Ivy has such big, expressive eyes and can use them quite to her advantage. Daddy seems most taken with them but she can work a quick charm on just about everyone she meets. She has been noted for her early and extensive vocabulary, but her eyes are quite eloquent as well.
Curiosity
Hunger
Relief (finally getting to eat!)
Soul
Not sleepy!
Innocent stare (when guilty)
Friendliness
What a little treasure!
Along with several other recent improvements, our apartment complex added a new playground!
This is an exciting addition to our “fun things to do nearby” list. There’s a big and little slide, stuff to climb on and manipulate….
There is the perfect amount of swings…
And a really fun tire swing! However, the best activity seems to be playing with all the wood chips. I can see many fun days ahead!
Caution: Content of pictures is so adorable that the blogger had trouble deciding which to use and therefore included quite a few! This may cause slight disinterest in most viewers except grandparents.
We arrived at the pumpkin patch right as it opened and enjoyed some of the activities before the crowds came. Here Lance and Ivy explore the hay bale maze.
Next we enjoyed a private session in the bounce houses – what fun!!
Mommy gets some squinty shots of her cuties.
We were joined by our friends Landon…
…and Addison
We rode on a hay ride and played on the hay bales (which are excellent for jumping).
Lance volunteered to pull the wagon…as long as nothing was in it.
Ivy explored the pumpkin patch while Lance tried to make a getaway under the fence (little does he realize but he could have avoided the trouble and gone around the edge).
We posed for pictures and picked our favorite pumpkin….
…and posed for some more pictures….
Until we thought our faces would turn into grinning jack-o-lanterns.
Mommy’s little pumpkins.
Our internet has been on the blink for the past few weeks making it difficult to post anything. However, the kids haven’t stopped being cute in that time so I have some random entertainment for my faithful readers.
At Steak and Shake – I had never been here before but was impressed with how well they know kids! Lance kept himself entertained until the food arrived.
They also have the best chocolate milkshake I have ever experienced! Lance thinks so too.
Ivy’s hair is just long enough for an adorable curl of a pigtail 🙂
Lance has a new chore: vacuum the crumbs under the table. He is a very detailed kid and is careful to get every single crumb. He is so thorough that he runs the battery all the way down with each job.
Ivy got these cute ballerina pj’s which are perfect because she already loves to spin around. Here she is joined by her cousin Abbie.
And finally, I had to catch some of Lance talking – he says things the cutest and funniest way! He just picked up saying his full name last week and I love the way he says “peek-a-boo”
Normally Brian likes to celebrate his birthday with pizza and a movie, but since he was turning the big 3-0 I thought it would be fun to do something a little different.
Lance and Ivy helped with the preparations – the peanut butter chocolate dessert was deemed tasty.
Since they weren’t going to be included in the festivities I had them make a message for Daddy on the white board.
They also gave him a birthday greeting.
I had several people write letters of encouragement to Brian affirming him in different aspects of his life. Then I planned to give him each letter at a place that represented that area of his life.
First stop was church where we dropped the kids off to a friend and proceeded to enjoy the evening! His first letter was on being a proclaimer of Christ!
Next we ate dinner at Taco Cabana (courtesy of their birthday club) and he opened his letter that affirmed him as a person.
The third stop represented his start into parenthood – our first apartment in Dallas, where Lance was born. We walked around the place reliving some memories and even recognized some of the kids running around!
Next was “provider” so I took Brian up to work – don’t worry, it was romantic, there’s a really pretty area there that’s modeled after the San Antonio riverwalk but almost nobody in sight!
We had a little “snack” of cheese and crackers and sparkling grape juice! Nice, quiet, pretty lights, water and a cool evening. We’ll be going back again!
Lastly we came back to the apartment to enjoy his birthday dessert and his last letter – one from me letting him know how wonderful a life partner he has been. We played a game of backgammon and I beat him even though it was his birthday – oops.
We finished our date the next morning with a little jog in the coolness then a free birthday breakfast at IHOP!
Happy birthday Brian – you have used your 30 years of life wonderfully and the result is a manhood to be admired. I love you!
