Halloween with family & friends

We were able to break out the boys' Halloween costumes a few days early this year and head to the zoo for Halloween fun with Mom and Dad as well as the Fairs! It was such a fun night at the zoo and then grabbing pizza afterwards!

Two superheroes in the car! It pained me to buy costumes this year since I've loved making the boys' costumes in the past, but of course Reagan's arrival made the possibility of homemade costumes *very* low. And you know the boys were probably more happy with these cheap costumes than with homemade anyways. ;)

Reid called himself "Dash Dash" which fits him well actually-- in between both the Dash and Jack Jack characters in The Incredibles. He's worn that mask off and on around the house, to the grocery store, etc and I love it! Its so cute.

These two were the only ones who took the time to check out the animals instead of beelining for the candy booths!

^^We made a cardboard shield for Captain America one afternoon and Reid had to have a shield too!

All the cousins!

Jake and Cana were glued at the hip as always and on a mission with Isaac to get from one candy stop to the next as quickly as they could, but Reid hung out with his boring parents every so often. ;)

I love these photos of our family! Cropped well you can't tell we squeezed in between a trash can and a Coke machine to get them because the timing was right and someone was around to take the photo for us. Worth it!

^^Look at that lil pumpkin! She kinda hated it but I loved it.

On the actual night of Halloween, we had our friends the Fergusons over for dinner and trick-or-treating, just like last year! It works out since they live in the country and don't have a neighborhood for trick-or-treating, and its so much more fun for both the kids and parents to have friends to talk with while walking the neighborhood! 

Maybe a costume for a one month old wasn't really worth it since she was in her stroller all night...but it did keep her warm! And its all big enough that it just might fit again next year!

Yep, this pumpkin costume was definitely worth it. Look at her!

This year we wised up and got an early start on trick-or-treating so we were back before it was too dark and cold, and we warmed up with some chili for dinner before breaking into the candy stash. Last year, both of the younger boys ended the night in the stroller but this year everyone powered through, with a few breaks on the stroller in between houses. (We had to stash some of their candy in the stroller because their buckets were getting too heavy which is nuts but you know we've managed to eat it all since then!)

Note to self: get a photo *before* it gets dark and everyone's dying to eat their candy! We had just come inside from walking all over and Jake had already taken off his shoes and mask before I could catch everyone for a picture-- he was ready to dive in to that candy!

October

Time to catch up on what we've been doing since Reagan's arrival! We were fairly busy towards the end of October as we crammed in all the fall festivities before the weather got too cold to be outside. (And that cold snap happened *quick* this year, so I'm glad we did it!)

First outing just the five of us to find geocaches at a park nearby! The boys did the exploring; Reagan and I were there for moral support.

Mom was in town for a week and a half shortly after Reagan was born. It was so helpful to have someone who could switch off with me-- one of us entertaining the boys and helping them get their drinks, putting tops on markers and all the other little needs throughout the day, and the other holding Reagan upright while she went through a bit of reflux and would spit up if she was laid down too soon after nursing. Now I get to maneuver drinks and capping markers while holding Reagan which has been not so good for my neck and back. ;)

We visited both of our nearby orchards for the first time this year! Somehow we didn't make it to either last year so we made up for it this fall. We met friends for a playdate one morning at Anderson Orchard which was so good for the boys because this was at the end of their two-week fall break from preschool, plus they'd been cooped up at home with me and hadn't had much friend time lately. Good for me to see my friends too!

Proof that Reagan was there too...although she never made a sound!

More hay bales to climb at Beasley's Orchard, this time with Deric! The day we visited this orchard was so much colder than we expected so by the time we had enjoyed all the attractions we were ready to head home and turn on the fireplace.

Jake loved this bouncy blob! We tried to help Reid get onto it and Jake's attempt to help him was hilarious but unfortunately Reid was a little terrified so we took him to other attractions while Jake jumped. Next year!

Scavenger hunt through the corn maze! Reid rode on Deric's shoulders for the majority of it and I heard him trying to count the corn stalks while we walked. :)

Probably the boys' favorite part of the orchard-- apple guns! This gun was no joke. It shot those apples like rockets clear across that field but the goal was to hit the targets you can see in the background. We weren't too concerned about our aim though; the boys just liked seeing how far the apples could fly!

