30 weeks

We are just loving this Fall season. The boys have decided they like this season the most. No bugs! I tend to agree.

 

Two families who are close to ours recently moved away. We were able to met up at Carter's Mountain to pick some apples together. Even though it was short, it was so nice to be all together.

 



Annabelle misses her buddies. They were all born within 8 weeks of each other.

We were able to get our first good family photo with "new baby" showing!

 

 Annabelle and Grace... sweet friends that go "way" back.

Mama and baby at 30 weeks.

New Sneaks

It's normally really hard to find them used, but this year I was able to find some great Stride Rite and Saucony sneakers for the kids in excellent condition for CHEAP. So, now they all have new sneakers for the Fall/Winter season... and it didn't break the break. Mama is quite pleased.

 

When I came home with the shoes, they immediately went to get dressed to go for a "run" with Daddy. Annabelle went too, that's why I put run in quotes. I got such a hoot out of the boys' striped socks, Sam's pulled way up, and Joe's paired with plaid shorts. Now, when Annabelle says "running shoes" she always puts her hands in a running position and swings them back and forth! Too cute.

 



 

When I was younger and I saw kids dressed like this, I never understood why their parents let them do it. Then, I would promise to myself I would never let my kids look like that... once again I'm eating my words. Parenting sure is a constant lesson in humility.

Daddy the Farmer

During the first trimester of this pregnancy I should have been tending to the garden in full force, but I wasn't. I was too busy growing a human being from the size of a poppy seed to the size of a lemon. (It's amazing how exhausting that is). But for the sake of our garden, my sweet husband picked up the slack and took over it's care. Through that, he has found a love of gardening, or farming as he'd like to call it. The garden is now his.

 

When it was seconds away from death, I told him to just pull it all up and that it was a worthless cause. He insisted it could be saved. And sure enough, he was right. He did his research, got to work, and resuscitated it. Here's a recent pepper to prove it. I still have much to learn from this man.

 







New Ride

While in Smith Mountain Lake there was a kids consignment store that was going out of business and I found the exact stroller I was hoping to buy for a great price! The kiddos and I are thrilled. Just another step closer to being ready for our little girl's arrival.

 

It's been a long time since we've had a larger stroller and I didn't realize how much I loved having one. After I took this photo we went on a walk around the neighborhood and were able to be out for over an hour and a half marveling at the changing of the seasons, bees, butterflies, different kinds of plants and flowers, squirrels, checking out the new bridge in our neighborhood, and overall just enjoying this gorgeous weather. Apparently it doesn't take much to entertain the Eckerts.

 





Yogurt and Granola

If my family had it's way, they would eat yogurt with every single meal. We could easily go through a quart in one sitting. I finally found a recipe that I love, so I've been trying to make a batch each week to offset the cost. The health benefits are of course great, too.

 

 

This picture of Annabelle reminds me of the neighbor in the show Home Improvement, when you could never see his mouth. They always staged him so something was over his face. Ahhh, childhood memories.

So anyways... back to food. I've done the same with granola. It's amazing how quick and easy it is to buy these ingredients in the bulk section at Whole Foods, bake it yourself and you've got healthier and cheaper granola. I even added pumpkin puree to this mix and it gave it a subtle fall taste. Yum!

It is often a struggle to find the time to go these extra lengths for things, but as soon as we get into it, I'm reminded of how happy we are once they are made! The busier life gets, some things I've just given in and decided to buy, but I'm going to try to add making some yogurt and granola to our list because of how simple they are. And the smile on Andy and the kids' faces as they are eating them makes it all worth it. It's amazing how happy food can make someone :)