Homecoming House Decs

Last weekend was Homecoming at Mizzou!  Yippee!  We were fortunate enough to be able to go up Friday night for the wonderful tradition of Greek Town House decorations.  The event is geared toward families and it was so fun to take Tyler and Nathan.  Tyler LOVED the little shows. 

 

House Decs Family Photo.  I think my boys are pretty cute dressed in their black and gold. 

Tyler was dancing up a storm in between shows. 

 

Each house had fun things for kids to do.  Poor Nathan had to be the Kentucky Wildcat.  Don't worry, Nathan...you and Tyler can both be Tigers!  :)

The pure joy of a simple slide.

 

This gives you an idea of the house decorations - boards pomped and painted and then put up on scaffolding to build a scene.  Characters are also pomped/painted to tell a story geared toward the kiddos.  I love all the tradition involved in Mizzou's Homecoming festivities.  Homecoming at Mizzou turned 101 this year!   

Paying attention to the show.

 

A special thanks to Krista for allowing us to stay overnight.  It was a fun sleepover in Co, MO! :)



Playing in the leaves

We took advantage of the nice weather last week while dad was working in the front yard.  The boys were playing and I was raking leaves.  Tyler wanted to "help."

 

Tyler thought it made a good bed.  You can bet he got a bath after laying in the leaves. 

So much for my raking as Tyler was doing a great job of spreading them out again - oh well. 

I love Tyler's enthusiasm with a simple pile of leaves. 

Daddy stopped working to play with Nathan and help him go down the little slide.  Nathan loved the slide and when we turned our head for a second he had climbed to the top.  Nathan is fast and I will be shocked if we make it to his 1 year birthday without him getting stitches.   Whew!  He keeps us on our toes!  



Carving Pumpkins!

A week ago or so we decided to carve pumpkins.  Tyler wanted to help (a big change from last year when he showed zero interest).  He was in charge of scooping.  Jeff and I then waited until the boys went to bed to carve.  I carved a Mizzou Tiger symbol in my pumpkin and Jeff carved the Cardinal STL logo.  They have been outside and are now rotting...lovely.  I suppose we were a bit eager this year.  :( 

 

 

Tyler started out with a spoon. 

The spoon wasn't very helpful and Daddy told him to just use his hands.  I thought Tyler might have thought it was gross...I was wrong.  "Cool, mom!  Cool, dad!  It's slimy!" were his exact words.  He is all boy. 

Tyler dumped the goo into a big pot and then wanted to play with the goo.  Seriously!?!  Needless to say, I did not roast the pumkin seeds this year. 



Nathan's walking progress

Nathan took his first two steps last night.  I didn't get those on video but I did take a video of him cruising around the playroom with the walker. 

 

Nathan is our little bundle of muscle.  I cannot believe he is trying to walk at only 7 months old!  He is really getting more comfortable letting go once he has pulled himself up.  He will stand there and wobble for a few moments.  Last night he took two steps before falling down.  He is getting more and more brave each day. 



Pumpkin Patch Visit

Last weekend was beautiful and we were fortunate enough to have the Saturday afternoon free (very rare).  We combined a quick shopping trip and, the highlight, a stop at Rombach Farms.   

 

It was a bit bright for my little man who refuses to wear sunglasses or a ball cap. 

(Nathan was napping.)

Tyler gave me unprompted kisses which I will take any day!

 

Tyler was excited to ride the "train."  He of course picked the black and gold barrel - such a smart kid. :)

Nathan woke up while Tyler was riding the train. 

Poor kid was checking it out because it is often that he falls asleep and wakes up in a different spot. 

Tyler said after the train ride that he was a good driver - our little Rain Man. 

A family pic - very rare for us. 

 

Similar smirks.

Sweet boy.  I think this is my favorite pic of the whole day. 

 

I love that Jeff can just pick up both boys (a total of 60 lbs) and move them like it is no big deal. 

 

Climbing on huge pumpkins.  Tyler really wanted to take one of these home but I was not spending $50-$60 for one of these.   Call me cheap...

 

I love this little pumpkin.  Nathan wanted to climb on everything too...and eat the pumpkins. 

 

A successful day at the pumpkin patch.  We also enjoyed some kettle corn - probably the best I have ever had (or I was just really hungry).  Tyler LOVES popcorn so we have become quite the connoisseurs.

 



Dang!

 

 

Jeff bought Nathan a new Cardinal hat this weekend.  It would have been nice for Nathan to sport it with our team in the World Series but I am sure Nathan will still wear it proudly. 