When we weren't out exploring, you could find me sitting on the couch with this little love! There is nothing better.

little lady has arrived!

Reagan Jane was born October 11, three days after her due date. Those three days may have been the longest of my life! I'd been anxiously watching for signs of labor for a couple of weeks preceding her due date and the days were passing so slowly by this point. On Monday morning--my due date-- I had a doctor's appointment and we decided that if nothing occurred before Thursday morning, I would come in that day for a non-stress test and we would decide what to do then. I told my doctor that I'd like to be induced that day and she was fine with that. She was pretty certain that I'd be headed to the hospital well before Thursday because I had experienced some signs of early labor and was dilated to a 3. I just hoped she was right!

On Monday evening, I experienced contractions while I was making dinner for the boys and hustling them to Jake's soccer practice. The timer app I was using told me repeatedly to head to the hospital but the contractions weren't getting stronger even though they were anywhere from four to ten minutes apart. Plus, Deric was still at work, we were at soccer and I didn't have any of the boys' things packed for staying with their grandparents. At soccer practice I let my friends know and we were all certain that I'd be headed to the hospital at some point that evening. When we got home, we put the boys to bed like usual and packed their bags and cleaned up the house. At this point, the contractions had been consistent for a few hours but they still weren't feeling even remotely painful, just uncomfortable. So I sat down on the couch to watch tv for a bit and the contractions disappeared, almost completely. I was so disappointed but as I went to bed I figured they would probably kick back up sometime overnight. You can imagine my disappointment when I woke up Tuesday morning and realized nothing had happened overnight!

^my friend Lindsey took our photo Monday night after soccer, when we were all so sure this would be our last night as a family of four!

All day Tuesday, I was in such a terrible mood. I kept hoping for contractions to start again and nothing happened. Wednesday-- same story. So on Thursday morning I headed to the doctor's office for an 8:00am non-stress test. I wasn't honestly sure what the purpose of the test was but followed orders and just prayed we'd get to induce that day as planned. As it turns out, Reagan technically failed the non-stress test because she didn't move as much as she should have (although I could feel her moving so thankfully, I wasn't worried!) I was still only dilated to a 3 but the doctor said because she failed the test, we'd definitely go ahead with the induction. I left the doctor's around 10 and was told to be at the hospital at noon. I headed home where Deric had been cleaning up the house and getting the boys ready to go. We played a few puzzles with the boys, they ate an early lunch and we went to drop the boys off with Deric's mom and go to the hospital.

Once we got to the hospital we went through all the routine prep-- paperwork, pitocin, an epidural shortly after because I'm a total wimp. ;) All of that was finished around 2:00 or 3:00 and we settled in to wait. I assumed this induction would be similar to Reid's and we would be waiting a full twelve hours before the baby came. We chatted with our really friendly nurse, watched HGTV, I texted family any updates but by the evening, nothing was going on. Around 6:45pm, my nurse checked and I was only dilated to a 4. I was so disappointed. I clearly remember laying on my side and texting Sarah at 7:05 that I was still only a 4 and that I was so bored and hungry.

Just a few minutes after texting Sarah, a different nurse came in and said she wanted to check a few things on the monitor. I told her that I was actually starting to feel the contractions again and asked her to increase the epidural. She told me she was going to check to see how far dilated I was--just in case-- and she gave me oxygen as well. She checked and told me I was actually at 10cm and that I was going to have the baby soon! I was completely thrown off and she hustled out of the room to get things ready. (Deric told me later that as she left, she told me not to push.)

(Side note: After Reagan was born, I was trying to piece together what happened and I asked our original nurse why a different nurse came in to check on me. She explained that she'd gone to the cafeteria to get dinner and as she was about to get her food, they paged her for delivery. She said she didn't believe that I was already ready to deliver and had to sprint upstairs to get back in time!)

