Beckham

We had a little bit of a surprise on Wednesday. 

Beckham Loren Hokenstad decided November 14th was the day he planned to join our family.  We had anticipated him being here on the 29th.  You know, had it all planned out.  My mom would arrive on the 28th to watch Kennedy.  My bags would be packed and I'd arrive at the hospital on the 29th fully aware and prepared to have a baby that day via c-section.  But, like his sister, both arrived three weeks early. 

Surprise. 

Again.

He's been in the NICU since his birth, but we're hoping he's home within the next few days.

Because doggone-it, I miss this little boy I've only had the privilege of feasting my eyes on for four days.  And my heart yearns to have these little eyes staring back at me from his crib at home.

His middle name is Brandon and Brandon's dad, Doug's, middle name.  I know a lot of people have been curious how we came up with that, so there you go, mystery solved.

The end of the neglect.

A certain someone has been quite persistent in reminding me that I've neglected the blog.  However, I won't call him out and tell y'all that it is my favorite father-in-law who's responsible for this update.  Unless of course, you know who my favorite father-in-law is. 

Soccer:

Yup, little miss brown-eyed girl started soccer.  She's not quite as competitive as her dad would like her to be, but she has gumption and a knack for chasing down a ball with her feet.

Nebraska:

Kennedy and I headed back to my parent's house one last time before the doctor revoked my flying permit.  The thought was to experience fall in all of its golden hue glory and brisk chill, but the weather postponed fall the first few days we were there and extended summer instead.  So, we kept the short sleeves on, pretended we weren't sweating with our socks pulled up and headed out in search of pine cones and sticks with our noses up and glaring at Mother Nature all the way.

We checked out things like the Children's Museum where Dr. Hokenstad got a good listen of baby brother inside the womb.

And finally, Mother Nature must have taken offense to all the glaring and tsk-ing I gave her because, to my delight, she delivered some true jeans and sweater weather. 

 

 

Pumpkin patch:

We made our way to two pumpkin patches this year and somehow our seasonal pumpkin purchase was made at Albertson's grocery store.  In my pumpkin defense, we bought and decorated our lone pumpkin in, like, September -- a month before pumpkin patching commences.  Yeah, maybe I was a little excited for fall festivities to begin and might have jumped the gun a little.

For the record, Jen did not win this race. Sydney did.

And Kennedy will be more of a competitor as soon as she outweighs the potato sack and doesn't need to be dragged down the track.

Halloween:

After changing her mind from a bunny rabbit with a red dress and sunglasses, a mermaid, a lady bug, a My Little Pony, a pumpkin, a spider (which I quickly shot down) and a cat, she finally landed on a witch with a broomstick.

Her and Mac-a-lion trick or treated around our neighborhood and would have fit in nicely had they run into Dorothy and the rest of her posse. 

And even baby boy joined in, in all the Halloween hoopla.

And speaking of baby boy, he'll be here this month! 

It's a good thing Kennedy has been practicing her big sis skills.

 

Preschool

There were a few smiles.

A few requests to skip breakfast and head to school instead.

A few nervous giggles.

 A few hesitant steps to join classmates. 

A few requests for one last hug. 

But ultimately, there was only one look back.

And away she went.

Cabin Fever

With Brandon and his dad in Norway and London for a week, my girl and I packed up the car and headed north for a week.

Or maybe it just looked like we packed for a week in the woods.  Truth be told, we were only going for two days.


After driving two and a half hours through thick pines and winding roads, our ears stopped popping and adjusted to the spike in elevation and we drove up to the place we'd call home for the next few days.

Instantly, we took in our new environment and the girls spent a good majority of time scouring the grounds for bug life while the adults unpacked and talked about how the girls would have their first smores later that night.

Kennedy chose to only hold the "sleeping" bugs as they were obedient and wouldn't crawl on her.

Reagan was more brave and collected as many "awake" creepy crawlies as her hands would allow.

Some of our favorite cabin pastimes:

Bubbles.

Playing in the sandbox.

Playing on the stairs.

New adventures in a land that felt a lot like Colorado.

Hiking whilst holding hands.

And fishing for anything that moves.