Fall!

Fall is my favorite season, and I really wanted to start some traditions in the Wappler household. So this year, we went to a pumpkin patch, made carmel apples, and carved pumpkins together as a family. We also made some spooky snacks.

We went to a pumpkin patch near my parent's house, in Royalton, MN. It was called the Triple S Pumpkin/Strawberry Patch.

Nana, Papa, Mom, Dad, Noah, Henry, and my cousin's son Cal came with. There isn't a cover charge, like many places you will find, and their idea of a "medium" sized pumpkin was huge! I think my dad bought about ten pumpkins, and it only cost him $20. They had some cows that you could feed apples to, and an awesome slide in the barn that you could slide into a huge pile of hay. It was a great time! The owner was there while we were, and he was very nice, and showed the boys the little swamp, the cows were hilarious with how they would lick the apples right out of our hands, and if we weren't carefull, they would lick our faces or shoulders. Whatever they could reach, they were going to get it. The pumpkins all looked great, and they had all sorts of varieties. Noah was excited, because he got to drink water from a hose. There wasn't to much stuff to the point of being overwhelming, but enough to keep the boys happy and entertained. Overall, It was wonderfull!

Noah about to go down the slide

Henry seeing a cow for the first time

Noah taking a much needed rest

The Pumpkin Patch

Overall, it was an amazing day.

<3

October

I'm going to just come out and say it. I am a horrible blogger. I will update for awhile once every two weeks, then once a month, and then it gets lucky enough to just be remembered once every few months, if that! I'm really sorry for those that actually follow this blog. So let me fill you in on what happened in September. I work part time at a wonderful place, Noah started preschool, I got into a car accident, and someone abandoned baby kitt-ehs at my house. And my other cat ran away. :(

With October comes fall. Fall is good smells, astonishing colors, cooler weather, and fall cleaning. I love fall baking, the smell of the leaves, and of the burning. I love the looks of the little ( and sometimes not-so-little) trick-or-treaters. I love the cozy feeling of snuggling under the blankets at night when it starts to get cold. Fall is simply my favorite season. I find that I get out more for walks in fall than summer or spring ( I like to go for walks in winter, otherwise I get serious cases of cabin fever). I am excited for deer hunting season to get under way, and I am excited for the holidays.

I want to touch on what happened to us in September. I did get into a car accident. No body got hurt, except I still don't have my Equinox back. A man ran a stop sign and t-boned me while I was on my way to drop Henry off at the baby sitter's house. It was weird. At first I thought "What did I do wrong?" , until I realized that the other driver did something wrong. I was so mad. I was heading straight east, and I was hit on my driver's side rear passenger door/wheel well. He hit me hard enough that he pushed me around so I was facing straight west. Henry was in the rear drivers seat, and I was so angry. Then I heard him crying and I got so scared. I slammed on the breaks, which was a good thing, since I came within six inches of hitting ap arked vehicle on the side of the road. I quickly jumped out of the car, checked on Henry, then called the police. As soon as I got off the phone with them, I called Matt. As soon as I heard his voice, I started to bawl. I never bawl, especially in front people. Just to let you know, I have only cried in front of Matt three times. I told him " I just got into an accident. No body is hurt, it isn't my fault". Matt just asked where I was at, and then told me he was on his way home. All in all, at the end of the day, the Equinox had $3700 worth of damage, and the other guy got a failure to yeild ticket. He was sorry, but I still feel that it was all preventable. It's a stop sign. It's there for a reason. But it happens. Hopefully my car will be done this week.

Noah started preschool.

How did this happen?

Wasn't it just last week that we left the hospital?

He is four. He sings his ABCs. He knows all his colors, and can tie his shoes. He knows what he wants to wear. He hates bathtime. He loves Iron Man. He is my Big Boy. He tells me everyday that he loves me.

Whatever happened to my little baby who threw up every where and loved his jumperoo? Who wouldn't ever take a bottle, and loved bathtime? Who screamed non-stop from 6p.m.-10p.m. for the first 3 months of his life?

He is my happy, lovable, stubborn, impatient, smart, funny big boy. He is my buddy. No longer my little buddy. I need to go cry now.

Henry turned 5 months old on October 2nd. He rolls over, he is trying to sit up on his own, yells, talks, laughs, and LOVES Noah. He watches Noah, smiles at him, and will crack up at Noah's antics. He is still nursing well, he is taking rice cereal, and is slowly getting use to fruits and veggies. He loves squash, carrots, and bananas. He loves to jump, and doesn't like to be in his pack and play. He sleeps in his crib, and soon will be in the nursery without anybody. I am dreading sleep training, but I think he will do o.k. with it. He likes to be all buissness at night. He doesn't even like to fall asleep nursing. He wants to lay down in his crib to fall asleep. All I have to say is , I am lucky.






