Nature or Nurture???

(THIS WAS CREATED A FEW DAYS AGO, BUT NEVER GOT POSTED)

It's an age old topic. Do kids learn behaviors based more on their environments or is it something they are just born with? Obviously there are arguments for both points. Today we saw an argument for "Nature" over nurture. Jesstine went to the bathroom this morning after getting out of bed. She did it all by herself which she is doing more and more of. When she came into the living room after going potty, I couldn't help but chuckle and wonder if Papa Hutchins had dressed her. Some family members reading this will FULLY understand this. For those of you who don't understand, she had her shirt tucked in and her pants hiked up.

In Him,

The Hutchins

Trick-or-Treat...This Time It's For REAL!!!

The FINAL night of Halloween this year! I am ready for it to be over although I am hoping that all of this walking has helped my body decide it is tired and needs to birth this baby! In the meantime, here are some pictures from this evening! Tonight we THOUGHT we were going "low key" and keeping it just to a few houses in our neighborhood, grandparents' houses and a close family friend. It turned out to be MUCH longer than we anticipated! Jesstine had dinner at about 8:30 and was in bed WELL after 9. Usually she is in bed around 8:30 and WELL before 9! Here is her night in pictures!

 We decided to throw Daddy for a loop and trick-or-treat our own house first! Keep him on his toes!

 This is Grandmom's neighbors' house. Jesstine likes to feed their dogs cheese. We thought they may appreciate seeing her tonight. Although, she didn't appreciate the scary sounds that were being made as she made her way to the door. She took her candy and was ready to get out of there as FAST as she could! She did get greeted by one of the dogs, Daisy.

 Now at Grandmom's (Stephen's mom) house. She kept saying, "Grandmom won't have scary sounds. She has a Cat trail instead!" (There are some stepping stones in the garden to the right that have cats and cat prints on them. She likes to take the "cat trail" when she is outside with Grandmom sometimes.)

 Papa Hutchins' house. On the way there, she asked which house she was going to next. We told her and she again asked us, "Will he get the moon for me?" (See the earlier post HERE.)

 After that, we went to the home of our babysitter and close family friends, the Kolars from church.

 They gave her some Halloween Peeps. This was the treat she asked for after her dinner. She called them the "pumpkins with legs."

 Kara has always been SO sweet to Jesstine! For some reason they tend to dress in the same colors on Sunday mornings without even consulting each other! It is uncanny!

Our final stop was at Grandma and Grandpa Griffee's (Lacie's mom). Grandma knows the way to THIS girl's heart! She gave her a whole barrel of individually packaged cheese balls! (This is what Jesstine was potty trained on!) I (and I am sure Jesstine) will cherish this picture!

We are all partied out! We came home to find that our bowl had been emptied and turned upside down. Something tells me that people didn't heed the sign that said, "Please take ONE!" Oh well, less candy for us to eat. We will just have to raid Jesstine's! So until NEXT year's Halloween, hopefully this is it!

Lord willing, the next post will be less Halloween and more Emmitt!!!! My belly is sinking pretty low! Our bags are all packed. I even put them in the car thinking that if something happens and we have to head to the hospital in a hurry and we aren't at home or near home, we have everything we need! I will just have to dig out my phone charger if my phone goes dead between now and then!

In Him,

The Hutchins

A Few From Others

Here are a few pictures from others of last nights events! Isn't my mom cute?! I guess we know where Jesstine gets some of her cuteness.

Hay-Rack Ride.

Hay Bale Maze.

 Kit-Kat trunk at Westlink Church of Christ.

 My cute mommy, the GOOD witch!

In Him,

The Hutchins

Sunday Best and Trunk-or-Treating

As I mentioned, we went trick-or-treating at the nursing home Friday and tonight was the night for Trunk-or-treating at our own church and the church that Kylie attends. And of course Jesstine had some holiday clothing to wear to church this morning as well, courtesy of Grandmom. So here are tonight's photos!

 Jesstine's Halloween Sunday Best

 We started out at Aldersgate United Methodist Church just a few miles from where we live. Jesstine got to ride a pony and run through a bale maze. We forgot the camera, so while she was doing all of that, Daddy went back to get the camera! Thanks Daddy! So here she is trunk-or-treating with her bff, Kylie and her family.

 She got to ride on the hay-rack ride too! Thanks Kelly for hanging on to her!

