Black Pumpkin Cat

Mama decided to do a fun Halloween craft with the kids today...make a black pumpkin cat.  First, Mama let the kids paint their pumpkins with black acrylic paint.  They both did a good job of painting, but one of them was more messy than the other =;)  Guess who?!?!?

While we were waiting for the pumpkins to dry, Des just decided to give his big sis a great big hug and Mama was lucky enough to have the camera handy to capture that sweet moment on film.

We took naps while the pumpkins dried and then in the evening, we glued on the cat's ears, eyes, nose, and whiskers.

And here's the final product.  This little scary kitty is sitting out on our front porch!

Steeler Nation

Dada wanted a picture of all of the kids wearing their Steelers' jersey and so we did a photo shoot at the park on Sunday.  It was such a gorgeous day.  The sunshine and beautiful fall foliage provided a gorgeous backdrop for our pictures.

 Des not sure about getting close to Eli

Des decides that he has had enough and decides to walk off.

After some coaxing, Des begrudgingly agrees to pose for a few more shots.

Early Birthday Celebration

While in Pittsburgh, we had an early birthday party for Des which allowed us to see Dada's side of the family, whom we haven't seen in about a year (last Thanksgiving).  It was really fun having a mini Z-family reunion.  Prior to family arriving, Des and Stella colored with their cousins.

For the past month now, Des has been telling Mama that he wanted a spider cake for his b-day and Mama was going to make it for him at home on his actuall b-day.  But of course, he also wanted a spider cake for the cake we got in Pittsburgh.  The girl at the bakery did a great job because it was such a cute cake. 

Des blew out the candles as soon as Dada lit them before we even had a chance to sing.  So we relit the candles and sang to him.  Des was so cute during the singing...he was quite taken aback with everyone singing (it was pretty loud) and him being the center of attention.  He just sat very still staring at his cake and then would look to either side of his periphery back and forth only moving his eyes, with an expression on his face that looked like he was in preparation for being attacked or something.  And as soon as we were done singing, he blew out his candles in record time like a pro and then swiped the green icing off of the body of the spider. 

 Des had fun opening gifts.

 And Stella had fun playing with his gifts =;)

Fun With the Cousins

Stella and Desmond's cousins from Cincinnati came to visit us on Sat and they all went immediately to a nearby park to play.  Stella had been asking about her cousins all week while in Pittsburgh, but due to school and soccer practices, her cousins could only come for the weekend.  But the kids all made the most of their short time together, playing pretty much non-stop from the moment they got to Pittsburgh on Sat till they left Sunday afternoon.  Stella and Des had so much fun playing with their cousins.  Too bad that they live too far away from us that we can't see them as often we would like.  Des was just smitten with Zoe and he and Stella were vying for her attention and affection the whole weekend.  Here some pics from their time at the park.

Goats, Pigs, Chickens and Ducks, Oh My!

After we finished picking flowers, we headed over to the petting zoo area of Simmons Farm.  This was by far the best petting zoo experience we have had.  The animals were all pretty friendly, especially the goats; it was clean and kept very well; and it didn't smell bad, which was a big plus in Stella's book.

Des, the animal lover was in heaven.  Desmond loved petting the goats and feeding them leaves. 

Stella eventually was brave enough to pet and feed the goats as well.

Des really wanted to pet this pig, but she was very pregnant and just wanted to be left alone.  Her squeals didn't stop Des from chasing after her though.

Des also didn't understand why he couldn't pet the ducks or chickens as they kept running away from his advances.

When it was time to go, Des was not budging, because he REALLY, REALLY wanted to pet a chicken.  Silly little boy!  Dada eventually had to carry him out of the petting zoo.

Flower Power

Mama, Dada, Stella, and Des went to Simmons Farm today.  Simmons Farm is absolutely beautiful and that was the very first place Stella went pumpkin picking back when she was just a tiny little thing (just 3 months old)...

Desmond just loved all of the pumpkins they had set up at the entrance to the store...

He even managed to swipe a pumpkin just his size.  Just look at the sheer joy in his face.

The kids thought these carved pumpkins were cool.

One of the first activities we did at the farm was to pick/cut our own flowers that we got to take home with us.  We filled a bucket up with flowers, took them home to Ommy and Poppa's house and got 3 beautiful bouquets out of our pickings.

Throwing rocks down the hill was also very fun for Stella and Des...

We had such a fun time picking flowers and hope to do it again in the future.

In Pittsburgh

We flew into Pittsburgh yesterday evening and the flight went smoothly and the kids did great.  We were worried about Desmond but he loved it.  Big D and lil' d were in one row for the first flight (we had one layover) and Big S and lil' s were in the row behind them.  When Des couldn't see Mama, he would say "Can't see Mama" all concerned.  We are here in Pittsburgh for a wedding and a conference for Dada.  It's been about a year since we have been up here, so it was nice to be able to visit our family and friends.  The kids are having tons of fun playing with Ommy and Poppa.