Pumpkin/Picture Pickin'

as i was perusing through the dozens of pictures i took at the pumpkin patch, i decided that picking a pumpkin and picking my favorite pictures are very similar experiences. very few are flawless. only several are worthy of displaying. most have imperfections...but it is those imperfections that give character that causes you to treasure them the most.

here are the picture picks from the patch:




this is ben's first picture with his 3 girls. love it!

after i took this pic, i noticed the missing sock. that kicked off ben's quest to retrace his steps through the field for the next 10 minutes. mission accomplished and the sock was found.


and these just make me smile. the potato head pumpkin was so fun to do and the girls are constantly switching around the body parts. true to form, kinsley picked out the princess set while hallie insisted on the monster.



and now for the littlest pumpkin of all. can't imagine life without her.

never want to forget these tiny fingers.

3 little ladies

i can't even begin to describe the thankfulness i feel for the safe and healthy arrvial of our little baby. she is amazing in every way and we are deeply, deeply, deeply in love with her. i have been home a couple days and want to capture what the transition has been like before i forget.

Ben: well, the timing is crumby but he has a cough that doesn't let up. it has gotten so terrible that he is sleeping in another room and is not touching the baby. i did not envision being the solo caretaker of caroline these first days, but thankfully i feel great and am getting around just fine.

kinsley and caroline:

when we arrived home from the hospital, kinsley went through a short lived phase of declaring she didn't want to grow up and was talking in a baby voice. obviously, she was needing some extra attention and assumed you needed to be a baby to get some. thankfully, that was very short lived and she has been nothing but amazing to caroline. she is incredibly nurturing and is constantly kissing and snuggling her new sister.  S

he is completely loving, gentle, and fascinated with the baby. she talks in a high pitched voice and carresses her nonstop. she has turned down all sorts of offers of playtime because she would rather "guard her baby sister". she surrounds her with toys and pictures she draws. 

she has said she would rather, "sit and guard caroline" than play.

today, her preschool teacher asked me to confirm caroline's name--apparently kinsley passed on that her name is rainbow.



hallie and caroline:
one of my favorite memories is hallie running into the hospital room asking if cawawine has been born. she sat on the bed with me looking her over, listing all her body parts: "tiny feet, tiny eyes, tiny forehead, tiny nose." i wish i could type out a recording of the tiny voice hallie was using. i love love her little voice.

our first day home we were pretty busy and distracted. the doorbell rang. ben UNLOCKED the front door only to find little hallie standing there. hummm...not off to a good start with tracking the whereabouts of 3 kids.


caroline: oh, so sweet.