You can wash the bathroom floor, too.

Owen asked me if there was something he could clean today. I asked him what he wanted to clean and he told me the bathroom garbage. We got him all set up in there and when I went in to check on him the floor was pretty wet, so I told him he could also wash the bathroom floor if he wanted to. He replied with a very enthusiastic "Thanks Mommy!"....um, what...where am I and how can I make sure this never stops?

We've been enjoying the wonderful fall weather these past few days. This afternoon we met up with our neighbors for a little Duck, Duck, Grey Duck followed by a walk around the block. It got rather chilly towards the end of our walk, but I don't think the kids noticed as they were running back and forth, rolling down hills, walking on 'tight ropes' and all sorts of other fun things. Its great to have close friends close by!

Yesterday we spent some time playing football and baseball in the triangle park just north of us. Jer was teaching Owen (and me for that matter) all sorts of drills. Walter copies everything his older brother does, which is quite cute and generally welcome but sometimes a bit annoying to Owen. He is learning patience.

We ended the day by carving our pumpkins. (Unfortunately a squirrel has already eaten part of one of the faces away - rascals!) Auntie Kindi stopped by and watched Walter while I gave Jer and Owen haircuts. We enjoyed a nice dinner together and ended the evening dancing in the basement and eating pumpkin seeds. They are addicting and Owen has some pretty good moves I might be trying to replicate on the Chicago dance floors this weekend.

There's a bird in my bird feeder!

Owen and Jer made a bird feeder yesterday and its been getting some major traffic. Owen sat up during quiet time today, looking out his window, watching birds fly in and out.

We had a busy day today. Owen went to the circus with Al & Joanne...more on that later, as Al is going to send me some photos. I will tell you he came home with a blue face and fingers! This afternoon, we went to a Halloween event at Woodlake Nature Center. The boys got to trick or treat, play games, get their faces painted and pet all sorts of animals. It was a beautiful afternoon for it. Walter loved the animals. He had the cutest, most genuine smile on his face while we were in the petting zoo. Afterwards, we got funky at Champps for dinner.



Our house is in the process of getting painted. Its fun to see the change. So long cutie pie, hello (I hope) modern abode. Next week the construction of our front deck will begin. Al has designed a beautiful, kid-friendly space for us that my dad will help us build. Exciting times!

Well, Josh beat me once.

My boys had dinner with the Cagle family tonight while I went to yoga. After dinner it sounds like they had a few wrestling matches going on. When I arrived to pick them up, Owen was really excited to tell me how he had repeatedly beat Josh. When we got home, he told me that Josh had actually beat him once. Not bad, as Josh was a D3 National Champ!

Since we're talking wrestling, this photo is in the new Augsburg wrestling room.

Faster than a carrot.

Owen's been pretending to be a superhero quite a bit lately. He's often zooming around the house saying he's faster than a dog, faster than an airplane, etc. The other day, I heard him say he was faster than a carrot. Pretty speedy.

We had a full weekend full of anniversary celebrations! It was our 6 year anniversary and I'm not sure what the theme traditionally is, but I'd say ours was Prairie. Friday night we went to see A Prairie Home Companion at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul.

Saturday, we split off doing our own things in the day. Jer enjoyed sometime at the horse track, while the boys and I biked to get pumpkins. Once Jer returned, I went to a beautifully catered lunch for my mom's group (catered by our very own Martha, who just happens to be named Sarah instead.), while Jer, Josh McMahon and the boys went fishing at the river. That evening Lindsay and Andreas babysat while we hit up a movie.

On Sunday we got up and went to Key's for breakfast followed by a quick trip to Nicollet Island Pavillion where we had our reception. The place has undergone a renovation and, although still beautiful, we both agreed that we were happy we had our wedding before that happened. We capped off a wonderful weekend with two tickets, curtousy of Jer's grandparents, to Little House on the Prairie at the Guthrie. Seriously, I'm not sure how we'll top this anniversary, but I'm glad we have some time to relax before the next one!

I don't want a story. Good night, Mommy.

Tonight, Owen found a costume my mom gave him a while back. Its two sizes too small now, but he got it on anyway and is wearing it to bed, as he and Griffin are having a slumber party. They had an eventful evening playing ball, sharing popcorn and posing for pictures which we will be sending in to one of the magazines he subscribes to. He ended the night bringing down Griffin's bed I made him when Griffin was our only child (it has a built in heating pad - which we plugged in tonight.) and told me he didn't want a story. Apparently his imagination is going wild with its own story tonight.

