A Pumpkin...Holding Ground?

Last week for playgroup we headed out to a pumpkin patch. They don't really grow pumpkins here, so they haul them in from who knows where. Our friend volunteered there (it was at her daughter's school) and said that mostly they go around picking out the rotten ones and throwing them out because they rot so fast in the heat. Nice.

Our friends got there, hence lots of waving!

Getting a picture with both of them looking, gosh.

Oh this boy is getting too, too big! 

Of biggest note here: MY GIRLS' FIRST MATCHING OUTFITS!!!!!! The sun was REALLY bright and coming at just the wrong direction, but I will be taking more pictures of these outfits soon. I was SO EXCITED when we bought these (before Molly was even born) because Ruth and Molly are far enough apart in age that I can't find many outfits that match. Oh I'm so excited that I have two little girlies to get dolled up!

At home adding the faces to their pumpkins. Will checks on them every time we go in and out of the house.

It was hot and it definitely didn't feel like fall, but the kids had a blast picking out their pumpkins!  Alas, I don't think we'll be getting too many seeds out of these little wee pumpkins. Mostly my kids are just adorable, even if they weren't in a smiling-for-pictures mood.

Four Rainy Days

We had four rainy days right in a row last week. It made for a lot of INSIDE time, which I've become very unaccustomed to. Usually Miami rains (indescribably torrentially) and then instantly becomes sunshine. Not this week. It was RAIN--Y! 

One day we made play dough. Ruthie in her cute apron.

There is this MASSIVE puddle (puddle? maybe small lake?) that forms in our parking lot every time it rains. It is on the way out of the complex, so everyone has to pass through it. Add in four days of rain and this thing was GINORMOUS! Right before I took this picture a truck drove through and the water was well over half-way on the wheels on that far side where the water meets the grass. See how the speed bump just disappears on that side? That water was at least a foot deep. We ran through puddles one day (we got soaked coming out of Target) and Will couldn't even make it through. It was hilarious. There is a drain right there, but it just gets too full and stops draining. The rain here is INTENSE. I don't know how to describe it. Being from the west, I have never experienced anything like it.

Luckily, the rain finally subsided on Saturday and we got in a day at the park with dad before he went to a health fair in Little Haiti. Called that because, obviously, it's a neighborhood made up of Haitians. I dropped him off. Not going to lie, I was a little scared. But gas was 25 cents cheaper so we stopped and filled up! (Sterling filled up, I don't think I would have by myself, even for the price.) He had a marvelous time and just added it to the ever-growing list of all the reasons why he is so glad we chose to come to Miami for med school. Where else would he have been able to experience a health fair quite like that? Nothing quite like the inner parts of a massive city. 

Then on Sunday we had gorgeous weather again and headed out on a walk. Which led to a park. Which led us to experience another city-dwelling moment. People use parks in Utah. But they also have the entire mountainside to play on. Miami? There's the beach or there's a park. In cool weather? Miamians are chickens, so there's really only the park. People REALLY use their parks. We have never walked over on a Sunday evening---or maybe they are getting more busy now that the weather is cooling off. It was a GORGEOUS 75 degrees on Sunday evening. There were three soccer games going on separate fields, two volleyball games going, lots of spectators for every sport, lots of age groups playing, and then the actual playground was PACKED with the few kids who didn't fit into the age groups of the games. You could tell it was families that were all joining in on games. Also, the latino music! So LOUD and so happy sounding. Haha. Walking outside my front door seems to be a cultural experience here, and as much as I miss home, I'm enjoying the experience!

She is a big hand-eater. Right here she was trying to stuff BOTH fists into her mouth. Haha.

Starting to catch the sunset.

As soon as the sun started setting I was racing home, because as nice as endless summer sounds...it also means endless mosquitoes. Ruff. I love Sundays.

Miss Molly Fay

I cannot get enough of her. She is just so beautiful. And SMILEY! She smiles all of the time. Really, every single time you look at her and pay attention to her she is all smiles. More than my other kids ever were. It is so precious. 

We get a lot of half-smiles.

And really big smiles--but they are really hard to catch on camera.

So inquisitive. 

The cheeks on the chest never get old. 

Another half-smile.

Ten tiny toes.

My girls.

Sterling and I were having a conversation about how our family should never change. Ruth should always be a toddler, Will should always be our tiny little man, and Molly should always be a perfect baby. It just seems natural and right. They are all so great right now and fit their roles so perfectly. Plus, I love having all of them so little. They are constantly touching and just around. No one is old enough to go off on their own. Which can drive me crazy--but I am already sad for the day that they will go off and I won't know what's happening every moment of their lives. Sigh. Babies are the best. Best to smooch on, best to tickle and tease, best to bug. Haha.

In other news, we had the missionaries over yesterday and I served baked potatoes and chili. One of the elders was SO EXCITED to have a potato. He said he hasn't had any form of potato except maybe fries, his entire mission. I told him that was a true tragedy. The sisters were talking about how chili reminded them of Halloween and they were so excited to have some. The last elder, from Mexico, was watching everyone intently, watched the other elder cut open his potato and fill it with chili and put sour cream and cheese on top, then he looks up and says "It's like a taco with a potato!" as if he finally understood what was going on. It was hilarious. I told him he was not getting a true American experience by serving in Miami--which led the discussion to what Miamians actually were. Cuban. Haitian. Guatemalan. Colombian. Brazilian. and Jewish. Haha. Oh Miami, you're so interesting! Oh, then we had angel food cake and the same elder that was excited about potatoes said "I didn't know you could actually make this, I thought you had to buy it at a store!" Haha. Now, to be honest, I made it out of a box. I just thought it was a hilarious comment though because, obviously, the store would have had to make it at least! 

