Halloween Weekend

Even though we had a rainy Halloween, we still had a really great time. The weather put a damper on some of the plans we had but Grandpa Dale came in to town and we still got to go out trick or treating. Nate really got in to it and enjoyed going from house to house and getting candy!

Just like last year, I decided to go with a homemade costume plus a back up. I made him a mummy costume that I actually kinda liked (not sure if this picture does it justice) but I didn't get to finish the top of the pants so I happily let him be a cute little cowboy instead. Here are a couple of pics of him in costume but I added an album with lots more to the right...

The day before Halloween Nate and I played hooky from school and work and went to Wesley Kate's 2nd Bday Halloween Party. I loved having a mommy day and getting to actually go to a play date with everyone and Nate loved wearing his hat and playing with his friends that he doesn't get to see enough.

After the party, I took him to my office to meet everyone (he hadn't been there since he was 6 wks old) and see the pumpkin carving contest. Unfortunately, we got so wrapped up in Nate making his rounds that I didn't take any pictures. He had fun with everyone but now I think he thinks that mommy just goes to play at the office every day (don't I wish!)!

The Sunday after Halloween was gorgeous so Nate got to play with Amanda at her neighborhood Fall Festival. Here is a picture of them just hanging out on the curb (they sat there on their own) waiting on a hot dog and in deep discussion about something.

I am trying to catch up on my postings so hopefully I will have more on the way very shortly!

PS - Welcome to the world Baby Maggie Cibula! I was holding the little (well, not so little - 8 lbs 10 oz) beauty the whole time I was visiting at the hospital so I never thought to take a picture (I am really slacking on my photographer duties!) but she was just so sweet. It brought back all of the memories of being in the hospital with Nate...and I can't believe we will be doing it all again in 5 short months!! Congrats Paula and Clay...can't wait to see her again!

Carnivals & Pumpkins

Weekend before last was our neighborhood Halloween carnival and unfortunately Nate was battling a cold (and it was pretty darn chilly outside)...but I just couldn't keep him from going up to check things out. I did not put him in to his costume since he wasn't 100% but we did go up and have a little bit of fun. Here are a few shots from the carnival...

He sat on the pony for a minute but wasn't sure enough to go for a ride....

So he decided to get off and pet him instead.

He tried Cotton Candy but surprisingly didn't like it...when I tore him off a piece he wiped his nose with it.


He cheated a little bit at the bean bag toss...but we let him because his first attempts at throwing it were a little "off course"!

Checking out his prize (Bubbles!) at the Fishing Game with Nena

Our Lil' Devil

Last burst of energy in the jump house...

Then we decided to run to our Church to grab our pumpkins since we didn't know if we would get another chance...but that was pushing it. He wasn't feeling well and by that time he was tired, so we pretty much just grabbed our pumpkins and headed home. And unfortunately it was too cool out to show off his adorable new pumpkin shirt that Amy made him! We will find another opportunity to show that off though because I love it!

...and there's more...

I didn't want to put our other family updates in my last post because I wanted Bebe Cox to have his own announcement, but we have had a few other exciting things going on lately. To start with, a few weeks ago, Michael got a call from his old company to sign back on in a contract position through the end of the year - we found this out on a Wed and they wanted him to start that Mon. This was very exciting, but we had to quickly figure out a plan for Nate. We had one day to make appointments at schools closer to our new house and make a decision. It was a little stressful to decide that quickly - the two we narrowed it down to would be totally different experiences for him - but so far we are really happy with the school we chose. It has taken Nate a little time to adjust...he still clings to me when I drop him off in the morning...but when I pick him up he is laughing and playing (I always spy through the window for a second before I go in) and talks about his teachers when he leaves. He loves "Miss 'Resa" (Theresa) and "Miss 'Manda" (Amanda) which makes me so happy! And when we get in the car he says "fun school 'day, mommy" which of course warms my heart.

Since we have been so busy lately (and I have been so tired), I really don't have many great pics unfortunately but I did catch a cute moment the other night...Nate brought his books out in to the hall before bedtime and wanted Daddy to read to him. So, they both laid in the hallway and read together. It was sweet...

Despite the fact that the "Terrible Two's" can be a very real thing at times, I really love this age of curiosity and interaction and he can be so incredibly sweet that I can completely forget about the meltdowns :) I wanted to list a few sweet and funny things before we move on to the next stage (it happens so quickly) and I forget them:

• He hates having food on his hands while he is eating, so he regularly asks for his "nakin" during meals. He proceeds to "wipe hands" and "wipe face" to stay tidy. He always says "thank you mommy" when I hand it to him.
• He is starting to ask "whats dat?" or "who's dis?" much more frequently. He isn't shy about it either...it is always interesting when he points to the lady standing in the grocery aisle next to us and says "who's dis?" like he should know who she is.
• He has several skills that he likes to show off - he can say the alphabet without skipping letters now and when he is done he always says "Good job mommy!" (I guess since I always say "Good job Nate" he returns the sentiment?), he can count to 14 (15 trips him up but he usually skips on to 20), and he loves to play "Ring 'round rosies" (he likes to sing and run in circles really fast!) and sing "Skip to my Lou" while skipping around (when we sing it together I always stop at the end to let him say "dahlin" and he thinks it is funny).
• He likes to practice walking backwards and forwards and always makes sure to tell me which one he is doing.
• We take the wagon up to our neighborhood lake which is just around the corner from our house and he makes sure we take bread to feed the creatures there. We have discovered that it is more fun to watch the fish and turtles come up to the surface to eat it than to throw it to the ducks and geese...the fish make him laugh! He likes to try to "trow it far!"

I will post pics from the pumpkin patch and the neighborhood Halloween carnival later this week...stay tuned...