The Festivities

Little Miss Hannah was not excited about being a little lady bug. I tried wearing the antenna and putting them on her stuffed animals to help her warm up to them. She didn't like anyone wearing them including Papa's dog Sadie. We made our trip around to see the grandparents and she wore her costume for a few seconds at each place. I didn't get a picture of her wearing her entire costume where you could see her face so here's it is in two pictures.

Removing the shell.

Wearing the antennae for a bit longer than normal.

The carved pumpkin.

Catching Up

Here's what we've been up to the last couple of weeks.

Baking cookies. Doesn't she look pitiful. I think she was on the verge of getting sick. As a result I got to finish cutting out and decorating the cookies.

Watching the backhoe (a new favorite word) take out a tree and dig trenches for the septic lines.

I thought it would be more fun for Hannah to paint her pumpkin than watch me carve it. With all of the coloring that has been going on on the walls I thought painting would be right up her alley. I guess not. It must be more fun to do art on things that aren't supposed to have art on them. Paint doesn't seem to be her thing and she ended up watching me paint. So, before it dried I washed it off and decided to carve it.

Hannah thinking about helping carve the pumpkin. When I got the top off her first response was "yucky." It's a good thing we had Hannah because I must have been becoming a boring adult. The last time I carved pumpkins was with my college roommate and it had been a really long time before that. I guess having kids allows you to keep being a kid!

Stay tuned for the carved pumpkin all aglow and Hannah dressed up (if I'm lucky).

It's A.....

Girl! We had our ultrasound today and found out we are having another girl. I always thought it would be fun to have a sister. Ben had it right and I was sure it was a boy. Anyway we are still due on March 20th. Don't get too excited about the date. It is +/- 2 weeks. As we went along there were times I could see all 4 chambers of the heart (very cool!) and Ben thought it was at times like watching static on TV.

This picture is honestly the only one worth sharing and it's still not that great. This is a picture of her face with her forehead being to the left of the word "face" and her chin to the right. Her body is headed out of the picture to the right. Kinda looks like a picture just in time for Halloween. They couldn't get the 3-D pictures to work and that's fine with me. They freak me out a little bit.

We are pretty sure everything looks good. The ultrasound tech really isn't the expert (or at least claims not to be) so the final "good to go" will come from the doctor next month.

FYI: To make things a bit more exciting since this is the second pregnancy the name (when we finally agree for sure) will be kept a secret until she's born. So, don't even try to pry it out because it won't be worth your time! :)

Farm Girl

All dressed up and ready to do chores. She does still smile but I think she's becoming a bit camera shy.

Things yet to be done:

1. Preg-check cows and vaccinate everyone.

2. Replace the septic lines (again).

3. Attend several fall get-togethers.

4. Get Hannah's picture taken. It's been way too long!

Craziness

Things have been busy around here since my last post.

Thursday of last week we brought home our cows and calves. I was thankful to make it in two loads because I was tired and Hannah hates riding around in the cruddy car seat I bought for the trailer pulling pickup ("The Ford"). The last load was a tight squeeze but we got every one in. It was a slow heavy trip home.

They were all glad to be home but Friday I weaned the calves in the corrals and Ben moved the cows to the pasture right by our bedroom window. I think he had some logic behind that but I couldn't quite remember what it was that night when I was trying to sleep. The cows were ready for their calves to nurse and the calves wanted their Moms. Who can blame them? Needless to say he got to sleep by himself and I went to a more quite room in the house. Light sleeping Mommies don't do well with constant loud noises 20 feet from their bedroom window!

Definition: We-generally refers to Hannah and her Mommy. Her Daddy has been very busy while local farmers work to get 3rd and 4th cuttings of alfalfa out of the field and into barns before the weather gets too bad.

We finished up with the wheel lines on the alfalfa field for the year and they are waiting to be tied down for the winter. We also flood irrigated the pasture for the last time. It was the most challenging irrigation yet with the pump plugging up almost constantly and the irrigation district not having enough time to help keep it cleaned out. Hannah and I spent quite a bit of time out there keeping it running. I guess that's why I get paid the big bucks! :)

Yesterday we sorted the calves. After decisions were made about who to sell, who to keep as replacement heifers, who to keep to eat, and should I really leave the bull calf a bull, I had a load ready. The brand inspector came by for a quick inspection and our paper work was in order to take the calves to the livestock auction.

So today was the "big" trip to the sale. After breakfast we staked the wheel lines back down because they came loose in the wind yesterday. Then we backed the trailer up the loading ramp. I'm pretty adept at backing up a trailer but to get it in this location is no small feat for me. Hannah played in the pickup while I sorted the "calf kept to eat" off from the others and loaded them in the trailer. Calves are young and dumb and for some reason tend to load up really well for me...thankfully. On our way to the sale we ran across the valley to "The Westside" and pulled a hay sample (another one of my jobs) and then ran it back to the post office.