It's been raining for four days straight. We went to the zoo on Monday, it rained that afternoon (so glad we went in the morning!) and its been raining ever since. So it is just hot and muggy and miserable. I'm about out of rainy day ideas so I'm hoping it stops soon! 

2 Month Shots and Smiles

Molly got three shots this morning. I hate it when babies have to get shots. When Will was a baby he would get a shot, his face would suddenly turn TOMATO red, and then he would start to scream. It was kind of funny to watch even though it was so, so sad. Molly just cried. Not too loud, just that "why did you let them do that to me" sad cry. Luckily, she's been doing great since then, great enough to get these beautiful smile shots:

Is that not the most beautiful smile you ever saw in your entire existence????!?!! Oh I love this baby of mine.

Ruthie got a haircut last night. I'm a little sad because I cut off more than I wanted to (and she has to fit a bun for Halloween!) but also very happy, because look how thick and nice it looks! It was starting to look pretty scraggly on the ends and Ruth was REALLY not enjoying brushing it out every evening. 

Molly is now 11 pounds, 14 ounces, and 23.5 inches tall. She seems so big to me already! I can't believe how fast babies grow. She is so cuddly and soft--it's the best!

Fall Days

We got a small nibble of 'fall' this weekend. Saturday morning at the park it was only 74 degrees!!!! And only 80 when we left. A miracle! With the beautiful Miami breeze it felt absolutely HEAVENLY. We, of course, enjoyed it with the ENTIRE city at the park. (I had no idea how full this park was with soccer and football games on Saturday mornings. Good to know.)

Racing from the tree to mom. Will's favorite part is yelling "GAH!" to mimic me yelling "GO!" to them. His speech is the best. (Oh yeah, and we are all about parks that have this rubber bottom. Then you don't get as many puddles and mosquitoes from the continual rain here.)

Oh, this picture. Lately Ruth and Will are so great at playing hide and seek. Usually they just sit at opposite sides of the bed and lean around the corner and start yelling and laughing hysterically at each other. At the park they found a tree. They make me SO happy when they have so much fun with each other. There is nothing better than siblings!

Molly is the greatest in the mornings and just looks beautiful all the time. We made friends with a Brazilian lady and her Colombian husband at the park since their son kept playing with Will. The husband could NOT get enough of Molly. At first he just talked to her a lot, but then he kept looking at me to kind of check that it was ok, and then pretty soon he was playing with her feet and cooing and holding her hands and touching her cheeks. He really was the sweetest guy. His little daughter (she was walking pretty unsteadily, so probably about a year old) was the CUTEST little baby. Always fun to make friends in Miami. 

I love those saggy cheeks! 

This park has rubber and turf. Win-win.

I thought it was so interesting that depending on the area of city that each team was from, their ethnicity was different. This team was from Overtown.  

Ruthie used to wear this dress. So sweet. Dressing babies is the best.

Those shoes! I think they are the cutest little things. Look at her poor mosquito bite. So sad.

The mornings have been so BEEEE-autiful that we went on a walk BEFORE church. It was gorgeous. Take a look at that man and his kids. Best picture in my entire life. Will was trying so hard to push like daddy. So sweet. 

Those aren't our houses in this picture, but that is what ours looks like. There are about twenty buildings with five houses per building in our complex.

Best father/son picture.

This next picture is my new favorite. Sterling was in charge of doing Will's hair and decided it was too long to spike, so Will got his very first parted-do. Doesn't he look like the perfect little man? I love it!

We always have to stop at every set of mailboxes and wave at every car.

Waving.

We're both really good at closing our eyes. 

 Parents: A Child's Perspective

Flower Princess:

I can't get enough of those pictures of Ruth. I'm glad I made her stand there when I saw the pretty flowers. She was a little ornery about it, but hey, she still gave me a smile! I hope I never forget this stage she's at--pink tights, pink sparkly shoes, bows and ribbons. She loves it all and is so incredibly sweet, too. I've decided that what makes 3 yr olds hard is that they can act so responsible and grown up and then they throw this tantrum that seems to come out of nowhere, but then you remember they are only three. Ruth LOVES helping and some of the things that she does are just so endearing. Today I walked downstairs and Ruth had come inside from the van by herself, shut the van door, taken off her shoes, and set them side by side on the top shelf of our shoe rack. I saw those shoes sitting there and I almost got a lump in my throat thinking of her doing all those little actions all by herself. What a sweetheart. 

Also, those pictures of Will. Where is my baby going and why is this big boy replacing him? The missionaries were laughing so hard the other night because he grunted to us and we asked him if he wanted milk "uh-uh", so we pointed to something else and he makes this trill noise in the back of his throat, so I said 'say please' and he signs it, and then we gave it to him. Quite the interesting conversation! But I love his little 'ok' that sounds all garbled. When I tell him he can't do something, or he has to wait, he has this eyeore-ish-'ok' and toddles off. Kills me every time. He is also big on high-fives. Today at the splash pad he would run under some water, barely get wet, come feet-slapping back to me and high-five, grinning the entire time, then repeat. Over and over. Love that.

Here's your Jew joke for the day: We had some friends over for Sunday dinner the other night (luckily my pulled pork turned out DIVINE) and he does a lot of singing because he is doing his PhD in choral directing at UM. So they were singing at this Jewish service (oh my gosh I had no idea how big the Jewish population was here...it's CRAZY! Have I talked about that yet?) and he said people would walk in and out for certain parts of the service, and at one point several people got up to leave. Also, they were all supposed to be fasting. So the rabbi gets up and says "You better not be going to lunch! You can eat a doughnut, but only the middle!" HAAHAAAHAAA. I'm still laughing about this.