BIG BOY BED!

We decided to transition Matthew out of the crib a couple weeks ago.  We also attempted to have the boys share a room at the same time, but abandoned that idea pretty quickly because of the crazy wild party happening for way too long in there!  So, for now, we're working on getting this nearly-2-year-old adjusted to his new room and new bed while Andrew snoozes in the guest room.  So far, he's doing great and absolutely LOVES it!

Rain and such

We had a decent amount of rain here last week, which made me start focusing on the inside of the house and the arrival of fall.  We have a large maple in the back yard and the whole thing is still very green, but somehow it has started dropping 1-2 of these a day:

I am a little excited that the biggest tree in our yard is going to turn such a beautiful red!  

I've also completely switched modes in the kitchen--I've moved away from caprese salads, grilled goodies, and light pastas and moved into comfort food mode.  I made my first batch of chili for the season and we are looking forward to some stuffed cabbage (try this recipe--it's crazy good) this week! 

Oh, wait--this was going to be a post about the rain!  Oops--ok, so usually when it rains here, the storms pass through quickly and are followed by clear blue skies.  This has this really cool steaming effect and leads to some low-clouds and beautiful views.  I snapped a picture on my way home after dropping Andrew off at school last week:

Can't really complain about the drop-off/pick-up craziness when you get to look at that during your commute, eh?

Alright--and again, for those that just want to see the kids--here ya go.  While B was out rock climbing (ROCK CLIMBING!!!) for the first time this weekend, the kids and I headed out to the nearby farm and they spent quite a while tossing rocks into this creek:

And hanging out on this tractor:

And yes, I encouraged Andrew to wear his overalls when we decided to go to a farm.

Andrew's in School!

Andrew started 3-year-old preschool a few weeks ago!  He's going to the Catholic school connected to our church and so far, it seems like he's loving it!  He has happily gotten himself dressed and eaten breakfast long before it's time to leave, so we haven't had any issues getting out the door, which I'm very relieved about.

We've had at least 1 art project sent home with him every day and I'm a little unsure how many of these "masterpieces" I should save.  How do all you other moms out there deal with this?

Clearly, Andrew is heading right to the top of his class:

This totally cracked me up.  I was handed this while Andrew's teacher let me know he did great on his first day.  Seconds later, Andrew runs over to me and tells me he had a BAD DAY because he didn't get to use the tools AT ALL!  Uh oh--someone is going to be forced to work on things other than building.  I am definitely looking forward to his interests diversifying a bit!  

Here's Andrew all ready for his first day:

Since Andrew's gone 4 mornings a week now, I am getting a lot of great time with Matthew.  He seems to love the quiet time while Andrew is at school and the boys are playing together so much better when Andrew is around.  I'll take it!