Halloween 2010~ a pirate and a half?

This weekend we had two shots at trick-r-treating. The first attempt was well.....ummm.....not so good. Good thing we had a second chance to come back strong! Last night MiMi and Big Poppa attempted to take the boys to the annual neighborhood hayride/party. All things were going great! Roman was dressed and happy and Griff was also super excited to put on his costume. He was all smiles and ready to trick-r-treat until...... they got to the clubhouse. Griff associates the clubhouse with the swimming pool. Once there he ripped off his costume and all control was lost. By all means he was no longer a pirate and now a swimmer! Needless to say it was a 100% public meltdown. The evening ended before it even began. Back home and straight to bed. :(

Roman the friendly pirate! Take 1 (Saturday night)

This is the only picture of pirate Griff. Enough said...

Tonight we were invited to a Halloween party with lots of fun and tons of kids. I was a bit nervous of what to expect. (with good reason!) Griff brought over the pirate gear. This looked like a good sign~ right? We got Roman dressed in his costume. I tried to put on Griff's costume and he didn't go for it. Me~ not a battle I will fight so I went into his room and found a "pirate-ish" shirt and a pair of shorts. We loaded up and headed out for a night of fun! Once there everything was just fine! Griff ran around and played with the kids in the backyard. We gathered the group to hit the streets for a little candy. Griff was a little confused at the first house. He didn't understand (just like last year) why when they opened the door for him that he couldn't go inside? Once we went to a few more homes he got into the swing of things. Until..... he fell and really bused up his nose. After a few tears and a little blood he got right back into the action. The only difference was MiMi carried him. Why? Because he figured out that he could get the candy faster that way. He would tell her, "faster MiMi." We are very proud of our little pirates. Griff pulled through in the end and really finished the weekend strong. ;)

Roman and his MiMi Kat

Gotta love him.
As good as it gets when you try to get a picture of this many moving objects. ;)
Funny thing~ this is the best picture that I have of both boys together to date!
Come'on let's go!

Mommy and the happy pirate!

A band of not so happy pirates. :(
Trick-r-treat!
Yummy!!
Success~ sleeping pirate

Black Cat

I could not stop laughing when I picked up Griffin from the sitter on Friday afternoon. All I knew that they were having some sort of Halloween party and I dropped him off with cupcakes. When I walked in there were three kids left (one of which was Griff) playing with blocks at the table. The two little girls were in their "street" clothes while Griff was decked out in his black cat costume. His teacher is AWESOME! She made witch costumes for the girls and black cats for the boys. Apparently they all had a great time playing "trick-r-treat" in the playhouse.

The cutest black cat that I have ever seen!

Army crawler Roman reporting for duty!

Roman is officially doing the army crawl. He has been getting from point A to point B over the past month in a not so efficient manner~ rolling and scooting. Well, yesterday he streamlined the process. Just as I was walking out the door for work he crawled 2 paces. When I got home a few hours later he was lapping the entire room. This speedster was acting as if he had been doing this his entire life. Wow, I could not get over the progress that he made in so little time. I always knew that he was advanced. ;) MiMi Kat said that he had a smile from ear-to-ear all day and was so proud of himself.

His favorite targets are Al Dog and Griffin's favorite Wiggles guitar. Too bad for Roman. Al Dog is a moving and not so cooperative target. As soon as Roman reaches Al and comes up with a handful of hair Al is out. Uncle Al is 13 years old and has no patience for this roughhousing! The Wiggles guitar is another difficult target. When Griff noticed that Roman was playing with it he moved it to higher ground~ the counter top. Hummmmm..... I know the feeling all too well.

Yeah for Roman for reaching this new milestone. Another bittersweet Mommy moment. I'm so proud of my little man's accomplishment, but sad to see him growing so quickly.

Roman 5 month update

Another month with new activities to report. Roman is really thriving in many areas. I took him to the doctor today because he is sick. Having a sick baby truly breaks my heart. He was running a temp and has a croupy cough. He is now weighing in at 20.9 lbs folks! I seem to be producing heavy whipping cream for this little guy!

Roman is not officially crawling, but sure does get around. Sometimes we have to look around for him. We put him on the floor to play and he ends up working the room. He uses his hands to turn around, pushes with his feet, and rolls to his desired destination. Very fun to watch.

He is still lighting up the world with his big and beautiful gummy smile. I love the fact that he is so generous with his smiles and giggles. He is such a joy to be around. He is loving life and taking in EVERYTHING. He pays extra attention to his big brother. He always keep a very close eye on everything that Griff does. Is it love or fear? Probably a little of both! ;)

Roman started on solid food this month. He has now tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and bananas. His first bite usually takes him by surprise. He is still unsure and gags his way through the meal. In a strange way I think that he really likes it?!?