Now it was finally time to head up the highway. Hannah was already acting like she needed a nap so I knew this could be a "fun" trip to town. We got to the livestock yard and got the calves unloaded and the trailer unhooked. Every time I pull the trailer I find one more driver on the road that really shouldn't have a license. Today was no exception. We ran into town to do a few things, got lunch to go, went back to get the trailer and headed home.

I'm almost done (for awhile)...I think. I have two registered calves to get weighed soon and cows to preg-check at some point. There's one other project we have been working on but I want to wait until I'm done and have pictures before I say much more.

Fall Chores

It seems like our days have been fairly uneventful yet very busy. We are irrigating our alfalfa field one last time just to make sure the plants go into winter nice and healthy. We also have cattle to feed in the corrals and more will be coming in this week. We have the last few cows and calves to bring home and then we will wean the calves. I never look forward to the sleepless nights of cows and calves bawling for each other. Other than that we have been cleaning up outside and trying to get things ready for fall/winter...which ever comes first around here!

Hannah ready to help Mommy irrigate this morning.

Hannah helping feed the heifers in the corrals.

Pregnancy Update

I'm not sure if you are wondering but since I had a doctor's appointment today I thought I would give a little update on how things are going. There actually isn't much to report. Things seem to be going well. I have gained a little weight...the only time in my life where this is a goal....and my pants are close to being too small. We heard the baby's heart beat today. It was moving around so quickly that we didn't get to check it's heart rate but it sounded good. I'm starting to feel some better and finding something to eat that sounds good is not quite the challenge it used to be. Otherwise, things are good. Hannah is keeping me busy and we are headed out to get the field ready for the third and final cutting.

The Fair

The fair was this weekend. I told myself I wasn't going to spend much time there but let's face it there isn't much to do around here so we ended up at the fair at least once a day.

Thursday: I had the brilliant idea to go at 10:00 when it "opened." I don't think I will be doing that again. Nothing was quite ready for the big "opening." The exhibit buildings were supposed to be open and the doors appeared to be. Hannah and I were enjoying our stroll through the building until a lady explained to me that the building was in fact not open and she was afraid that people might steal her items in the isle that she was still trying to get set up. Do we look like we need random hydraulic parts? We must! I decided at that point to head back home and come back another time. I would rather not cook during the fair so we headed back with Daddy that evening for some dinner.

Friday: Daddy would have rather not gone back to the fair but they were having the Farmer and Rancher Appreciation dinner. It's tough to turn down free BBQ from one of the best caterers around. After dinner we cruised around and looked at all of the exhibits and animals.

Saturday: Do we go to the fair? Do we stay home? Do we go to the fair? OK let's go I decided. Hannah was running around the house refusing to be dressed and I began to wonder if I really wanted to go. I asked her, "Do you want to go to the fair?" She immediately brought me her clothes and sat down to be dressed. I guess she wanted to go. We went in a little bit early and got some lunch and then watched the parade. I had been wanting to take Hannah into a farm play area for little kids so we waited around for it to open.

Here she is digging in the dirt for potatoes.

This was probably the highlight for Hannah. It was a very large box filled with whole corn and lots of sandbox toys. At one point I took her out and she jumped back in while I was trying to get the corn out of her britches.

"I'm so exhausted Mom but I don't want to get out."

I guess Daddy was tired of fair food and was looking forward to some home cooked dinner but he made me believe otherwise and we ended up back at the fair for dinner. We should of just had cereal or something because it was absolutely crazy trying to get something to eat.

Sunday: We attended the church service at the fair and then had lunch with some of the grandparents.

I'm kind of pooped from all of the activity but we still look forward to it every year.

Catching Up

We have been busy here but I haven't gotten much posted on the blog. Here's a little taste of what we have been up to.

Playing with Play Doh

Feeding the heifers

Riding the Bouncy Horse

Sliding (and climbing on everything!)

Baking

Hannah prefers her tractors and Mommy made some Craisin scones.

Playing in the sand and water. I'm hoping this will be a good thing to help us get through the winter.

Swinging

Playing in a tube

Sliding with Mommy

I definitely exceeded the age limit of 12 years old. We crossed our fingers that we wouldn't exceed the weight limit!

15 Month Check-Up

Hannah had her 15 month check-up on Monday. She weighed in at 20 pounds 5 ounces and 28.75 inches long. There's not much else to report other than she's busy, busy, busy and learning lots a new words. I'll give a go at listing her current vocabulary (please forgive the bodily functions).

Mama
Dada
Doggie (also with barks to follow)
Cracker
Tractor
Apple
Bottle
Baby
Bye Bye
Hat
Hot
Poo Poo
Pee Pee
Papa
Bull
Moo
Baa
Peas
Please