Fall 2011

We've already had a lot of fall fun since our last post in September, so I thought we'd do a new one.

Noah, Evan, and Josh are all doing fantastic!  We were having some biting issues with Noah (which I think I mentioned in my last post), so we had to try something different.  We did a reward sticker chart, where both Noah and Evan would receive a sticker for each amount of time that they did not bite their brother.  For example, if they didn't bite the other by breakfast time, they'd get a sticker.  Then lunch time, after nap, and dinner time as well.  If they had all of their stickers throughout the day, they got a special snack in the evening.  They enjoyed putting the stickers on the chart and liked to talk to people about it.  We always made a big deal about it, and I think that helped.  Since we started it, Noah has only bitten Evan once. They only had to do it for two weeks.  Let's hope we don't have to do it again.  Our Parents as Teachers parent educator came over last night and did an assessment of Noah and Evan.  She tested them in the 33-36 month old range (they are only almost 32 months old), and they tested very highly.  She was very impressed.  The only thing they need to work on is using scissors.  They had never tried them before last night, and did very well for their first time.  Their vocabulary is very good, and so are their pencil/writing/drawing skills.  On another note, they haven't been fighting quite as much anymore either.  They LOVE Joshua, and he loves them.   He loves to watch them play and jump.  They are very sweet with him and love to give him kisses and tell him that they love him.

Joshua is still doing fantastic.  He is such a happy baby and is always smiling!  He loves to jump and play in his exersaucer.  He also loves to chill out on the floor, and is working on sitting up by himself.  He is doing very well with it.  We are guessing he is about 16.5 to 17 lbs right now.  He will have his 6 month appointment on November 8th (he turns 6 months old on November 2), so we'll find out for sure how big he is then.  He is still nursing and is currently eating rice cereal every day.  We will start giving him homemade baby food as soon as we move into our new house.  Our parent educator said he is right on target with his developments as well.  He is definitely an amazing addition to our family!

We went to the Royals game on September 20th, and had a ton of fun.  Noah, Evan, and Josh lasted about 4 innings in the seats, and then we walked around to the outfield experience, where Noah and Evan played on the playground and in the water.  They had a blast!

On September 23rd, we went to the zoo's sunset safari.  We love going to that because they stay open later than they normally do.  The next day, Brian went to Lawrence with his brother Sean to go to the KU All-Star basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse.  On Sunday, September 25th, we celebrated our friend Sam's birthday.  Noah and Evan enjoyed playing with Michael, and their friends Emerson (3 years old) and Cooper (1 year old).
On September 30th, Brian and I finally got to go out to dinner for our 4th wedding anniversary (which was on September 15th).  We went to Garozzo's, and it was delicious!  We've been together for 11.5 years now, and I know I couldn't be happier!
On October 1st, me, my mom, and Sarah all hosted a baby sprinkle for Theresa.  It was super fun!

On October 2nd, we bought hotdogs from who we call "The Hotdog Man" at Lowe's and drove across the street to the park and had a picnic.  It was such a beautiful day, and we all enjoyed eating outside and playing on the playground.
On October 8th, we drove to Hermitage, MO to Brian's grandparents' house for the annual hayride.  It was a lot of fun, and the boys enjoyed feeding the fish in Great Grandpa's pond, riding around in the Gator, playing with toy trucks in the driveway, and riding on the hayride (although they fell asleep almost as soon as we got on there).  Evan did take a little tumble down some stairs and hurt his nose, but ended up being more scared than hurt.  He of course needed a bandaid on his nose.  We had a delicious dinner and drove home that night around 9pm.

The next day, we went to the zoo again and Noah and Evan got to meet Clifford the big red dog.  Noah gave him a high five and a hug, but Evan did not want to touch him.

On October 10th, we were off for Columbus Day.  We went out to breakfast with Grandma Mary, Grandpa Mike, and Michael Jude at IHOP.  We also decided to take the boys to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time.  They loved it.  I remember it being a lot more fun when I was little though.

On October 15th, Brian and I went to a fondue restaurant in Warrensburg with some friends, which was delicious!
On October 16th, we went to Faulkner's Pumpkin Farm.  Noah and Evan enjoyed the petting zoo, a train ride, getting balloon swords from a very entertaining balloon man, riding bikes, jumping in a bouncy house, swinging, and more!  It is a very fun place.  We plan on picking pumpkins closer to Halloween.

On Tuesday, October 18th, we were graced by the presence of a new beautiful niece, Amelia Rose Sonderman.  She was born to John and Theresa, and her big brother Michael.  Brian and I have the amazing honor of being her Godparents.  We are very excited and already love her so much!  

Also, Mark and Sarah announced that they are expecting their first child in the Springtime.  We are so thrilled for them and can't wait to find out the gender some time this winter!  

Needless to say, our family is growing and it is such an amazing thing to see and experience.
We will be moving into our new home on November 4th. We are so excited! Pictures to come later.
 

To see more pictures and several videos, click on the link below (if it is not a link to click on, highlight it and put it into your browser):

https://picasaweb.google.com/lauraquirk29/Fall2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNi7s6OQ2Miz-AE&feat=directlink