Long overdue update!

A lot has happened since I last posted. Blake is now 1 year old, we are moved into our house, harvest is officially over, soil testing is done and Tyler just got his 3rd deer of the year tonight!!

We moved into our house on November 8th. Josh and Jenn moved out of it the same day :) Jenn had some of her family out helping so while they were unloading the trailer at their new place Tyler and I were unloading the truck at our place. Nothing like moving in the front door as they move out the back :) It didn't take us long to get unpacked because Blake liked to unpack any boxes I hadn't gotten done already. It didn't take him long to figure out how to untape all the boxes and pull things out of them. So I tried to hurry and get things done before he did them for me. We haven't gotten the decorating done but other than that everything is where it belongs. Tyler has been working on getting his shop all organized so he can start mounting the buck he got this year. He has spent several hours getting everything just right so he can work. I am looking forward to having 2 deer heads in our outdoors room! Back to deer...Tyler got a doe (that was on the last blog post) at the beginning of bow season, then he got a buck out of the same tree a few weeks later and he just got a doe tonight with his new muzzeloader. I have not gotten anything this year yet...but that's not because I haven't seen any. I had a doe 2 feet from me and a buck about 4 feet from me on the last weekend of shotgun season. I was sitting on the ground so I could have about tripped the doe. But silly me, I moved (because I wasn't ready to shoot), they took off, and I didn't shoot when I should have. So that's my fault! At least Tyler has gotten 3 to make up for me :)

Blake turned 1 on the 24th of November!! Tyler's family was out for the weekend to see our house that weekend so it worked good to have a birthday party with my parents on the 25th. We all went hunting then came back and had pizza. He loves to run around the house making messes as he goes! He can get around pretty fast now. He now has 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom. He can be quite the sweet little guy when he wants to be. He has his moments when he still likes to snuggle with me :) He is doing a good job of listening to us most of the time :) He still likes tractors and deer. He is already a lot like his daddy! He sleeps upstairs and he really likes his bedroom. He never used to be a sleeper but lately he likes going to bed at night! After he drinks his nightly bottle I tell him its time for bed, he gives daddy his night night kiss, walks to the stairs, crawls up and then stands at his crib until I lift him in! It is so nice! He is starting to stand at the stairs when he wants a nap too. He can go up and down stairs on his own now! His great grandma's both have stairs so they worked with him on that until he got it. Thanks!! On a not so happy note...I took him to the doctor 2 weeks ago and found out he had 2 really bad ear infections and bronchitis. So he was fussy for a few days but is over that now and is doing great! He loves to eat all the time and will eat about anything we give him. He can also climb on about all of our furniture now as well as being able to reach on top of the table and the kitchen counter. So he keeps us on our toes! :)

Now on to pictures:

Daddy and his little huntin' buddy! Blake was all smiles when he was with daddy and the big buck. 

 As you can see....Blake likes deer as much as his daddy! This is the doe he got tonight!

 

Blake and I went to help Josh and Jenn paint for a day at their new house. Turns out...you can't leave 5 gallon of ceiling paint on the floor with the lid off with a 1 year old running around. :) 

                                     While helping me unpack he found a new seat.

                  Yep....it is still there the next day...mommy didn't get it put away :)
                  (he is wearing my slip, he is a silly little guy some days...and he put it on himself :))

                                One of his birthday gifts from mommy and daddy.

                                     Our handsome little guy after church today!

 

He loves looking at the Christmas tree.  He got a reindeer decoration that plays music from Great Grandma Ponto and if I don't have it turned on he will walk up to it and point at it until I turn it on.

 

Enjoy the Christmas season that is coming up!

Life has been pretty busy around here. They are pretty much done with harvest. There is a few acres to go but Tyler is done for the year. Tyler has been grinding a lot of feed lately and doing some other small jobs that need done. Any time we have that we aren't busy we fill it by going bow hunting, which has resulted in Tyler getting 1 doe for our freezer. We took her to Remington Meats instead of butchering her ourselves. I have been busy working at Homestead, soil testing and taking care of the little guy that runs around here.
Blake is now 11 months old. Where has the time gone?! He still loves to be with daddy on the farm any chance he can get! Tractors seem to be one of his favorite things. He will carry a tractor and put one in each room around the house. He has 4 teeth now and 2 more will be showing shortly. He is always on the go, I'm pretty sure the only time he sits still for more than 10 seconds is when he is sleeping. He is so much fun to play with! 

