Train Ride to Downtown

Last weekend we joined our friends Brady and Bennett to ride the train to downtown Minneapolis for happy hour.  Beer and wings for our mommys and daddys and chocolate milk and chips for us kiddos.  It was our first time riding the train and we had so much fun.  We can't wait to do it again!

The boys super excited that the train arrived

Time to find a seat!

The 'happy hour' crew 

The boys enjoying the scenery

The two big boys smiled the whole way there :) 

Elliot wasn't so sure about this experience

The conductor came to visit 

Noah pushing Elliot back to the train

Elliot still is a little concerned

Halloween 2012

This year's Halloween was a fun-filled day/evening with costumes, parties, and LOTS of treats.  Needless to say, the kiddos were on a sugar high when bedtime arrived.  Thank goodness this holiday only comes once a year :)
Elliot got to go trick or treating for the first time to a few houses, then came home to help me hand out candy.

Daycare party

Mr. Buzz Lightyear 

Fascinated with the pumpkin

Noah waiting for the kids to come 

Ready to trick or treat

Ready to trick or treat

Handing out candy

Little stinker got into the candy :) 

Best of Friends

Now that Elliot can move around, Noah and him are quite good buddies.  They play together so well most of the time.  Of course there is an occasional push or swat from Noah (which is always an accident by the way), but for the most part we are amazed at how well these two get along.  Noah will wait for Elliot to wake up in the morning, and we he hears him awake, he immediately starts giggling and asks if he can go see him.  Elliot has as similar reaction and gets very excited when Noah comes into his room.  Elliot also likes to watch Noah get ready in the morning, and Noah keeps him informed by giving him the play-by-play of what he is doing ("this is how you put your shirt on, now we have to brush my teeth, okay?")  We can't wait to see how these two evolve over time, and hope that they always appreciate each other like they do today.

Matching PJs

Going for a stroller ride

Handsome little boys 

Playing peek-a-boo through the window 

Story time with daddy

Noah teaching Elliot how to do puzzles 

Getting into mischief 

Ready for daycare..Noah insisted we take a picture
because they  matched

Elliot- 9 Months

Hi everyone!  Can you believe I'm 9 months old already?  I just had my 9-month check up with Dr. Paulson, and here is what he had to say:

Weight: 20 pounds, 2 ounces (41.8%)
Height: 28 inches (39.07%)
Head: 17.75 inches (42.33%)

Everyone keeps saying that I am such a 'tank' but I'm really not.  I think I just look big because I'm a bit short (thanks mom) and my belly doesn't have anywhere to go but out :)  Dr. Paulson gave me a clean bill of health and I got the award for the 'best personality' from the nurses.  I like to smile at everyone- hey, I know I'm cute!

At 9 months old, I am starting to eat with my fingers.  Eating is my absolute favorite pastime.  I used to love baby food, but now that I have been exposed to 'real food' such as green beans, carrots, stuffing, bread, etc. I prefer that instead.  I am also an active little bugger (I learn a lot from Noah).  I have been pulling myself up on furniture for about a month now, can walk all around furniture and with my walker, and climb up the stairs.  I have started getting shy around strangers, and cling on tightly to mommy and daddy until I get used to a new person (which doesn't take long).  As mentioned before, I smile at everything and everyone.  I am an extremely happy baby.

One challenging thing that I have been dealing with is eczema and allergies over the past few months.  We have been to several doctors, allergists, dermatologists, and what we found out is that I have extreme eczema and am allergic to peanuts, eggs, and dogs.  We are starting to get it under control, but for now I have to be very careful otherwise my skin flares up again and I get very itchy.  This of course doesn't keep me from smiling :)

Climbing the stairs 

Early phases of learning to stand
 (I mastered it pretty quickly)

Getting into mischief again 

Using Noah's couch as a stepping
stool to get to the end table.  Well played.   

What the heck is this thing?  Where are the rest of the stairs? 

Getting the balloon that Noah hid under the table

Helping mommy unload the dishwasher

Apple Jacks 2012

As always, we made our annual trip to the Apple Jack's orchard and pumpkin patch a few weekends ago.  Unfortunately, Daddy had to stay home with Elliot since he was having a bad flare up with his eczema that day (my poor brother!).  Mommy and I rode along with some our our friends and had a great day.  I rode a pony (wasn't scared this year), got my face painted, ate a TON of apple doughnuts, jumped in the corn pit, and rode the cow train.  Whew, what a busy day.  The funniest part of the whole day?  We (I blame mommy) forgot to get our pumpkins!  Thank goodness there is a pumpkin patch near our house that we visited later in the week.

Riding the pony

Running across the hay bales 

My friend Brady and I...we were fighting at
 the time and had to 'sit' at opposite ends of the bus :)

Boys checking out the turkeys 

All of the kiddos...impossible to get everyone focused for a picture :)   

Annual pic....Noah wasn't impressed for this pose 

Face painting

Football face paint 

Finished products

Burying Zach in the corn pit 

JUMP!

Cow Train 

Noah and Elliot at the pumpkin patch

Twin Game

Last weekend we went to one of the last Twin's games of the season.  Elliot has never attended a game before,  and this was Noah's first game of the year.  It was a fun afternoon even though we had to leave a little early since the boys got a little antsy.  Elliot wasn't feeing so hot to begin with, but then ended up feeling worse when he was exposed to peanuts (we think as the people next to us were eating them).  He developed a pretty bad rash on top of his already flaring eczema, so we ended the day at Children's Urgent Care.  I guess we will always remember Elliot's first game!  

Mommy and Noah before the game

Daddy and his boys

Daddy and Noah 

Walking in the skyway to the game

Elliot and Mommy 

Yummy ice cream