Playgroup Halloween Party

Our playgroup has been meeting since Mackenzie was only a few months old. We have had Halloween parties every year since. At each one we dress all of the kids up and at some point attempt to take their picture. This year some of the kids, including Mackenzie, actually sat still and smiled for a few minutes because one of the moms was holding a bag of M&Ms and offering them as a reward for cooperation. We took a bunch with the older kids and then tried to throw Caleb and Halle-Kate onto the couch, they were not very still and we only got to take a few pictures but they all had a lot of fun and looked so cute.

Pumpkin Patch

We decided to go to a pumpkin patch this year to pick our own pumpkin, Mackenzie was really excited and Caleb was just glad to get to go outside :) The first thing we did was to go on a hayride, pulled by a tractor, that took us to the patch. Mackenzie didn't like how loud the tractor was but she eventually came around. Caleb tried to eat the hay and when we wouldn't let him he tried to climb to the tractor (I don't think anyone is surprised).

As soon as you got off the hayride they had p0ny rides (talk about blackmailing the parents, the kids stare at the horses the last part of the ride and have to walk past them) needless to say I got Cameron to fork over the 5 dollars for Mackenzie to ride one. We got into line and she got onto the horse and it shifted its weight once and she was in tears and begging to get off. I decided that horse riding seemed dangerous enough to appeal to Caleb and stuck him on the saddle in her place. He loved it and was trying to make the horse go faster :)

We then attempted to get our family picture taken. As we were sitting down this guy tells us that there is a yellow jacket nest in one of the bales of hay. The mental debate then took place...we had the kids sitting down ready for the picture but apparrently there were killer bees under our butts. The responsible parents told the guy to take the picture quickly and then ran away from the swarm. What can I say, we live dangerously.

Before we got to the big patch there was a field of small pumpkins and gourds scattered about. The kids thought it was great to get to pick a pumpkin themselves and carry it home. Caleb picked a gourd and held the smaller end like a club. He ran around trying to hit things with it. Mackenzie, on the other hand, was lining up the pumpkins and talking to them. She was devestated that she could only take one of them home. Cameron didn't want Caleb to take the weapon so he made him leave it and pick a pumpkin instead.

When we finally got to the pumpkin patch the kids loved running through the pumpkins. Mackenzie picked one out and then Cameron had to carry it back to the car.

We ended the trip at a little farm area with some calves and turkeys and chickens in pens. It was a cute idea except they all had big signs on the cages that said "I BITE,".... not that inviting. Mackenzie was scared and so she was no problem but Caleb, well let's just say I'm glad he didn't get rabies from a rabid chicken.

All in all, it was a good trip and the kids had a lot of fun.

Finger Foods

Caleb has officially sworn off of baby food. One day he just started to refuse anything on a food. When I say refuse I mean angry looks and a clamped shut mouth. When I did sneak some in he spit it out and then yelled at me. This is a good thing for the pocket book but boy did I forget how messy it is when the are just starting to self-feed! He gets food in his hair, down his pants and of course all over the floor and the highchair. I know it hasn't been that long but I have completely forgotten what you feed a kid who has no teeth and won't eat anything on a spoon. He's had a lot of scrambled eggs so far :)

Easter with the Meyers

So for Easter this year we went to church at Northpoint in the morning which was really nice. Mackenzie put on her usual drama show when we left her in the nursery but Caleb went smiling to anyone who would cuddle/play with him. After the service we went straight to Warner Robins to Cameron's grandparent's house for an Easter cookout. Mackenzie's favorite part was, of course, the cupcakes. She only actually eats the frosting off of them, however, and leaves the cake part. Caleb had fun being cute and entertaining all of the adults, he was rocking the safari hat. Mackenzie had fun with the Easter egg hunt. It took her a few minutes to get the hang of it but she soon realized that when an adult said her name it meant that they had found an egg for her (she had lots of help looking :). When she realized that there was candy inside of the eggs she got a lot slower collecting them due to the fact that she was trying to open them and stuff all of the candy into her mouth :)

Palm Sunday/Easter with Grandma and Granddad Campbell

My best friend Kristin just recently had twins and I wanted to go and see them in Jacksonville. So I braved the open road with my two kids and drove to Orlando so that mom and dad could watch them (I figured my kids plus her two newborn twins would be a bit much :) The trip down was actually really good. We left at 4am and only made 3 stops. The kids had no problem settling in at grandma's house. I left them for 4 days while I visited Kristin and I'm pretty sure they were having so much fun they forgot to miss me. One day Mackenzie ended up digging a hole in the yard and then filling up her watering can and making a mud puddle. She then took the mud and fed the various animal figurines that my mom has in the yard. Yeah, that kind of stuff doesn't happen here (mainly because you can't dig in red clay and it is really hard to get out of clothes). We had our own Easter Bunny come and did Easter baskets a little early. I swear it was like Christmas, the kids loved it of course. Caleb decided to start crawling for real and pulling up on the couch, two big milestones that neither parent got to witness, the nerve :) Mackenzie still talks about "Grandma's House" and frequently says that she misses grandma. My dad feels a little leftout but I tell him that Caleb talks about him all the time :) "Mackenzie love grandma" and so do I.

Spring Picture Fun

So we decided to do some spring pictures since it had been a while since we'd had a family photo. We went to a barn and had a photographer take our pictures. She brough live bunnies and baby chicks which sounded really cute, in theory. Mackenzie thought they were great, so great that she didn't want to put the bunny down and may have caused internal injuries by trying to keep it on her lap. We freed the bunny and put Caleb down with the baby chicks. I thought they were far enough away to be in the picture but not in his reach, not so much. He moved with amazing speed to grab a baby chick by the neck and try to put it into his mouth! Cameron moved almost as fast and rescued the chick (he probably needed an x-ray, along with the bunny). At the end of the day we got some cute pictures :)

My Little Man

Here are some snapshots of Caleb being Caleb.