I can not say that sleeping is Roman's speciality. He fights a nap like a champion! Griffin was an excellent sleeper so I am not sure what to do? I know the eat, play, sleep method, but Roman isn't down with it. On a typical night he wakes up around midnight and between 3-4am. He is lucky that he is cute!

We are looking forward to another month of sloppy kisses, gummy smiles, and contagious giggles.

Several years before my grandmother passed away she made quilts for my future children. This is a picture of Roman playing on one of her quilts. She would be so in love with my little boysies...

I adore that smile.

Precious little fingers...
It is so amazing to watch a baby take in life for the first time. He was studying the grass.
Our little angel.

A few more Firsts!

Last week I took both of my boys out in an uncontrolled environment ALONE for the first time. I am not going to lie~ I was nervous! The plan was to go to the bounce house to meet a few ladies and kiddos from my new mom's group. I felt that this was a pretty safe place to venture out on my own! Once there I was able to relax. It was a Thursday morning so it was not very crowded. Griff had a ball! He ran around and played and checked in with my periodically. I kept Roman in his stroller. He was very content taking in the sights. At one point I asked another mom to hold Roman so I could go and play with Griffin. When I climbed up the play set with him he was beaming from ear to ear. He was so proud to have me play with him.

While there we had another "first." Griff came into the bathroom with me so I could change his diaper. While in there I decided to potty myself. This prompted Griff to do the same. He often potties at home, but NEVER in public. He asked to use the potty so I HAD to let him give it a try. Mission accomplished! I must say it was a very clean first try at a public restroom. I am sure that this will not always be the case!

Because I was manning two little boysies pictures were not a top priority. I guess this may also be another first? We were there a few hours and I only have 3 not so hot pictures to show!

Pumpkin Patch

This morning I loaded up the boys and heading over to the pumpkin patch. Thankfully MiMi and Big Poppa were able to join us! It should be of no surprise that Griffin had a ball. He was in a wide open field and felt the need for speed! He ran from one activity to the next. This place had lots for families to do. Tons of places to take pictures in the pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, face painting, duck races, a bouncy thing, and lots more! Roman watched his brother from the comforts of his stroller. We all took turns chasing Griffin around to make sure that he didn't get himself into too much trouble!

And we're off!

Roman~ the smiling pumpkin!
This is as good as it gets for a family picture. Griffin is too cool for posed photography!

Roman enjoying the scenery

Take 578 of a family shot. Apparently Griffin only does candid pictures. Oh yeah, his mouth is bleeding from the crazy/dangerous slide that he flew off of!

Roman and MiMi
Mommy and Roman~ it is not that I love Roman more than Griffin. It just so happens that he is the only one that will take a picture with me!
It should be of NO surprise who is in the drivers seat!

WHAT?!? I can't believe that you actually put me down!

Well.... I guess it isn't too bad down here.

Poppa and Roman discussing life.

Poppa and Griffin enjoying the duck races.

Griffin giving someone the "stank eye."

Thanks for chasing me around today.... I had fun!

Mummmm carrots

Mom... what's for dinner?

What? Carrots!!

I don't know.... maybe?

Kinda yummy!

All in a days work.

So our day started at 4:15 a.m. to the sound of, "Daddy....where are youuuuuu?" Yeah, now that Griff is no longer in his baby bed he sometimes wakes up at obscene hours and calls for the person who last put him to bed. We have found him in the kitchen, the living room, and this morning it just so happens he was standing in the hall way that leads to our bedroom. For whatever reason he does not come into our bedroom~ which is a good thing. It will totally freak me out to wake up with Griffin in my face. Anyway, back to our day. We believe that 4:15 is entirely too early to start the day so Kenton walked him back to his bed and got him to lay for a bit longer. I would say the party started more like 6:00 a.m. when Roman joined in. Thanks to my lovely husband for letting me sleep in a few more hours. Remember my day didn't really start at 4:15. I have no idea when my days start and end. By that point I had already woken up twice with the little guy.


For some reason Griffin insisted on wearing his bathing suit to bed last night. We have learned to pick our battles and wardrobe is not a fight worth fighting. This morning Kenton changed Griff out of his "night time bathing suit" into his "day time bathing suit?" Yes, wardrobe was 100% picked out by the G-man. He hauled out a table and his shopping cart and was doing what looked like a Sam's Club cooking/sample demonstration.

Next on the agenda was a little dancing. Nothing like getting your heart pumping early in the morning!

Roman giving me a look of, "Lady, would you please get me out of this cage?!?"

Jumping in the Spiderman bounce house at a class mates birthday party.

Taking a little water break under the tree.

Romancing the ladies...

Playing with play dough with the big kids.

Roman enjoying himself at the party.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...."

And to all a good night...