We had a busy end to the month of September, beginning with Brutus’ 2nd birthday on the 25th. This boy is still very much puppy. Regularly seeking attention by bringing things to us like tissues, paper towels, Finn’s tennis shoes, or other toys he knows are not for him. He is so playful whether with Lily or me. Anytime I get down on the floor he thinks I’m there for him to be able to bulldoze me, so we push and shove and play for a bit. It doesn’t take much before he’s so riled up running around in circles like a crazy thing that he becomes somewhat of a hazard, ha! We love him lots 🙂
This week was also picture day at school on Friday. Our handsome boy picked out what he wanted to wear, choosing his blue button down. I had the day off on Friday and enjoyed being home to get him on the bus and off to school. It was a beautiful fall morning and I was able to capture a couple of pics of our front yard. Reid and Griffin rode around on Joe for a short bit before the bus came. Reid’s expression is one of many I find cute. 
Finn’s first school field trip was this week also. The kids rode the bus to Stratford Ecological Center and they learned all about nature, gardening, different animals, they made cider, and we went on a nice walk through the woods to the stream. The kids got to get their hands in the dirt, feed chickens, see how chickens lay eggs and the eggs are collected, and so many other things. My friend Claire and I were in the same group with our kids so we were able to hang out during the trip. It was a fun morning.
Griffin completed section four of his first sight word booklet this week, go Finn! He came home with a certificate for free custard at Culver’s. Bet it won’t be long before we make it there to redeem it. 
While Finn was in school Reid and I went to Liberty Park to enjoy a perfect fall day. The skies were blue and the temperature was perfect outside. He enjoyed being silly and running from me, exploring a few of the play areas they had there, and riding on the swings. He rode a teeter totter too and I’m pretty sure that’s where he got a tiny chip in his left front tooth when he took a slight tumble to the ground. He makes so many faces and expressions. He’s a silly boy, not really talking yet, but understanding and listening to all you ask him to do (unless he’s being stubborn!). 
Saturday night we had a progressive dinner with our neighborhood crew, this time our theme was Football Fan Food. The OSU-Penn State game was on at 8, so everyone was dressed in OSU gear and we watched the nail-biter of a game at Brian and Lisa’s. Good thing, as there was lots of screaming going on! Reid happily slept in his bed at our house and we are able to see him via our video monitor while we were next door. 
Sunday after church we headed up to Mansfield to go apple picking with Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein at Apple Hill. We love that the orchard is close to their house and even when busy isn’t congested at all :). It doesn’t take long to fill our bags with tasty treats. We all taste-tested different kinds of apples and ended up picking an assortment for our bag. We’ve been enjoying them at home – they have all been really good! This year Griffin and Reid tag teamed picking apples from Grandpa and Kevin’s shoulders at the same time. And as always, we always go for the highest Finn can reach! This year he was a bit apprehensive (it was really high up there!) but he was a trooper and was so happy when he picked that apple. 
These boys were beat after a long and busy weekend. They both were asleep in the car once we hit the road back home. Bedtime was a breeze!
And here is Mr. Reid with some of his funny face babble talk. I would have kept taking more video, but my phone ran out of memory so it cut off the filming! He’s a funny boy.
We had a fun-filled family week around here. Uncle Todd was here through Wednesday so he was able to take in our morning getting ready for school on Tuesday and hang with the kids and watch Griffin get on the bus. Finn completed section 3 of his first book of sight words, and I was able to volunteer on Wednesday morning at Dads and Donuts on the playground before school began. It was super busy – we handed out 80 dozen donuts, the very last one gone right at 8:59 am! We also went through 4 percolators of coffee and 13.5 (out of 14) gallons of chocolate milk! Those kiddos were enjoying sweet treats and hanging with their dads (or other guest). Griffin was so excited when he saw me and came up to the table to get a donut and he had a lot of fun hanging with Kevin and putting tickets in the raffle baskets. 
Hannah took the boys to Glacier Ridge Metro Park this week where they climbed all around, enjoyed the sunshine, and collected nature.  
On Wednesday, we invited Jim and Pat up for dinner to celebrate her 70th birthday. We did good at keeping the surprise of Todd being in town. We kept him off to the side while they arrived and then he surprised her in the kitchen :). Todd, Kevin, and I had planned out a mexican dinner to enjoy at our house. It was great – Todd and Kevin went shopping, and Todd made the meal! I picked up a special German Chocolate cake at Sweettooth Cottage along with some cake balls and sugar cookies. We had quite the spread! After dinner and dessert we were hanging out on the patio and through the back yard appeared Sean! His flight arrived later in the evening so we had planned for him to arrive after dinner while we were hanging out. 
Though it is technically Fall, it has been really warm out! Hannah and the boys did some fun painting this week of fall leaves and trees. We’re hoping the cooler weather and fall colors arrive soon! 
