At Home after the Orchard

We got home and it was time to stretch out, change diapers and relax. It inevitably led to another photo session. There was a lot of laughter as we played peekaboo. Once again, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. I'll upload the peekaboo video tomorrow, as having technical difficulties today (it's already 2:00 am!). 

 

Let me tell you a little something about grown-ups and cameras...

 

So, what do you want from us?

 

 Matteo has really discovered his feet. Look at these! I wonder how they taste... 

 

The Ride Home from the orchard

The ride home became important because we "tested" if the video game worked in the car. We told Nicolas he could try it out to make sure it worked for the Arkansas trip. Needless to say, he did not look at the scenery on the way back. Please notice the tongue, sticking out once again, as he focused on the game. 

Matteo was sleeping again. Enzo was playing with me. He blows me kisses back. I know this seems crazy, but it's true. He doesn't always do it and it's hard to catch it on camera, but here is my attempt. Call me crazy, but I thought it was worth uploading the video. 

We could tell everyone was ready to get home and relax. The long day had been worth it, however. 

Pomar ~ Apple Orchard

Saturday was a perfect Autumn day. We decided to enjoy it by going apple picking at a nearby orchard we had gone to last year. It was freezing last year, so we did not enjoy it as much. I was very nauseous and pregnant last time, so it would be fun to do it again now that I feel better. Nicolas was very excited. We arrived at the orchard for lunch. The line was huge. Apparently, everyone in the Twin Cities decided to enjoy the nice day. 

Matteo was mesmerized by our food. He is ready to start eating different foods. Sometimes he goes as far as grabbing the food. He fell asleep on Trey's lap - while staring at the food. 

We had fun on the pumpkins. Some were huge, some were funny shaped, but all equally exciting to Nicolas. Sometimes he seems so grown-up that it blows us away, then the very next second he is back to being a little kid. He had fun jumping off of the hay into Trey's arms. 

 

He also seems to enjoy taking turns with the babies, when the other one is asleep. This time, he held Enzo while Matteo snored away. 

  

  

Here is Matteo who was just waking up. He was his usual happy self, smiling all the time. In fact, at the gym they have started calling him Smiley. 

 

Finally, we walked to the actual orchard and started picking apples. There were many different types, three regional to Minnesota. 

 

Even Meemaw has her own type of apples! 

We took the opportunity to take pictures outside. So much so that we have 278 pictures! Don't worry, I won't post them all here, but I will say that it was very difficult to pick the pictures. This time, I'll write less and let the pictures tell the story of the day. We had such a fun time.

 

 

 

 

 

While the 3 oldest members of the family were actually looking for apples, the 2 youngest ones found ways to entertain themselves. Matteo learned how to take his socks off, which soon became a game of me putting them back on and him taking them off again. Enzo chewed his hand. By the looks of it, it is simply delicious! 

 Trey found an apple with habitants. There was a small hole in one apple and we were sure we would find a worm (which Nicolas would want to mail to his Papa who says he eats worms when Nico does not say he loves him). Instead, there were 3 ladybugs chewing away at the apple. The picture is awful, but nonetheless, the memory is registered. 

As we were leaving the orchard, Nicolas ran into his new kindergarten buddy named Kaeden. Kaeden's dad works with Trey at General Mills. The two boys were introduced at Open House, in hopes to ease some of the anxiety that comes with the first day of kindergarten. They have become such great friends. It just made the day that much more special for Nicolas to see him. 

The thing about homework is....

I spent this morning praying for patience. The babies were both crying a lot for some reason and Nicolas had a ton of homework. He also could not believe that the Buzz Lightyear pajamas that he adores and wore 2 nights ago are not "magically" washed and back folded in his drawer. C'mon, it has been 2 days! Where could they have gone? What is taking so long? 

The big difference from preschool to kindergarten is this little thing called homework. Let's just say that Nicolas is not really a fan. We were erasing all the number 3s that he had done because I wanted him to do it over CAREFULLY. Why, he asked? He just wants to go fast so it can be done and finished, doesn't really matter what it looks like. So, I give the big speech about responsibility, doing your best, importance of learning... blah, blah, blah... He understands. He gets back to doing the number 3, always checking ahead and baffled by the fact that he has to go all the way to ten. The silence is nice for a few minutes. Matteo is asleep in the high chair next to Nicolas. Enzo is on my lap amazingly quiet. The only noise is of the pressure cooker in the background. Out of the blue Nicolas says "The thing about homework is..." and goes silent again. His look is pensive and I, for some odd reason, think he is going to say something deep. He repeats himself. "The thing about homework is....", long pause and he takes a deep breath to finish "I JUST DON'T LIKE IT". Well put and to the point. He also added that I take 100 thousand 400 minute hours to do it with him.

   

  

We did finish it. I noticed that when Nicolas concentrates on something, his tongue sticks out. He kept moving it from side to side and, if he was especially careful when making the 3, it was like aerobics for his tongue. You can see it in the pictures. He is totally unaware of this. 

  

Well, the 3 minutes of quiet did not repeat itself until now, when they are all asleep. It was a crazy day with lots of crying, but the smiles made it all worth it. At the end, although he does not like it, Nicolas was very proud of his homework. He also brought some art work he made at school. It is a gift to his brothers.