Olivia the Bug Whisperer

My sweet girl is about as girly as they come.  Most days, if you were to peek in on her, you'd find her dressed in her hot pink "spinny" dress, wearing multiple necklaces and/or rings, and setting up "Bunny's Birthday Party".  Complete with tea and crumpets, of course.  ;)

She doesn't just love ballet, she is a ballerina.  And when I often ask her, "Wow!  You sure look fancy! Are you a princess today?"  I am always corrected, "No, Mommy!  I am a ballerina!." Very matter-of-factly.  ;)

Along with all her girly-ness, comes a love of all things buggy.  This girl LOVES her bugs.  She expresses delight over almost any bug (with spiders being the exception).  Although, on a camping trip this summer, she did get pretty friendly with the daddy long legs hanging around our campsite.  ;)

She seeks out ants, roly poly bugs, and especially butterflies.  No matter where we're at, or who she's playing with.

This one was a little blurry, but she was SO excited to find a Katydid!  Notice the dirt smudges on her face too.  This girl is not bothered one bit by dirt.

Lately, she's taken to catching bugs, playing with them and also asking them "what's your name, bug?  You have a name?"  And then assigning said bug with a name.  Most of them are nonsensical jibberish names, but the past couple of days she's come up with some pretty clever ones.  This morning she took a Boxelder bug to tea, and called "her" Boxy.  :)

Today we spent quite a while at the park, probably for the last time this season.  It has been pretty cold and rainy lately, so to have a warm, sunny day was a delight for all of us.  Imagine her joy at discovering that the caterpillars were out in force today!  She picked up and held not one, but TWO Wooly Bear caterpillars.  It was the highlight of her time there.  She only named one of them, but "she" was called Elissa.

Then she found an extremely lucky grasshopper, who was dubbed "Popcorn".  These names are all her ideas - and I just find them incredibly cute.

She was absolutely elated when "Popcorn" wanted to "go for a ride!" on her pants.  She even took him down the slide!

There is nothing like watching her sweet little face light up when she finds a new "friend."  And I smile, not only because she is SO excited no matter how disgusting the unsuspecting insect is, but because it's part of the humor in my life that she has a Mommy who is very UN-enthusiastic about bugs.  I love this girl!  Maybe she will grow up to be an Entomologist?  :)

Fall Family Memories

We recently got to spend a weekend with my awesome in-laws in Rockford, IL.  They moved into a new house this summer, and it was our first time staying with them in their beautiful new home!  We had such a wonderful time together, and made lots of sweet memories.

I didn't get any pictures of Olivia's time with her Granddad, but she really soaks up all the time he spends spoiling her.  :)  She convinced him to play ring-around-the-rosie with her multiple times, "dance" around the living room, play catch, and one of her favorite things, reading with him in his easy chair.  He even humored her by playing "hide and seek".  It was super cute watching her run around looking for him.  And even funnier when it was her turn to hide . . . :)

She also really enjoyed her time with Nanny - doing puzzles together.

It's so special that she's getting old enough to remember these times with her Grandparents, and really neat for Nate and I to watch her relationships with them develop.

And of course, Levi really enjoyed his time with them too.  He's our little lover, and just likes to do anything with anyone.  :)  He especially enjoyed Nanny's cooking!  Haha!

One of our family traditions since having kids is visiting a local apple orchard with Nanny & Granddad every Fall.  I think Nate and I look forward to it almost as much as the kids!  This year, it was cold and rainy (we even saw snow fly that morning!), but we went anyway, and had a fantastic time.

The kids really love getting to see the farm animals.  This year they had a goat named "Pricklepants"!  Olivia thought that was hilarious!  They also had an area where the kids could feed the goats (through a tube) and Olivia and Levi both got a turn with that.

Edward's Apple Orchard is a really neat place!  They have so much to do and see.  We went on a Saturday, so there was even a live bluegrass band that we got to enjoy!

Levi has recently started talking a whole bunch - and we've learned that one of his favorite things to say (and play with) are "tac-toos" or tractors.  It's the cutest thing!

Daddy is such a kid at heart.  ;)

One of Olivia's favorite things of the day was winding through the maze with Daddy.  He just followed along and let her lead the way.

Olivia had been talking about riding a pony for weeks before we went.  I think she's a little cowgirl at heart!  Levi ended up being kind of timid and only wanted to ride for a few minutes, but Olivia would have ridden all afternoon if she'd been allowed - in spite of the temperatures!

And of course, our visit wasn't complete without a yummy sampling of all the Orchard's offerings!

Levi got his first taste of Edward's famous Apple Doughnuts!

We really had such a great trip.  The kids were completely wiped out by the end of the afternoon, but they have lots of great memories to last them until next Fall!

My handsome boys.  <3

I love my family so much that my heart could burst.  I am so grateful for these precious moments we get to share!  I look forward to Fall every year, and this year has been no exception for wonderful opportunities to make memories.  What kinds of things are you doing with your family this Fall?

Until next time,
Grace and Peace,
Amanda

A Walk In October

Anne of Green Gables once sighed, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers . . . " And today, I just have to agree wholeheartedly!

We are so blessed to have this beauty just outside our front door!

The kids and I decided today was a great day for a walk.  (And you probably couldn't tell that they are very enthusiastic football fans . . . *ahem* for Daddy, anyway.  ;)

Olivia is such a little flower child.  I love how all the weeds I don't give a second glance to can bring her such delight.

Then we found this amazing tree that has already shed half of its colorful leaves.  I wanted the kids to be able to enjoy them before the rain hit today.  :)

This one just absolutely melts my heart.  Completely candid.  <3

It's so hard to believe my sweet girl is so big already (3 1/2!).  She is already acting so grown up!

I don't remember what exactly happened here - I think Olivia saw a cricket.  :)

She was telling me about "It's FALL because the leaves FALL!"  It was quite the revelation.

Olivia was trying to show him how to make "leaf angels" and it resulted in many giggles.  :)

Olivia kept asking me if I could "make a pile".  But since we were out on a walk, I told her that I didn't have a rake handy.  She improvised by using her hands, and then wanted to jump in said pile. :)

Levi makes this face a lot.  I wonder about all the things he thinks about.  :)

Then he wanted to try his hand at throwing leaves in the air, like big sister was.

He would hold his little hands above his head for a minute afterward and say "Ohhhhh" like it was the greatest thing ever.  :)

And then it was time for somersaults.

They've recently started playing "Ring around the Rosie" together (I think I have you to thank for that, Jessica) and it's just the most adorable thing.

 ". . . All fall down!"

 Then it was time to head toward home.  Back into the stroller for Mr. Levi.

 His sister was obliging him by giving him "pretty leaves" to hold.

 Apparently he likes the way they smell, too.  :)

Then she found him a dandelion.  He was very excited.

"Hmm.  What do I do with it now?"

 "Bwo, Wevi!  Wike this!"

He decided to see how dandelions taste . . . 

 Not very good, I suppose!

I am embarrassed to say that it has been well over a year since my last post, and that to my shame, these are the first pictures on the blog of my handsome Levi!  In spite of really, really needing to get back into writing, today was just too irresistible to keep to ourselves.  Happy October, everyone!

Grace and Peace,
Amanda