Happy Halloween!!

We had a GREAT Halloween!  The kids are at such fun ages for this- Tommy isn't too old yet and Caroline is just figuring it all out.  It was a rainy, cold night, but we had fun!  After school the kids changed into their costumes and we quickly headed over to Nonnie and Papa's house and Gigi and Juju's house to trick or treat.  After those stops we headed to Trunk or Treat at church which had thankfully been moved indoors :)  Tommy was still after a little more candy so once we got home from church Nathan took the boys out in the neighborhood.  Henry only lasted for a few houses, but Tommy managed to hit quite a few!  They were exhausted from their busy, fun day!

 

A lion, a ladybug, and Luigi

Caroline- our little ladybug

Tommy- our Luigi

 

Henry- the scary lion

At church the kids had fun hanging out with Grandpa, Papa, and Nonnie.  Caroline could not figure out why everyone looked so funny and just kept staring!

Caroline checking out Grandpa's costume!

Papa with his grandkids- Tommy, Andrew (the man from the movie UP- adorable costume!), Henry, and Caroline

Hanging out at church

The Dyk family is always kind enough to set up a little petting zoo area with all of their animals.  Caroline thought it was the best thing ever.  She was squealing at the top of her lungs she was so excited!

She thought the tortoise was really neat until I handed her over to someone else so I could take her picture :)

Playing on the hay bales!  Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

Monday night we had Nathan's family over to carve pumpkins!  The boys were SO excited and loved working on their pumpkins with all of their cousins!

 

Henry and Nathan

Tommy

Busy working

Madelyn was VERY patient with Henry

Henry cleaning up

The finished results!

Henry (3 yrs.), Annaliese (8), Andrew (3), Tommy (6), Bridgette (6), Madelyn (12), Ellie (9), and Audrey (10)

Pumpkin Playdate

The Friday before Halloween Henry had some of his friends over for a little pumpkin playdate and lunch.  It was fun to see him interact with his friends and the kids were so cute together.  They did some little sticker pumpkin crafts and played for a little bit and then we had a pumpkin lunch :) 

 

Caroline ready for the playdate!

Witch's brooms for lunch

Jack o' lantern sandwiches- it's amazing how much more they will eat with chocolate chips added :)

Mackenzie, Henry, Inga, Josiah, and Abby all enjoying their pumpkin sandwiches, witches brooms, ghost jello, oranges with pumpkin faces on them, carrots, orange cheetos, and of course, cookies and cupcakes!

Fourteen Months Old!!

I cannot believe that Caroline is already 14 months old.  As I looked through these recent pictures I couldn't believe how old she looks all of the sudden!

She still has only 4 teeth- 2 on top and 2 on the bottom. 

She LOVES her baby dolls and is usually busy feeding them, kissing them, or pushing them around in their stroller.  Here she is giving one doll a great big kiss :)

We've transitioned to one nap so she now sleeps from 6pm-7:30am and then naps from 11:30am-2:30pm.

She is starting to walk around furniture, but is really cautious.  If she doesn't realize what she is doing she can stand on her own, but as soon as she notices she sits back down.  Usually she pushes her walker around the house on her knees like in the picture above.  She can easily climb up the stairs, but not back down yet.

She wears size 4 diapers, mostly size 12 month clothing (some 18 month), and size 4 shoe.

She has successfully gotten rid of her bottles!  She drinks about 3 cups a day of milk and eats 3 meals and 2 snacks.  I still feed her breakfast and dinner, but she feeds herself lunch and snacks.

 

Chicago

A couple of weeks ago Tommy had a short break from school so we decided to take advantage of it and head to Chicago!!  We had a great time and the boys loved it!

We headed out of town on a Thursday afternoon.

Thursday night we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then the boys headed back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep while the girls went shopping at Oakbrook Mall.  We shopped until Caroline finally dropped!

Friday morning we surprised Tommy with a trip to the Lego store downtown.  He loved it!

He's just starting to get more into Legos and be able to do a lot of the sets by himself so he was excited to see all of the Lego options!

 

The boys at the Lego store.

Since we were right next door to the American Girl store I had to show it to Caroline :)  Here she is by the new Caroline doll!  I can't wait until she is a little bit older- we will be spending a lot more time (and money) there than we did on this trip :)

After the Lego store we drove to the Museum of Science and Industry.  The boys loved it!

Exploring the trains

Watching the chicks

Caroline was a good sport- she just rode along in her stroller and people watched.

Looking at the submarine

For dinner Friday night we headed to the Rainforest Cafe (Tommy's choice).  Tommy and Caroline loved it, but Henry was a little nervous.

 

Saturday we headed to Shedd Aquarium which is always a big hit with the boys.

Henry learning how coral grows :)

When we headed home late Saturday afternoon we had some tired people in the back seat!

 

Fall Fun

We have had a wonderful fall!  The boys are at great ages for playing outside, jumping in leaves, and doing little projects.  Here are a few pictures from some of the fun we've had this fall!

 

Cheering on the Tigers! (not enough for a win, but still fun to watch!)

Playing in mud!  They were a disaster! What a mess!

Jumping in the leaves- Henry loved it this year!

 

 

Caroline did not know what was happening!

Painting projects for their relatives for a small Halloween treat!

Their finished artwork- they were pretty proud!