P.S. Does anybody want two little kitties?

Catching Up

Oooook. SO it's been awhile. Sorry! I have been trying to lose the baby weight, working a ton, playing with my babies, and starting my Mary Kay business. I'm hoping things will be slowing down soon, but with the holidays around the corner, I have a feeling they are only going to pick up.

Noah had his fourth birthday party, he is getting to be so big! At his 4 year well child check up he was 40 lbs, and was 43 inches tall. Soon( like next week) he will start preschool. These last four years have gone by way to fast. It makes me excited to see how much he has learned, and how smart he is, but at the same time, it makes me sad. Noah was my little boy for so long, and now he won't let me call him baby. He always tells me " No mom, I'm not a baby, I'm a big boy". He sings his ABCs, and can count to 13. He loves to take pictures with the camera, and is a little dare devil. He is in love with any sort of super hero, and no matter how much of a big boy he is during the day, he isn't to big to crawl into our bed at night. He is my little string bean pole, my big boy, and my best helper. He loves to help me cook, and always is willing to run and fetch things for me. Like when I have put Henry into the tub and realize I don't have his towel, or when I'm in the middle of changing Henry and he has poop all the way up his back and I have run out of wipes. He likes to sing Henry songs, and loves to climb on everything and anything. He has an obsession with torndogs and loves to tell us things, like " We need to go to dame top(game stop) and get a new dame". He definitely has my streak of being stubborn and impatient. He has the most amazing hazel eyes and has the best dance moves this side of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Henry is now going to be four months old in less than a week. Tonight we fed him rice cereal for the first time, and he is snoozing away. Normally he is awake at this time, but he might sleep the whole night through without waking up. I don't mind when he wakes up in the middle of the night, it gives me a chance for a cuddle and some close time with him while he nurses. The way he hums when he eats, and his little eyelashes on his cheek, just makes me feel so relaxed. Pretty soon he will need to sleep in his crib, but I haven't had the heart to have him sleep alone in his room all alone. He has his own little schedule, and isn't afraid to let you know it when he is upset. Very recently his cries have changed. He coos and babbles so much now, and smiles so much. Especially at Matt. I feel that this point isn't fair. I am the one who wakes up in the middle of the night for feeding and changing, I am the one who feeds him from my body, and yet, every time he sees Matt he just lights right up. He has Matt's blue eyes and blond hair, but he makes this little face that I use to make when I was little, and Matt told me that when we are asleep we do the same thing with out lips. At Henry's last appointment he was 22 1/2 inches long, and was 13 lbs. He is starting to get some rolls to him, but he still seems little compared to other babies about his age. We just got an exercauser for him, and he loves to sit in it. Henry seems to be our thinker child. He is quiet and inquisitive, and loves his routine. He is easy baby, and yet is some what picky. He is his father's child all over.

Matt has been working and playing with the kids. He went to Canada for two weeks to fight fire, and returned home mid- July.We might be looking for a new place to live soon. I have started a new job at a wonderful assisted living facility in the area, and it feels so good to be working with the elderly once again. I find it very rewarding, and would love to make a career out of it. I still work fill-in at my old job, which is nice for a little supplemental income. We added a new family member a few weeks ago, his name is Chester, and he is a long haired Chihuahua. He is silly and loving, and does very well with everyone. Cleavland loves to chase and attack him, and vice versa. Cleavland is now an indoor and outdoor cat. He goes out and usually comes back in by the night time. He has saved my garden from bunnies, and has probably put a dent into the world population of sparrows and voles. Grover is still big and dopey, and the best four legged friend a family could ask for. I need to make a point of updating this regularly, so hopefully there will be another post this upcoming week! Here are some pictures from this past two months.

July

So far, July has been pretty ho-hum...
Matt left to fight a wild land fire in Canada on the 1st, and we had Henry's two month appointment. I stayed at my mom's house for the weekend, to escape the heat, and then returned because I missed my bed to much. Today has been soo....blah. I cleaned out the fridge, talk to a friend of mine about people calling MIFC about the firefighters, and ran errands.

Henry's two month appointment went very well. He weighs 11 lbs. 13 oz, is in the 90th percentile for weight, and is 24 3/4 in. long, and the 50th percentile for height. He has been talking more and is really starting to get the rolls! He slept through the night for the first time last night. Otherwise he has been good, and not up to much.

Noah had a wart froze off his pinky toenail. He didn't cry at all, which is really saying something, since I bawled like a baby when I had to have warts removed. We played at the park today, and I showed Noah how to do a cartwheel. He thought it was pretty funny, and almost managed to do it.

