But I don't want to wear this!

Today was picture day at Sunny Hollow. Normally I let Owen pick out whatever he wants to wear (within reason) and today I picked out his clothes. He was fine putting everything on until we got to the sweater - to which he said this. I told him there are a few days a year that I get to pick out everyone's clothes, even Daddy's, and today was one of them. What a handsome fellow.

Once school was done it was among the longest afternoon's of Owen's life. He was waiting and waiting for it to get dark. Once it did, the boys turned into little buckaroo's and hit up the neighborhood looking for treats. Walter tried his hardest to keep up with his brother but his horse just wasn't quite as speedy or graceful. Owen got to go out twice, once with Jer & me and a second time with my

 mom and aunt. He 

certainly hit the motherload tonight and I'm not sure what we're going to do with all this candy. I have pretty much zero will power and have been avoiding having this kind of stuff in our house. Now it is downstairs just calling my name. I wouldn't be surprised if Jer wakes up in the morning to see chocolate all over my face and a trail of wrappers around the house.

Cougars.

I had a wonderful time away with some fellow moms this past weekend. We decided to celebrate 3 years of friendship and motherhood with a girls getaway in Chicago. It was super fun. We were total girls doing lots of shopping, taking eons to get ready, trying on each other's clothes, putting make-up on and gabbing one another's ears off. It was fabulous and very refreshing. We kept commenting on how strange it was to be only responsible for our selves, to finish conversations, and eat entire meals while they were still warm! Jer called us 'cougars' and I'll let him explain that one to you sometime!

Jer and the boys seemed to have had a nice weekend. Apparently they were busy doing projects as I've been finding things like leafs all over the house (from their wax paper leafs) and homemade frozen yogurts in the fridge. They managed to do some fishing and spent some time raking over at Donna & Bruce's, too. It sounds like they got some good male bonding in.

When I went to get a permit for our new deck last week, the city told me that I could not do a deck or porch or anything except replace our cracking front stoop. So, after feeling frustrated and bad about all the time Al had sunk into designing it for us, we've moved on to new ideas. Gardeneer came out on Thursday and took out our old front stoop and walkway. (Thank you, Al!) We contemplated trying to pour a new front stoop and little patio area immediately, but with temperatures dipping into the 20's at night, the concrete guru advised us to wait. So for the time being, my dad, Owen & Walter built us a temporary front stoop today. We will be patient and finish our curb appeal in the spring. 

The tiger walked on the tight rope like this.

This statement was of course followed by Owen walking on his tip toes with claw hands saying 'roar, roar, roar'. He had a great time with Al & Joanne at the circus Saturday and continues to talk about the tigers. He was originally pleading for me to make him a costume. That plea has subsided, which is just fine with me. I have too many unfinished sewing projects to start another.

We had a day full of visitors and fun today. Walter and I had music to start the day off. We were singing some song on the ride there and he started doing the hand motions to one song! Sounds small, but it was exciting to me. He's just so darn cute. He enjoyed music and even got his groove on a little (usually he's too busy watching everyone to dance).

After school, a friend from Sunny Hollow and his mom came over for lunch. The boys played well together after, while Walter slept, so the mom and I actually got to have some pretty good, full conversations! Amazing.

Tonight Arianna & Ella came over for dinner. We used to swap children weekly if not more and hadn't for a while due to some life changes. It is so great to have them more frequently in our lives again. They are such good girls and all play quite well together. Owen & Ella butt heads every so often and I even heard Owen pull out the "Ella June" a couple times, which just made me laugh. Once they figure it all out, Ella just blows it off and goes on to play. Owen, however, keeps holding on. Funny.

Owen is camping out tonight on his bedroom floor. I tried to encourage him to wait until my parents come next week, but he had to do it tonight!

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.