 Then it was off to Westlink Church of Christ for some more trunk-or-treating!

 The beehive.

 The return of the Wizard of Oz trunk by Jesstine's Wednesday night Bible class teacher, Miss Danita (also the WONDERFUL photographer that is responsible for Jesstine's 2 and 3 year pictures).

 An "Angry Birds" trunk made Jesstine smile!

 Some of Jesstine's FAVORITE people, the Kolar family, had a Bronco's trunk complete with the Bronco Pillow Pet we got for Johnna for her birthday!

 My little Jesstine Dumpty! She wasn't sad or tired, (although she didn't take a great nap today). She is sucking her tongue and cuddling her Dumpty!

 Grandma Griffee was even there!!

And a photo op with Mommy in her special shirt for this year's Halloween! I guess it is Emmitt's first costume as well!

Tomorrow we plan to hit just a few houses in the neighborhood and then head to the grandparents' houses as well as the Kolars' house. Then we are done with Halloween until next year!

In Him,

The Hutchins

First of Many

Friday was the first of our MANY trick-or-treating opportunities for Jesstine. In case you haven't been around us much, Jesstine is going to be Dumpty for Halloween this year. This came about last year almost immediately after Halloween, she kept saying she wanted to be Dumpty for Halloween. I started working on her costume and got most of the way through and she decided she wanted to be Repunzal.....hmmmm. Daddy and I decided that wasn't an option. I had to really use some brain power to come up with a Dumpty costume though! Who would have guessed that yellow vertically striped fabric was so difficult? To top it off, the person I had intended to sew for me couldn't do it. Luckily that was in early September. Being pregnant, I decided that I was going to have it READY to go before we got too close. I think it took me until mid October to finish it. Our first chance to wear it and add some face makeup was Friday. Since Jesstine's second Halloween, we have always taken part in a Story and Songs Trick-or-Treating event at a local nursing home put on by our Parents As Teachers organization. The kids sit and listen (usually to a resident) read a few stories, our PAT music teacher leads a few songs and then the residents line up in the hallway to pass out candy for the kids. So, here is a picture of Jesstine as Dumpty and some pictures from her first Trick-or Treat event this year. Tonight is Trunk-or-Treat at church and a friend's church.

 My attempt at a Dumpty costume. We told Jesstine that Dumpty was Baby Dumpty and she was the Mommy Dumpty. She insists that instead, she is, "JESSTINE Dumpty!"

 Kylie (a lion) and Jesstine (Jesstine Dumpty) waiting for the songs and stories to begin.

 Carter, Kylie and Jesstine dancing to the songs.

 Carter looking JUST like his Daddy as he crawls in and out of the chair during a story.

Kylie, Grace, and Jesstine waiting in line to go get treats from the residents.

In Him,
The Hutchins

Emmitt Update

We had our 37 week appointment today (will be 37 weeks on Friday). Stephen was not able to go with us so it was just Emmitt, Jesstine and I. The doctor has been doing weekly biophysical ultrasounds because my fluid levels have been "borderline." They like to see levels anywhere above 5 and I have been hovering at a 7 which is a little close in his mind. It is actually pretty nice to see Emmitt every week now! Granted, some of what I see is not all that much because everything is SO cramped in there right now! Today was an exception! First we always look at the heart which is VERY reassuring for me! I no longer have to turn away until he tells me the heart is beating. I watch the screen the WHOLE time! Usually within seconds of noticing the beating heart, we can actually see glimpses of Emmitt breathing! Yes, babies breathe in the womb. I have found that I can even feel it with the way Emmitt is positioned so differently than Jesstine or Babe B. We then got a glimpse of the foot that likes to move up and down my right side and into my ribs on the right side! After that, he got a GREAT shot of Emmitt's face! We were able to see about two thirds of his face. The other part was pretty crammed in there! It was so neat to see his face again! Furthermore, we were actually able to see his eye move around and look at stuff! He had his chubby little hand up on his chest tucked under his chin, much like Jesstine often did! He is head down and he was looking very healthy. I am still measuring about a week or two ahead physically. He hasn't dropped anymore this last week though. Next week the doctor will check the cervix to see what kind of progress my body is making. I have been having quite a few contractions, mostly the warm up kind of contractions. We have talked this whole time about how we would just wait and let my body do its own thing without inducing this time. The closer we get, the more it sounds like the doctor is leaning toward inducing as soon as hospital policy will allow. I think this is based on my physical fatigue and fluid levels. So the plan right now is to go in next week and check on how my body is doing. Then if it seems things are working on their own, we will set an induction date for 39 weeks in case I don't go on my own. 39 weeks will put us at November 11 (just two days after my older sister's birthday). So, continued prayers are appreciated. I am very anxious at this point, but I think most of it is the healthy variety. Of course there is a part of it that is anxiety because we are coming up on 37 weeks which was when we lost Babe B. Needless to say, I am ready no matter what way he gets here! I just want him to be healthy and strong! I just want to bring him home and add him to our family!