Farming is serious business around here for Blake!

Making sure the wagon is hooked up right.

The beans were not coming fast enough so he had to play with leaves while he waited to unload.

He seems to think dirt is tasty.

So precious!!

Our smiley happy boy!!

Picking corn in grandpa and grandmas living room.

A view from 60 feet up in the bucket truck!

He really liked petting daddy's doe!

My two boys with the doe.

Have a good weekend!

What does.....

one little boy and his crazy mommy do while daddy is out hunting?........

...................... we build a blanket fort of course! :)

then we play with dump trucks in it. :)
I knew all those boxes in our living room would come in handy someday :)

9 Months, Harvest,and Hunting

Farmer Blake :)

 Blake is now 9 months and is walking all over the place!! He does not like to crawl any more at all. He took his first steps on August 10th but officially started walking on September 8th. He would take many steps each day in that month but on the 8th is when he started walking around the house without falling....too much anyway :) We still have falls but he is doing really good. He sometimes will run but that usually ends up with a crash. He has been able to stand up on his own for several months but just started doing it all the time about a week ago. He is growing up fast :) He still just has his 2 bottom teeth but the top ones are working on coming through. Blake is a turning into a hunting and farming boy just like his daddy! He loves to be in the tractor riding with daddy. He likes to help drive the tractor any chance he can get. For the past week on the days I don't work we will ride 5 to 6 hours a day. He will take one nap while we are riding but he doesn't want to miss any of the action. He has rode in the combine a couple times and also rode in the auger wagon tractor some. Since he has been riding in the tractor he likes his tractors at home now even more than he did before. We have also noticed he likes "big bucks" a lot too. We have showed him the deer that Tyler mounted quite a bit since it has been on our wall and each time we show him it we say "big buck." Two nights ago we were watching a hunting movie and Blake was all eyes! He wouldn't even turn his head away from the screen to eat ice cream! And he usually likes ice cream a lot. Every time he saw a deer on the screen he would make a "buu" sound and look at us. If we would ask him where the "big buck" was he would look back at the screen. If we would ask where daddy's "big buck" was he would look at it hanging on the wall. So it looks like he will be just like his daddy! :)

I am now working at  Homestead Buttery and Bakery. I worked there before Tyler and I got married so it was nice to go back. I enjoy it a lot! I work in the deli and will sometimes help in the kitchen. I also help package all the bulk foods. I work on Tuesday from 8 to 5 and Thursday from 8:30 to 5. So on the days I work Blake goes to a babysitter, on Tuesday he goes to his Aunt Jenn's house and on Thursday he switches every other week from Great Grandma Furrer's to Great Grandma Ponto's.  He is getting used to this schedule pretty good. I miss spending every day with him but it is also nice having a break. I also do the hog records for dad. So on Friday's I head over to his house and do those. I will also be doing some soil testing for dad this fall.

Tyler still enjoys working on the farm. He told me he thinks he finally found his career! He said it doesn't really feel like work so he is enjoying it a lot! He enjoys hauling grain during harvest, he said during lunch today that he misses it when he isn't doing it. They are picking corn in a field several miles south of the 
farm so they are using semi's to haul the corn so he is doing other jobs until that is done. Yesterday he ground feed and did a few other jobs and today he has worked at the shop and is fixing the honey wagon this afternoon. Then he said hopefully he can get back in the tractor and haul some beans later today.

Deer season is just 12 days away!! We hung a few stands the other night at one of the woods. Tyler will be working on opening day but I hope to go out and try to get a deer with my bow :) We have done some squirrel hunting this year already. Tyler has gone out a couple times by himself, he took Trent once, and then he took Blake and I once. He has gotten at least 4 squirrels so far. Blake is usually pretty quick to get a hand on one when he can :)

Here are some 9 month pictures I took:

Wagon rides.....something this little guy loves!!

