Fall at Morris Arboretum

While I'm very happy that Nathan is getting so much therapy, sometime it feels like its a little much.  Like on Tuesdays when we have 5 hours straight.  Sometimes I just want a little break.  Well this last week we unexpectedly had all of our Tuesday therapists cancel/move therapy to another day so we had a free day.  Yippee!  Nathan and I went to the Morris Arboretuem to see all of the fall trees.  We both loved having a free day just to spend together.

Pumpkin Patch

We had the PERFECT fall day this week.  We went for a little drive out into the countryside to go to a u-pick pumpkin patch that a friend had recommended.  The drive there was SPECTACULAR.  Fall leaves, golden afternoon sun, a meandering stream.  I really wanted to stop to take pictures, but I was driving on a little two lane street with nowhere to pull off.

The pumpkin patch didn't disappoint either.  The farm we went to had the perfect little pumpkin patch at the top of a hill overlooking the orchards and surrounding countryside.  We got to the patch pretty late in the day and there was no one in the field.  Nathan was so happy to go play with the pumpkins.  He got so dirty!  He helped me pick out a few pumpkins to bring home which he happily plays with every day.

We topped the visit off with some apple cider donuts.  Like I said,  it really was the perfect fall day.

New York, New York!

We made a quick little trip to NYC over the weekend and we had so much fun! My family was going to Italy to visit Adrianne's mission and their travel plans included a 12 hour layover at JFK.  It's too bad Brad couldn't come with us, but his school scheduled part of his licensing exam that weekend.  Nathan and I drove up to New York the night before so we could meet them bright and early to head out sight seeing.

Since we knew we had limited time in New York my mom booked us a tour bus so we could quickly see New York.  It was raining practically the whole time we were in NYC, but we were determined to enjoy our tour.  You couldn't see much from inside the bus so Adrianne, Malinda, Byron, and I donned ponchos and toughed it out on the top of the bus so we could see New York better.  Poor Malinda ended up getting soaked.  The rest of us only had wet knees and hands.  Grandma and Grandpa stayed inside and watched Nathan.  We switched about half way through so my parents could enjoy seeing the tour from the top deck.  Nathan was perfectly happy to stay warm and dry inside the bus.

Empire State Building

Flatiron Building

Don't let this look fool you.  He was thrilled to be on a bus.

We got off the bus at Times Square to get some lunch.  We grabbed some New York pizza and did a little walking in Times Square before it was time to head towards the airport.  We got a couple of bad directions taking the subway, but we finally made it back to the airport in time for my family to make their flight.

It was a crazy busy day, but it was so much fun!  The best part was seeing my family.  Even though it was only for a few hours, when you live a 6 hour plane flight away it makes you appreciate every time you get to see family.  And this was the first time I've seen Adrianne in almost 2 years!  Thanks for the great day in New York!

Academy of Natural Sciences

Museum Day Live was a last weekend so we took advantage of the free tickets and went to the Academy of Natural Sciences.  There were lot so animals to go see.  Nathan's favorites were the dinosaurs, bears, and monkeys.  Nathan has been obsessed with the book, "We're Going On a Bear Hunt" so we made sure to go find all of the bears.  We'd prompt him with, "It's a . . ." and he'd fill in "Bear!" We also found a statue of a turtle that Nathan feed a few fishes to.

While we were downtown, we took a walk around Logan Square.  It's a fun spot to see a lot of Phillie sights.  From the fountain in the center you can see the Art Museum, City Hall, Franklin Museum, the Library, and the Temple!  We took a walk over to see the progress on the temple while we were out.  It makes me a little sad that we won't be here when it's finished, but it'll be such a blessing to the people of this area.  It's takes us at least 9 hours for us to go to the temple (travel time + session.)  We're hoping the next place we move to has a temple a little closer than that.

Baby Gurl

We started asking Nathan a few days before our ultrasound if he would like a baby girl or a baby boy.  He's never changed his mind.  It's a, "Baby Gurl."  Looks like he was right.  We're having a baby girl!  We're so excited!  We've all been feeling like it was a little girl so everyone is happy.

While we were having the ultrasound the ultrasound tech was having a hard time getting baby girl to cooperate.  She had the doctor do some more searching.  The doctor asked us if we were feeling like it was going to be a boy or a girl and we said that we were feeling like it was a girl.  The doctor finally got a decent shot and said, "Well, I think it's a girl."

"Really?!?" I blurted out.

"I wouldn't say that unless I was mostly sure.  That would be pretty mean otherwise.  I'm 90% sure it's a girl."  Haha, thanks doc.

I went out and celebrated with some shopping.  I went to get just her first outfit and came back with way more.  Everything was so cute.  And I had to keep looking because I needed to find a dress.  I'm so excited to start decorating the nursery, making quilts, and knitting little things for baby girl.  It's also exciting to think about getting Nathan's big boy room ready for him as well.  It's a good thing we're going into winter and more time at home so I'll have time for all the projects.  Now, we need to think of a name for baby girl!