Pumpkin Patch 2009

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Pumpkin Patch and New Haircut

Bennett got a pretty drastic haircut this weekend, and we're loving it! She looks like a totally different kid! We also went to the pumpkin patch with some friends on Sunday.  Since the weather has been so rainy and gross the past couple of weekends, I think EVERYONE had the same idea that we did.  It was packed! But Bennett had fun running around with her little 10 month old and  1-year-old boyfriends, Colin and Cole.  It made her look like a giant though! :)  We took tons of pictures! I posted a couple below.

Bennett was enthralled with the lollipop she got from Red Robin, who she called "Fredbird." Although we had a bit of a meltdown when she accidently dropped it on the ground!

Cole, Bennett and Colin

Being pensive on a pumpkin

Family pic

Also...funny story...Bennett kind of threw a fit getting into her car seat today as we were leaving play group at her friend Peyton's house.  After I finally wrestled her seat belt on and I got in the car, I told her she was in trouble for not cooperating.  She stopped crying and looked at me and said, "Mommy, I'm sorry I cried.  I don't want a timeout when we get home.  Can I just go to bed?" I knew she was tired, but that was just too precious.  She promptly fell asleep in the car and transferred right in her bed when we got home!

October

October seems to be flying by! We had a great time with Meredith while she was home for some of her Fall Break.  We all really missed her and it was great to spend some time with her! 

Also, when Pa stops by in the mornings, he and Bennett have some things that they regularly do.  She LOVES to play in his car (see above!), and they also collect sticks and stick them in the ground to create a "stick people family." They have gotten pretty elaborate lately.  I need to get a picture of that!!

Last night we all bundled up and walked up to Schnucks to rent a movie.  Bennett looked so cute in her hat from Great Grandma Caskey and her new fleece, that we had to snap a picture.  

In the spirit of Halloween, here is a picture of the spider that has been living on our deck.  Yikes! That thing is HUGE!!!

Bennett is continuing to do great with potty training! She now wears underwear all day long except for her naps and at night when she still wears a Pull Up.  She typically can stay dry at her nap, but is still wet in the mornings.  So that will be our next hurdle.  She's doing amazing though.  I can't believe how quickly she has gotten the hang of it! She is even using the potty at school and went while she was in the nursery at the gym the other day.  I'm so proud of her!!

The Skippo 20k Trail Race - Recap

Sunday was my last big training day before the 50k in November.  One last chance to put some hurt into the legs, and add some confidence to my mind.  The plan was simple: run easy to warm up, run hard during the race, the run some more after the race no matter how painful or slow it is.
My buddy John and I ran about 4.5 miles on the trails before the race, just to get good and warm.  It was a great way to get into a rhythm and make an educated decision about what to wear for the race.  After that first loop, I refueled and stretched lightly.  Just before the start, I shed a couple layers because it was about 40F, and not too windy.
I couldn't help myself in the race.  I went hard.  Like I always do.  Originally, though, I wanted to just "push the pace" a little bit to simulate tired legs and higher effort than normal.  I overdid it admittedly, but I loved it!  This was pretty  much all out, half-marathon effort.  I just went with it and ran as hard as my heart and legs would let me.  The course was supposed to be 20k (12.4mi), but ended up being a little long (12.8mi).  I finished in 9th place overall, and 2nd in my AG in 1:32:25.  I was very excited!
http://bigriverrunning.com/skippo20k_male.htm
Then came the hardest part of the morning.  John and I headed back out for 5 more miles on the trails.  We were notably slower, and much less comfortable than we were earlier in the morning, but we were moving!  That's what counts.  One foot in front of the other.
All told, we ran over 22mi in a little over 3 hours.  Needless to say, it felt great to sit and eat a hotdog, pretzels, peanut M&Ms, cookies, and drink beer at the post-race BBQ.  It was well-deserved.
That run gave me a total of 903 for 2009 so far... more than DOUBLING my mileage from last year.  A tribute to the trails.  And to not trying to do Ironman.
I was out of commision the last 2 days, but I'm feeling much better now, and was even able to get up and run in the rain this morning.
Also, on Monday night, we went for a family walk.  We made a deal with Bennett that if she'd sit in the stroller for one lap, we would let her walk the next lap with us.  Our goal was to walk quickly and get the heart pumping a little bit.  Turns out, our second lap was faster than the first.  Having a toddler is always a surprise.   Bennett ran around the entire neighborhood.  I kid you not.  All .50 miles of it, without stopping - except to fall twice.  I thought that for her to run at her top speed for that long was incredible.  I was most impressed with her tenacity, though.  She was determined to run around the entire loop, and she wouldn't be stopped.  After each tumble, we inspected her hands and knees, deemed her no worse for the wear, and she kept right on charging.   What a trooper! 
It is good to see all the speed work and drills paying off.  :)

