How to Carve a Pumpkin

**Pumpkin carving directions courtesy of Tyler and Allison.**

First you have to cut the top part off.

Next you have to "scarf" (Allison's word for scrape) inside with the "Scoopiger" (Tyler's word for the scooper).

And take the seeds out.

And scarf some more!

Then you have to check your scooping and scarfing progress.

After the pumpkin is all cleaned out, you tape the pattern on the pumpkin and poke holes to make the outline.

Then it's time to carve it!

Remember to be careful with the knife.

And TA-DA....

Apples

Tyler wanted to show off his ENORMOUS apple he picked out at Hillcrest Orchards. And of course Allison couldn't be left out!

**Keep scrolling for another catch-up post!**

Pumpkin Patch

The 2nd weekend in October we decided to make our annual trip to Bert's Pumpkin Farm. It was a super cold, windy day. Unfortunately, this meant that little Ryan couldn't be in any of the pictures. He was only 2 weeks old at the time and so we kept him nicely bundled up in his car seat while he slept. I couldn't even talk myself into taking the blanket off the top of the seat to pose him with a cute little pumkpin or anything. We also didn't get a family shot that day either. We talked about going back, but haven't made it yet. At least I got a few pictures of the kids to prove we went this year!

This picture doesn't do the cool green color of Tyler's pumpkin any justice, and actually this isn't even the one he ended up keeping, but it's quite similar.

It was a challenge to get pictures of Allison. She wanted to be bundled up in her Daddy's arms instead. But I ended up with a couple cute ones.

By the time I was able to get one of the two of them together, Allison would only give me cheese smiles...

Then Tyler wanted in on the fun...

**Keep scrolling for another catch-up post!**

North Georgia State Fair

On September 27 (the day after my due date), we made our yearly trip to the fair. We went on this specific day with intentions of putting Allison and Kayden in the Beautiful Baby Contest, but didn't get there in time. Oh well, we know they are beautiful anyway! :) Luckily, on the same night, there was a special for the kids to ride unlimited rides for $18. A GREAT deal considering you normally have to pay at least $2-3 per ride (that last MAYBE a minute at most). Of course the kids had a blast!
Here's Allison enjoying some of the rides...

And some of the ones Tyler enjoyed most...

And before we could leave that night, we HAD to win this blow-up squeaking dolphin. Tyler had his eye on it the whole night, and I kept putting it off. I hoped he would eventually forget about it and we wouldn't have to put our life savings into winning one of them. Not so much. So Billy and I took him over in an effort to prove just how UNfair these fair games are. It turned out to be one of those mallet games where you have to make the piece of metal fly up and hit the bell at the top. The guy in charge let Tyler have a trial and it BARELY left the base of the contraption. I showed him how far it really had to go in order to win, but he just KNEW he could do it. Who am I to smash all his dreams, right? So when he had his real chance (after mom and dad forked over $5 for the blasted thing), it didn't go much farther than the first time. However, the kind fair worker immediately reached down with his hand and shot it to the top making the bell ring and then yelled, "WE HAVE A WINNER!" Tyler was exstatic. Thanks for proving me wrong Mr. Kind Fair Worker Guy.

Tellus Science Museum

Back in September, the Smithsonian Magazine hosted a free museum day. Many museums chose to participate, and the Tellus Science Museum happened to be one of them. We had actually already been discussing making a trip to this museum because it has a dinosaur section with a T-Rex skeleton! Tyler would often remind us that we hadn't made a trip to the dinosaur 'moh-zee-um' yet. So, despite the massive crowds we would face and the rainy weather we would most likely encounter, we decided to go for it and take advantage of a free visit! It definitely WAS a mad house, and it DID end up pouring down rain, but we had a great time anyway. Tyler has already been asking to go back!

After taking a few pictures with the Apatasaurus at the entrance of the museum, we decided to get straight down to business and tour the fossil gallery...

Here's Tyler spotting T-Rex for the very first time!

A 4-year-old little boy's dream come true!

Allison was in need of a nap and didn't want to cooperate for a picture with Mommy and the Pteranodons.

The biggest turtle any of us had ever seen (even if it is only a skeleton)!

Here is Allison sporting her happy face, despite the huge fish swimming towards her head!

And I just liked this picture of her too much to leave it out. :)

More museum FUN...

