Trick or Treat

The kids and I went around the neighborhood while Ed handed out candy at home. It was just us for the first hour until McKenna and her family got home from work. Then they joined us, as well as Josh and his daddy. After that first hour, I left Eddie at home with Ed too because it was getting cold out. Rowan emptied out her candy bucket as well, it was already full!

I think Rowan had more fun having someone to go door to door with her other than me. Although, near the end of the night the girls were fighting over who got to ring the doorbell. Most of the time they couldn't even reach it. Or they didn't push it hard enough to actually get someone to come to the door.

And here is the aftermath. Excuse the lighting and blurriness. My camera was frozen from being outside, and of course it was dark out, so the lighting in the house wasn't the best.

final projects

Here are our pumpkins and Rowan's painting project from this October. We did do one other thing with the kids but I didn't get a picture of it before packing it away, so maybe I will share a picture next year. We painted some pumpkins and carved. Rowan and I went for the abstract painting and Ed claimed he painted me, very nice of him. The top left corner are Ed and I's pumpkins painted, and the others Rowans. The carved hand is Rowan's pumpkin. She was going to paint the fingernails, but got a little carried away, so we decided to do the entire hand. I carved Mickey Mouse, and Ed did all the rest!

33 Weeks Old

...and a costume preview, what better on Eddie's 1st Halloween!

bathtime entertainment

Eddie is usually in the bath first and then Rowan. Which works to our advantage, because I think Eddie would be entertained by Rowan in the tub for hours. Or maybe he is just that tired by that point, but he loves it.

Eddie's 1st Carving

Eddie wasn't as into the pumpkins as Rowan was on her first Halloween. I think it is because he doesn't care for the Bumbo and Rowan loved it. So Eddie was only into the action for a short while. If I could have safely let him sit himself on the table, he would have been fine for much longer. But I couldn't be at his side constantly so we didn't go there. Just on the counter for a few pictures with his pumpkin (carved by daddy).

Pumpkins round 2

Carving time...I almost didn't think we were going to carve them this year. We just never had time, and when we did, we didn't want to do it. So we did finally get it done before Halloween thankfully! Ed carved all of the pumpkins except mine. He is way faster at it, plus I was too busy taking pictures!

rOwAn'S many FaCeS

We spent a short amount of time outside today. And this is all Rowan would do for the camera... seriously! Oh and she got her soda drinking problem from her father!

Eddie's 1st tooth

...finally popped through today! And this is my meek attempt at getting a picture of it. The boy will not open his mouth for the life of me. So actual tooth pictures to come in the future.

Another Shrimp

Tonight was the start of another swimming session. She didn't move on yet, so she is still a Shrimp. All the kids in this class are different than her last session, even the teacher. Although the teacher right now is just a fill in. The real teacher for the session will start next week. There is one little girl in the class that wasn't a fan of being without her daddy, so she was in tears and on the teachers back most of the class. And another girl was just joining for this class because she was too intimidated by her male teacher and wouldn't go with her class. So she joined her sisters class (the teacher let her play with them). So we will see what this class is like as the next few weeks go on.

let there be Hail...

Only in Wisconsin are we talking sunny and warm one day and hail the next. Lovely Wisconsin.

32 Weeks Old

Too many cute expressions to not leave out this week, sorry for the excessive pictures!

PuMpKiNs round 1

Since we were onto the painting idea, we decided to paint some of our array of pumpkins. Rowan only painted a few strands of her hair, and most of her hands. But the pumpkins turned out very colorful!

Sunny day in October

Today was a beautiful day, so we spent a few hours outside this morning after running errands. Also got to catch up with the neighbor friends as well. We are coming to grips with the fact that we will all go into hiding and not see each other as much once this decent weather leaves us for a few months.

halloween project

Found a fun little painting project for Rowan. She loved it! She would have liked to do more than 2! Finished product pictures to come at a later date.

grabby hands

So I was trying to get a picture of the kids in a different position other than just sitting since as you can see, Rowan just smothers her brother. But then Eddie just wanted to grab Rowan and not look at the camera. I guess it is no use. But they were really cute in the process. Maybe next time!

It was picture day at preschool for Rowan today too, so I was trying to get a preview picture of her in her cute outfit, but she wansn't into that either. So I guess we will have to wait and hope her picture turned out okay. They had a good photography company taking the preschool pictures because their kids attend the programs at the YMCA, so I am hoping for something good?

owies...