We talked to Matt last night. He said that everything has been going well,but that he was really tired. There hasn't been any cell phone coverage up there, so he probably won't call again until the ride home. Noah was excited because he thought Matt was coming home last night, and when he asked him " You tome home night?" Matt sounded pretty sad to tell him that " No, I won't be home for another week." All this past week Noah has been telling me that he misses dad and wants him to come home. I tell him that dad is helping people by fighting fire.

Matt got me a much wanted item for the kitchen for my birthday. A KitchenAid Stand Mixer. I was so excited for this. I'm just waiting for a day that is somewhat cool so I can bake something and use it!
Baby is crying though, time to get back to the grind!

Summertime

I can't beleive that it's almost July already! The weather feels more like Seattle rather than Grand Rapids, all it has done is rain every day since I don't know when! I think we have literally have had only one nice day this month!
With summer comes lots of travel. I hate traveling, but I love the adventure it brings. We went to Wisconsin for a baby shower held by Matt's parents for baby Henry. It was a great party, lots of people showed up, and it was grand to spend the time we did there. If only we could have spent more time there!
The second weekend we went to Duluth and to Elk River for a graduation party for my third cousin. Going to Duluth wasn't all that fun, but going to Elk River was fun, and it was great to see family that I don't manage to see all that often.
The third weekend we went to Little Falls. Noah had spend the week at my parent's house, and we had a wedding to attend on Saturday. The wedding was beautifull, and it was great to see people from Little Falls. Father's day was lovely at my parent's house, my dad made two chickens on a roaster on the grill, and Matt got a new watch from the boys.
This up coming weekend is my brithday weekend, and we have a close family friend grad party to go to. So back down to LF! It will be nice to be down there for my birthday, since Zach (my twin brother) is going to be there, along with his wonderfull girlfriend Rachael. Zach and I haven't ever spent a birthday apart, and this year is going to be no diffrent!

I'm hoping in July that Matt and I will be able to take Noah to Duluth to see the aquarium there and the zoo. I was just told that I also need to take him to the train museum there as well. I'm really excited for this mini vacation that we have planned. I'm hoping to be able to take my cousin's little boy, C, as well. C and Noah get along really well, and it would be great for Noah to be able to play with another kid during the trip. All we have to do is figure out a weekend to do it!
We are also going to be holding Noah's 4th Birthday party July 31st. We invited around 40 people all in all. ( This includes my family, and ourselves as well.) Last year we had a Transformer birthday party that had around 35 people. It was a blast! I'm hoping this year's Iron Man themed party goes just as well. ( I love planning parties, and wish I could do it all the time!)
We have Henry's 2 month appointment on July 2nd. I'm excited for this, but at the same time, I feel bad. This little thighs getting those big shots. He was measured at a WIC appointment at 10 lbs 8.5 oz. He's already holding his head up really well, and is a very good baby. He has learned how to smile and coos. I love seeing Matt and Henry together.

All in all, this summer is shapping up to be super busy,but now, it's time for a nap!

Comfort Food

One of my biggest passions is cooking and baking. I find that cooking and baking soothing, with my home filling with wonderfull smells, and knowing that my family will have treats and goodies to eat. I keep meaning to post more about my baking obsessions, but alas, I never do. So here I start!

One of my favorite recipes is Cream Cheese Brownies. I love them because they are so simple to whip up but have the effect of something much more complicated! You can either make the brownies from scratch, or use a box mix. I usuall just use a box mix.

1.) Prep brownie mix as directed on the box. Pour 2/3 of the mix into a 9x13 pan. Set aside.

2.) Cream together :

• 1 egg
• 3 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 Tbl. flour

3.) Pour cream cheese mixture over brownie batter. I usually use a rubber spatula to push it to the edges and spread it around;make sure you use a light hand while doing this. Spoon remaining batter in tablespoons around the pan. Lightly run a knife around the batter and cream cheese mixture to create a pretty marbled effect.

4.) Bake as directed, let cool for a little while, then enjoy!

Survival Mode!

Today was Matt's first day back at work. I have to admit this day had me nervous...

Having a very active, adjusting three year old and a two week old baby, together, on my own, for eleven and a half hours?

How would it go?

I'll tell you how it went.

1) I managed to get four loads of laundry done. No it isn't folded yet, but as that it's washed, dried, and waiting in our room patiently to be folded? Good enough for me!

2) Went to the store with kids in tow...not once, but twice.( Never again will I forget a list. Going once was an adventure, going twice was exhausting.

3) I managed to plant my garden finally. This involved breaking up the sod and all.

4) Cooked part of supper. I didn't make the hamburgers, but only because I wanted them to be hot when Matt got home, and it wasn't anything to get the already made patties cooked up in no time.

5) Played kickity-kick ball with Noah outside.

6) Took a shower AND blow dried my hair.

Overall, I would have to say that, not only did the day fair well without Matt, I was downright productive!