At a Loss . . .

Okay, I need help . . .
We may end up having to find other childcare if Grace does not stop biting kids at daycare. I don't know what to do. She hasn't bitten anyone at home for almost a month. When I reprimand and punish her at home for biting at Staci's, she doesn't connect her punishment with biting at Staci's. I'm at a loss.

Fall

This was our first morning to need jackets before heading out of the house. Fall has fallen upon us, and I love it!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We had dinner last night at Kansai for Daddy's birthday. Not only is the food great, but it is SO much fun to watch the kids' reaction as our chef, Dut Man, works his magic at the grill.

Grace loves fried rice! She picks the peas out and eats them first.

Grandma and Grace enjoyed their dinners.

Papaw got ice cream for dessert. He didn't think he could eat it without help, did he?

Our birthday boy and Uncle Brian

"Cheese!"

Gabriel snatched the last bite of ice cream without Papaw even seeing him.

We love you, Daddy! Hope that your birthday was wonderful! (By the way, I slaved all day over that cake.)

Child Labor

I put the kids to work this morning getting the dog hair off the furniture. (Kidding . . . they found these things in a drawer.)
Grace was lint rolling the couch cushions. Good girl! ;-)

Sunday Morning TV

We don't allow the kids to watch a lot of t.v. One time when we make an exception is Sunday mornings. We love to stay in our pj's and watch the Disney channel.
Gabriel was comfy in the floor with a pillow and his lion.

Another Zoo Trip

We had super-fun zoo trip today with Missy, Abby, and Tori. Storms loomed in the distance, but the temperature was cool and comfortable.
The penguins enjoyed a late breakfast while we watched.
Abby enjoyed watching the penguins with Missy.
Our four cuties posed on the statue of the komodo dragon. Tori was really "into" the posed pictures today.
We fed the lorikeets which is one of my favorite parts of the zoo experience.
Don't you love our faces here?
Abby was a bit terrified by the birds, like Grace.
The little girls: Grace and Abby
Tori arranged for everyone to get in a line holding hands. It was so cute watching them walk up to the tigers like this.
Another posed picture of our dolls
The female lions were roaring when we got to them. Standing at each end of their pen, they were sounding ferocious. The male lion was lying down taking a nap . . . go figure.
Thunder was in the background, so we hightailed it out of the zoo after this picture. Where was Grace? Running away from me and laughing as she went. Stinker!

The Biter . . .

It's official. Grace is "the biter" at daycare. Staci said that she bit one little boy TWICE today. The poor little guy had teeth marks on his hand when I picked the kids up this afternoon. Geez! What am I gonna do with her?!?!

Little Artists

The kids did some artwork after dinner tonight. It was Grace's first "piece" that she wanted to hang on the refrigerator, so I tried to take her picture with her artwork. She was being too silly for me to get a good picture.
Someone else was being very silly while I was trying to take his picture with his artwork.

My Little Pippy

Huber's

We went to Huber's this morning. It is always one of my favorite fall outings. The weather was beautiful, and there was lots to do.
Gabriel and Grace rode motorized tractors. Grace needed Daddy's help because she is too short to reach the pedal.
We went down the Mountain Slide about a dozen times each. Grace went down by herself this year (tears from Mommy).
Next we went to the petting zoo to feed and pet some goats. This baby goat was quite friendly and less intimidating to Gabriel.
Grace was afraid of the animals. You can see her clinging to me and saying, "Skeerd, Mommy, skeerd!"
Gabriel found a car to ride at the playground.
Grace checked out the chickens.
Grace was not afraid of the rabbits. She enjoyed feeding the bunnies.
Next, we played at the playground a little more.
As we were leaving the petting zoo, we stopped to check out the alpaca.
Dan found this gourd at the market. If I was crafty and could paint, we would have bought it so I could paint it to look like a snake. How cool is that?
Grace sat on the cow outside the ice cream and cheese shop.
Before we left, we stopped at the pond to feed the ducks and fish.
What a fun morning!

School Bus

Grace was fascinated Wednesday with Staci's son's backpack, and all the way home she talked about Michael's backpack. I told her that when we got home, we would get out her backpack. That led to a little pretend play about riding a school bus to school.
Each of the kids have their own little backpack. The items they chose for their backpacks crack me up. Gabriel chose a variety of Matchbox cars. Grace chose sunglasses, a hat, her play eyeshadow, and play lipstick.
The couch was the bus, and Daddy was the bus driver.
The kids would wait by the back door for their bus to come. Then they would run and get on the bus. After a minute on the bus, they would get off and "go to school."

Licked It Clean . . . Literally!

Dan fixed chicken cacciatore (in the crockpot) with pasta for dinner tonight.
We think Grace enjoyed her dinner. She had two servings and literally licked her plate clean.
After dinner came bath time. What a mess!

Firetruck

Why do these kiddos enjoy our weekend grocery store outings? They love riding the firetruck inside the doors at Kroger.