Farming at home with his tractor and boots!

One of my favorite pictures!

Sitting in the combine tire!

Playing in the grass.

Harvest time!!!

What was the yield again grandpa?

Taking his nap. He snores most of the time during his tractor naps.

Him and his best friend.....Daddy!!!

Hunting for squirrels...no I didn't shoot the gun holding Blake, I was just holding it so Tyler could take a picture :)

The first squirrel Daddy brought home!

Listening for squirrels with Daddy!

This is what Blake and I look like each night. I love my snuggle time with him! :)

New Job

We have officially moved! We moved out to Wolcott on Monday and Tyler started work on Tuesday morning. For this week we are living in my parents house while the rental we will be moving into is getting some repairs done on it. Eventually we will be moving into the house that my brother Josh and his wife Jenn rent right now. They bought a house so they will move into it when the people living there move out. Hopefully it doesn't take too long before we can move into "our house."

Yesterday Tyler ground his first batches of feed and this morning he ground more feed. That will be one of his jobs he has on the farm. Right now he is helping put up a new hog pen for some sows. Tyler is really enjoying working on the farm and Blake and I are really enjoying it too. :) We can go out and see daddy any time we would like!! We made a couple trips to see him yesterday and Blake helped him grind some feed this morning :)

When we go see daddy we get to drive the ranger, as you can see Blake likes to drive it (don't tell him it's in park :)).

Waiting on daddy for a tractor ride.

 Putting feed in.

 All smiles on his tractor ride with daddy! :)

 Going to unload the batch of feed.



Blake must have thought unloading a feed batch was boring.....he fell sound asleep helping daddy :)

Have a good week!

Lakes

Here are the lake pictures that I said I would post about a month ago. Sorry it has taken so long, life has been just a little crazy around here lately. We had a wonderful time at the lakes with Tyler's family. It was a very relaxing week. Blake did really good the whole week and loved being in the water. After a while he got tired of it but over all he liked it. He has changed SO much since my last post!! He is now pushing anything he can around the house walking behind it. He can stand by himself for about 5 seconds without hanging on to anything. He will be 8 months next Tuesday. He climbs on everything he can. He still likes to blow bubbles but is also learning different voices he can make. His most recent discovery is the word "Bob". :) We hear about "Bob" all day long. Right now he is actually pulling on the computer cord saying "Bob Bob Bob". He is quite goofy :) He also has 1 tooth!!! :) We first noticed it on July 3rd. He went in for a well baby checkup the beginning of July. He was 19 pounds 10 ounces and 29 inches long. Our doctor said he is doing great and is way ahead of most babies his age. She was actually comparing her 9 month list to him and said he has accomplished most of those goals aready. So he is advanced :) He liks to pull all of his toys out of his toy box and all the books off the shelf. It makes a mess of our living room but it keeps him entertained.

In other news....we are moving!!! So that's why our life has been a little crazy :) In 2 weeks from today we will be living in Wolcott. It was 3 weeks ago tomorrow that Tyler and I first talked about it. We both had been feeling that God was calling us to a smaller church. So after some praying, talking and reading we decided that it was what we were supposed to do. So, Tyler will be helping out on our family farm full time and I am going to be working at Homestead Buttery and Bakery (where I worked before we were married) and also helping on the farm. Both Tyler and I's last day of work in Bluffton is the 27th and we move on the 30th. We have been very busy filling boxes these last couple of weeks! Almost every corner of our house is stacked with boxes. At this point we are still not exactly sure where we will live in Wolcott but we are in the process of figuring that out.

Now on to the pictures :) 

We got Blake his very own fishing pole, it came with a plastic fish and as you can see he loved fishing with Daddy!!

Blake's first ear of sweet corn! Since then he has had an ear every time we eat it.

Meet Sir Shorts A lot! He is the newest member to our family. This is Tyler's buck from last season that he just got mounted last week. He did it himself and it turned out great! The pens are still in him because he is in the drying process.

Farmer Blake

Daddy and Blake in Crooked Lake

We went boating one day on vacation and as you can see Tyler enjoys it!

Daddy and Blake going putt putt golfing.

 

And just to make you laugh today :)