Right away our doctor came in and got suited up, nurses got everything ready and all the sudden I was being told to push when I felt a contraction! Thankfully the epidural was still working enough that I could feel contractions but they weren't unbearably painful. So when the next contraction hit, I pushed. As soon as the contraction waned, my doctor told me that the baby was crowning already. I pushed through the next contraction and it took me a minute to realize that Deric and the doctor were talking about her cheeks-- they could already see her face! The doc said one more good push to get her shoulders out and she was outta there. So I pushed as hard as I could on that last contraction and there she was! I was in such shock from how quickly things had escalated that I could hardly believe I was already holding her. She was born at 7:23pm-- in less than twenty minutes! I'm so thankful for such a quick and easy delivery (that definitely makes up for being overdue!)

Reagan was a perfect baby right from the start. She laid on my chest for a good while and eventually nursed so easily. She slept well those first few nights and woke up when she needed to eat with no problem.

I'm so grateful that she's finally here! I would take all the nighttime nursing sessions and laundry piles
 over being pregnant any day. ;) Reagan is the best addition to our family!

our trip to Chicago & Indiana Dunes

Over Labor Day weekend (which was ages ago!) we took the boys for a long weekend up north. We spent a day in Chicago and two days near the Indiana Dunes National Park, about an hour outside of Chicago. It was a short and fun vacation and I'm glad we had a chance to explore another fun area near us!

We took the train into Chicago which was so simple and saved us the trouble of driving into the city and paying for parking plus hello, its a train! Much more fun for the boys than the ole van. The ride was just over an hour but we brought fun things to do, plus Deric is pretty entertaining!

We got off at the station right downtown by the Bean and all the fun touristy parks, which were really our only planned stops for the day. We purposefully didn't really plan much for the day, opting instead to bookmark a couple sights to see and then go with the flow. We started off at the Bean (of course!) and then wandered through the park and over a pedestrian bridge to probably the coolest playground I've ever seen! I sadly forgot a picture of the playground in its entirety but it was so fun and I would have been flying down those slides if not for that pregnant belly. ;)

This bridge was on the second 'story' of the playground and surrounded by a bunch of slides built into hillsides!

Near the main playground was a collection of little playgrounds that each had a different element for the kids. So fun and a great way to break up what is probably a very crowded playground!

After playing we headed just a block west to Shake Shack for delicious burgers and the best milkshake I've had in a while. We should have gotten one for the boys and one for ourselves but we were gracious and shared with them. ;) It was so tempting to get a second one when the first was gone!

After lunch we decided to walk a few blocks north to check out the Lego store. Reid started to nod off in the front seat of the stroller and we had the *brilliant* idea to slide him under the stroller so he could really nap. I wasn't sure if it would work, but he napped for over an hour under there! He missed the Lego store completely but his nap did wonders and he was up and ready for the rest of the day shortly after.

We finished off our day in the city with a few more sights on the way to get deep dish pizza! We asked around for the best recommendations and it was a fairly even tie between a few pizza joints so we decided to just pick one and try it! We chose Lou Malnati's and got thin crust for the boys since deep dish takes about 45 minutes to cook and they didn't have the patience for it. More deep dish for us that way too!

After a busy day in the city we took the last train back to the Dunes area, where we had booked an AirBNB apartment for the rest of the weekend. The apartment was walking distance to the beach, so that next morning was spent playing by the water! The water itself was pretty chilly still so we waded but mostly spent time on the shore which was fine because it was a warm but not hot day!

Reid could have played ball with Deric all morning! They played for quite some time while Jake built a tunnel in the sand and used a bucket to pour water down the tunnel and back to the lake.

Our last day near the Dunes was our busiest. After breakfast overlooking the lake, we spent the morning hiking the Dunes trails which was an adventure! The trails are fairly steep and completely covered in sand so it seemed like we were walking up stairs made of sand. It was a fun change from typical trails and we agreed that it would be fun to camp at that campsite sometime in the future.

Later that day we met up with friends from college who live in the area to play putt-putt. Our golf-loving boys have never played because there's no putt-putt around us so we knew they would have a blast and they definitely did! Add in three more little friends and it was a chaotic afternoon but so fun!

Now that we've had a taste of Chicago and of the Dunes, we want to plan more trips again soon and check out more of the city! There's so much to do in the city and as the kids get older, more options like the museums will be perfect!