Loving the season

About to carve our pumpkin. Is it so obvious to the rest of the world (or is it just b/c I'm her mommy) that Emerald is the best big sister and loves her brothers sooooooo much??

Calvin wasn't so happy being hugged at this moment

Our Flounder giving us fishy kisses

It's beginning to feel a lot like Halloween around the Pankewich household! Trunk-or-treat with the kids at church, costumes, pumpkin carving, decorating a gingerbread haunted house, etc.! It is such a FUN time of the year!

A little mascara story--15 years in the making

Then..............


Now.............

How it all started

Where it all began

A love story, by Stephanie Pankewich.........

Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl. Little did they know that their separate lives would be forever entwined with a small bottle of mascara.

It all began one Saturday afternoon 15 years ago, October 29, 1994. There was a young woman, we'll call S, who was all alone in her dorm room wondering why all her friends had left for the weekend and she was all by herself. She took a quick shower and shuffled her way down to her RA (resident assistant, somewhat older student who is the leader of the floor in the dorms) to see if he would be willing to have lunch with her so she wouldn't have to sit all alone. This RA, we'll call W, had been so nice to her since she'd moved in. She had been watching him closely and was disappointed when she saw him walking with a girl to the most recent football game. W and this other woman sat together at that football game, and shared an umbrella when it rained. This made the girl a little sad, but she wasn't sure quite why that was.

S knocked on W's door, and he later admitted she looked like a little like a sad, wet puppy dog--how could he refuse that? So, they walked over to the cafeteria for some lunch. They chose to sit with a group of residents from the dorm, one of which knew S. For some reason, one of them handed her a bottle of mascara that he (yes, a boy had been using the mascara) had borrowed for a Halloween costume asking S to return it to her neighbor. She took that bottle of mascara, not fully understanding what it would represent. This small bottle would help to create the rest of her entire life! S & W finished eating lunch and W was nice enough to invite S to watch the big football game, K-State at Nebraska, in his room. She happily agreed.

As the 2 of them were sitting, watching the game, S decided it would be funny to smear some mascara on W's face. Don't ask why, perhaps she was compelled by a higher power??? W wasn't sure what to think about this, so he grabbed the bottle and smeared some on S's face. Back and forth this smearing of the mascara continued. What a funny thing for 2 adults to be doing to one another! S thought she was being pretty wise, and climbed up on W's bed, which was lofted up high, right next to the ceiling. "That will keep him from getting me", she thought. She sat up on that bed watching the game. Within a few minutes, W climbed up on the bed and attempted to smear her one more time. S put up a bit of a fight. W grabbed S's arms and pinned them down. Then, he stopped, looked deeply in her eyes, and slowly, so slowly bent down and kissed her. It was one of those magical, movie star kind of moments. It was perhaps the most romantic moment of young S's life. This completely shocked S. She was not ready for such a moment. She laid there, wondering what to do. W climbed down out of his lofted bed, and continued to watch the game, occasionally stealing a glance up at S.

Before S could climb down from the tall bed, there was a knock at the door. As W opened the door, S saw that girl that he had sat with at the recent football game. "What was she doing here?" wondered S. As she walked in the door, W introduced her to S, "this is my sister, L." That explained so much! It truly was a relief for S.

S ran to her room and grabbed the camera, something W would eventually understand was just a way of life for S! October 29, and 29 would be a number for them, as they were later engaged on March 29, 29 months after they started dating ;)

That was the beginning of a long, and wonderful life for 2 sweet college co-eds. Their love would continue to grow, and they would be in love forever more. And they lived, happily ever after!

This is NOT the end, but only somewhere in the middle..............

The corn maze

Cuddling with my baby boy (ignore the hair, it was windy that day)

Mommy trying to teach her kids a little about the corn

Yep, it may look dead, but there really is corn in all those tall stalks

I think the roots look so interesting

Hay ride and corn maze

Thought this smile on her face was sweet


Emerald really thought she was leading us thru the maze

While at the pumpkin patch we also rode a hay rack ride pulled by a tractor. Poor Calvin got kicked in the face getting on. Then we took the kids through a corn maze. It was such a fun afternoon.

The pumpkin patch take 3

I had Zach zipped inside my jacket to help keep him warm.


Playing on the hay bales

Calvin like the Indian corn

The pumpkin patch, take 2

I really need to work with photo shop--getting 3 kids to smile for a pic is getting harder!

Thought this was a cool photo

My sweet little munchkins

The pumpkin patch

Emerald is quite talented balancing a pumpkin on her head

All bundled up--it was chilly that day

My kids had a hard time choosing just the right little pumpkin

Daddy picked out the cutest pumpkins in the patch!

After church last weekend we decided to stop at the pumpkin patch. It was pretty chilly that day, and was a little muddy. We had fun, though, choosing just the right pumpkins. It was awesome to go out in the field and pick your very own pumpkin.

