Three Cedars Farm with Friends

Hannah and I ventured out to a local farm with some friends a few weeks ago. We had no idea how freezing cold it was outside so none of us dressed appropriately. The kids didn't seem to notice much and had fun together!

















Here's Hannah and her friend Sonya.













Grandpa Kronwall would be so proud :)

















Hannah and one of her best friends, Adeline.

Binky Battle

Caleb and I had been talking about pulling the plug for a while now. I was going to do it at 18 mos and didn't have the heart. Now that she's two, we thought it might be a good time to try. For some reason we went with the cold turkey/cry-it-out method. I'm not a fan of this at all based on our other experiences trying this with Hannah...the swaddle, nighttime bottle, etc. It never seems to work for Hannah because she will "cry it out" eternally. She has always been the kind of child that just gives it up in her time and on her terms.

















Anyways, it was a very hard week for everyone. She was an emotional mess and I debated giving her the beloved binky back after the first day, but I figured we had made it this far let's keep trying. One day turned in to 7 days of sobbing and tantruming out of control, but Hannah finally realized that binky was not coming back and she'd better find another way to cope. I have to say it was probably one of the hardest and most trying weeks I have had with Hannah. The Lord gave me the patience I needed and we survived!

















So, out went the binky and along with it....the naps. I'm not quite sure if she's dropping her afternoon nap for sure now, but she's definitely not napping more than she is. Normally, she's pretty cranky by about 5pm (right when mommy's making dinner) if she doesn't nap, but this week she's been a little angel which makes me think she might not need that nap anymore. Hannah will continue to have rest time in her room so she (and I) can have a break, though. Everything I've read said that 2-yr-olds typically still need that sleep time, but as long as she's somewhat quiet in her room for a while I'll take it!

On the bright side, Hannah and I have had more time to do arts-n-crafts together! Still working on getting green and red straightened out. Hopefully in time for Christmas! :)

September Camping

We were able to squeeze in one last camping trip this fall. At the end of September, we packed up the pop-up, headed north to the thumb area of Michigan, and camped out for the weekend at Sleeper State Park in Caseville. JuJu and PaPa were even able to join us all the way from Rochester, NY! They stayed in a local motel that had themed rooms. I hear it was very interesting to say the least.









We had no idea that the campground was going to be celebrating Halloween. At first we thought it was very strange, but we soon became enchanted by it all. Every single camp site was filled with Halloween decorations. Every time Hannah passed the ghosts she had to push their belly buttons. :)












We loved all of the activities that they offered throughout the weekend! Hannah enjoyed the petting zoo, pony rides, and being carried by grandpa at the beach (someone is afraid of the sand). She also found a tree at our campsite that was just the right height for her to climb.







The campground also had a costume parade and trick-or-treating. We quickly discovered that Hannah's afraid of people dressed up in costumes, mostly the scary ones. Trick-or-treating will be interesting with her this year!

Apple Picking at Erwins

There is no better way to enjoy a fall day than to spend it with friends at an apple orchard! First, we went on tractor rides to the Empire and Gala apples.









Next, we taught the little ones how to twist the apples off of the branches (OK, so they did more pulling and dropping than twisting!).











We ate lots of bites of lots of apples along the way.











The girls enjoyed riding on the tractor bicycles and jumping on top of the hay bales yelling, "Apple picking, apple picking!."

September Update

A 2nd birthday wouldn't be complete without a Bosch drill from daddy. Now Hannah can help with the home repairs!











It's getting colder and colder outside so it's time for me to start reorganizing Hannah's closet and dresser for the fall. She found these boots in one of the clothing tubs and insisted on wearing them the entire day. She's ready for the snow!

















Thanks for the PJs Uncle Aaron and Aunt Lisa! Hannah asks to wear them all the time. She LOVES Elmo!

















P.S. In case any of you are wondering about Hannah's peanut allergy testing, it did come back positive for peanut allergies. We're going to visit a specialist towards the end of the month to see what life will be like living with these allergies. I don't think Hannah's are that severe, but we'll have to wait and see what the doctor determines.

I still can't believe my baby's TWO! I absolutely adore my little sweetheart!

Trick Questions

While I'm on my doctor tangent....how would you answer the following question?

"Does your child know when you are worried or sad?"

The doctor always runs through a list of questions such as, "Does your child still use a carseat?", "How much TV do you allow your child to watch?", and "How many words does your child know, approximately?." You know, the typical let's make sure this mom knows what she's doing kind of an interview. But this question was a surprise to me.

I answered "No" and quickly realized that was the wrong answer by the concerned look on the doctor's face. I mean, doesn't every good mom try to pretend like everything's OK when you're really feeling stressed out or worried or sad?

Once I (very quickly) realized that the doctor was checking to see if Hannah understands and reads emotions (probably screening for autism or something), I was able to correct myself. Phew! I added, "Well, she does know when I'm upset with her because she did something wrong. She's really good at reading emotions."

The doctor seemed satisfied and moved on to something else. Does anyone else feel like you're being interrogated when you take your child to their well-baby check-ups? I'd love for you to leave a comment about your experiences!