Two weeks ago (gosh, how has it already been that long ago?!) our little playgroup packed lunches 

and headed north for our second annual apple orchard adventure.  

--  And yes, I do think the word adventure is appropriate.  --

Anytime there's a stick with poky things attached to it coming at your face full-speed it automatically qualifies as an adventure.

This adventure was full of apple eating, a bit of apple picking, and a teeny herd of sand-throwing, hand-holding, buffet-style-eating, hot, sweaty tots.  

And probably the last where Nelle just sits on a blanket and takes it all in because girlfriend just this past weekend decided maybe it is worth it to get out of the sitting position once in a while and is officially on the move with the funniest crouch/crawl you've ever seen at almost ten months old.

 

It's going to make things interesting since I have a feeling Henry will continue to go check out the next row of trees on his own before the group is ready, just like he continues to photobomb Nelle's chance in front of the camera.  (And you know there are plenty of those to go around at my house.)

 

 Maybe he will think it's just as fun to walk everywhere holding his sister's hand like he does with Minnie?  

And proudly proclaims, "I walking Minnie!" as he parades her up and down between the rows of trees.  

 

I love getting to spend this time with my two babes as they experience things for the first time and then start to build traditions and memories.  

And doing it with this bunch is even sweeter. 

Hottest, sweatiest, dirtiest toddler award goes to...Ham!  He knew he was a shoe-in.  I think he even had a speech prepared. 

 

Until next year gorgeous apple orchard.

 

P.S. You can check out our first annual apple orchard adventure here...

but don't blame me if you get a little teary-eyed seeing just how much these littles have grown.  

Or maybe that's just a public-service reminder of one...to myself.  ;)

P.S.S. I'll share what we did with our apples once we got home later this week!

I'm not sure who's been telling Henry about my blog posts, but yesterday when I read him his latest most favorite book, I read, "M is for mountain, N is for newspaper, O is for owl, P is for pretty, Q is for quicksand..." and he flipped the page back to P and said, "And Mommy pretty!!"  

So I guess the answer to my multiple choice question is 

e) toddlers will make you smile bigger than you have ever before.

Also, they only tell the truth.

We're parting ways for the weekend tomorrow, kids in Manhattan, Andrew at home, and me in Kansas City.  

We'll sure miss our purple party on Saturday all together.

Last week the kids came to tailgate with us for a bit.

 Nelle wore herself out from all her cheering.

Henry ate his weight in fruit salsa, brownies and sour worms.  

And then planted a big wet one on one of his best toddler girls, Arden.  Could not love more her sweet smile afterwards.  

 Hiding because he didn't want to go home when we went into the game.  Almost made me consider taking him in for the second game in a row.  Almost.

 

We're usually in and out of Manhattan so quickly for game days, but since Andrew had all of Friday off after the game Thursday night we stayed through lunch and made a couple of quick trips to show the kids how their parents used to be a lot more fun.  

I think that's what they'll think of us one day, although while we were in the car getting ready to drive through campus, Henry told us he wanted to go to K-State.  And obviously we told him we could.  And then he asked me to go with him.  So I said yes.  

It's practically a written contract so I guess it's official...see you in Manhattan in 2031.

I wonder if I'll catch him on the back of a moped in a gorilla suit like someone else I know...whatever the case, 

and when he goes to college, he'll be a frat boy too and he'll learn to love the Pi Phis like his daddy used to do.  ;)

Yesterday I texted Andrew the following at 1:01pm (exactly one minute after I put the kiddos down for a nap, no coincidence):

--don't walk in the door tonight without wine--

 

I mean, SAHMs can I get a group head nod, Amen!, and high-five?

 

Andrew (and his coworkers) thought it was hilarious.  And I kind of did too, even at the time, when I wasn't joking at all, 

but decided to deal with my discouragement and exhaustion with humor because that's how we do things 'round here.  

 

a) Toddlers are not for the faint of heart.  

b) Toddlers are slightly possessed.

c) Toddlers are hilarious and fun and the zest of life.

d) Toddlers are not toddlers forever.

 

(a, b, c, or d all of the above?)

 

My thoughts on toddlerhood vary by the week/day/hour/minute depending on how much energy I have, how much energy Henry has, how many times he's pushed Nelle over, how many times he's taken her toys, how many times he's hit her on the head with a wooden spoon, how many timeouts I've already given, how many times he's put an entire roll of toilet paper in the toilet to let it saturate with toilet water alllll morning long, how many times he's helped me put Nelle to bed and said "nigh nigh baby sisser, I wuv you," how many times he's needed me to pick him up, how many times he's laid his little head on my chest, how many times he's made me smile and laugh and made me think "don't get big. stay little forever".

When we were at Nelle's nine month check-up a couple of weeks ago, our pediatrician finished her exam and then asked the routine, "any questions?"

Ha!  Not on Nelle, but can we chat about Henry?

Or really, can we just chat about me? 

How do people survive with toddlers?  Actually, how do people survive with toddlers like Henry?

