Picking!

Monday we went apple picking. What fun!

County Line has a petting zoo, a choo-choo, a little play place, a corn maze, a cider barn, bee-hives and a whole lot of apple trees.

At the petting zoo we fed a billy goat,

a baby goat,

an old goat,

and a.... poodle goat?

While we fed the animals, Daddy fed our little animal.... again.

Nadia loved the field of sunflowers.

And she also loved the Farmall tractor.

Bouncing on the springy seat.

And whispering sweet nothings into "Buster"'s ear

And giving "Old Sally" a serious back ache.

The Svoboda guys having a moment

Here's our tractor!

Our tractor ride took us to a perfect picking lane in the orchard.

Even Baby Q found a nice ripe McInctosh

The trees were laden with yummy apples, ripe for the picking.

See?
 
We're still busy making yummy things with all those apples we picked.

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa for a fun day at the orchard.

growing pumpkins

Autumn is here! I had sort of forgotten that we'd be around for at least the beginning of it. We're really enjoying the crisp air, changing colors, cozy evenings with hot cider, hot cocoa and big sweatshirts. We won't get to enjoy it for long, so we're relishing every minute.

 Happy little baby boy.

 Ok. Happy big baby boy.

 Pumpkins!

 She picked the seeds

 Picked some more seeds

 I cut some hearts into the pumpkin and we had a pretty little jack-o-lantern of sorts. Then we made pumpkin soup with the other one.

Phil caught this photo of a fat and happy squirrel.

'da zoo

Last week we took off to enjoy one of the last sunny, warm days Chicago has to offer. We (Phil, Nadia, Quinn, my sister-in-law Michelle, Micah Joy and yours truly) spent the morning at the Lincoln Park Zoo!

Cousins! Notice how "thrilled" Micah is with the physical display of affection. :)

The lion exhibit was much like any other - except that the lady lion was pawing at the plate glass in her sleep. We noticed that her paws were exceptionally large - about the size of baby Q's head.

 I had no idea that beavers were so huge! I think he's bigger than either of those 40 pound little girls.

 "Baby Bison" as we've recently nicknamed him (due to his amazing hulk - he's 26 inches tall and well over 17 pounds. A far cry from his 7 lbs 6oz and 20 inches a mere 12 weeks ago... he's bursting out of his 3-6 months clothes and wears size 3 diapers. We'd be concerned, but he's also gearing up to be a very active little boy. He can do the "baby push up", eagerly bears weight on his legs, rolls over in every direction and has started bouncing. He also smiles, coos and laughs ((like Elmer Fudd)). Holding his head up is old news...) catches lots of z's at the zoo.

"Wowie zowie! A really real polar bear, mom!"

"Here rhino, rhino, rhino! Oh, mommy, she's so CUTE!"

Yay for carousels.

I meant to get a quick photo of the sky line while we passed, but instead snagged this funny photo of Michelle (also the only one of the day???) in our rear-view mirror.

Warm, sunny day at the Chicago free zoo makes babies tired.

So tired, in fact, that they forget all about the gum in their mouths.

Cousins!

Our time here in Chicagoland has been so fun so far. We've spent lots of time with family, and Nadia has been soaking up time with her cousins.

 First sleepover ever! Micah Joy came to spend the night. There was dress up, dancing, singing, Horton Hears a Who, nail polish, ice cream. What more can a couple of "Pwetty Pwincesses" ask for?!

 "Did you know I love you? Now can I please wear the ThnowWhite dress? This one has a hole in it."

 

"Watch THIS!" (more twirling, spinning and singing)

 "You're beautiful and you shine. You shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine, shiiiii[deepbreath]iiiiiiiiine like the flowers, falling... from the [deep breath to think real quick] skyyyyyyyyyyyyyy."

 Different day, different house, same principles apply: dress up, twirl, make up goofy songs then sing them at the top of your lungs. Here she dances with Eden (Micah's big sister).

 The Tumbling Svobodas! (Levi is crouching behind Eden, providing the ever-necessary bunny ears).

 This is what happens when the boys get to play dress-ups. :) Helmets and pads and stretchy pants and a more manly dance and twirl. The only thing that sets these guys apart from the girly-twirly pwincesses is some serious coordination... and some athletic prowess. (Ok, Uncle Timmy - calm down... it's not really dress up. *cough*cough*yes-it-is*cough*)

 Levi is agile and fast. He can turn any stumble into a graceful, purposeful gymnastic move.

Elijah is a lot like his Uncle Phil. He's a thinker - a strategic player with fantastic precision and aim.

Run, Elijah, RUN!!!! Their first year in football, and both boys are on teams with older kids. This year may be a bit rough for them as they learn, but they both show promise as athletic guys who catch on fast. We're proud of you, boys! 

Titus Cain didn't end up on this post! Sorry, little man. You snuck away from my camera this time...but i'll getcha! :)

New Family Photos - with new addition

I've been waiting to post these until we finished all of our projects with them. Our projects are complete, and now we can present our latest family photos. These were taken by our friends, Josh and Sarah Grimes (see previous post). Since our wedding, they've been our official photographers - always ready with new and fun ideas that we'd never find at Sears. Also, they give us the old "missionary discount", as they like to call it. :)

We sat on an old blanket in a nearby field (with a huge peace sign mowed into one of the lovely rolling hills. i love PA). :)

Our pretty 3 year old big sister

Our very sleepy, remarkably fast-growing 9 week old. Look at those LEGS! Sadly, it's impossible to see here, but he's wearing a really adorable Batman shirt, which makes him look really cool.

Our sleepy baby and our rambunctious daughter. Like fire and ice, they couldn't be more different (so far) - but they've already got a sweet bond, which we're really very thankful for.

Don't you want to kiss his soft and fuzzy little head? This photo captures exactly that feeling for me.