We went to the MN Zoo today. Owen was off because of Yom Kippur. We finally saw the Russian Grizzly Coast exhibit we'd heard such rave reviews on. It was worth the wait. The kids really liked the playful sea otters and the boiling mud. I had to finally pick Walter up and pull him away from that section. The animals seem much happier at this zoo versus those at Como. Its still sad to see them penned up.

Tonight we went to Swenson's for dinner. Melissa's husband was out of town and Summer's husband was at school, so we had a playgroup family dinner. Its always nice to get out of the house at that time of day!

Yesterday we hosted playgroup at our house. Walter is really enjoying the play dates these days. He's generally pretty quiet and observant throughout them. He gets lots of attention from the older kids who like to care for the 'baby'.

Last night I managed to get a way for a yoga class, thanks to my friend Sarah, who took my boys and even fed them dinner! Its great to have this network of friends. I'm not sure how I'd be surviving this travel without them.

Freddy asked if he could polish it, too.

Owen got a trophy at his last night of soccer last night. He is so proud. He brought it to school today to show his class. He does polishing work at school and told me he polished it and then when he was "up in the loft and Freddy asked if he could polish it, too." It is still in his locker and I'm sure quite shiny by now.

Walter and I had music class this morning. He was really cutting a rug today. In addition to dancing, he enjoyed taking off his rain boots and socks throughout class. He attempted to take off other kids' and parents' shoes, too. He's seriously a stinker.

Are we going to the Donut to watch the game?

Jer and Owen went to the Gopher game on Saturday. As they were getting ready, this is what Owen asked me. They went to the Dome to watch the game instead.

We had a busy weekend between dinners with friends, birthday celebrations, the football game, and the Sunny Hollow Fall Festival.

Now I'm going to share some beautiful photos I took with Lindsay's awesome camera. They are from a few weeks ago. I'll write more another time...

Can you handle that?

Owen asked me this this morning as I was getting him some addition to his breakfast. I remember laughing to myself and thinking how am I going to remember that quote all day. I somehow remembered it, but don't completely remember the context.This afternoon we had a long overdue playdate with Mandy & Miles. We went to Woodlake Nature Center for a hike and then came back to our house for a pizza party. The boys fished with sticks and ran and fed some ducks. Mandy is truly an amazing nanny; she was finding fish eggs, crawling on rocks in the woods, chasing the kids, jumping on the bridge so it would rock the kids...pretty much just doing everything kids love! She has so much spirit and energy. I'm humbled being with her. If I ever had to go back to a paid position, I'd be begging Mandy to be our nanny.

When can I get an outfit like yours?

Owen asked me this a few days ago, I don't remember if I was going to yoga or for a run, but I obviously was wearing work out garb. I'm still getting used to the fact that I own work out clothes and can't say I'd ever think anyone looks cool in work out gear, but my son sure does think so! Today we were at a store and he saw some Nike clothes (he knows the swoosh from my shirt) and got so excited. I let him pick out a shirt and pants and he asked if he could just wear it home. He did put it on as soon as we got home and we went for a run by the lake after nap.

Owen didn't have school today - his school is in a Temple which is busy ringing in Rosh Hashanah. It was nice to have a bonus day with both my boys (and I get one more tomorrow). It did make me appreciate preschool, though. Not that I was tired of Owen at all, but that it gets us up and moving in the morning. I found us lazily eating breakfast in the back living room instead in the dining room and sitting in our pj's until around 9. I'm not telling when we finally got around to brushing our teeth. Enjoyable every once in a while, but everyday wouldn't be good for any of us.

You won't believe your eyes.

Owen was washing Walter's bike tonight and told me I wouldn't believe my eyes at how shiny it was.

Owen had soccer this evening. Great Grandma Donna & Grandpa Bruce came to watch. It was a chilly afternoon...fall has arrived.

After dinner Walter was munching on a banana and Owen decided to show me how he does banana work at school. It was a very precise process that involved:

• washing his hands
• putting his apron on
• getting a fork, knife, cutting board and bowl
• peeling the banana and tossing out the peel
  
• cutting the banana (he showed me how to properly hold the knife)
• placing the cut pieces into the bowl
• eating the banana
• washing his dishes
• taking off and folding his apron before putting it away

He then gave me a lesson on folding an apron like he does at Sunny Hollow. It was pretty cute. He showed me and then undid it so I could try. He told me he could help me along the way if I forgot any steps. As I re-folded it, he had the biggest, proudest smile on his face.

