Fall is in the air...

Carsten riding along the "bumpy ride" with Papa...

...so we had to go to the pumpkin patch. Jim and Papa met us there before lunch and we rode the hay ride out to get our pumpkins and spent some time deciding on the perfect pumpkins. Carsten was very quiet and took it all in and Reese was excited to see it all again. Reese's plan for next year is to grow our own pumpkins with the seeds from this year's pumpkins.

Carsten's famous new look... raised eyebrows and goofy grin.

Our kids' favorite activity every year at the pumpkin patch is the duck race. You pump water down a trough and the duck dumps into a barrel at the other end and then you do it all over again!

Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic

Reese has shown quite a bit of interest in writing and reading lately. So, former teacher that I am I've grabbed the opportunity and we are practicing all things writing and reading. He likes to figure out that the light switch at the doctor's office says, "on" and "off"... Quite fun, although now he can decode some of what Jim and I spell to each other--have to be careful. I love seeing the wheels turn...

Celiac

Funny, I don't know why I haven't posted about this before, but Reese has Celiac Disease.
I think a part of it has to do with just trying to keep him from being labeled or for him to think of it as a hardship on us. We try as much as we can to not draw attention to him needing to be gluten free. I've had to stop myself from making comments about the price of gluten free items or that we can't buy something because we just spent so much on his food.
We found out in August after about a year of trying a dairy free diet. His symptoms seemed to get better without dairy, but then worsened again. Our family doctor is also an acupuncturist and practices different kinds of Chinese medicine. She had his blood tested and it came back positive for Celiac Disease. About four weeks ago she started treating him with NAET which you can read about... long process, long story. We are very hopeful and he is doing well with it so far.
Reese feels much better on a gluten free diet, obviously, and if he has to stay that way the rest of his life it won't be the worst thing. We have found that we are all eating healthier--it is much easier to all go gluten free than to make two meals every mealtime.
So, I feel like lately I've been pulled in many directions. We've moved, we're settling in, I have to be very diligent about R's diet (reading every label and then reading it again because I'm not always sure what I am looking for) and pretty much learning how to cook all over again--and I wasn't a tremendous cook to start with.
I could write so much more about all this--people being understanding, people not being understanding, trying to keep him from being hurt (emotional as well as his gut), needing to be an expert on gluten free and not coming close... needing to get all this off my chest...

Enjoying the dirt...

Our contractor did some digging the other day and two little boys had the time of their lives. We've also been adopted by a cat, Sarge, and so he had a good time with them too. The cat is great--de-clawed and awesome with kids, and the perfect set-up since we don't have to feed him or let him in the house!

Moving, New House, New Pets, etc...

A picture of the kitchen to tide everyone over until I can take pictures of the rest. Oma was here for three weeks to help us and I did not get one picture with her in it... actually didn't take any pictures at all. We are getting settled so I'll have to make sure and keep the camera handy again.

Moving day... it went pretty smoothly and we were all moved in one day.

Well, we have moved into our new home. It is not complete yet, still under construction, but definitely livable. This is our second week in it and it is starting to feel like "home"--Carsten does still call it the property, but slips a few times and says we are home.
We are also the proud owners of two pet rats. Yes, rats. Reese adores them and can usually be found holding one of them and talking to them.
I would give a few more updates, but our master closet just got finished yesterday and I'm dying to move into it... so off I go to get some more boxes unpacked!

We're almost there...

My really good friends...

I had the most wonderful helpers today! These ladies cleaned and then cleaned some more... so nice to have help! Sandra scrubbed a tub and cleaned the bathrooms. Nancy worked on flooring--tearing up paper and getting overspray off. Donna and Janine cleaned the whole kitchen... and JoAnn brought over yummy treats (she had cleaned two tubs earlier). I should also mention Saint Oma who watched the children at home...

We are moving everything (hopefully) tomorrow and then there will still be small things to finish up next week... Tonight will be our last night in this house...

Good Excuses...

Our excuses for being absent from Our Two Tootlepops are as follows:
-Our contractor had an appendectomy (he just happens to be our finish carpenter, painter, etc., etc., etc....).
-We laid the tile back splashes in the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry (My dad and I--thank goodness he was here to help).
-Auntie Marilyn then came and helped grout all the tile!
-We are supposed to be packing this house, but it seems impossible to be in two places at once...
-Oma is here for a couple of weeks and she is making it possible (the above).

