" to help the other little girl hear her sounds. If you knew AP last spring and heard her talk, then you know that is amazing!

I'm sure all you adoptive mommas (or any mom for that matter) already know about this little book, but it is so cute that I wanted to share. It is a Little Golden Book that tells the story of a kangaroo who wants to be a mommy. There is a baby bluebird that falls out of the nest because there is no room and the mommy bird can't take care of it. Then the kangaroo adopts the baby. "Now, every night before they fall asleep, Momma-Roo and Little One thank God for all their blessings...but especially for each other."