Pecan Caramel Clusters (aka Turtles)

I found a recipe for turtles in one of my favorite cooking magazines, Simple and Delicious, by Taste of Home, the Nov/Dec 2007 issue. It has just 4 ingredients and only took me about 20 minutes to make 11 nice sized turtles (supposed to make 16, but I used up the chocolate with just 11, so I guess I need to make them smaller next time...)

With them being so easy to make, I wanted to make up lots and give them away as gifts this Christmas season, however they need to stay chilled, otherwise they are a gooey mess.

Pumpkin cleaning

We decided to finally carve up the pumpkins for Halloween. It was quite fun to watch Jase look at the pumpkin "guts" reach in and barely touch them, and then pull his hand out really fast. He worked much better with a spoon, and some help from daddy.

Here we are cleaning the pumpkins...


You will have to wait a little longer to see the faces, and Jase and Meghan in their costumes...

Fall is here

The hot and humid summer weather is gone and the cool, crisp, sometimes rainy fall weather is here.

We made it to the Pumpkin Patch at Millenium Farms in Oxford and rode the hayride and picked out pumpkins from the field. Jase also jumped 2x in the air bouncer and rode the barrel "train" too. Jase also loved the farm animals in the petting barn. Meghan was a trooper and slept the whole time in the front carrier. We forgot the camera, but will post pictures when the pumpkins get carved up...

October has also brought us visitors in the form of Heather's Gramma and her dog Molly. We all loved having the company and Jase loved having a little dog around.

Jase has decided that on some days he doesn't want to take a nap, so he then usually falls asleep around 7:30p on the futon or in the recliner while being read to. Sometimes the next morning he is still pretty tired when waking up (or being woke up when it is Sunday), hence the pictures where Jase is asleep standing next to the chair, while eating a poptart, and asleep while getting his diaper changed. I have to admit that that Sunday at church was the best we've had (as far as a listening to the talks) in the last 2 years, as Jase wanted to be cuddled/held or laid down the whole time.

Meghan has been sleeping great the last week, only waking up once in an 8 hour period to eat. She has also started to sleep in her crib for the first shift of the night and doesn't fuss too much when put in her crib while awake but sleepy. Occasionally she will be fussy and just want to nurse constantly for 3-4 hours, so after we know she isn't hungry, wet, or cold/hot, we try to get her to be happy in the swing, bouncer, etc. The one position that always works is Joe slouching her over his arm (usually while playing computer games).

So here are some pics of the above highlights of the month so far...

Differences between siblings

I've always thought it interesting how different siblings can be. Being an only child I've never experienced this first hand, until now. With Meghan joining our family just 3 short weeks ago, it amazes me the differences I already see between her and Jase.

The four main differences include:

-Jase would cry, but it was always at an even keel, no screaming or shrieking; Meghan cries for about 30 seconds, before escalating to a scream/shriek that identifies her as being peeved about something (probably not nursing 24/7)

-Jase has always loved riding in the car, while Meghan loudly protests both short and long car rides (see above difference and think of how fun a trip to Indy would be with screaming for 30 minutes...I don't forsee a trip to Michigan anytime soon)

-Jase was a very quiet sleeper, one of the babies that you had to touch them while they were sleeping to make sure they were still breathing; not Meghan, she is the noisiest sleeping baby I have ever heard, grunting and squeaking all night long (this makes it difficult having her sleep in our bedroom)

-Jase has never (from day 1) ever slept more than 13 hours in a day; Meghan averages about 18 hours of sleep a day (granted most of this is while being held, in the car seat, or in the swing - she despises the crib and bassinet)

So, my question for all you blog readers with more than child is this: what differences do you notice between your children and how early on did you notice these differences?
Of course I'll end the post with a couple pictures of Meghan, with Joseph and Jase...