Pumpkin Carving 101

Yay!! It's finally that time again...the time for trick-or-treating, jack-0-lanterns, and best of all...candy!!! What better way to mark the season than to carve a good pumpkin...or three! Yep, this year we used our creative skills on not one, but 3 pumpkins! The kids each wanted one for themselves, so we dug through the piles of pumpkins and found what Ian deemed as "perfect" pumpkins. The boys love to give us ideas on how to make the faces and their all time favorite part is scooping out the "guts". Well, they had plenty of guts to scoop this year! Ian also decided that he needed to save all the seeds...not for roasting, but for planting. He wants to grow some pumpkins for next year! What a fun idea and one that they will definitely get involved in! Here is our Jack-o-lanterns that will grace our front porch this Halloween night! Hope everyone has fun, happy, and safe Halloween!!


Nicholas thinks pumpkins are neat too!!
My little "poser" getting ready to clean his pumpkin
Trevor wanted to "stir" the pumpkins :-)
Nothing more fun than scooping out a pumpkin!

While pumpkins are fun to carve, they leave a funny smell....Ian's face says it all!! haha
Donovan's first creation...he deemed this one "Ichabod's fate" :-)
This was my creation although I had some help from Donovan...Nicholas wasn't too hip on Mommy carving pumpkins this year!
Last but not least....Ian's creation...the "OOHHHHh" pumpkin
Our masterpieces all lined up and glowing away!

The Leaves are Falling...

Which means it has to be Maple Leaf Festival time!! Yep, last weekend was the yearly Maple Leaf Festival in Carthage and we decided to brave the thousands of people that flock to it and took the boys to the parade! The Maple Leaf parade is very long, it's usually cold or raining, and there are literally thousands of people lined on the streets to catch the action. It's great! This year was absolutely beautiful weather for the parade. After walking many blocks, we finally found a good spot to watch from. Ian and Trevor loved it! Trevor could usually be found with his hands over his ears because he thought it was loud. But, when the bands would get close, the hands came down and his little booty would start shaking. He just couldn't resist the music! haha Must be the drummer in him! Ian was content to catch the candy being thrown at us, not to mention he had to taste-test it too! Nicholas was perfectly content sleeping the morning away....despite the bands, the people, the horns, and everything else. After the parade, we went to the car show (which was immensely cool) and then back to the square for a little carnival fun. We all had a great day and are looking forward to doing it all over again next year!



Nicholas peacefully snoozing away
Catching candy by the roadside is always good fun!
I'm a dancin' machine!!

Catching the parade from the best seat on the side of the road...Daddy's tall shoulders!
Lollipops for breakfast, anyone??
The tower was the only way to get to the top of the big slide!
Ian braved it and made it in record time!
What a great day we had!!
It made me very sleepy :-)

Leaps and Bounds

I'm finally blogging again...YAY!!!! It's been awhile since my last post and the boys have been eating up all my spare time these days. Nicholas is a touch colicky these days but I was able to catch a few good grins. He is growing so fast!!! He is 7 weeks old now and weighing in at almost 13lbs! His big brothers love him so much that they can't seem to let him get any peace and quiet! haha He is constantly hugged and kissed but he doesn't seem to mind that much. He really gets a kick out of his big brothers' antics these days. Here are a few pics of my little man and his very loving big brother!


Trevor is never very far from his side
I'm getting so chunky now!!! :-)
sweet little face

My favorite pic of these two....

Cheese!!!!!!!!!

I wish for.......

I must admit I've been a bad blogger lately...I blame it on lack of sleep and energy! As I was taking pictures off my camera the other day, I came across these of Ian and Trevor at the hospital. The hospital in Joplin has undergone some new construction and they have this really neat waterfall wall in the admitting area that the kids loved to visit. It was a "wishing" waterfall according to Ian. So, off the went to visit the waterfall..armed with a handful of pennies for all those wonderful wishes to be made! Ian made a wish for everyone he could think of and he really put some thought into each and every one of them too. It was too cute! I'm also including two pics of little Nicholas...he is growing so fast! He is officially 1 month old today and I can't believe how fast the time is going by. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Hmmmm....who should I make a wish for now?
Being a big brother and helping his little brother with his wishes!
Trevor really just wanted to play in the water more than anything:-D
Really thinking hard on this wish!!
Awww, that's what Momma likes to see...her two boys being nice!
What a sweet little face...even if he's on the verge of crying!
Look how big I'm getting!! I can finally wear my new clothes!!

2 Weeks and Counting!

Well, Nicholas is officially 2 weeks old now! I can't believe he's been with us for two weeks! Of course, when your nights and days all blend into one, it's easy to miss the time flying by. I took Nicholas to his first doctor's appointment on Wednesday and he passed with flying colors. He has gained back the weight he lost and has surpassed his birth weight. He weighed in at 7lbs. 13oz and measured in at 21 inches! I guess all that eating he's been doing is doing it's job! haha He is finally starting to fit into his clothes and is starting to get little rolls on his legs and arms...so cute!! In the short time that he's been here, I've found out a few facts about little Nicky: he really likes to eat....constantly....about every hour or less at times, he really only likes to sleep in the mornings when Mom can't sleep with him, he LOVES to have his hair washed but hates to have a bath, he doesn't like to have his diaper changed and will protest quite loudly at times over us bugging him with this chore, he snores while sleeping and snorts when he's really hungry (sounds like a little piglet at times..haha) and overall.....he's just the sweetest, most kissable, huggable, loveable baby and we all love him to pieces! Here are a few pictures that I snapped of my little man this week....He is changing so fast!!

Snoozing in the swing
Yay!! I can see an eye!
My little spike-haired blondie
What a sweet little face

Awww, snoozing with Daddy.....:-)

Happy Birthday Nicholas Donovan!!!

He's finally here!!! Nicholas Donovan Stahl made his grand entrance at 12:39am on August 21! After spending the day at home in labor, we headed to the hospital around 10:00 on the evening of the 20th....Nicky joined us a mere 2 hours later! It was fast and furious, but we both made it through it well. Poor Nicky had some bruising in his face and head due to a very tight cord around his neck, but he is recovering well and is no longer our little "blueberry". His brothers love him and can't get enough holding time in. We are very blessed with our 3 wonderful sons and look forward to all the experiences ahead of us. If you want to see Nicholas's hospital pics, go to freemanhealth.com and look at the Freeman Babies Online. Just enter the birthdate and look for my name...you can even leave us comments on there! Stay tuned for more updates on our bundle of boy!

7lbs. 9.6oz.....20inches!






Two happy big brothers




Our little blonde monkey on his first night home