Birthday Party for Jesus

I love that our Christmas season started with a birthday party for Jesus. My dear friend, Jaillene, made the gathering so special for the little ones. The kids finger-painted crosses and listened to the Christmas story. They were far more interested in the cake than the Christmas story, but we figure this tradition will get richer as they get older.

Table Talk

I love the banter between my little ones at the table. John Parker loves to pull Claire's highchair as close as possible. They love to egg each other on by seeing who can scream or talk the loudest. I probably should limit the yelling, but it's so stinkin' cute to watch them play and it gives me a few minutes to breathe. :)

Random Fall Favorites

All smiles



So Big



Painting our mini pumpkins



Loving Will's hair



Sweet Innocence



Our little pianist



Obsessed with Pumpkin Bread



Celebrating Katie's Birthday downtown



Pancakes with friends at IHOP






I have fallen quite behind in blogging due to computer issues. It's been quite frustrating, but nice to have such a technologically savvy husband who can make sense of our storage and hard drive issues. He's managed to make sure that all of our photos and videos are safe and secure!! This post is a compilation of some of my favorites from this fall. I have lots more posting to do in the next couple of days. :)

The Fireman and Cupcake

We had an eventful Halloween in our home this year. Our neighborhood really goes all when it comes to Halloween. Our neighbors had a dress up party for the parents and kids. We went to another neighbors' home for a fall craft party and enjoyed a pizza party in one of the cul-de-sacs before trick or treating.

I had aspirations of dressing the kids in themed costumes this year, but couldn't get my act together.:) Instead, we did a last minute Target run to pick out John Parker's fireman outfit. He loved, loved, loved it! I don't know many two year olds that keep a hat on, but he felt like a hometown hero when wearing it. It was adorable watching his persona change once he sported the coat and hat. Claire was a cupcake--cute as can be. I could eat her up literally with those kissable cheeks and toothy grin. She just enjoyed the ride and even spent a little time in the Radio Flyer while John Parker went door to door.

In Search of the Perfect Pumpkin

Showing off our little pumpkins



Big Smiles



Trying to eat the Pumpkin



Bringing little miss his pumpkins



Love this one



Trying to lift his pumpkin



Eyes



There first of many pumpkin patches together




The famous tractor ride (we all looked thrilled to be looking into the sun)



I love pumpkin patches!! I am an idealist at heart--always chasing that "Norman Rockwell" moment. I have such fond memories of picking out the perfect pumpkin as a child. My mom would always take the cutest family pictures of my sister, brother, and me on top of a mound of pumpkins. This is one tradition that I hope to keep with our kids.

We went to Berry Patch Farms again this year. The last time we went was when John Parker was 5 months old. It was the perfect day to go since the Georgia game was on and the patch wasn't crowded. We could have road the tractor around the patch again and again were it not so chilly outside.

John Parker loved the tractor; he kept talking about riding it the whole time he looked for pumpkins. He especially loved picking out the baby pumpkins. Claire was so content to sit and try to nibble at the pumpkins. One of my favorite memories was of her surrounded by baby pumpkins that John Parker had put around her. I enjoyed my seaonal apple fritter and cider, and John went home a happy man because I finally stopped talking about the pumpkin patch!

Family Pictures

We recently had pictures taken of the kids for Christmas and to document our littles' growth. Carrie did a great job of capturing the stage that they are in right now. Claire loves sitting up and the different vantage points that she can now experience. She wants so badly to crawl and has been doing the backwards crawl, lunging on her hands and rocking, and even has been on all fours for a few seconds before landing on her belly. John Parker loves to explore and get into everything right now. He's all boy. He continues to love to play outside. He has definite preferences on his clothes, shoes, and hates socks. He has the cutest, teethy grin and really loves bouncing around on his daddy's shoulders. Here are a few pictures of our session.

http://www.carrietabbblog.com/2011/11/family-session-4/

War Eagle

Buddies

Making mommy laugh from the big chair



In a loving headlock



Our little engineer showing Claire the mechanics



Letting Claire hold him



Strolls together



JP loves to kiss and swing Claire around in her jumper



I've really enjoyed watching my children grow in their love for one another over the last couple of months. For John Parker, it was a slower process. He was used to being the center of our world. It took him a couple of months to warm up to the idea of having a sister-three to be exact. Once she started cooing and tooting, he thought she was pretty cool. Yes, I did say tooting! He is a boy after all! Now that she is sitting and playing with toys, she has become the ultimate play pal.

I spent the first couple of months after Claire's birth feeling guilty for not letting John Parker be my baby for longer. Somehow, I felt like I had short-changed him during my pregnancy, our move, and now with a new baby. I was so wrong. Having another child has been a tremendous gift not only for John and me, but for John Parker. He has a friend and buddy to play with his trucks, to laugh with at the dinner table, to read with at bedtime, and to share in bath time fun. I have loved watching as his love grows for Claire. In the last month, he transitioned from calling her baby to Claire (Cware). It is the sweetest thing to hear him call for her when he wakes up in the morning. He loves to hold her and have her hold him. I am so grateful to have two little ones that are close in age. I now am beginning to see the the true joy of not only having a sibling, but a friend.

A Family Affair

Thrilled to have their picture taken :)



Wide eyed and full of wonder



Having fun



John enjoying the Pirate Ride



Snuggly and Tired



I am all about cheesy titles today. I admittedly get it from my dad. It's one of the things that I love about him. We headed to the North Georgia State Fair this October with our friends Anthony and Amanda (sadly, we didn't get any pictures of them). The fair was only 10 minutes from our home and was a great way to kick off the fall.

We all bundled up because it was quite chilly that day. The fair was full of all sorts of crazy rides, yummy carnival food, and enough lights and sounds to make you go dizzy. I got my fair share of people watching in that day. (No pun intended). A definitely fall highlight for the Ritsema crew.