As soon as Walter saw his brother in an apron, he took his out and handed it to me, eager to get his apron on, too. He walked over to a full length mirror and gave a huge smile. He then went over to put shoes on. Walter loves handing people shoes and saying shoe, which really sounds more like 'ish'. As soon as I say we have to go here or there, Walter goes and grabs shoes to get ready. He understands so much more than one would think.

I like to tie things up.

This morning the boys and I made banana bread. Owen smashed the bananas, poured the flour mixture and eggs in, folded in the bananas and then washed all the dishes. He's a great helper. After he took his apron off he used it to tie Walter's bike to the rocking moose and then he told me that he "likes to tie things up". Of course, I actually knew this as he is always asking for string and tying all sorts of things together. I think if he ever joins boys scouts, knot tying will be his first badge.

This weekend was our 10 year Augsburg reunion. Joanne was nice enough to babysit for us Friday night while we celebrated downtown. On Saturday we attended more festivities on campus with the boys. The highlight was the jumping contraptions. Walter is so brave with a big brother to keep up to. He gives me about 10 heart attacks a day. It was fun to walk around campus and see some familiar faces. I don't understand how the students look so young now though.



We met Donna and Bruce for lunch today. Walter kept me on my toes, chasing him all over. The only time he sat still was when the food came. Donna and Bruce are leaving for England on Wednesday and then will be back briefly before they are off to Kauai. Can you say Jet-Setters? (or Jealousy?)

I know that.

Kindi got off work early today and we all headed out to the Arboretum to see the beautiful gardens. Owen was running from garden to garden showing us all the flowers, plants and vegetables. As Kindi explained about a few plants, Owen would tell her "I know that." A month of preschool and he's got it all down! Walter tried his hardest to keep up with his brother. I forgot how many falls kids take at this age. The poor boy took digger after digger, once he even got a mouth full of dirt. He doesn't cry long when he does get hurt though...he's got to catch Owen. Here he is smelling a flower he picked, hopefully the Arboretum doesn't ban us from coming back!

Here's a photo from Owen's soccer practice on Monday. He's really enjoying it. We played on the playground for a while after practice. After four big Walter tumbles we decided to head home.

I went to my first yoga class last night and did another one today. (I'm taking full advantage of having my mom here.) I'm going to try to weave this into my weekly schedule. It will be tricky to do with Jer traveling, but hopefully I can figure a way to get to a class once a week while he's gone. Its time to get some time for myself in and to firm up this baby belly.

My favorite was the circus.

My mom took Owen, my sister and me to Madeline and the Gypsies at the Children's Theatre yesterday. Owen enthusiastically clapped throughout the show. It was put on in collaboration with Circus Juventas and was quite spectacular. Owen was very intrigued by the whole experience and asked when he was going to be in a play.

We ended the day with a visit from Grandma Joanne and Grandpa Monster. Owen loved bringing Joanne all over the house and yard to show her all his forts and projects.

Walter is on the mend. He is no longer feverish, now he just has to kick this cold.

BINGO!

Jer has a fundraiser for his softball team tonight. Before he, Moogs and Eric left, they made time for a couple games of Diego Bingo with Owen. It made Owen's night.

Jer spent some time working on our front landscaping today. He did some reading on how to terrace and built a rock retaining wall for us. Unfortunately he ran out of rocks, so for now we will just have one. Luckily we have a landscaping resource in the family! Its exciting to see some change happening out front. I will be (hopefully) booking our painter this week. Then we will work on getting a deck designed and built. We will slowly but surely get there.

Walter's still not quite himself. My poor peanut. I think tonight will be another rough night of sleep for us. I wish there was more I could do for him. He is just cuddly and content being in our arms...a guilty treat as normally he is such an active little explorer.

Want to see something serious?

My mom brought clams from the Menominee River for Owen to share with his friends at Sunny Hollow. His teacher told me he had a captive audience at their collective as he told his classmates about jumping on a clam shell at Grandma & Grandpa's, what eat clams, why they are special to him, etc. He was very excited about taking care of his new pets and after his nap yesterday he decided they needed more sand. We walked over to Lake Nokomis to get some sand and ended up playing at the shore and in the trees for a few hours. As we were leaving, Owen found something 'serious' for us all to see...a hole in a tree. He found another hole in a tree, which quickly became his rocket ship.

