Five months waiting ...

Just a short post at the end of long day. Today marks five months on the waiting list. It's been a year since we started the process to Lil Ailor 2. Hard to believe! Ethiopia is constantly on my mind. And I wonder when we'll get THE call. Will we be as surprised as we were when we received Simon's referral? Or will we be at a point of exhaustion from the wait? Only time will tell. But I do know that I already can't wait to know the face of our next child.

He can spell his name ...

... and sing songs/repeat lines from the movie Madagascar, which he has only seen twice. And apparently now likes very much! Please excuse the ketchup on Simon's chin. : )

Fall Fun

It's no secret ... fall is my favorite time of year! I took Simon to "Boo at the Zoo" -- a yearly fundraiser/activity for our small local zoo. It was crazy crowded but my little zebra had a good time!

This photo just cracks me up! I don't know why but it just makes me laugh to see a zebra milking a cow. : )

These photos are backwards but so it goes. We carved our pumpkins today. Photos will follow of our trip to the pumpkin patch where we found these very pumpkins that we carved today.

Simon requested a happy pumpkin, an angry pumpkin and a surprised pumpkin. What do you think? Do we fulfill his requests ok?

And here are the photos from the pumpkin patch here in town. We like going to them for several reasons ... we don't have to drive very far, no one gets muddy, it's not crazy crowded and the proceeds support several local non-profit organizations.

Last weekend, Mark made apple butter in the crock pot. Here he is consulting with his Mom on the phone about her apple butter recipe. The house smelled awesome! And the apple butter is delicious.

We love where we live but we have a lot of leaves to rake in the fall .... this photo is a bit like a where's waldo hunt. Can you see Simon? We've raked both the front and back yards now. We'll probably have to rake one more time as one of our trees in the front is still holding onto its leaves.

Simon helped me with the decorating this year. He loves these jelly-like window clings.

And just because I think he's a cute little zebra ... we're looking forward to Halloween!

Bedtime Routine

We have a very set bedtime routine. Simon chooses which jammies he wants to wear and then Mark and I take turns doing the story/song routine. It's three books and two songs. We often sit on the floor next to Simon's bed when we sing. Here's a short video of him doing part of the routine with his doll that he has named Kebebe -- which happens to be Simon's middle name.

Videos of Reading and Singing

Warning: proud Mommy alert! This post is all videos of Simon 'reading' books and singing songs. I don't know about you, but I still get choked up and teary when he sings a new song for the first time. And lately, he's been blowing us away with the books he can 'read' because he has memorized them. It may be hard to understand him if you're not around him every day but you'll get the idea. This is probably a post that grandparents and aunts/uncles will appreciate most. : ) So without further delay, here is Simon reading and singing.

This first one is Panda in the Park.

Next, a Thomas the Train book that describes each engine/train car.

Reading Sam Sheep Can't Sleep and then a video of painting his pumpkin/singing.

He sang The Leaves Are Falling Down for about 30 minutes straight in the car on Sunday.

And another version of The Leaves are Falling Down.

First trip to the movies!

Lafayette's three movie theaters show free movies on Saturday and Sunday mornings -- family friendly movies. I saw in the paper that yesterday's movie was "Rio" -- we've seen previews before but we hadn't watched it. I thought, why not try taking Simon to a theater when it's free? If he gets scared or just too antsy, we can leave and won't have lost any money in the process. Well, he LOVED it! I think that the movie itself was a good one for him -- lots of colorful characters and singing. He didn't weigh enough to sit on the theater chairs -- they kept folding up on him -- so he sat on my lap. Loved the snuggle time! He thought it was great that he could eat popcorn and M&M's AND drink milk. : ) The cutest thing was when he tried to share his popcorn with the birds on the screen -- I think they looked so life-like and close. All in all, it was a successful outing to the movies! Not great photos but they document the experience.

Cooley Family Farm

We are members of a Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA). Each Wednesday from May through October, we receive a harvest basket from Cooley Family Farm. We love receiving and eating these delicious organic vegetables and fruits. They taste so much more flavorful than what we buy at the store. We also like supporting a local business and their family. Each fall, they have an open house on their farm and today was the day! Simon has been truly looking forward to visiting the farm -- especially the tractor ride.

We took a ride on the tractor to tour the farm and see where and how our food is grown. It was a gorgeous day to be on the farm -- sunny, breezy and cool -- a perfect autumn day. We stopped at a few spots around the farm so that Kevin, the farmer, could show us different things and techniques of harvesting. Below, Simon is watching him dig up white sweet potatos.

Checking to make sure we are still sitting behind him on the wagon ...

They had LOTS of toy tractors, cars and trucks for the kids to play with -- they even had a large pile of dirt. Good thing it was bath night! And see the black lunch bag cooler in the back of the wagon? Simon never leaves home without his milk. : )

We are participating in Purdue's International Friendship program this year and have been matched with two students from China. One of them, Ace, was able to join us today. (Harry had a special class project he needed to participate in. Studies first!) Ace is a freshman and this is his first trip to America. We are enjoying getting to know him. Simon loves him and Ace can make Simon giggle until he gets the hiccups. They worked together to choose the perfect pumpkin.

Before we left for home, we stopped by the Cooley's roadside farm stand to buy a few more pumpkins to bring home for decorating ... and a few photos, too.

We had an awesome day and are already looking forward to next year's open house! Just four more weeks of harvest baskets remain. Sigh. We are certainly going to miss farmer's market season!