I found this gem in Elliot’s backpack.

We’ve had a deer family hanging out in our neighborhood this week. The dad didn’t stop eating while I took a pic.

Here are three pumpkinheads.

We grew pumpkins in our garden this year, but only one turned orange. This garden gnome helped pick them and has since stabbed them silly with pumpkin carving tools.

I love finding these little forts all over the house. Some kind of engineering is happening here.

Two little monkeys in a tree!

Know it all: Trav told us yesterday, “In fact, I know everything.” Just in case you had a question.

Swing:
This is our latest attempt to keep the boys entertained and active when we can’t go outside to play. The photos are all motion shots so they are fuzzy.

It’s hard to take a pregnancy selfie, but some folks have requested it so here I am at 27 weeks. Next week starts the third trimester. I’ve gained about 15 lbs now which is the most I ever gained before. I feel like a whale but it’s still not very evident to others. The baby kicks and moves all the time. Elliot and Trav talk about his arrival with excitement these days. Trav says he’s not going to be the middle brother, he’s going to be the *medium* brother.

One month later we finally received the results of the sleep study for Elliot. He does not have sleep apnea, but the study supports restless leg syndrome/periodic limb movement disorder and overactive brain. I wish I had an overactive brain when I am awake! They recommend he take a Slow Fe pill (we will soon see if he can swallow it) since he’s not so much on the iron-rich foods these days. Maybe I’ll give him a choice between a hamburger and swallowing the pill whole. Which will he choose? The iron helps with restless legs.

As for the overactive brain (or busy brain) while he’s asleep, it is yet another sign of something children have who also have ADHD. Elliot has never been officially diagnosed as having ADHD but all reports so far have indicated that. (We are not looking to medicate him for ADHD until it interferes with school and we have exhausted every other avenue.) The overactive brain is also called “excessive beta sleep” because it’s not the restful deep sleep you are supposed to get at night. To counter the brain activity while sleeping, they recommend Elliot continue his sensory therapy and to try and let him sleep longer. Unfortunately, the boys share a bedroom and Trav has a habit of waking Elliot up when he wakes up at 6am.

Now you know everything that we know.

Tooth fairy is coming to our house again tonight! Elliot just pulled out #4!

None of these will resemble themselves by the time Halloween rolls around, but they were fun to make! They are little votives and a ghost. Spooky!

We had a strong wind blow through last weekend. It flattened the whole garden.

But the pumpkin patch is still thriving. We have a bunch of pumpkin leaves growing over there.

And a single orange pumpkin!

I cut the sunflowers and put them in a vase.

Here are the kookamonga boys while we wait for kindergarten to begin!