In Him,
The Hutchins

Land and Mangles

As you have seen on the blog before, Jesstine can say the funniest things sometimes! It amazes us what she picks up on. Some things are just so smart to be coming out of the mouth of a newly turned 3 year-old. Today was no exception!

Jesstine goes to Grandmom's house after preschool on Tuesdays. Grandmom feeds her lunch and then lets her play until I get there to pick her up. Today when I arrived, they were doing "school." School is sight words. I was sitting and marveling at how amazing Jesstine was in reading words that she hadn't even looked at for several weeks (hook, book, look, etc.) Grandmom reintroduced the word "and." Then she started to add letters to the beginning of "and" to make new words, like sand. Grandmom got to the word "land" and asked Jesstine, "Jesstine, do you know what land is?" Jesstine matter of factly replied, "Yeah! EARTH!" We both laughed because we were astonished at her true response!

Later, we were watching the news and a local fast food restaurant commercial came on. The place is called, "Spangles." Jesstine hasn't been there for a VERY long time. So long, I don't know that she was even old enough to remember. As she watched this commercial, she suddenly said, "Yuck! Mangles! I don't yike Mangles!" It was so funny! I love how she "mangled" the name of the restaurant on accident. If it were me, I would have given it a name like that on purpose if I really didn't like it. I just don't know if I could even be creative enough to come up with, "Mangles!"

In Him,
The Hutchins

P.S. And she just keeps going! I should really wait to post until she goes to bed because she always comes up with something new! Was reading her "Fox In Socks" for her bedtime story tonight. At the beginning there is a disclaimer of sorts that says not to go too fast because it can be dangerous. At about the halfway point, I was reading a complicated rhyme and Jesstine says, "Those rhymes are dangerous!" SO funny!

The Golden Oldies

Last night was our annual all school concert! At my school, we do an all school concert each year and pair up with our PE teachers. We have a theme each year and it usually takes place on our school parking lot. We combine grade levels in groups of two, ie. K-1, 2-3, and 4-5. This year we had many challenges! We have construction going on right now at school, so we don't have a parking lot that is sufficient to do what we usually do. So, we had to be a bit creative. Little did we know we would have to be REALLY creative! So we ended up having the program on the soccer fields to the north east of our building! Other than the dust and grass, it turned out to be a really good plan! As mentioned, our music selections always revolve around a them. In the three concerts I have already done, we had a country theme, a "Night at the Movies" theme, and a Halloween theme. This year the theme was "The Oldies Concert" with music from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Along with the theme, we allow the students to dress up according to the theme. So they were instructed that if they chose to, they could dress in the style of the 50's, 60's and 70's. The music and PE teachers of course dress up as well! We always try to look as surprising as possible! So this year we decided to dress as if we were in our 70's! Here in lies the next challenge! I am currently 9 months pregnant! Our first thought was an old man with a beer belly. Then my co-worker decided that since I was running the sound and needed a chair anyway, we could put me in a wheelchair with a lap quilt on to cover my belly. It was brilliant! The concert was a HUGE success! The students did well, the sound (my job) actually went smoothly other than some feedback issues that I never could figure out how to resolve, and the crowd LOVED it! One of the songs that the students sang was, "Please, Mr. Postman." We decided that we HAD to have a postman. Luckily, my neighbor is actually a US Postman, so the costume was fairly easy to attain! We also traditionally dress our principal up each year and she is a great sport and goes with it willingly! (Two years ago she was Marilyn Monroe.) So, without further adieu, I introduce the teaching cast of "The Oldies Concert!" See if you can spot me.

