Pumpkins Are So Much Fun

The boys had a blast with pumpkins this year!  Everywhere we went Lucas would point out any pumpkins he saw.  This year we got our pumpkins from a little farmers market close by.  The owner gave Lucas a little pumpkin for free and he never wanted to let go of it. Andrew was super excited to carve them.  We finally got to carving them the night before Halloween! Andrew, Lucas, and Eli had a blast playing with the pumpkins and cleaning them out.  Andrew and Lucas worked really hard with Daddy to get them all cleaned out.  Andrew picked a Lego guy for his pumpkin.  I loved watching the boys!

We also went to a pumpkin drop for the first time.  A local radio station does this every year and this year it was in Plainfield.  Andrew happened to be off school, so we decided to check it out.  I am so glad we did!!!  We had a blast!  We went with a few friends and the boys haven't stopped talking about it.  They lifted a huge pumpkin up with a crane and let it fall to the ground.  After the pumpkin dropped then all of the kids got to run out and take pieces of it.  Andrew grabbed a few seeds so we could plant the giant seeds and grow giant pumpkins of our own!!  Haha!!  Lucas, of course, loved telling everyone about the "punkin drop" the next few days.

Apple Orchard and Fall Adventures

I love everything about fall!!! We have tried to spend a lot of time enjoying the outdoors before we are stuck inside for the winter! I have no idea what I am going to do with three boys stuck inside this winter.  Andrew and Lucas will be off school for two weeks over the holidays.  We are going to have to get creative!

At the beginning of October some of our best friends, The O'Leary's, invited our small group out to their family farm.  Three boys + farm in the fall = happiness for the Creasons!!  We all had a blast! This farm was beautiful.  We could have easily spent the entire weekend exploring.  It was such a perfect fall day with amazing friends!!

We take a trip to the local apple orchard every year.  The boys had a blast this year running around and climbing apple trees.  Of course we had a get a caramel apple and some of their amazing apple cider slushies before we left!!  

Sometimes getting a picture of all 3 smiling is impossible...at least they are all looking! 

Love my boys!!!

Lucky to have a tall Daddy to get the good apples

We got to check out a new orchard, Apple Works, when Andrew was on his fall break.  We went during the day with friends and the kids had so much fun!  This orchard had animals to feed, pony rides, and lots of fun things for the kids to do.  

The Crew, Love these kids!! Eli, Claire, and Cayden were there too! 

Eli 9 months

As usual the time is flying by and my baby is getting so big!!  In the last two months he has changed so much!  We had his 9 month appointment and he weighed 18 lbs and 13 oz which was the 34th percentile!!  This was crazy to me because I have never seen below the 50th percentile with my kids.  The doctor assured me that he is not worried about it.  He doesn't look skinny to me but he is not huge like Lucas.  He was 30 in long which was 96th percentile and of course his head is off the charts.  So he is my tall skinny kid.  I guess he is following in his daddy's foot steps.

At the doctor's 

8 Months

9 Months

He finally started sleeping on his side and belly!! He has been able to roll over for a long time now, but would never roll over in bed.  We stopped using the sleep sack too.  He still sleeps very well at night.  Naps are a whole different issue!!  He is not a good napper!!  He does nap very well in the car and sometimes takes a decent afternoon nap.  The naps could be disrupted because Eli got his first tooth at 8 months.  He, unlike his brothers, got one of his top teeth first.  He has at least 3 more that are about to break through the skin at any moment.

My first tooth!

Sleeping on my side...so sweet

Sleeping on the go

Eli is on the move!! He started army crawling after I wrote his last update.  In the last few weeks he can get up on his knees and crawl.  He has figured out how to go from sitting to crawling and then back up to sitting.  He started pulling up on things too.  Now I find him standing in his crib when I go in after nap and in the morning.  Thank God we moved his crib down to the lowest setting after he turned 7 months!  Now that he is so mobile he seems to be injuring himself more.  I hate this phase of development for that reason!  He pulls up on things that tip over or he looses his balance and falls.  He had a big bruise on his head for his 9 month appointment.  He is getting much better with his balance everyday.

The first time I caught him pulling up!

Who is ready for some basketball?? (He does have a diaper on)

Now that I can crawl, I can get to the big boy toys!! 

Playing with some of my buddies

He is still nursing 4 times a day.  He has been eating baby food twice a day.  Now it is time to start 3 meals a day and table food!!  He is starting to get the hang of a sippy cup but we just started that.  He started puffs after 7 months.  He is still getting used to solid chunks of food.  I am pretty excited for him to start table food so we can do away with baby food but I am not looking forward to the mess!!

Trying some pancakes at Flapjacks!

Mommy's view while I eat!! Baby piggies :) 

I think Eli might be my first Mama's Boy!!  He is having major separation anxiety.  We are having a really hard time getting him to stay in the church nursery.  I have been trying to drop him off but he usually is returned back to me within ten minutes.  He also likes to be held a lot!  He just really likes being close to his Mama!  I love it but it is so hard at times.  I want to hold him as much as possible because he is probably our last baby but I can't hold him all day.  I am praying that all of this is just a phase.  We will just keep working on it!!  He also says Mama too!!  I love hearing him say it because it took Andrew and Lucas a while to say it.

I am dreading the fact that my next post about Eli will probably be him turning one!!  It seriously makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it!  The time has gone by so fast.  He is such a sweet little boy unless he wants to be held then is a fussy mess.  The boys still ask to hold him all of the time and love him so much!