Trick or Treat

It wasn't the nicest fall day for trick or treating but the kids braved the cold and rain and ventured out into the neighborhood to collect their "treats."  This year we had a "nice" witch, army guy, pirate, bumble bee, duck and "friendly" monster.  It was fun to see the kids all dressed up, going door to door for candy.  If it was up to them, they would have come home with empty pumpkins because they wanted to eat all their candy along the way.  We ended the night with dinner and some yummy carmel apples!

The colorful bunch!

Arrr...my pirate and little monster.

Alex and Tyler checking out their treats.

Trick or Treat!

YUM!

Seanie's first Halloween!



Smiles for GG :)



Happy Birthday, Ty Ty!

 Tyler turned two years old on Thursday so we celebrated with a fun party on Saturday.  It was themed with Thomas the Train of course, although I think Elmo was a close second for him.  There no longer seems to be a big age gap between Tyler, Alex and Logan because they all have the same interests now and play so nice together (most of the time).  Welcome to the "terrible twos," Ty Ty!  We had such a good time at your party!!  

Aunt Lori and the birthday boy

Uncle Steve with the two youngest cousins, Anna & Sean



The four oldest cousins - Hailey, Logan, Alex & Tyler



Silly Uncle Steve!



Smiles from Seanie

Happy Birthday to Tyler :)

Hailey & Alex always having fun together!

Potty Time / Giggles

 We started potty training Alex about a week ago and we are off to a very good start. The sticker chart was thrown out the door on day 1 but rewarding Alex with treats seems to be doing the trick. We started Alex in big boy undies last Friday and by noon he was on his fifth pair but he was learning. He had no accidents on Saturday and he had just one accident on Sunday and Monday.  He's even been pooping on the potty since last Friday and hasn't missed a day yet!  Alex is still learning when to tell us he has to go potty but, for now, we tell him when it's time to go potty and he will usually go (sometimes needing the treat to really entice him)! Tuesday was his first day at daycare so I was a little nervous for him but he did great. Sharon has been working with him too and reported no accidents all week. We still use pull ups at night but we're now accident free since Monday!  I couldn't be prouder:)

Making himself comfortable:)

Big boy undies!

Why is there a plant in our bathroom?  Alex was notorious for disappearing and pooping in the bushes outside so Daddy wanted to give him the same type of privacy indoors.  Whatever works!  Whenever we go to check up on Alex, he tells us to go away:)

Seanie laughed for me for the first time on Sunday. It was two hearty laughs in a row and, of course, when I ran to get my camera, he had stopped and wouldn't do it again. He usually likes his tummy time but has yet to roll. He seems too comfortable to try. He has been sucking on his fists like crazy lately. He's still not a big fan of the binkie except when he is hungry. We're now up to 5oz of formula and we're only getting up once during the night for a feeding. Yay!  Sean is looking bigger to me every day. I just can't get enough of his snuggles and cuddly cheeks:)

Cuddles for Daddy:)

Working on tummy time.

Can't get enough of that yummy fist!

My two precious boys!

Fall Fun

It was a beautiful fall day so we met the cousins at Cozy Nook.  We had never been there so I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised.  We went on a 1/2 hour hayride.  Afterwards, the kids discovered a huge barn full of hay bales to climb on.  We could have let them play for hours!  They also had animals to see and we had to pick out some pumpkins of course.  We always have a good time when all six of the cousins get together!

Havin' fun on the hayride!

Hailey & Alex climbing up the hay bales.

The smallest pumpkin of the group:)

All the cousins!  Hopefully somebody else captured a better picture!

The boys have their pumpkins picked out!

Searching for the perfect pumpkin!



Family Photo

Already a baseball fan!

On Friday, my friend Julie invited us to a Halloween party at Midwest Twisters where her daughter takes gymnastics.  The kids were able to use the equipment and earn candy afterwards as a reward.  They had an inflatable slide, bounce house, trampoline, zip line, foam pit and other fun activities.  It took a bit for Alex to warm up but once he did, he loved it.  His favorite was the trampoline but he tried a little of everything.  The kids each received a medal for dressing in costume.  It really was a fun event!

Little Miss Strawberry meets the Pirate Man

Seanie, the friendly Monster!



Hold my hand, Momma!  This place is haunted!

 

Arrr...I'm a pirate!

Having fun in the foam pit!

I'm tired!  Let's go to bed, Seanie!!

"Princess Fields"

Alex received a set of magnets of the Brewers players from Great Grandma Dix recently and he was asking us who each of the players were. So we'd say, Ryan Braun, Cory Hart, etc. and he'd repeat after us. A little while later, we wanted to see who Alex remembered so we held up the magnet of Prince Fielder and said, "Who's this?" and Alex responded "Princess Fields."

Alex's imagination is running wild these days and some of the things that come out of his mouth is hysterical!  He had both Dave and I in tears the other night because we were laughing so hard.  We're definitely going to have to get more of his "stories" on video.  He's like a little sponge with how much he is learning.  He told Dave in the car today, "Daddy, your name is Dave and Mommy's name is Laura."  Seriously?!  I don't think I knew my parents actually had a first name until I was at least six!

 

We took Sean for his 2 month checkup this week and everything looks good.  The doctor wasn't real concerned but he does have a slight flat spot on the left side of his head so we have some exercises to work on with him to hopefully correct it.  Seanie now weighs 13lbs 6oz and is 25 inches tall.  He needed a couple shots but took them like a champ!  

Happy 18th Annie!

We went to Grandpa & Grandma's house to celebrate Ann's 18th Birthday.  We had such a fun time and enjoyed a delicious dinner and cake in honor of the birthday girl.  It's hard to believe our little sister is an "adult" now.  I remember pushing Annie on the swings at Dave's baseball games in college.  Time sure flies so enjoy your last year of high school, Annie.  College is right around the corner!  Happy 18th birthday!  We love you!! 



Cheers to the birthday girl!



  

Blowing out the candles!

 

Yummy!  This frosting is SO good!!



Mean faces!



Look who grabs his rattle now!

  

Enough with the pictures, Mommy!!

Sick Season

I feel like cold season is just around the corner and already Alex is battling a runny nose and now Sean.  Alex was under the weather on Sunday night and told me that his ear was hurting him so we decided to take him to the doctor on Monday.  Sure enough, not only did he have an ear infection but a ruptured ear drum!  The doctor confirmed it was not all the screaming I was doing during the Brewers game.  Apparently, there was so much build up in his ear from the ear infection that the pressure actually ruptured his ear drum.  Poor guy!  Besides Sunday, Alex doesn't seem like he is bothered too much by his ear.  

Taking it easy & watching the ballgame with Daddy.

Telling Secrets!

As for Seanie - Sunday night goes down as the first night Sean slept through the night!  He hasn't done it since but its a start.  He had his last bottle about 8:45pm and he was in bed at 9:00 and slept until 5:00am. Woo-hoo!  He couldn't have picked a better night because that was the night Alex had trouble sleeping with his ear ache.  Dave and I had to exchange notes in the morning to see if one of us got up with him during the night.  It felt strange to sleep longer than 3 hours at a time!

Our technique to entice Seanie to roll!  - He's getting so close!

Hi Good Looking!

What a lil' cutie pie!