Fort

     During Fall Break, Lindsay had some fun with her little brother. She made him his first fort! One morning, she gathered several blankets and old comforters and converted the dining table into a little fort.

Fort Apedaile *funny side note- my maiden name means fort so I guess we could also call it 

Garrison-Apedaile!

 JT was super excited!

The secret entrance

 Plenty of space for relaxing

 Playing with Thomas trains

 JT is lucky to have such great big sisters!

Happy camper

Honeysuckle Hill Farm

     A few weeks ago we headed out to the farm- Honeysuckle Hill Farm. Thanks to Groupon, we scored 1/2 price admission for the family. We had not been before, but had heard some great reviews from our friends. It was a wonderful cool fall day and JT was so excited to go to the Pun-kin Patch as he called it.

     There were several things to do at the farm. In fact, we didn't get to all of them despite visiting there for 4 hours! Get ready for a photo filled blog post highlighting our fun.

 We started off at the corn pit. Basically a huge container filled with corn kernels, like a ball pit. JT wasn't impressed and wanted to leave after making a lap around the container.

 Lindsay on the other hand, loved it! She was sad when JT wanted to leave.

 The smaller retail area where you could purchase larger pumpkins, flowers, and food items(like jams). JT loved the BIG PUN-KINS.

 These were the stunning yellow mums that just screamed "buy me". However, knowing my black thumb, I spared these beauties and took a picture instead.

 Kiddie Corn Maze. Super easy and kid friendly.

 This area was by far JT's favorite- the big tires. It was in the central area where a lot of attractions were, so it was in his line of sight most of the time. 

 Climbing, climbing... up, up, up...

 King of the Tire Mountain!!!!

 Next, we went on the pumpkin train ride.

 Courtney and Lindsay in their private car.

 JT handing his train ticket over.

 Happy passenger!

 This was my favorite activity at the farm- adult size pedal 4 wheeler. JT was able to ride on my lap and it was a ton of fun for the both of us!

 Go, go,go Momma!!!

 While JT and I rode around the track, the girls went on the Corn Popper.

 It's a huge "pillow" of air to jump on. It's built into the ground, so it looks really neat in person.

 Farmer JT getting ready to plow the fields.

 After we had lunch, JT discovered the farm had one of his loves- trucks! There were a couple dozen huge Tonka trucks to play with in an enclosed dirt area. 

 JT just doesn't appreciate the human face in animal cutouts yet :)

 We then headed here- the big 7 acre corn maze!

 This year, JT walked the maze. At first he kept saying "Wow, big corn!"

 He soon discovered an ear of corn laying on the path.

 Of course he had to take a bite of it! JT determined that raw corn is not yummy.

 We made time for another round of racing for JT and I.

 This time, JT helped steer in heavy traffic. 

 Lindsay and Courtney racing away.

 Neck and neck heading into the corner!

 At the end of the day we picked out our free little pumpkins. JT had more fun running among the pumpkins than choosing.

 So many to choose from!

Lindsay with her orange and green pumpkin!

     As you can see, we had a great time! JT was fast asleep within 10 minutes of returning to the van. We are planning on returning next year for more fall fun at the farm!.

Boo!

     You are about to see some of the most adorable ghosts here today. I made these with JT and the children I babysit last week. Ghost idea- compliments of Pinterest! All that we had to do was paint the bottom of the foot with white paint and then have each child stand up on black paper. Once the paint was dry, I used a Sharpie to draw simple eyes and a "boo" mouth. Spooktacular!

 JT and Finn's ghosts. Yes, that big foot on the left is JT's :)

 Here are Ella's and Mason's ghosts. They are both eight months old.

The entire Boo Crew!

JTism's

Now that JT is approaching 2 1/2, he is having some pretty comical moments. In the past month, we have seen his speech and language really blossom! Such a wonderful thing for me to see/hear. JT has been a bit behind in his language but not so far behind to warrant speech therapy. Very similar to his big sister, Lindsay. Once she started talking, that girl hasn't stopped! I'm sure the same will be the same for John Thomas as well.

Since things change on such a quick pace sometimes, I wanted to get some of JT's more comical things down before I forgot and he stops saying them.

Things JT says these days:

- When wanting to assist in a task that we are doing, JT will say "Help Me"

- Always using manners, "Yeah please" is his version of yes.

-When we sneeze JT will say bless you, but it sounds like "Ahh Choo"

- JT's current version of No is "No Thanks" . Could be worse, right? Love the manners :)

- John Pom-ass Dap-a-dle is how he says John Thomas Apedaile

- My Man, I'm the Man, No You Da Man, and Come On are some of his more "manly" responses when playing with John.

- Like a lot of young children, JT is quite fond of picking his nose these days. Always with a purpose though- "Boogies" as he says it are bothering him- LOL!

-JT loves soft blankets. Our little Linus typically will drag one down from his bed to have on call in case he needs a bit of cuddling time during the day. When I wash his blanket and present it to him, he gets a big smile, hugs it and says "WARM!!!"

- At traffic signals JT has for some time declared what color it is and the meaning.. Red- STOP! Green- Go, go, go!!! Yellow- Slow down (said "weee down")

- My current favorite at bed time- After teeth have been brushed, books read, lights off, tucked in, sung a few songs, recap of the day, and night time prayers JT says the following, " Good Night, Sweet Dreams, God Bless, Hubba Bubbba" which is immediately followed with both an Eskimo kiss and kiss on the lips.

Love my little 2 year old!

Hand print Fall Tree

     Since I'm discovering my hidden craftiness, I had some fun creating some fall art with the kids. It was a simple fall tree using a hand print, fingers, and some paint to create an adorable piece of work.

 I started out helping to paint the boys hands brown.

 Press it down to get the top of the tree

 After the top of the tree was on the paper, all I did was paint with the brush to create the trunk.

  Time to make the leaves! The boys dipped their fingers into red, orange, and yellow to create the falling leaves.

 The boys had a great time dipping and dotting their leaves.

 JT had a lot of fun doing this part!

 Since Lindsay and Courtney were home on Fall break, they decided to make their own tree as well

The finished products!!!