After today, I still haven't found the best way to approach a doctor visit with Rowan. Today wasn't really a doctor visit, but both kids had an appointment for their flu shots (Eddie's second one). Rowan entirely associates the doctors office with 'owies'. Probably because everytime we are there with Eddie he is getting vaccines updated, and she got one last time she was there too.

So this morning before preschool I told her we had to go to the doctor this afternoon, and she started to get teary saying she didn't want an owie. So I said, fine you won't get one, but Eddie still has to go. And she got even more sappy saying she didn't want Eddie to get an owie. So I said, no one will get an owie, and dropped the subject.

We prepared for the trip, packing bandaids (one for each of them), just in case they had to get owies, gave them both Tylenol, and then headed on our way (just me and the kids, fyi). She was fine in the waiting room, and would barely walk into the exam room (which was full of an instructor and 3 nursing students). So I had to sit Eddie on the floor and coax her into getting onto the table. We showed off the purple Nike shox she had on, then her Tiana (princess and the frog for you princess rookies out there) underwear, and then laid her on the table to look at stickers. Oh and I had given her a sucker in the waiting room too. She kept raising her head while I held her hands and they stuck her. And....she didn't even cry! And they upgraded and finally had something other than nude dot bandaids, so we didn't even need our own. Luckily she twith the stickers and her sucker while it was Eddie's turn. And Eddie only wimpered for his too. Best trip yet! So the entire ride home, Rowan kept saying, Mommy it didn't even hurt, and I didn't even cry, and Eddie only cried a little bit. Then when I was putting her down for nap, she confessed that it hurt a little bit, but she didn't even cry!

So the trip turned out better than I thought, but hopefully next July when it is time for her annual visit, she remeembers that she didn't even cry and it only hurt a little bit! No pictures of Eddie because he was napping already. Hoping neither of them develops a fever from these!

31 Weeks Old

Jjust when you think he can't get any cuter, he does! Love how he eats his bottom lip these days.

quack quack cutie

lovin' the tub...

Someday...

...Eddie will appreciate how much his sister loved him when he was little.

7 Months Old...

Still a happy smiley boy, 99% of the time! His new thing these days is to whine when he is left alone. If we put him down on the floor to play, and walk away, he whines. He wants constant entertainment! As long as he can see us, he is fine!

Otherwise he is sitting and rolling. And Ed is trying to get him to crawl. I on the other hand, am not pushing that at all. I am not ready for him to be moving! Otherwise, nothing is new. Eating the same as he was at 6 months. Sleeping seems to be improving at night. He has his nights where we don't hear from him at all. And other nights we have to reposition him and give him is pacifier a few times. And sometimes he wants to eat around 330am. Nothing is standard right now. I am hoping we will be hearing from him less and less as the nights go on. Most nights I don't mind the cuddle time!

swimming update

So it has been a few weeks since I posted anything about swimming, but she is still attending and doing well. We had a little glitch 3 weeks ago though. Rowan was naughty and almost got taken out of class (by us!). She has a new little friend that is in her preschool class and in her swimming class (Hayley). Which is very nice, but this one week they decided that they were more into each other than listening to the teacher.


They were getting in the water when they were supposed to be sitting on the side of the pool, and not listening to the teacher when she asked them to sit on the side. So Hayley's mom went in first and talked to Hayley in the ear saying to behave and threatening whatever if she didn't listen. Then they were separating themselves from the class, and scooting further back from the pool, and lastly Rowan was sucking up water and spitting it on Hayley. So I had to go in and talk to Rowan, 2 times by the end of the class.

So the entire next week Ed and I kept talking to her about listening to the teacher and behaving and that she wasn't getting any second chances next time, we would just take her out of the pool and take her home. Well, Hayley wasn't there the next week (it was nice out so her parents kept her home) so we didn't get to see how she would behave. But this week (pics above) they were there together and did well and listened. So we will see!  The pics below were rom the naughty week.

Next week is the last week of this session. Rowan will be a shrimp again next session. We might try a different class for the winter, we will see what else is offered!

On a side note, Hayley's mom asked one of the teachers how the girls behave in preschool class (after this incident), and she said that they are 2 of the best behaved in the class, and sometimes they need to be encouraged to do things, meaning they are a bit too quiet and reserved at times. So they must have had a bit of built up energy that night at swimming, who knows.

playin in the rain

The kids played for about 5 minutes tonight before the rain started coming down! And the playing continued, until we decided they were wet enough and didn't want them to get sick. So it was probably less than 20 minutes before we headed in for a warm bath. But it was fun for them while it lasted!

(Rowan and the neighbors, McKenna and Josh)