Jesstine did NOT care for the white hair! She just kept looking at me funny and gave a detached hug. When she saw me this morning she had a huge smile on her face and immediately looked at my hair! She was happy I was back to normal!

(Lft. to Rt. Shelly Hoffman, PE; Terri Ten Eyck, Music; Me in the wheelchair; Heather Vincent, Principal; and Debbie O'Dell, PE.)

In Him,

The Hutchins

Introducing....

Gourdie!!!

At the pumpkin patch on Saturday, each of the kids picked a pumpkin. As I mentioned before, Jesstine is a rare breed that wants the smallest pumpkin she can find. I thought for sure she would gravitate toward the tiny pumpkins. Instead, we came home with Gourdie! (On a side note, Gourdie was originally "Gordon," but with Jesstine, EVERYTHING is a girl. So, we renamed HER Gourdie.)

In Him,

The Hutchins

P.S. Gourdie is VERY small! The picture doesn't represent this very well! She is about 3-4 inches in length from top to bottom! Small enough to fit in Jesstine's hand and be carried around from place to place.

Fall Fun with Family

We got the pleasure of spending a fun weekend with family out of town this last weekend! It was more than enjoyable, even at 35 weeks pregnant! Needless to say, it is probably the last trip that we will get to take before the baby comes! We went to visit Seth, Jenni, Noah, Ian and Connor! Made some great memories and got to see their beautiful new home! So, here are a few photos from our trip!

 Jesstine got an aquadoodle for her birthday from her best friend, Kylie. It came in handy as we left town. We always get out of town before we allow her to watch a video when Daddy drives. :-)

 Here Jesstine is at Uncle Seth and Aunt Jenni's new house! She liked the view from the banister all of the way down to the floor in the entry way!

 Saturday morning, we went to Noah's soccer game. I believe he scored at least one, if not two goals!

 Here Seth is giving Noah a hug as he comes to sit out so someone else can play.

 What's a soccer game without a little passing during half time!

 For some reason, I didn't manage to get any pictures of Ian playing soccer. I did get some sideline shots as we were leaving though. In this one, Connor was concerned that Jesstine was sitting in "his" chair (which actually I sat in through both games), so Jesstine made room and they BOTH sat in it! Cute moment!

 Also, Connor felt that he wanted to help carry stuff to the car, so he "helped" family friend, JerJer, carry his ChairChair.....er Chair.

 Noah's game was in the morning, so we had lunch and naps, then it was off to Ian's game. After Ian's game, we took the kids to a pumpkin patch. I think Jenni got a better picture of this, but here's what I had! (On a side note: Jesstine is NOT in pain or anguish! She is just being Jesstine and saying "Cheese!")

 I found a GREAT photo spot for Jesstine! Wouldn't you know, in the first shot she wasn't smiling. Then in the second one a man appeared in the background! Oh well!

 Jesstine and Daddy are waiting for the pony rides.

 It's finally her turn!!! Here she is getting up on her pony, Cowboy!

 Noah on his horse (either cookie, sugar or something else).

 Ian

 Connor

 Look at that posture! That's my girl!

 Pony ride is over, but it was fun!

 Connor following Ian's lead while waiting for our tickets to go through the cane maze.

 And they're off! (This is the came maze. They said it is usually taller in the past. Not sure what KIND of cane it is. The stalks were a lot like corn in looks and smell, but no corn!)

 Can you find Noah?!

 How about now? Noah and Ian are somewhere hiding in there!

 Oops, took a wrong turn and ended up at a dead end!

 Didn't take long though and they were off again!

 Back at the tent they found a tortoise!

 Trying on a cowboy hat at the craft building.

 Connor wasn't thrilled with the fairy wings. LOL!

 Jesstine, walking with Daddy!

 Again, I think Jenni got a better shot of this, but here are all of the Hutchins kids and grandkids!

 And of course we had to do a SILLY one too!

 My beauty waiting for her breakfast at Mimi's Cafe.

 The grandkids...for now! Emmitt will join the bunch before Christmas!

And last, but not least for sure! Jesstine crawled up on the couch to cuddle with Aunt Jenni. She was attached to this toy sloth and a frog. Jenni made them talk and bounce around and Jesstine LOVED it! Had to capture this precious moment! She LOVES her Aunt Jenni. I think the feeling is mutual!! 

In Him,

The Hutchins