Apple Orchard

The kids and I went with a group of people from Jill's preschool to an apple orchard this last week. The kids seemed to have a lot of fun.  They gave us a tour of the place (Jill even got to go in their giant walk in fridge), had a story time, and then went picking! I think we will go back after the winter for some strawberries.

Story time

Cooper was obsessed with this monkey from the story time. They also had a creepy looking Johnny Appleseed.

Jill looking concerned as she paid VERY close attention to the instructions on how to pick the apple. Apparently you pick them with an upward motion not a "pulling" motion. Jill did not want Cooper to pick one because she was worried he was a "puller." She is a real stickler for the rules. There is one right way and you better do it!

Cooper with the spoils

1st step

     Well we embarked on the first baby step of moving. We have posted our house on the student website for sale. We still need to do a lot of work on it but at least we are out there. www.roanokehome.blogspot.com
     Tucker is working hard to update the bathrooms and I am slowly taking on the clutter of our bedroom. We are trying to do our best at getting it out there, but in this market I still feel like we are going to need a small miracle to sell. Lots of prayers about that.
      I am looking forward to this weekend. It is the first conference I don't have to work during in a year and a half!
   Fall is in full swing here and it is beautiful. This season is one thing I will miss about Ohio. Sure, its a little rainy, but the fall colors are fantastic.
   I have been trying to teach Cooper how to do some little things himself (like put his shoes on) in preparation for the new addition. Having quite a bit of trouble with that though because he just does not seem motivated to learn to do anything himself. The "don't you want to be a big kid?" tactic does not work on him like it did on Jill. Frankly, I think his answer is a resounding NO THANK YOU.  It also does not help that he has extremely thick feet and it is physically difficult to put on any shoes that are not crocs. In fact, we refer to his slip on shoes as his "shove ons". This was a problem even as a baby, but I attributed that to baby feet and thought as he grew up they would get more normal. Not yet... anyone else's kids have this problem? Not sure where to get shoes for kids with thick feet.. buying a size up only slightly helps but as it is he is wearing clown shoes. Poor kid : )

Gettin' Creative

Finger painting with pudding. This is the face Coop makes for pictures or if you tell him to smile or close his eyes.

This is how Cooper does potato head. He is not bound by normal limits. I love it.