Halloween Festivities 2016

We had a really fun Halloween week.  I continued the tradition of making costumes, but expanded it to the whole family this year.  I don't know if I will be doing that again soon, but it was fun for once.  With all the hours put in, I wanted to show off a bit.  Only one person really knew what Esme was, but it went with the Frozen theme.  Parker really liked his Olaf costume and Esme was an adorable rock troll.  We started the fun by trick or treating at Lunds & Byerly's.  They had a dance party, treat stations, balloon animals and face painting.  Parker got a lot of shout-outs as we walked through the store.

 On Sunday night we went to trunk or treat at our old church.  It seems to get bigger every year and there was close to 70 cars this year.  There were lots of doors for Parker to play with and it sometimes hard to redirect, but he did so good!

 Here is the whole family ensemble!  Jimmy was Kristoff and I was Anna.

 We had a costume contest at work today, so I got to wear it all day!  I had a sandwich for lunch and thought that was fitting!  If you don't understand this reference you need to watch the movie.

 We had quite the bunch dress up, which made for a fun day.

Parker had a party at school today, so I made him a plain shirt with dots and sent him with his hat.  That was a much easier version of Olaf than having to worry about the whole puffy costume.

 Our final outing was another church's harvest festival.  Kristoff was harvesting ice (Jimmy was being a party pooper) so I was on my own with the kids.  Most of the activities weren't things Parker would do, but he had fun running around.  Esme like the balloon animal we got and played with it as we walked.  They had candy bags on the way out of the church.  We were probably one of the first to stop since there wasn't much for us inside, but they really gave me the 3rd degree.  They asked me several times if we were really done and told me I couldn't come back.  I said we were going to play outside, then leave and I didn't want to come back inside.  Once again they asked if I was sure and told me I would get a red "X" on my hand and couldn't get another one.  I didn't realize it would take so much for a bag of candy!

 They had a bounce house up and Parker loved it despite the misty weather.  His socks were drenched, but he would have jumped all night if I hadn't pulled him out.  It was such a fun holiday for us.  I am bummed we never got around to carving pumpkins, but it was a busy week.  Now to go raid the candy bag...

Weekly Catch-Up

As I was taking Esme's weekly picture yesterday I realized I never posted last week's.  Now that it is getting darker in the evening I am going to take pictures on Saturday so I can hopefully use more natural light.  It was very grim and gloomy this Saturday, so that didn't help my efforts.  But first things first, last week's photos.  This is one of my favorite outfits, so fun and fancy.

It's so fun to look back and compare pictures.  I love how her face has filled out, it's just the cutest.

 In other happenings.  Jimmy and I had a kidless date night last week at Willy McCoy's in Albertville.  We also walked around the outlet mall and got some chocolate and a pumpkin pie candle!  Esme is moving more each day and is ending up in some funny places.  Jimmy and I joked that this was our baby trap!

 We watched the Huskers win last week, but they lost in OT this week and are no longer undefeated.  Only two weeks until they play Minnesota!

And now we are caught up!  It was a busy week for us, with lots of time spent finishing our family Halloween costumes.  You've seen them if you are on Facebook, but I am excited to show them off here.  Hope you have a safe and happy Halloween and a great week ahead!

Pumpkin Patch

The fall has always been busy for us and being a family of four has just made it more so!  I was hoping to get to the pumpkin patch earlier in the season, but it just didn't happen.  We had a lot of fun despite the overcast and chilly weather.  The corn pit has always been Parker's favorite and Dehn's Pumpkins has the cleanest one we have been to.  There is bits of hay, but it isn't dusty at all!  This is the same place we went in 2012 and 2014.  

We dug a little hole for Esme to sit in for a bit.  This was the best picture I could get of the two of them.

 Unlike Parker's firest visit in 2012, she was ALL about eating the corn, so she wasn't in long.  It was also pretty chilly out and we wanted to keep her bundled.

 I was surprised there wasn't more people out.  We waited until after the Vikings game and I thought more people would have done that too.  The pumpkin jumper was totally empty and Parker had a blast!

 We went out in to the patch, but the pumpkins were very picked over, so we didn't get any.  Parker liked riding in the wagon...until the wheel fell off!  We just abandoned it and walked back!  By then I was time to go since it was only getting colder.  I am glad we were able to make it out before the season was over.

More 6 Month Pictures

I decided to take a few more 6 month pictures on Sunday and threw in some family ones as well.

For our family pictures I set up a tripod and had my dad just hit the button over and over while my mom tried to get the kids to look that way.  I think it turned out pretty good for VERY amateur photography.

I realized later that I didn't get any posed pictures with Parker and Esme, but I did get a couple of him pushing her in the swing for her first ride.

We spent the early part of Friday just lounging as Parker was fighting a fever.  It was going up and down all day and continued through today.  His temp finally went down this evening and I am hoping it stays that way.

Hope you have a great week and can stay away from the sickies that took our house out last week!

Esme June - Six Months Old

Esme June is 6 months old today.  She is getting very close to sitting independently, but still needs some support.  This has been a month of rolling for her!  He usually doesn't stay on her back for very long before rolling over.  This is normally ok, but she doesn't roll to her back when she gets frustrated.  She has also started rolling over at bedtime and doesn't really like falling asleep on her tummy, so we have to roll her back a couple times.  She has started responding to her name a little bit, which is cute.  I took this video last night while she was dozing off.  She is probably waking more to the noise than just to her name.

She had her 6 month appointment on Wednesday.  She weighed in at 18 lbs. 5 oz. (86%), is 26.25" long (68%), and 17" head circumference (79%).  That is up about a pound from my home measurements last month.  Parker was 14 lbs. 12 oz. and 27.25" as the same age.  She is wearing 6 mont, 6-9 month, and 9 month clothing, but will be out of the 6 month size soon.  She is wearing size 3 diapers during the day and night.  We just switched to 8 oz. bottles tonight and will see how she does with them.  I am hoping to get in to a better routine with solids and may just have to postpone my meals to get her fed.  He sleeping is still going great, with only the occasional wake up overnight.  ECFE has been going well and we signed up to continue through December.  I like being able to focus some time on her and meet other families with babies her age.  We had a mini half-birthday celebration tonight like we did with Parker when he turned 6 months.  This was her first time in the high chair, so I didn't give he any cake to play with.

She is growing in to such a lovely little lady.  I know she will be one in no time, so I just have to soak up these moments.  I am hoping to attempt some family pictures this weekend, but we'll see!

Twin Cities Marathon

Jimmy wasn't feeling well on Sunday morning and decided not to go to church.  I made the last minute decision to head down and watch the Twin Cities Marathon.  I knew a handful of people running, including my good friend Stacy!  It was in the 30's, so I had to bundle Esme up in a little snowsuit.  Good thing it was a hand-me-down because it is probably the last time she will wear it.  Stacy was running for Team World Vision raising money to provide clean water for people in Africa.  We cheered on every World Vision runner we saw and even got a couple of "cute baby" comments and high fives.  We were stationed around the 19.5 miles mark, which is on the east side of the Mississippi River.  I was told this is where the number of spectators drops, so they need extra encouragement.

 Stacy didn't know we were going to be watching, so it was fun to surprise her!  The look on her face was priceless.

Jimmy's "not feeling well" turned in to a nasty cold/cough that took him out of work on Tuesday.  I started getting an itchy throat last night and woke up hardly being able to talk today.  I took the kids to daycare, slept all morning and am feeling better already.  Parker and Esme are not sowing any signs of illness yet and I am hoping it stays that way!

Esme is 26 weeks today, which means 6 months is tomorrow!  Can't wait to celebrate her half-birthday!