Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween today, the boys were a matched set--a pirate and his parrot! We have had the costumes ready for a while, and got this video of Nate almost 2 months ago when he first tried his on:



Here are a few pictures from the first try-on session as well:

We went to our PEPS meeting this past weekend and the kids wore their costumes:

There were two pirates, so we got a picture of the parrot sitting between them:

And then today, we all went over to ELDC and spent some time doing cool crafts and projects with all the kids and teachers in costumes. And yes, Simon is wearing his earmuffs, we hear all the modern pirates are wearing them these days.

The parrot, checking out what will soon be his daycare too.

Here's Simon with his friend, Bella, who was also a pirate! (they are holding hands, how cute are they?)

And then we headed home...Simon was allowed a few treats and remained in blissful ignorance of the big bowl of candy until our doorbell rang. He was SO excited foe trick-or-treaters, and proceeded to take candy from our bowl anytime someone came to the door. Luckily for his blood sugar levels, we didn't get a lot of kids on this wet night. After more than his fair share of candy, he decided it was time to "check out" the rest of the bowl:

That's it! Happy Halloween!

talent show

Check out how talented our kids are.

First, Simon dancing, in his Halloween costume:




And then Nate, showing that he can at least show us what No looks like, if not necessarily listen when we say it:

Look-a-like?

A few online friends of mine were comparing their baby pictures to those of their children. So for fun, I put this together. I can see a resemblance in both boys, but I'd say Simon looks more like me here.

Now we need a baby picture of Matt at about a year old to complete the picture!

Video Catch-up

Here are a few recent videos:

Nate just playing:




Simon being an airplane:




Nate climbing up steps for the first time at the Children's Museum:




And Simon building a "houseboat", also at the Children's Museum:

Brothers

I took a bunch of pictures of the boys sitting together on the couch yesterday. Individually, there aren't really any amazing pictures, but as a whole, they are pretty funny. So here you go:

Nate: Wow, this cup is really interesting.

Simon: My leg is more interesting.
Nate: Mama?

Simon: Hey, Nate, check this out...

Simon: This is what all the cool kids are doing!

Nate: And what do you do next...oh.

Nate: Mama?

Nate: I think I'll just eat my cup instead.

Both: This show is ok, i'm kinda bored.

Nate: Hey, Simon!
Simon: Get off me!

Simon: What's with you and that cup??

Nate: Mama?

Simon: Is she watching us?

Nate: Yeah, she's right there, look. Why?

Simon: Because I'm going to tackle you!

11 Months

I know, I know, I'm late again. It's been a busy month, so time keeps getting away from me.

Let's see...in the last month Nate has gotten 4 more teeth and puts them to good use! He is still a great eater and will try anything we give him. He always makes a terrible face with the first bite of any new food, but usually settles in to eat the rest of it happily. He loves cheese, pasta and bananas and has tried edamame and even veggies like carrots and broccoli.

His sleep is still mediocre. We are trying to move him in with Simon but since Nate still wakes up for soothing a couple of times a night, we haven't yet gotten them to spend all night in the same room. Someday...

He is walking with support and loves to "cruise" between furniture. He also really likes crawling underneath things, like his music table, but inevitably gets stuck. He has started doing something odd and kind of funny--he will crawl around really fast in a circle, with his head down-- it took us a while to figure out that he's chasing his shadow!

Finally, he started at a new daycare after his old place shut down (lots of drama, but he was in no danger). He will be at this new in-home daycare until early December, when he will move to ELDC with Simon.

So...here's the 11 month picture, last one before he's 1 year old!

Dear Santa

Simon has been set on one particular gift that he wants for Christmas this year, so we decided to write a letter to Santa. Here's what he dictated to me:

And yes, the turning on cement mixer has been procured.

Pumpkins!

We spent some time this afternoon carving pumpkins. Well...Matt and I carved them, Simon was kind of grossed out by the insides and we weren't comfortable with him and the knives. Instead, he kind of danced around us and yelled "We're making Jack O'Lanterns!" periodically. Nate sat strapped into his booster seat nearby and kept an eye on things. Here are a few pictures:

 My pumpkin!

No, my pumpkin!

it doesn't taste as good as he hoped...

The Farm!

We headed to a place called, simply, The Farm this afternoon. It was a gorgeous day and there was lots to do there! Simon played in the kids hay maze, we ate apple cider doughnuts, Nate made some baby friends and we picked out four great pumpkins!

Here are a few other highlights...

Simon got to hold a kitten:

And see some goats, llamas and sheep:

He "rode" a tractor!

Meanwhile, Nate practiced his pulling up, banging and screeching, for the benefit of all of the other Farm guests:

And hung out in his new carrier on dad's back:

Simon got a ride too:

Super Dad!

Picking pumpkins:

September (belated)

We have had a beautiful September--I heard that we are about to break the record for longest dry spell, so it's been a pretty nice fall so far.

Simon is his usually silly self. He is really into policemen and firemen right now, after learning about them in school. He even got to meet a real policeman and visit the fire station!

Here he is all messy from an early morning muffin with daddy:

I babysat Simon's friend Lili one morning (plus the two boys, yikes!). Here they are blowing party blowers at Nate, who actually enjoyed it

And painting the windows...with my blessing.

Simon is really into the movie Cars and I have to think we are closing in on the record for most times watched.

Nate's had a month of transition: his daycare went under (long sordid story) and he is at a new place very close to us. He will be there for the next two months and then will be starting ELDC with Simon on 12/3.

As the last video showed, Nate is up and around a lot. He's a great crawler and has started cruising, or holding onto furniture when he walks, too.

He is sleeping better too...we are actually in the middle of a big change when it comes to sleep around here, but I don't want to jinx anything. So for now, here's acute picture of him asleep in our bed.

And of course, he had his first haircut! He was a champ, no tears, he seemed to enjoy the whole thing!

And to close, a cute picture of the boys playing together.