The Scotts: Patrick Eats and Cider Mill Fun

Now that Daddy is home from his work trips we're all having a lot more fun around here.

Shopping trips with Daddy are lots of fun. Eleanor picked out some superhero underwear that she is in no way ready to wear yet. Although she still loves to practice sitting on the potty!

We went back to Scheels for dinner and games the other night because that's how things work at sporting goods stores in Kansas. We found a little shooting arcade game which was pretty fun.

I was fortunate to have extra help when it was my turn to play. Please note Eleanor standing on my leg. She did this in order to whack at the two big buttons in front of us the entire time I tried to aim at targets.

Calm cuddles with Daddy once we got home ...

It's not all fun and games though. The kids have to earn their keep around here!

(Eleanor and Bradley took turns with the broom, they were so excited to get to play with it)

Our neighborhood had a community picnic in the park and I now have to explain every time we go to the park how the bouncy house was a one time thing and no, it won't be there again until next year.

Little angel Patrick in his stroller watching the fun. He's getting so big!

We let the kids jump around a ton and then fed them an exciting assortment of food. Bradley ate a number of desserts which included a donut, mini cupcake, and a cookie and despite throwing up a little on the way back to our house he made a miraculous recovery in time for popcorn and a movie.

Eleanor had skipped her nap and even Star Wars and popcorn weren't enough to keep her awake for more than about five minutes. Poor little thing.

And she managed to fall asleep again during the second part of the movie when we were watching it after church the next day. Eleanor has seen about 10 minutes of Star Wars in two attempts to watch the movie.

More of Eleanor asleep on the couch

Eleanor has been a little stinker when it comes to naps lately. She has to stay in her room and in her bed for a set amount of time but then she gets to come out and we do things like read books and discuss whether or not we should paint our toenails.

I have matching toenails with my two year old daughter. It's kind of the best thing ever!

Eleanor continues to be my little helper in everything I do. She particularly likes baking and I may encourage it a bit. Look at how cute she is in an apron!

She's cute in just about everything. I will be sad when she stops fake smiling, I kind of adore it.

Nathan thinks our sweet Eleanor may have a future as a linebacker. He was walking out of baby Patrick's room one morning as Eleanor came out of her room carrying her giant bundle of "stuff" (generally a couple blankets and a couple stuffed animals). She charged down the hall towards our bedroom and Mommy cuddles and expertly side stepped Daddy as she ran. She had the biggest look of glee as she got into our room. She had made it! Daddy generally thwarts Eleanor's attempts to get Mommy cuddles in the middle of the night so it's all the more exciting when it's morning and she gets to come into our bed for snuggles.

And here she is playing with the swings at one of our favorite parks.

Fashionable Eleanor is very into the new clothes Grandma Kathy made her.

The dress in particular is a favorite and may I say that we are particularly grateful for the lining on her "peekaboo" dress.

Trying out a pink headband

I have some shocking news - Eleanor may be a bit of an imp. This is the look on her face coming down the slide and "accidentally" running into Mommy.

Imp Eleanor also manages to get her toys put in kissing timeout when she won't stop having them kiss Bradley's toys loudly and on repeat. It could drive a boy crazy for there to be so many kisses.

Looking cool on a playdate

Three kids in the bath is getting to be more and more fun, Patrick loves to get at the big kids' toys!

I can't wait until he can join in on Bradley and Eleanor playtime. They have the occasional spat but when they play well it is just ADORABLE to watch.

Bradley remains the biggest snuggler in our crew.

Lucky Patrick getting in on the action.

In happy news, we've managed to find some foods that Patrick likes. I know he likes them because he yells at me in between bites so I will feed him faster. Shades of Bradley. Patrick slept through the night last night (8 PM to 6 AM, I snuck in and nursed him at 11 PM but he didn't wake up), I credit the sweet potatoes I finally managed to get him to eat!

Patrick's favorite thing in the world is to be around his big brother or big sister.

The weather has been nice and we got out some new chalk! The kids like playing hopscotch and having me trace them with the chalk. It looks like a crime scene in our driveway with all the body outlines all over the place.

It's so fun getting to put Patrick on the swings at the park. He's getting into my favorite baby stage, he's big and solid and can grab stuff and laugh at Mommy and Daddy's hilarious jokes.

We're a pretty active crew these days. It's really weird when Bradley's at school and Patrick is taking a nap so it's just me and Eleanor playing together. I'm used to this.

And they're such fun characters now.

Emphasis on the characters.

Playing catch in the office.

Three kids, one castle.

Group art. This lasted for at least 10 minutes, a new record!

I've discovered that if my children find food at the park they want to eat it, even if it's moldy apples. I'm hiding some vegetables in my bag sometime and tossing them in the mulch at the playground. Because I'm pretty sure that would make them irresistible.

Cute boys playing together.

New favorite game to play at the park. I don't know how I feel about this.

Have I mentioned that Patrick adores his big brother?

Oh sweet Patrick. He is the easiest baby ever. He literally smiles at me and falls asleep about two minutes later sometimes. One morning he was a bit fussy so I put him in his lizard chair in front of the tv so he could watch shows with his brother and sister and he fell asleep without a whimper. This guy!

And we went to the Louisburg Cider Mill with some friends yesterday and had a blast. All we do there is drink cider, eat donuts, and run around and play with pumpkins and that's really all we need for a good time.