Jonathan

So this is Jonathan. My little boy. His sweet smile melts my heart every time. 

Jonathan is all boy, and sometimes kitty. (When the girls want to play house he wants to be the kitty. Today I saw kitty peeing outside the playroom, pretend peeing that is, sounds and all. Like I said, he is all boy.) Jonathan has a heart of gold. His sweetness could melt the grumpiest of old men and his sense of humor could make the saddest smile.

Here he is with dad at Aunt Aubrey's wedding. He had so much fun dancing I could hardly believe that this was the same boy that would hide and cry when he was in front of people he didn't know well. He is really coming out of his shell and becoming much more outgoing.

This picture was taken at Bloomsbury Farms, otherwise known as "Blueberry" Farms, during a preschool field trip this fall. He had so much fun jumping on the jumping pillow and exploring all the things that there is to explore out there. I am finding that Jonathan really loves being outside. Whether he is in the backyard, riding his bike, playing baseball, or just relaxing.

I LOVE this picture. It's from our summer vacation "Up North". Jonathan walked up to the lake's edge, took a seat, and seemed to be soaking in all of God's creation. I'm not sure if this will make sense to some, but I could literally feel how at peace he was up here. I can only imagine what was going on inside that head of his. Anyways, we also found out that Jonathan loves fishing, being out on the boat, and casting his Spiderman fishing pole. He was in Heaven! 

Jonathan also got to experience some Iowa farm life this fall. His first was with my dad combining beans, and then just a week or two later he got to go out again with Mr. Fritz and drive the combine through some corn. I think I was just as excited to go out with Mr. Fritz as Jonathan was. I have such great memories of being out on my grandparents farm as a kid that I really wanted them to be able to see what it's like. Thankfully we know some really wonderful people that let us come out to there farm for the afternoon. Mr. Fritz, Cathy, Cari, Casey and kids...we love you!

Jonathan also loves helping dad at work. He loves anything with moving parts and likes to figure out how things work and move. I don't think Sadler Power Train will have a hard time recruiting this young man someday. :)

Hayden

Oh Hayden, isn't she beautiful...

This little girl is smart, caring, kind, she loves big and falls BIG. I'm pretty sure this girl is ready for the drama stage already. Just the other day we were having a family meeting (These usually happen when we want to talk about a behavior that we have been seeing too much of. They also usually consist of some sort of role playing on what we are seeing and what we would like to see. The kids actually love family meetings because of the role playing, I'm almost positive that wont last long! Can you imagine trying to role play with your teenage kids on how you'd like to see their attitudes improve! Ha!). Anyways, we were talking about whining, or what I like to think of as nails on a chalk board. It was Hayden's turn to pretend to be whining about something and then practice what we would like her to do if, and when, she starts to whine. Hayden starts up and all the kids are watching. She then goes to the spot where she is suppose to until she cools off. (Thanks Audrey for the idea!) While she is sitting on grandma's bed she continues to whine and cry to the point we all start looking at each other because we can't tell if she is serious or if she is still role playing! Olivia finally asks her if she is still pretending and when she stops to say yes, Olivia says, "Wow mom, she is really good. I thought she was really upset!" Now I am wondering how many times I have fallen for her act!

Hayden also loves to do anything her big sister Liv is doing, and when she can't I start to see a lot of what I was just explaining about above. :) 

Hayden loves to help in the kitchen and is pretty creative when it comes to drawing and coloring too.

 Here she is putting on a little show. Thankfully this show just consisted of singing and no whining.

She can also be very serious at times. Here Hayden is with her uncle Josh driving the boat on our family vacation this summer they both have great serious faces.

 And Hayden loves posing for pictures.

And I love that sweet face!

Halloween and the Switch Witch

Trick-R-Treat!

This year we have (left to right): Hayden as Princess Aurora, Jonathan as Johnny Football, Olivia as Vampire Rapunzel, and Hannah as Wedding Rapunzel. 

Since Hannah was sick earlier this week she stayed home to answer the door for me so I could hand out the candy. Adam was then assigned to take the rest of the kids trick-r-treating. Adam and I decided to give the Switch Witch a try this year and hoped that the kids would go for it. We let them pick out 5 of their favorite pieces of candy to keep but then they had to put the rest in a bag for the Switch Witch. The Switch Witch then takes the candy during the night and leaves behind presents. It felt like Christmas the next morning! The kids were up early and running around with excitement to see what the Switch Witch had left them. Success! But now what's a mom to do with all that chocolate hidden up high???  I think we all know exactly what's going to happen with the chocolate...it will slowly start to disappear from it's secret hiding spot during preschool, rest times, and bedtimes and then quickly start reappearing on my butt, hips and thighs. :)

The Switch Witch left Hannah a Hello Kitty alarm clock, Olivia and Hayden a fancy mirrors, and Jonathan a superman bank and alarm clock.

The Switch Witch will definitely be coming back next year and I will be taking advantage of it for as long as I can!