Today was Walter's 15 month well-child appointment. He is very healthy and all the 'big-boy' comments are true - he weighed in at 25lbs 15oz and was 31 inches tall, putting him in the mid 70th percentile. No wonder my arms have been getting sore lately. He must have hit a descent growth spurt since his 1 year appointment, as he was generally around the 50% up until now. Unfortunately he had 4 shots today and was pretty tuckered out from them. He fell asleep in my arms tonight at 6 p.m.

Want to see me climb this tree?

Owen wants to climb every tree he sees. Its his new kick.

Walter and I had playgroup today. It was a lovely morning at our friend Sarah's. She's pretty much a rock star hostess. She made us a delicious lunch and then sent me home with lunch for Owen and dinner for later. I can't even try keep up with her, I'm just thankful to have her in my life! She also made delicious cupcakes for Deb's birthday. Yum!

My mom arrived this afternoon and will be here for a week. I already put her to work as I had a picnic with my GNO girlfriends tonight. We had a picnic in Murphy Square at Augsburg, where we all met 14 years ago! Wow.

You're supposed to drive, Mommy!

As you know, we've been doing our fare share of rocking out in the van lately. Well, I like to try make Owen laugh and I do a few dance moves in the car, some of which require two hands. Whenever I do them however, he promptly reminds me that I'm supposed to be driving.

Walter and I had our first day of music class today. It was fun to have something special to do with him that was all about him. He was pretty interested most of the class, until he found a mobile white board that he could play peek-a-boo behind.

After nap we decided to make the most of a beautiful day and headed over to the Como Zoo. We haven't been to a zoo in a while, the boys both really enjoyed it. Owen was running from animal to animal and was really interested in having me read the information about them. Walter was making noises at all the animals and finally got to see some real primates. He did his monkey noise for them. On our way out we enjoyed the huge lily pads out front. Owen loved seeing the snails in the water, while Walter loved splashing in the water.

Excuse me Mommy, can we rock out?

I know I've used a similar quote before, but it always makes me smile. We have been 'rocking out' to the Doodle Bops in our van every day on the way to and from school...and plenty of times in between, too.

We had a nice visit with Jer's aunt and uncle, Jan and Roger, yesterday. They live in Dallas and were in town with Roger's work. Owen was busy showing Jan all his toys and had her making kites with him. Walter was just busy being cute and showing off his new walking abilities.

Owen had a great day at school today. He told me he had snack with the boy that speaks Spanish and that he had brought a shark tooth to school that his brother found on the beach. He is very anxious to bring something to school to share, but they are pretty particular about what you can bring (no toys, pretty much just stuff from nature). My mom is coming Wednesday and they have lots of clams by their dock. Owen is going to ask her to bring one so he can bring it to school to share with everyone.

Tonight was soccer. We decided to head to the park early to play a bit. Walter was all smiles on the playground. He loves being able to get down and explore when we are out of our house. He doesn't get free range often, so he was loving it. He has a new found love of slides. Lindsay joined us for soccer practice, followed by dinner at the site of Jer & my first date, Davanni's.

Shrimp, please.

We went out for dinner last night and as I was reading Owen his options, I intentionally skipped over shrimp because I knew he'd want it and wouldn't eat it. He noticed I skipped one (there were pictures of each item) and so I told him shrimp. He said, "yeah, I want the shrimp one." I tried to talk him out of it, but when the waitress came, he asked for shrimp. He tried to gag one down, but pretty much ate french fries, crackers and grapes for dinner. I think he learned his lesson.

Jer's been busy all weekend digging out bushes in our front yard, where we'll be putting a porch soon. He's had two eager helpers along the way. Owen has been digging and digging and talking Jer's ear off. Walter would like to be in the thick of it, too, if his mother would let him. He's been watching mainly through the screen door.

We've been enjoying our new basement more and more lately. I think it is the weather change that has us down there more. Walter loves the playroom and the two of them have a great time playing together down there. We've been hearing a little more arguing lately, to which we usually say "here we go..." Hopefully they won't fight too much as they grow, but I do remember pulling Kindi's hair now and then, so, I think this is just the beginning.

On Friday Jer brought Owen to & from school. They got to go have a special lunch after, too. Owen had been looking forward to this for a good week. As they were leaving the restaurant, Owen told Jer he saw a pop can outside his classroom while he was up in the loft. He decided they needed to head back to school to pick it up. When they got home he was very excited to show me it and recycle it. That's my boy!