 

I guess that's what toddler support group is for.  

(Otherwise known as playgroup moms getting together over a glass of wine.  That is, I think we're still a part of playgroup, if they'll have me with my toddler ripping grass from lawns, throwing it at others, pushing tots left and right, and stealing toys from babies.)

Cheers.

Last night, we hooked up the sprinkler one last time to enjoy what's sure to be the last of our summer days this year.  Mid-September and near 100 degrees?  A bit strange after having near winter-like conditions on Friday - cold, with temperatures dropping into the 40s and windy.  

But that's Kansas for you.  Finicky and unpredictable.  

 

As much as I love summer and always place it highest on the top of season pedestals, I know we will relish in the best of fall too.  It's one of our prizes for us midwesteners who put up with the crazy temperature swings, wind, elements and extreme heat in the summer and brutal cold in the winter.  

We know its fleeting and will change so quickly that it will only seem like tomorrow, we'll wake up and notice the leaves are changing, the air is much crisper in the mornings, and suddenly pumpkin everything sounds delicious.  We find the good in each season and hold onto that and realize one day the difficulty of each season is already behind us.  

 

As Henry ran back and forth, back and forth, back and forth through the sprinkler, only stopping to get a quick drink from the fountains, intent on making sure I watched him, Nelle clapping her big brother on, happy as can be spilling Cheerios all over her blanket while Andrew worked on a new, big adventure in the backyard, I realized this season of toddler tantrums ...

 

...when asked, "do you want to wear the white shirt or the grey shirt today?" is a question that does take two minutes of pondering both options, 

only to hear wailing "white shirt, white shirt!!" after you've just heard a decisive "grey shirt!"only seconds before.

...when a glass of orange juice is left waiting on the table with the rest of your breakfast, all of a sudden to appear clutched between two chubby toddler hands in his sister's room, and he says, "I drink mommy's orange juice!" and then the glass slips and shatters all over the floor and rug. 

 

...when you ask if your toddler twice if he wants eggs for breakfast because he always does, but he still says no, you don't make him an egg for breakfast, but once you leave to go change his sister's diaper, he swoops your egg off your plate and scarfs it down before you can get back...and licks the jelly off your toast.  And this is the same little boy who the next day you decide to make his own egg no matter what, set his plate down on the table 

with egg cut up into bite size pieces, and he dumps it on the floor.

...when you decide to go set out to buy him new shoes because his current pair has suddenly gotten way to small, he throws a tantrum in the store, and then the next morning runs outside, chasing the dog, and after a few minutes, comes back in and finds you in the back bedroom, announcing "I have puppy potty on my new shoes!"  Which means puppy's potty is also allllll over the floor in a little foot print pattern 

from the back door into the bedroom.  

(Yes, it's been that kind of week.)

 

...this season of toddler tantrums, just like the changing seasons, will be fleeting.

(Repeat, repeat, repeat intermittently mixed in with deep breaths and counting to 10.)  

 

As Andrew and I finished checking on the kids before slipping under our own covers last night, making sure Henry was just so in his bed and Nelle had a paci within reach, he reminded me, "It doesn't last forever.  They're only little once.  We're going to look back on this and wonder where it went."  

And he's right.  This is but a mere season, slightly changing and marching on each day.  

The week is almost over again, there are more leaves on the ground than yesterday, 

and I felt a distinct crispness in the air this morning on our walk that called for a pile of blankets on little laps to cover teeny tiny toes.  

Season's changing. 

Nothing sounds better than crawling into bed right now, except for maybe first having a bit of the apple cobbler a la mode my mom made for us while she and my dad stayed at our house this weekend watching the kids as we attended the next-to-last wedding of our season of seven nuptials this year. 

 

They cook, they clean, and they keep Ham and Nelle safe and happy at our house no less so they are nothing short of amazing.  And they bake cobbler.  Amazing.

 

But, first, I want to share our day trip to the state fair last Monday before this blog gets away from me as I've been marathon editing last week 

and will be again this week to keep up with the busy season of client work.

 

A few of us from our little play group made the trip again and just so happened to choose to go on dollar day where we thought 

"oh good, it's just a dollar to get in!", but now think after actually attending on dollar day "never ever will I go again on dollar day."

It's worth it to pay full price and avoid the crazy busy crowd while navigating with five moms, five strollers, and a slew of eight children, the oldest only three.  That's pretty much a caravan of diapers, wipes, sippy cups, snacks, shoes being flung from strollers, pacifiers being dropped, 

and sunscreened-up toddlers navigating through a hot, sticky dollar day crowd.   

We saw animals, we pet animals, we ate state fair corn dogs, we missed the pig races (darn it! next year for sure!), we walked and walked and walked.  

 

And clearly this little group had NO fun.

But my favorite part might have been at the end when we rode the little train around the fair together, and Henry asked "hol my hannnn?" when it started chug chug chugging.

Any time. Any day. Anywhere.

That, and Nelle looking like a blue-ribbon babe in her best state fair outfit.