"She may be potty trained, but she'll have 16 cavities!"

Just since Thursday, we have had a ton of success potty training Bennett! Wow, has she made some strides! The first couple of times, she was a little nervous and scared, but after that, she was extremely proud of herself! She has also had a fun few days of treats like Dora fruit snacks, new soap for the bathroom, stickers, beanie babies, etc. for all of her potty training success.  Hence the quote above! haha Thanks to Grandma Joje for providing a lot of those treats.   We have gone from setting the timer every 30 minutes and sitting on the potty, to her actually recognizing the feeling and telling me, "mommy, I need to go to the potty now!" She has even stayed dry during her nap, which has never happened before.  And today, she was in her bed at nap time not sleeping for about a half hour, then she called me in saying she had to go to the potty.  I thought for sure it was just a trick tactic to get out of her bed, but she actually went! She's truly understanding the feeling, and we're on our way.  She loves wearing her Dora and Halloween panties from Nana and Papa too, and she's extremely proud of keeping them dry!  We are so thrilled for our big girl!!!! :)

Here's a picture of Bennett with her last two boxes of diapers.  We connected them and made them into a train that she can give her beanie babies and dolls rides in (we thought Great-Grandpa Caskey would be proud!)

We also went to the Cardinals game last night.  Although the results were very disappointing, we had great seats (thanks Pa!) and we all had fun.  Bennett LOVED searching for Fred Bird, and was a good girl at the game.  Here are a couple of cute family pictures from last night...

Also, on the baby update front, I had my 24 week appointment on Friday.  Everything sounded great, but I am measuring a week big.  The doc said that this little boy is definitely going to be bigger than Bennett was (NOOOO!).  :) 

Eckert's Apple Picking

Today we went to Eckert's Orchard with some friends for our annual apple picking extravaganza.  We actually found the apples to be quite picked over, but the kids still had a ton of fun! We will have to go a little earlier in the season next year.  It was a gorgeous fall day though, and a great one to spend outside! Bennett is now exhausted and taking a great nap! Here are some pictures from our adventure.  

BTW, Bennett has a ridiculous "fake smile" where she sticks out her lower jaw.  You will see it in quite a few of these photos! We need to work on that! haha

Pumpkins!!

Bennett, Hollye Anne, Will and Addison riding the tractor-pulled wagon down to the orchard to pick apples.

Bennett was searching the trees for apples that she could reach!

Three of the kids decided to have a race down one of the long rows of apple trees.

Driving the tractor

Another tractor...the kids were really good at taking turns driving!

Brandon & Bennett camping

Stemming from a trip to the Alpine Shop a few weeks ago where Brandon let Bennett play in tents, she has been asking him to tell her about camping every single day.  Brandon finally figured that it's only going to get colder, so if they were going to camp, they should do it now.  So they had a camping adventure on Saturday night.  First, we all roasted marshmallows and made S'mores inside over our S'more maker.  Bennett had fun roasting the marshmallow, but then would not touch it b/c it was sticky! However, she devoured her graham cracker and chocolate! 

After that, Brandon and Bennett bundled up and headed out to the backyard.  It was pretty chilly that night, but we have really warm sleeping bags and a great tent.  After reading a few books, Brandon said it only took about 15 minutes for Bennett to fall asleep.  She woke up one time during the night, but fell back asleep right away.  They made it until 7AM.  I was very impressed!! 

Can you tell from these pictures that she was excited?