Halloween 2012

Toben was a bumble bee

Fiona was able to wear Toben's Very Hungry Caterpillar costume
We didnt go door to door this year; instead, we went to a local church's trunk or treat event.  Lots of games, face painting, candy, a bouncy house, popcorn and hot cocoa.  Lots more fun than walking from house to house in the cold and rain. 

Cuteness :)

Toben shares his favorite new candy, Ring pops!

Goin' Goose Crazy!

At our public library there are themed backpacks for preschoolers to check out. They're made by Sprout and are lots of fun for a lazy mom like me. 

I'd love to put together books with the same topic as a game & toy, but I'm just not that ambitious.  So Sprout does it for me.  We've checked out a fantastic backpack about shapes & patterns a couple months ago that was perfect. Only thing was, it had a million small felt shapes to use on an included felt board.  Thankfully, we didnt lose any felt shapes!

Sometime around the end of September, we checked out the farm backpack.  It included farm books, a rhyming farm puzzle game, and seven jumbo farm animal toys.  We had fun with the books & animals; then after two week, it was due. So I gathered everything up in my reusable shopping bag to take back to the library.  All the books we checked out and the Sprout backpack, including all 7 animals.

Storytime the next day was pretty normal. I showed up 15 minutes early to return all the books & let Toben & Fiona sign in.  After storytime, the librarian at the front desk told me that I was missing the goose.

So, I checked the backpack out for another two weeks in hopes of finding the goose.  It will just turn up. I told myself.  I cleaned the car out, went through all the toys, and flipped all the furniture over. No goose.  I was driving myself nuts!

Finally, I decided to just order the $30 set of 7 animals off amazon.com, and replace the missing goose.  I found it for $20 with free shipping! No big deal.  Now Toben gets a six jumbo animal set for Christmas. :)

Today, I returned the Sprout farm backpack with no problem.  That was at 10:30...I found the damn goose this afternoon at 3:00! 

Oh, & I found it in the reusable grocery bag that I use to carry library stuff! :)

Toben's Busy Birthday Weekend

Toben's 3rd birthday was a huge success thanks to so many friends and family.  Here are some highlights from the big day.  

The Tomato that Never Stood a Chance

This post is only for the purpose of fun.  As I was preparing dinner for Toben and myself I handed Fiona a tomato to keep her distracted.  I though she'd play with it like a ball; oh no, she was hungry too!  Here are a few pictures I took as my little 7 month old devoured a tomato.

Two bottom teeth helped break through the waxy skin

The rest is history...

Mine!

Yummy!!!

Mommy's Happy Girl  :D

Ahhhhhrggg!

The Tomato Didn't Stand A Chance!

Tomato Clip

Jabob Family Reunion 9.15.2012

Sometimes pictures are enough.  

Gammy Yaggie and Fiona

Great Gma Yaggie, Zach and Fiona

Gotta keep your eye on the old people... this guy tried to buy a raffle tickle with a $2 bill that had a bunny picture instead of a presidents face.  All in fun, I guess.

Great G-pa Yaggie and Mike

Toben loves dragging Great Pap Yaggie around

Playing in the Corn Field at Trine Memorial Park

Gammy's little girl

Cabelas Wheeling WV

What a nice stop during our long drive to PA.  Cabela's is a fun stop for Zach (of course) and the kids.  Toben loved seeing all the huge fish in the tanks and the many, many animals.  Here are a few shots from our trip.

Hornell, NY Trip

Toben is confident enough now to swim away from us in the pool!  He has mastered the doggy paddle and can tread water for nearly 10 minutes!  :)  He is not as comfortable stroking his hands through the water to project himself forward, so Zach is behind him in this picture pushing the water behind Toben so he can move through the water.  

 

 

What can I say about Hornell, NY?  Oh, yeah, it is an old train station town.  Which means you hear, (and from our hotel room see) trains all day!  (And night)  That was fun for Toben for the first day, but by day three he was over it, and so was I!  :) 

It was quite a long drive, so I sat in the back seat to occupy the kids.  Fiona was a trooper.  She even started playing Peek-a-Boo with Toben and me!  LOVE IT!

The Comfort Inn in Hornell, NY is probably the only decent hotel in the area; however, it left much to desire.  It was a few hundred feet from the railroad tracks.  The front desk was not friendly!  The old lady running breakfast was redeeming though.  She was a nice person to talk to and very helpful. 

In the hotel we had plenty to do as we waited for Zachie to finish his work duties.  Fiona was content to look at herself in the mirror.  Since she sits up to play now, we had tons of sitting-playtime on the floor with some toys.  Toben would watch trains go by, watch his new JD tractor movie, or request that I take him to the pool.  We also, walked a bit around town.  Visiting a thrift store, TSC and a train museum. 

 We ordered a white pizza from Cosmic Patties.  Delicious!!! I would recommend this little pizza shop for sure if you ever find yourself in the Hornell, NY area.  

The night before we left, Fiona got to go to her first Chinese Buffet!  She had rice with General Tso's sauce and banana pudding for dessert.  Toben ate like a champ!  He downed a very full plate of food and still had room for an ice cream cone for dessert.  The restaurant was a bit dark with mediocre at best for service.  Would not recommend.