Deck the Halls!

In true fashion at our house - the Christmas tree went up the day after Thanksgiving ... if you're going to buy a real tree you might as well get your monies worth, right?

James was pretty excited about decorating the tree this year and it was fun to see him get into the holiday spirit.  Although all his ornaments ended up in about a 2 foot radius on a certain part of the tree it was still pretty cute! 

He definitely "gets it" this year and has been talking non-stop about Christmas and when Santa is coming.  Egg nog has made its return to our house and he's been enjoying that with Papa as well.

 

 

 

 

 

We did get into the Elf on the Shelf this year ... that will be a separate post, but Ralph the Elf has made his presence known and he's been up to some pretty silly things at the house.

We are looking forward to the coming week with anticipation and are excited to share the holiday season with family.  We keep saying it, but it's really true, nothing compares to watching the holiday wonder through the eyes of a child. 

Someone is on the Move!

A few weeks ago after returning from a weekend away Henry decided to share with us the new skill he mastered over the weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house - crawling!

Henry hasn't mastered speed just quite yet and still has a difficult time on the wood floors if he has pants on, but he's moving and James hasn't been too thrilled.  James has realized he can no longer keep things out of Henry's reach as Henry will find a way to reach things himself!

Baby gates will once again be making an appearance at our house and crib lowering is also on the agenda since Henry is also starting to pull himself up on things. 

Look out world - I'm on the move!

Henry's First Haircut

So Mom and Dad finally caved in and cut Henry's hair several weeks ago.  We are amazed at how much his shorter hair makes him look like a little man. 

So for your entertainment some before and after pictures.

BEFORE

AFTER

He wasn't too fond of the scissors and comb near his head, but it didn't take long to trim up the sides and make him look handsome.  Hopefully now no one will call him a girl ... at least not to his face anyway :)  He's still pretty cute in our books!

9-months!

Henry had his 9-month check up at the beginning of November and he's continues to grow - he is now 18 lbs 7 oz 26.5 and inches long.

He continues to be on the low end of the growth chart for height and weight ... but you'd never know it given the looks of his cheeks and his little thighs!  They are irresistible to Momma's and Papa's kisses!

He continues to eat great - there really hasn't been much that he's turned his nose up to yet.  Finger foods continue to be a challenge - he can easily get them into his mouth, but then he spits it out.  Textures are something we'll have to work on here soon so we can fill his belly with foods outside of purees! 

 

Como Zoo Boo & Halloween 2012

In the spirit of the Halloween season we celebrated the holiday several times with the boys.  James really enjoyed donning his costume this year and it was no surprise he wanted to be Thomas the Tank again so that made his costume selection easy ... just take out of the closet from last year!  Henry donned a little bear suit and even with his long locks all hidden up inside his hat he was still called a girl on several occasions :)

Two weeks before Halloween we decided to head to the Como Zoo Boo.  We thought it would be a fun experience for James to participate in and in a safe environment to see lots of other kids and costumed characters.  He enjoyed it thoroughly and came home with a pumpkin full of goodies.  The highlight of the evening - checking out the inside of the fire truck with Papa!  Or perhaps it was the small Thomas the Tank model railroad that was set up on display?

The weekend before Halloween we carved our pumpkins.  James noted he wanted his pumpkin to have an "excited face" so it was only appropriate to get a picture of his pumpkin and him making his excited face together!  He didn't enjoy cleaning out the pumpkin ... at what age do kids like to do this?!?  But he did enjoy eating the fruits of Mom and Papa's labor, the seeds!

The boys also celebrated the holiday at school on Halloween and had an opportunity to wear the costumes in the afternoon.  Mom showed up for pick up a little early and helped James with his Halloween themed art project and enjoyed some "scary" Halloween story time and Henry participated too!

The end results of our pumpkin carving ... well at least part of them as a squirrel decided to eat one of our pumpkins for supper before we got a picture of it!  You can see James wasn't too thrilled about it and was staring down the squirrel in the tree right after it happened!

In the evening James toured the neighborhood with his friend Ashley.  They had a great time and he collected quite a stash of goodies, which we are still rationing!  After returning home James assisted handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters at our house and he was sad when the evening was over.  He asked when Halloween was coming again, but we've put that thought to rest once he told him that Christmas is coming soon!

Back in the Pool

James and Henry are both in swim lessons this fall at the Y.  James has transitioned to a student class in which Mom and Dad are no longer in the water with him and thus far has been doing very well with listening to his teacher and learning basic skills.  He got his report card a few weeks ago and he was noted to be "chatty" but follows directions well, who does that sound like?  :)

A few weeks ago they taught the kids about water safety in boats. It was pretty cute to see all the kids climb into the canoe and the smile on James' face was priceless!!

Henry takes turns with Mom and Dad in the water and although the first week he was a little apprehensive (we think mainly due to the water temperature), since then he's taken to the water like a little fish kicking his legs and splashing with his hands. He loves watching James in the water too any chance he gets!

 

 

We just signed the boys up for another session that will last until the snow flies ... by then James will be ready to try his hand at skating we think!

Apples and Pumpkins

Fall wouldn't be complete without a trip to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch and we set out to do just that a few weeks ago with friends and had a great time.

We mixed it up this year and went to a different spot - the ol' stand by was getting a bit stale for the kiddos and we thought given that we were going on a week day we had a little more time to spend, so why not?

We headed out to Minnetonka Orchards in Minnetrista and we were not disappointed.  We got the opportunity to see some animals, pick apples, choose some picked pumpkins and enjoy a hayride.  The kiddos were thrilled!!

Even though the weather was a bit chilly, it was a fun way to celebrate the fall season and we'll continue to do so as we get in the spirit this weekend by carving our found pumpkins!

Goldy's House - 2012

With the football season upon us it was only appropriate to deck the boys out in their Gopher gear and head to the stadium for a game.

James knows the routine now and was pretty excited about getting back to Goldy's House for a game.  He talked it up all week!  Henry, as a rookie, didn't know what to expect, but he, like always, just rolled with the punches and had a great day.  Henry slept for part of the game but otherwise enjoyed the wonderful weather and flirted with our seat neighbors during the game.

James got most excited about seeing Goldy down on the field and followed his every move throughout the stadium for the entire game. 

  

James actually got to attend a game two weeks in a row - and at the second game he got a chance to sit on a U of MN police department motorcycle at the tailgating lot and him and Elliot had some fun running the concourse after the game!  He had a fun afternoon and the end result was a very exhausted toddler!

Mom and Dad are looking forward to the rest of the season - perhaps the boys were good luck charms since the team was off to a 3-0 start at this time ... we'll see what the rest of the season holds after two disappointing loses.