nates butt farm

we went to bates nut farm a week and a half ago, on probably the coldest day this entire season. it was fun to watch the boys run around in all the pumpkin pandemonium.

this picture only had three people in it last year

what is that cliche about falling off a turnip truck?

disaster waiting to happen

sitting in a box of ghost pumpkins

scaling the fence to get to the ducks

feeding the goat

apparently the best pumpkins were in the shade, where it was even colder than in the sun

gracias sr. great pumpkin!

indiana or bust

family (this is only 1/3 of the group) gathered to send matt, lisa and their soon to be baby girl off to indiana. they'll be back to visit at christmas and we are looking forward to it.

birthday weekend

annie's 32nd birthday was back on the 19th, here are a couple pictures from the festivities.

isaac thinks the whole cake is for him.

he loves to blow out candles.

hanging at utc the day of.

if i have to tell you what an amazing mother annie is, you obviously don't know her very well. we didn't get to celebrate her nearly as much as she deserves, as if it were even possible. yet we boys want to say again, "we are so glad there is you."

we have been a bit remiss in updating the blog lately. funny how the boys can keep us so busy that by the time they go to bed we have only have energy for is picking up the day's destruction in preparation for the next day's destruction. a couple of recent developments:

1. ryder loves avocado now. he eats a ton of it. he also loves bagels. the only problem, bagel bits all over the floor. bagel bites would be a tasty surprise, but bagel bits just stick to the bottom of your feet.
   
2. isaac now begins to sing the alphabet whenever he sees a letter. there is a rhythm to it, but not anything necessarily intelligible. next time won't you sing with him?
   
3. the other night, while ryder was in the bath and isaac was waiting to get in, i felt a warm sensation on the left hand side of my body. i thought i was past the whole isaac peeing on me thing. guess not.
   
4. ryder is starting to take a few steps at a time, and a few more at a time everyday. he is now up to regular strolls of about 5 or 6 steps.
5. the boys are becoming better friends everyday. they totally entertain each other with their banter, and it gives us a little respite during the day.
   

oh blah dee, oh blah dah...

pumpkin patch

ryder loved the big pumpkins

isaac loved the train. yes, he waved each time he passed.

isaac and his friend gavin, gathering pumpkins.

this was the best shot i could get of both of them.

fall is here

i for one am so glad that fall is here. i love the snap, the chill, the brisk. nevermind that next week is supposed to be in the 80's again, this week we actually get to pretend that so cal has seasons.

grandpa and isaac take trooper for a walk while mom and dad are on a shopping spree at michael's.

grammy with the boys and their new stuffed animals. technically the zebra is ryder's and the giraffe is isaac's, but isaac thinks they both are his.

daniel came over for a visit. there was a whole lot of boy on the patio.

at quail botanical with kenzie, autumn, juliana

isaac and autumn in the water

ryder and trent keeping it real.

lately, ryder has started rolling his r's like some sort of latin prodigy. he also stands by himself for a few seconds at a time now. i will be really surprised if he is not walking by thanksgiving. if sand helps you grow, ryder will be over seven feet by the time he is 11 b/c he has a few healthy mouthfuls each time we are at the park.

isaac continues his all boy rampage. homeboy put down almost half a slice of costco pizza the other night and throws back milk like he is sponsored by a local dairy. his new favorite word is "rainbow" and he takes every opportunity to point them out now.

emergency 911

saturday we went to a firefighter expo of sorts by moonlight beach. it was quite the hit, especially with isaac.

"now where is the switch for those sirens?"

now that is one good looking stack of man.

a non emergency run in with the paramedics

isaac was a little intimidated when the helicopter landed, but he got over it.