So, if you are wondering, the updates are going to be sporadic for the next little while. We plan on moving some things next week and then all of it next weekend.

Sick of the house project yet???

In case you were wondering if all we do is "house", here are some pictures that are of us doing the "park". The boys and I walked/rode bikes to get the mail and play in the park. As you can tell Reese was not in the mood for pictures and Carsten was.
Carsten has been asking to stay home lately when we head over to the property--doesn't want to go over there... he also cries whenever I give away or sell any of our things (as I try to purge before we move). I wonder what he'll think when we leave this house behind for good. I have to remember that it is the only house he has ever known...

I haven't put a picture on of the house outside in awhile and haven't really wanted to... We picked a wonderful color--cardboard--and then when it was painted on the entire outside of the house we decided it wasn't so wonderful... we are working on what to do...

The kitchen counter tops... I love them! I'll try to get a picture once all the cabinets are done...

A really friendly neighbor brought these by for our new house mantel...

Catching up just a little...

We've graduated from flooring to cabinets... need to get them in this weekend as the counter guy comes Tuesday!

Our contractor painted Reese and Carsten's room--the lower 1/3 a nice orange (thanks Callie for helping with which orange to pick)

...and with a little help from Reese... (I wrote the message on it for the contractor--we thought Carsten did it and then found out Reese was quite guilty)

Where we've been...

We've been MIA--see the picture above...

Laying the last board! We did our whole house in IKEA laminate flooring and we just finished up today... whew.

We did not end up doing this all alone... we had Alicia, Callie, Papa, Mark (a friend), and a man from Jim's work helped one night... I just have to put in that Alicia and I (the mom) put in the whole living room/kitchen/dining room! We were pretty proud of ourselves as you can tell. I must also mention OMA who cared for three children all week while the parents were missing/putting in floors--Saint Oma.

This one is for you Uncle Tom...

Carsten's souvenir T-shirt from our trip--Thanks Oma!
Uncle Tom for those of you who don't know...

Tidbits from the rest of our trip...

This is backwards, so start at the bottom for the correct time line.

On the third day with our good friends we went swimming and had dinner with some Swiss friends--I didn't get any pictures, so go here to see some. A great time.
Fourth day we went home... We intended to leave at 9 and didn't get out until 11.
Funny story about our time with Extrems... Carsten adopted one of Siena's stuffed cats and wouldn't let him go. When we left for our trip from their house he cried and cried that we had to leave the cat behind. When we came back to their house he had not forgotten and quickly became attached again. Siena was quite grown up and bribable (a word?), so we bought her another cat and Carsten became the proud new owner of a stuffed cat--he hasn't let it out of his sight yet.

On the second day with C & H Jim and I took the four kids to visit our friend Bryan at his fire station... Fun was had by all. It was very informal and so the kids had a chance to become comfortable.

Upon returning to Con & Heidi's we decided to stay a couple of days with them. Actually as each day came to a close we would decide to stay just one more day... It turned into four extra days. We had a great time--just like old times! We went to a park on our first day there and Carsten enjoyed the slide. The boys then took all four kids on the paddle/pedal boats. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it (the big boys not so much--it was a lot of work). Of course the only one to get hurt was Carsten. Right as they were pulling into the dock Carsten fell off the seat and banged his lip on the pedals. Nice bloody/fat lip. I decided not to take a picture this time as the poor guy is only going to have pictures of his injuries... We then went to a discovery/science center which we all enjoyed.

Getting directions and advice on the best route at a McDonald's in Montana. Jim and Andrew asked six old-timers... We followed their suggestions and it worked good...

Our sleeping arrangements... Please notice Reese's bed up front. Opa and Unc built a bed to go over the two front seats. I should mention that Opa and Oma were in the luxury suite in the back on a queen size bed. We were all comfortable and really only spent three days all sleeping in the motorhome. In South Dakota we had a hotel for some of us.

A great one of Unc... I'm sure he'll appreciate it.

Reese enjoyed combing hair on our trip... he did Oma's and he spent hours (literally) on his own. Just a cup of water and a comb.

More Birthday...

I cannot take credit for these four photos... www.ryanstahle.com