First solids for Zachary

About to eat green beans

This is the face we see after the first bite of everything he tastes--not so sure

Emerald requesting a pic of her

He actually really likes them, can't tell by this pic

Zachary has started eating solids--well, if you can call baby food solid! He really loves his squash, green beans, and is warming to the idea of peas. We will be trying sweet potatoes tonight or tomorrow. I'm sure that will be yummy to him! He is doing great with food and we are taking it kind of slow introducing new things to avoid crossover concerns. By that I mean, we didn't introduce anything new for several days (maybe almost a week) after getting his H1N1 shot. If you will remember, he had a reaction to his 6 month shots, and then the nasty reaction from the urologist, so we are just taking it nice and easy in case he does have some allergies. I can't wait to give him some fruits, as I am guessing he will love that!

Playing catch-up

Zachary and Josiah sharing toys


Laney is not so impressed with the level of noise in our life these days. This is how I find her these days, that or hiding upstairs in our bedroom. Poor dog does get ignored a lot these days :(

This would be Emerald talking on the phone, hiding out in her tent. The girl was blessed with the gift of gab, and she is becoming quite the conversationalist on the phone. Beware if you call and ask to speak with her--that is if she isn't too busy doing something else.

I am so behind in blogging, just trying to catch up!

Zachary is 10 months old

We are working hard on the sitting skills

Getting longer all the time

I had to put this picture so you can see that crooked bottom tooth, that was his first one
What else would Zachary be for Halloween? A lobster of course! I know it's not the best pic, but we'll work on better ones this weekend.

Zachary does 2 funny things these days--one of them is squinting his eyes when I bring out the camera, the other is shaking his head no, and he is getting pretty fast with that little head!



So this seems like an odd picture, but had to show off his 3 teeth



Zachary is now 10 months old! I can't believe how fast this year is flying by us. Guess that means we are just shy of 2 months until Christmas. Our little boy is getting faster, more curious, and more vocal these days. He has recently added the "da da" sound to his vocabulary, and it cracks Emerald and Calvin up. When you ask him to say da da, he shakes that little head no, and smiles! He shakes his head so fast, it has to make him dizzy. He responds to the kids requesting he say, "no no no", or he shakes it to music, or he just randomly shakes it no, especially when you are holding him so that he hits you in the face over and over again. It is kind of cute, though. I have to say, though, I think he is a mamma's boy, as his favorite phrase to say often is "ma ma ma". His first tooth broke thru on the bottom, and it is crooked. The first thing I thought when I saw it growing in was braces in our future. The 2 top teeth followed just behind that within a week. Guess that explains why EVERYTHING goes in this boys mouth these days. Emerald was so sweet and had to share the news with everyone, including her teacher. Zach has been taking it all in stride and has only been fussy on very few occasions. Zach's crawling skills are deleloping quickly and he can army crawl across the room much quicker these days. It is a constant battle with the other 2 to keep books, paper, dog toys, and small toys off the floor. The Z-man also started eating food this month. He is doing great with it all! He will eat his cereal pretty well if you mix some veggies in with it. He loves his squash and can't get enough of it. We tried peas last night and he wasn't a big fan, but we'll try it again. He is so funny how he always tastes the first bite and gives this face like, "what the heck are you feeding me?" Most of the time the face turns happy and he opens his baby bird mouth wide for more food. We have begun testing the sippy cup and he isn't doing to bad. I believe he is getting longer, b/c a lot of his pants are getting kind of short. He is wearing 6-9 month clothes for the most part.



I needed to put an update on Zach's PT evaluation. He had his eval at CM South and qualified for PT every other week. She agreed that his core is pretty weak. It is strange, he has the muscles to pull himself across the floor, crawling, and to roll over. However, she said those muscles aren't working together to help him sit up or stand. She gave us a lot of exercises to do to help him out. We are working with him and trying to do what she suggested. She was also concerned with his head lag as she pulled him up from his back. His neck has always been a concern of mine, too. It is hard, b/c he isn't in serious need, but definitly not doing what he should. She also agreed that it is hard to judge, b/c there is such a wide spectrum of what is expected out of babies, and that they all do stuff at different times. She told me there were no "red flags" which is good. It just seems odd that my 10 month (8 month adjusted age) son can't really stand that long (assisted) on my lap or try to sit up w/o folding in half. I just want him to be healthy! So, we are adding some PT sessions to our schedule, and may be adding additional ones with Infant/Toddler as well.

Our little Lobster is going to be a lobster for Halloween. I am torn, b/c I want him to be a golf ball like his older siblings were. The lobster just fits him, though don't you think? I'm sure he is thrilled with the concept, no matter what. Don't you know all 10 month old babies love playing dress up?! Oh, and the candy is so perfect for them, too! I'll try to capture some cute pics of the kids this weekend.