T-ball

While it appears the Cardinals season will come to a close probably as I type and upload photos to this blog, I thought it was appropriate to post about the start of Tyler's baseball career. :)

 

Tyler got a real t-ball set for his birthday and we hadn't broken it out yet.  The Cardinal playoffs have Tyler talking baseball all the time.  He loves Yadi, Double D, Carp, Skippy and the rest of the gang.  He sits with Jeff and asks "who's up, Daddy?"  When the "bad guys" are batting he will yell "strike 'em out!"  We love it! 

I promise it was cold last week.  You wouldn't know it after the 80+ degree weather we had today.  

Can I play too, mom?

Dad came home in the middle of our batting practice.  I will give Jeff a little break here...he usually doesn't wear socks and sandals together.  He had taken off his boots and then realized we were outside so he just grabbed a pair of sandals to come out and play too. 

Isn't this the perfect father/son moment?

Watch out mom!

We got out his glove too but Tyler wasn't too interested in putting it on. 

Jeff and I got out our gloves and played catch for a while thinking it would get him interested...not so much. 

I can do it by myself.

Cheering section. 

 

 

 

 

 



Go CARDS!

I was fortunate enough to see Game 3 (at least most of it) of the NLCS last night.  We waited about 2 hours and 45 minutes of the 3 hour 30 minute rain delay before we decided to head for home.  I will post a few pics later. 

 

Tonight...

 

Let's make this happen tomorrow boys! 

 

I love it when the Cardinals play late into October.  :) 

7 months!

 

Nathan turned 7 months old today!

 

So handsome!

Love that smile!

Talking up a storm and really wanted me to hear him.

Brothers!

Nathan was really into the Presidential debate tonight.

 

 

Updates:

Clothing size: 12 months although the jammies are getting too short so the 18 month bin is not far behind - at least for PJs. 

Diaper size: 3

Eating habits: Nathan is still nursing and getting breast milk bottles.  He LOVES to eat sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, zucchini, squash, bananas, yogurt and flavored cereal.  I have made pears and applesauce but those are either too sweet and/or sour so we now mix those with other things.  The face Nathan makes when we feed him just pears, for example, is pretty funny.  (I have a video I will try to post soon.)

Teeth: Five are in and two more are making their way in this week.  I am not sure about Nathan but I could use a break from the teething process.  The poor kid's mouth was bleeding when he woke up this morning. :(

Sleeping habits: Nathan is usually an excellent sleeper going to bed around 8:30-9p and sleeping until 6:45-7a.  We have had a few nights in recent weeks when he has woken up once too early due to teething pain, got to rock with mommy and then was back to bed.  As for napping, Nathan usually takes and hour to an hour and a half nap in the morning and the same in the afternoon.  He may take a small catnap around dinner just depending on his day.   

Activity:  He is crawling EVERYWHERE!  Nathan is pulling himself up on everything and really, really wants to walk but his balance just isn't quite ready.  If Tyler is doing it, Nathan wants to do it.  He looks at his big brother with big eyes of wonder and admiration.    Nathan loves to play peek-a-boo and Tyler loves playing it with him too.  Both of them will just laugh and it melts my heart. 

Talking: Nathan has been doing a lot of babbling.  He will say hey, A, mmmmmaa,  ba ba, duh duh duh, and hi.  His vocabulary seems to expand daily.  It is so fun to have a conversation with him.  :)

Favorite toys: Anything Tyler is playing with...let the brotherly battles begin!

 

 

 

 

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. 

 

Hug your babies and say a prayer for those babies that were lost too soon. 

 

 

 

This isn't a day that is circled on a lot of people's calendars but unfortunately Jeff and I are part of this "club."  While I don't want an increase in membership, there will inevitably be more.  It is not a topic that is fun or popular to talk about, but it is important.  It is important, if nothing else, to be thankful...thankful for each other and for those innocent ones that have no idea how much they mean to us. 

 

We have three little ones we never got the chance to meet.  The first two losses, before Tyler was born, were tough and scary as we weren't sure if we would be able to have kids.  The third miscarriage probably hurt the worst because we knew what we were missing out on.  We were also further along and had heard and seen a heartbeat so we were feeling secure. 

 

  I want to clarify, I don't write this post for sympathy.  I write it to bring the often taboo topic to light.  I don't have any direction on how to act or what to say to someone you care about if they experience a loss.  Everybody is differnt.  My only advice to help someone going through any kind of loss is to just be there - I promise the people going through it will remember.  A text, a phone call, a card sure go a long way to let a person know you care.  Jeff and I had a whole lot of people who were there and continue to be there with two very lively boys.  I guess this post is a way of saying "thanks" too for everyone helping us become stronger and, hopefully, better parents to Tyler and Nathan. 

 

I will be hugging these two just a little tighter tonight. :)