Apple Butter & Voting

With all of sickness finally out of our systems, we were able to bounce back this week with more autumn fun.

While we didn't go apple picking, Amelia did help me make one batch of apple butter from purchased ones. She did a great job putting the peels in the 'trash bowl' and turning the handle with help. I canned a few batches during nap times so now we'll enjoy them for awhile!

 

Austin watching Amelia 'decorate' herself.

 

On Election Day, we went to our polling site and thankfully there was no line, so we actually talked to the friendly volunteers working. I asked if they had the "I Voted" sticker to give to Amelia, but unfortunately they didn't have any. So the gal went and got an "Election Official" nametag and wrote Amelia's name on it and gave it to her.

She asked me to tie the blanket around her like the Moby Wrap for bunny to ride in.

Patrick was thrilled that when we put on the CBS SEC game of the week (the only one we get via free internet stream), Austin immediately faced in the direction of the tv and was content for a decent amount of time. He foresees much football game watching in his future.

One morning we tried making homemade animal crackers with this super easy recipe I had from a kids magazine. They turned out deliciously addictive and were done in less than 30 minutes, start-to-finish. I definitely see more of these in our future.

 

Amelia's first time using a rolling pin.

We opted for fall leaves instead of animals -doesn't affect the taste!

We love our happy times; the smiles and coos make up for the crying.

Love this girl. She asks me to sew so she can come work on her "project" book. Basically, it's a three-ringed notebook I gave her months ago that she scribbles in only when I want to keep her busy upstairs so I can shower/sew/etc. I've started giving her small sheets of stickers and they will entertain her for long (15-20 minutes) blocks of time so I actually can get some sewing done if Austin is happy. The dollar store is going to make a killing off my sticker purchases.

We choose our battles. Wardrobe is not one I choose to fight. So we go out in public frequently like this.

 

A brief visit to the 'big' park and Amelia even asked me to take some photos of her.

Touch a Truck

A nearby county parks & rec group held a "Touch a Truck" event where local emergency responders, contractors and companies brought in their large transportation-related equipment for kids to climb all over. We invited a friend from church to come along and explore them with Amelia.

 

We eased into the event with the tractors.

 

All the vehicles where kids could get in the driver's seat were close together; all of their horns were being honked incessantly the entire time we were there. So Amelia spent a lot of time with her ears covered.

They had some fun interactive events - in this one, you were able to use the firetruck hose to spray down "windows" and "doors" in the wooden cutout. The line was super long though so we decided to pass.

Taking a look at the pumper truck cycling water from the lake.

Amelia did have a freak out moment when she went to get into the rescue boat. So we convinced her to stand on the side, holding my hand instead of climbing into the seat.

Checking out the inside of a marine rescue vehicle with Mia.

My parents never let me in the driver's seat; what am I supposed to do?

Amelia reminded us that Mia "turned the radio on".

Walking up the back of a tow truck, still covering her ears.

There was a train! And we took turns standing in the very long line to ride it.

Austin liked the train vibrations so much that he fell asleep after eating.

The girls being silly after the train ride.

Such a fun event! We'll be sure to look for it again next year!

Fevers and Halloween Doctors

Amelia came down with a high fever for 5 days this past week, so we canceled all plans we had and ended up at home. She was strangely without symptoms until the very end, and then the congestion hit. Thankfully, her fever broke just before Halloween so we were able to go trick-or-treating that evening, although we missed out on all the other events. But we tried to have fun at home anyways.

We ate popsicles about twice a day; it's a sure way to get a cranky-feeling-awful girl out of bed and smiling. Yes, we even ate them with breakfast.

She stayed in her pjs most days. Here she told me she was "decorating" by removing all her puzzles. Then she played games with the puzzle pieces for awhile.

 

It's good to know that even when she's sick, she downs oatmeal like she hasn't eaten in days.

We fit in a little Halloween project - potato stamping jack-o-lanterns

She kept asking for more paper. So look out family - there's some artwork to be distributed!

We had to use the other half of the potato, of course. So we opted for a blue "A".

Just in case you're wondering - anything fun in our house happens in the 20-30 minutes of happy time we get from Austin after he's been fed, before he gets cranky. Normally he's a fountain of spit-up at this time, so we just keep the blankets tucked into his bib and go on with the fun.

I'd set Austin up to watch the windy day and Amelia decided he needed company. We've been actively keeping her away from him while she was sick. But since the fever broke that morning, I decided to her have some sibling time.

I'll take what I can get

Daddy got one of the three of us post-nap (for Amelia)

Halloween is such a foreign concept to a toddler with no exposure to pretending/dressing up outside of the house, accepting candy from strangers much less knocking on their doors, wearing a costume that's new, etc. Even when removing the scary parts, it's overwhelming. Additionally, Amelia has been super clingy/emotional with the fever/sickness. So we opted to hit up the houses where we knew the neighbors (although they still look different when it's dark out) and go with props/a costume that she plays with anyways.

Meet Doctor Amelia

and Austin the pumpkin

(thanks Carolyn for the outfit/hat!)

Since it's typically frigid in NJ, we were prepared to layer the kids up. But we had a crazy warm day - hence Patrick in a t-shirt.

Amelia did have a lot of fun trick-or-treating. It took 3-4 houses for her to speak up and say "trick or treat", but I was proud that she was great with the "thank you's". It would have been a drama-free evening, except for one 3 year old neighbor boy, Luke, (who we know and like) who was dressed as the Incredible Hulk, complete with large scary mask that completely freaked Amelia out. She started crying and begging Daddy to hold her; Luke had a fit when his dad asked him to take the mask off so she could see it was him, etc, etc. Finally Luke's mask came off and we agreed to keep walking in the opposite direction of Luke and his family. Amelia would remind us later on that everything was "ok" but that she didn't like the mask. Austin fell asleep while we were outside and since the evenings are his worst wailing time, we were grateful for the break from it. If it weren't so cold, we'd be out taking walks every night to calm him! We ended up with a small, suitable stash of candy and a new doctor's coat for Amelia to pretend with. A success!