I love this season for many reasons, but one of my favorite is the flexibility I have in my work schedule. I’ve been going in after Griffin gets on the bus on the days he has school. Or going in late to go to meetings at school. I was able to take Friday off to enjoy the festivities at Tyler Run for their Fall Festival. They have a school wide assembly, followed by a 1-mile fun walk through the neighborhood of the school (The Lakes of Powell, my old neighborhood). Parents, pups, and siblings are invited to join in so it’s quite a fun time. I was super excited to participate and then wouldn’t you know it in the morning as Griffin was getting on the bus I started to jog into the garage to get Reid and something popped in my left calf. Ugh, felt terrible and I couldn’t extend my leg all the way. But I was determined to still go – so I did, and I think the walking was better than sitting down. After the fun walk I had planned to help out at all of the lunch periods. The kids are able to buy raffle tickets and some of them buy so many or are slower at writing their names/room numbers on the tickets so they have adult volunteers there to help the kids. So I did that for a few hours before heading home. Later that night we headed to the school for the evening Fall Festival. Unfortunately, it had to be moved inside this year due to the pending storms, but it was still lots of fun. Inflatables, lots of games, food trucks, a cake walk (always my fave), face painting, and seeing friends. 
On Saturday we packed up our crew and headed to Enon for a birthday gathering at Jim and Pat’s that included family and friends. Lily and Brutus enjoyed the excursion too. 
https://youtu.be/yc4LKn7QVMk
Big boy is riding our blue pony, he is so proud and happy that he can get on and off all by himself. And just one of him gazing out the front windows with the sun shining on his face :). 
These boys. Though the last few months have been somewhat challenging and stressful finding childcare it’s pictures like these that warm my heart. There have been many a days where I just want to throw in the work towel and just be home with both of them. And if I’m being honest, even when I have great child care at home I still want to do the same. Then there are other days when I feel like I’m a terrible Mom and it’s better for them to not be around me all day every day. Part of what I love about in-home care is that the days are flexible and full of adventure. The boys headed to the zoo this week with Hannah a couple of times and afterwards one day they went to the newer Duck Donuts for a sweet treat. Who would say no to that? 
Since we are new to Tyler Run this year I’m doing my best to learn about the school and get to know people and things about it. I decided I would go to the first PTO meeting of the year, despite my tendency to dislike situations where I may not know anyone and feel like the out of place new person. But I went, and my friend Claire was there as well as my neighbor Alex. And it was nice to learn about the PTO, what it does, and start making connections. I didn’t even know that Alex heads up Dads and Donuts, so I’m going to help her with that in a week or so and Clair and I may takeover the book fair as co-leaders. Yikes – I may be in over my head with that one. Me, leading a book fair? I can hear everyone now “she doesn’t even like to read”. Yes, I know, the irony. The upside of going to the meeting was being able to stop in to see Finn at lunch!
Finn passed his next level in his sight word book this week! Go Finn! He brings home lots of papers each day as they are working their way through the alphabet and numbers. I’m not sure what is normal and what isn’t in regards to getting all the numbers and letters correct at this age. He seems to struggle with 3’s and 5’s so we’re going to work on that. I know I gravitate toward pointing out mistakes and flaws, and I’m really working on pointing out the positives so we’ve been focusing on how well he is doing with so many numbers and letters.
Another selfie by Finn. I enjoy finding these in my photos since he’s learned how to take pictures without having to unlock my phone :). He also took a picture of his magnet creation. Baby gates are good for more than just safety!
Reid babbles a lot but still doesn’t have any words. It’s something I tend to be worried about since he’s 16 months only now. We’ve started putting Sesame Street on in the morning for the boys to watch. Griffin always loved it (and still does actually) and Reid will sit through it for 5-10 minutes before getting up and moving on to something else. He’s like me in many ways, he doesn’t seem to care much about tv in general whereas Finn will become glued to it if you put it on.
For Patriot Day, 9/11, the kids were asked to wear red, white, and blue to school and since I headed to work early that day, Hannah snapped this photo for me while they were waiting for the bus. Reid and Griffin have such different features, Kevin was trying to capture a good profile pic of Reid this morning. Everything about their faces is so different other than their eye color – they both have the clearest blue eyes, perhaps Reid’s are a shade darker than Finn’s. 
And I love this picture of Reid, kind of his half smile. This was at 6:30 in the morning when he was happy as can be to just be up walking around, screeching happily walking in our room and bathroom. 
Griffin frequently likes to empty out his “save, spend, give” bank and sort his money. I’m not sure why he does, but on this particular day he made this long design with his coins. It’s difficult to tell here, but each coin is neatly laid on top of the previous one – all in the exact same pattern. Kind of like dominoes. He’s big on observing and making patterns!
On Sunday, Todd flew in from LA to surprise Pat later this week for her 70th birthday. The original plan was for Kevin to pick him up at the airport and Brett to come up and take him to Enon. So we all hung out for a bit and the plans evolved and Todd ended up staying here a few days so the surprise would be bigger – as Sean was arriving Wednesday. Griffin was so happy to have uncle Todd here. He followed him everywhere and wanted to play with him constantly. I mean all-the-time. They spent plenty of time throwing the football and shooting some hoops in the driveway. Uncle Todd brought him a really cool hat, too!