We got to explore the green house, garage, tool shed, and garden in "The Collins Family - My Big Back Yard" area of the museum. This section was created with kids in mind, and is very hands-on. They had fun playing with magnifying glasses, mirrors, magnets, lights, and much much more!

We also toured the "Science in Motion" area of the museum that features forms of transportation throughout the years.

And last (but certainly not least), we got to dig for fossils just like real Paleontologists! This was just as important to Tyler as getting to see T-Rex. He could hardly contain his excitement as we waited our turn in line. Each child was allowed to choose one of the fossils they found to keep and take home with them. Tyler was a bit disappointed to discover that the larger fossils were permanent fixtures at the dig site, and therefore, NOT the fossils he would be allowed to take home with him. He certainly gave it his best shot to convince whoever might listen to his plea to get to keep one of the large, UNREMOVABLE fossils (not to mention that they probably wouldn't even have fit in our car), but nothing is impossible to a 4-year-old. He eventually gave in and chose a super cool shark tooth instead. Allison chose to keep a brachiopod.

It was a super fun day and we will definitely head back there sometime...on a MUCH less crowded day!

Ryan is a Month Old!

Well he's actually 5 weeks now, but like I said before, I'm a little behind. It's amazing how quickly a month goes by! I feel like I was just writing the birth story a couple days ago. Ryan is such a pleasant little baby. He's pretty patient and really only gets upset when he's very hungry, sleepy, or needing his mommy (all just typical reasons for a baby to cry).

So far, Ryan....

LOVES to be swaddled. This is really the only way I can get him calmed down to go to sleep. In fact, he begins to settle down the moment I lay him down and wrap one side of the blanket over him. By the time I'm finished swaddling him, he's almost perfectly content.

has started smiling (awake). I haven't caught a picture of him doing it yet since it's random and quite brief, but when I do I'll be sure to post it!

still has blue eyes. I'll truly be surprised if I end up with a blue-eyed baby, but it looks like it might be a possibility. Tyler and Allison's eyes had changed (or were changing) to brown by the time they were a month old. I've read that they can still change all the way up to 8 or 9 months old, so I guess we'll really just have to wait and see.

wants to be held upright. He gets pretty upset if he's not being able to look around and observe his surroundings when he's awake. We have gotten quite a few comments about how strong he is to be holding his little head up so well. He also tries to keep his eyes open as wide as he can so that he can see as much as possible. This makes the cutest little wrinkles on his forehead!

is a great sleeper. He goes to bed at a very reasonable time, and usually only gets up for 1-2 feedings each night. In fact, for the first couple weeks, I would have to wake him up to eat at least once to relieve MY pain!

HATES his car seat. He's taking after his big brother on this one. Allison was my dream car seat baby, but I guess the boys feel the car seat is so impersonal. He has pitched some good fits while riding in the car!

has started cooing. I just love all the sweet little baby sounds he's beginning to make. I got to drive all the way home from my sister's house listening to him make these precious baby noises! (This was one of the rare moments where he was happy and content in his car seat!)

does NOT want to be held in the cradle position. Even to fall asleep, he'd prefer to be held upright while resting his head on my chest. And as noted above, he better be upright when he's awake, or he'll let you know you're doing it wrong!

is so tolerant of his very loving big brother and sister. It's tough sometimes getting smothered with so much love and attention, but he's a very good sport. He's even quite tolerant of all 2,000 kisses Allison gives him on a daily basis!

We just love this little guy!

Wow, I'm Behind!

I have so many posts to catch up on. Even some from September! And honestly, I don't really know when I'll get to all of them. But I will, eventually, because I want it all documented.
In the meantime, here is a very sweet conversation I had with Tyler this afternoon. We were driving home from my parent's house and had just passed a cemetary.

Tyler: That's where people that are dying go to.
Me: Yes, after they die, their bodies are buried there.
Tyler: I want to live forever.
Me: We will get to live forever after we die and get resurrected.
Tyler: And then we'll come back to Earth?
Me: Actually, we will get to live somewhere even more beautiful than Earth if we do the things Heavenly Father asks us to.
Tyler: Like where?
Me: It's called the Celestial Kingdom.
Tyler: pauses for a moment while he ponders this answer then very sweetly replies, that DOES sound more beautiful than Earth.