Pumpkin Trip 2013

Our annual trip to the mountains was a just a few weeks ago. So hard to believe how fast time goes by. It seems like this trip gets here quicker and quicker every year!

This trip is a Fessler/Sitton family tradition. Every year we go to Elijay/Dawsonville, GA. We go to Amicolola Falls, Burt's Farm Pumpkin Patch and Hillcrest and Reese Apple Orchards. We take a picnic lunch, take the same pictures in the same spots and always get a fried pie. Oh, and then we end up at Cracker Barrel for dinner.

This trip is so much fun and I'm so glad that my kids have grown up doing this. Will was 2 months old on his first trip and Luke was 3 months. This year was Wynn's first trip, so just like we did on her brothers' first trip, we took a picture of her laying on top of a pumpkin.

the whole crew!

me and Wynnie!

The annual poppy tractor picture. This started with Will. But now there are 5 grandkids and it was a little tricky!

picking out their pumpkins

All 3 of my babies & none are looking at the camera!

Mimi, Poppy and the kiddos

Mike and his brothers and sister. I love this pic!

trying for a family pic!

Mike and his mom & Wynn. I love this pic too!

Trick or Treat 2013

Iron Man, Halloween princess, Iron Patriot

Well, Halloween has come and gone. And so has the candy! Just this week we finished the last of the candy. Amazing that we ate 2 buckets of candy in just 2 shorts weeks! But, then again, when you have a kid like Luke in your family candy is not safe. For a few days after Halloween I kept hearing doors upstairs shut. I would then notice the candy buckets gone. When I went upstairs to investigate I would find Luke surrounded by candy and trying his hardest to open the packages!

This year we went with our friends Jon & Katy and Carmen & Caleb. They have kids the same age as ours. Its fun to watch your kids trick or treat, but even more fun watching them go with friends. Highlights from this year were Luke, Miles and Nora tripping over a cord to an inflatable ghost in one yard. It sounds terrible, but really it was funny. They all did it one right after the other, so it looked like dominoes. They were all just fine!:) Oh and Carmen trying to haggle and trade candy with all the kids! 

After trick-or-treating we shared a snack supper at Jon & Katy's house and the kids had a blast handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. All in all, it was a fun night!

Luke and Wynn

Dorothy, Elmo, Iron Man, Iron Patriot and a Princess

checking out their stash!

A rare sweet moment! I have to take them when I can get them!

Wynn at 5 months

 Oh sweet Wynn! This little girl is just a doll! But, like her brothers she is literally growing up in front of our eyes. I was rocking her the other day in her room and realized that we didn't quite fit like we used to. It was sad! And I know that everyday she is going to change more and more as she grows into a little girl. All I can do is take pictures and write things down to help me remember her at this fun age!

So...here we go!

1. Wynnie is all smiles right now! She has the best gummy smile and all of us love to see it! We also love to hear her laugh. It is awesome!
2. She is not the best sleeper (just like her brothers). She is very inconsistent with her naps. Somedays she will take 3 naps on a regular schedule and some days she just takes short cat naps here and there. This can sometimes be frustrating, but we get through it!
3. She has been sitting in her high chair for about a month and a half. She has started to eat some solids, but she doesn't need it right it now since she is nursing, so she doesn't eat it often. 
4. She is starting to army crawl. In fact she is laying beside me now and inching her way over to the computer. She is pretty proud of herself for being able to do this! She started doing this just a couple of days ago. If you put her down, she is gone! I think she loves the freedom!
5. She is wearing 6 month clothes and a size 2 diaper. This girl is long and skinny, but seems to be somewhat normal right now as far as clothes go

Hanging in my high chair!

The monthly photo shoot

The monthly photo shoot. This month was a little bit more challenging!

loving my bouncy!

Our Tennessee Trip

Since we moved to Charleston four years ago, we have taken an annual fall trip back to visit our families. Usually we take a long week and try and see everyone. This year we took two trips. The first one was to Chattanooga to visit my family.

Our boys love to see their grandparents, but this trip to my parents had a 3 things going for it: Oma, Tate and trains. Oma is my grandmother. When she found out we were coming to my mom's she decided to come and visit too. Tate is my nephew and he was able to come and stay at my parent's house while we were there. The boys loved having all that time to play with Tate. Then we spent time with trains. We went to the Chattanooga Choo-Choo and the Tennessee Valley Railroad. If you know my boys, you know they love trains. All in all, it was a great trip and we were thankful for the time we got to spend with family.

Driving an engine

The boys: Luke, Will and Tate

Will on the trolley at the Choo-Choo

Luke & Tate on the trolley

Wynn & Poppy riding the trolley

Ringing the trolley bell

My dad, myself and all the kids waiting on the platform to ride the train at the Tennessee Valley Railraod

The engine that pulled our passenger car

Aunt Linny & the boys on the train

exploring trains after our train ride

Aunt Linny & Wynnie

The Georgia train

Cousins

All the boy cousins

Will & Jake

All the cousins

My cousin Holly, me & Wynn, my cousin Ashley & my sister Lindsay

Wynn at 4 months

This little girl is getting so big and I am amazed at how much faster time seems to go by with a 3rd child. I'm doing my best to keep up so we don't forget anything about our Wynnie!

Things I want to remember about Wynn at 4 months old:

• She loves to smile and is super happy in the mornings or after she wakes up from a nap
• She loves to laugh and we love to hear it! The boys will do just about anything to get her to laugh!
• As soon as you put her down, she rolls over and pops her little head up! 
• She likes any toy that lights up & sings or that she can chew on. She is teething and is always wanting to gnaw on something, including her toes!
• She is starting to eat solid food. So far bananas and a little bit of cereal is all she has tried over the  past couple of weeks. We have also let her start to sit in her high chair at the table with us. She seems very happy to know she is included in meal time with us.
• She sleeps best on her tummy.
• She was in the 99% for her length and 26% for her height at her last doctor's appointment. Looks like she will be long & lean!
• When in doubt, hold her. Its just about her favorite thing!

Such a big girl!

just being pretty!

having a little sip of water before bed

Wynnie loves to be held in the sling!

being held again! 

Eating bananas, her 1st food

1st day of school

Sweet brothers!

For our family, when September rolled around it meant going back to school. We found a school that we really liked last year for Will and decided that we wanted to send him back this year. We also decided to let Luke go this year as well.

Our first day of school was September 3. They boys were so excited and did good waking up and getting dressed. Luke was the most excited, but then again he had been asking to go to school for about 6 months!

We had taken the boys to meet their teachers the previous Thursday night. Both of the boys enjoyed seeing their new rooms and meeting new friends. Luke discovered a train toy that he really liked in his room. He talked about going to school all weekend. We thought it was because he was excited to start school. Nope, he was excited about the toy. When we dropped him off he made a bee-line for the train and didn't even look back at us! His teachers had to ask him to turn around and at least wave at us! Will did great too, of course this is year number 2 for him and we knew he would be fine. 

We have been in school for a month now. Everyone is happy and still excited to get up and go in the mornings. Wynn and I miss the boys, but we have enjoyed having time each week to catch up on errands, spend girl time together or catch up with girlfriends over coffee!:)

Will, age 5

Luke, age 3

Walking into school. I love that their backpacks are bigger than them!

Luke in his classroom, 2nd day

hanging up his backpack

Will hanging up his backpack 

Will in his classroom, 2nd day