Rock and Rattle

OK, so maybe I am the only one that thinks this is fascinating (well, Emma Claire, too).

Arnold can hold a rattle for a while now. He is also grabbing at the hangy toys on his play mat. Emma Claire just said "Mama, Arnold pulled my haaaaaair". So, he is doing that, too.

Happy Hal

This is Happy Hal...

Emma Claire's first real pumpkin carving experience. She chose him from a template in a kit. He was by far the happiest - and least scary - of the pumpkin faces.

She had a good time carving him with Brad. And, finally, when we lit him up - "I'm scared...I'm scared of Happy Hal...I don't like him...turn the lights on!". Not quite the reaction we were hoping for. She has since warmed up to him a little. Now, most jack-o-lanterns she sees are referred to as "Happy Hal"

Body Art

Unsupervised use of the markers...

12 Weeks

Arnold is now officially 12 weeks old. New in the life of Arnold is the discovery of his hands. He likes to clasp them and suck on them. Lots of bubble blowing and drooling these days. Teething????

He likes to be read to. I have recently been laying on the floor next to him and reading little books. He stares at the pictures and is quite calm during. I love how his little bottom lip turns down when he is about to cry. He makes squealing noises now.

Emma Claire likes to read to Arnold. I found her the other day in his rocking chair with a Halloween book, reading it to him while he was on the floor on a blanket, as happy as can be. Arnold is fascinated with his big sister and lights up when he sees her.

Create your own picture slideshow

Lazy Sunday Afternoons

Decorating for Halloween

Emma Claire and Brad inherited some (by "some", I mean a carload) of Halloween decorations from Aunt Chris and Uncle Paul yesterday.

Emma Clairethinks the skeleton is pretty neat, but doesn't much like the walking hand. She and Brad had fun decorating. There is lots of excitement about this Halloween!

Indian Summer

We have had a spectacular month of October, as far as weather goes. Lots of sunshine and warm temperatures. I think, however, those days are numbered. In fact, I see snowflakes on the 5 day outlook.

I do get excited for those first snowflakes this time of year. It will be fun to see how Emma Claire reacts to the snow this year. She is already "trying out" her new snow boots around the house. This Saturday, however, she enjoyed what is likely one of the last days of our Indian Summer and enjoyed helping Daddy in the yard.

Fun with Walker

We had the Kadues over for breakfast this morning. The cousins had a good time with Grandma Marjorie's walker in the driveway.

Time Out

Emma Claire gave these poor guys a time out - for hitting her (all 3 of them belong to Arnold - why didn't one of the princesses get a time out, huh?).

A side note... the one in the front is "Hank". Our friend Amber made him for Arnold. When Brad asked Emma Claire what his name was, she replied "Hank" (the proud namesake of neighbor Hank).

11 Weeks Old

Baby Arnold is 11 weeks old today. I just can't believe it. I don't think I ever posted his 2 month stats from the Dr. Hobbs visit, but here they are:Weight: 11# 14 oz (53%)

Height: 23" (52%)

Head: 16" (66%)

So, he is pretty much "average" in size at this point.

I love that Arnold is now smiling a lot. He smiles when he sees me, especially in the morning when he is extra happy. He has a "double dimple" - one on each side. He is "cooing" and making more sounds and loves to be on the floor, kicking and turning from side to side. He is getting much stronger. He is happiest when he is taking his sink baths. I love those sink baths. Hopefully he has a few more

months of those. I can't remember when Emma Claire started taking tub baths. (a side note - the other night Emma Claire asked for a sink bath, and Brad gave her one).

As far as sleep goes, he is doing ok at night at this point. He is in our room and starts off in his bassinet, sleeps for a few hours there until around midnight, then needs to eat. Then, he sleeps with us and usually wakes to eat again, or just gets restless around 3 or 4 am. We have our little nightly routine down. I loved that Emma Claire slept with us when she was so little (still does some nights). It won't be forever. He will need to make the move to his crib at some point, but I will enjoy it for now. I have been trying to have him take at least one nap in the crib every day. It has been going ok. I found that swaddling him and turning on "white noise" helps.

We started our "teensy tots" class at church yesterday, which is once a month while Emma Claire is in Sunday school. We did this with Emma Claire, too. It is a parenting class that is the beginning of Grace Place sunday school. The topic was "Ages and Stages". I shared that my favorite stage is whatever stage we're in at the moment. I love where he is now, and I love where Emma Claire is. Each stage is fun and each comes with it's own challenges. I try not to rush the next, because the days and stages just pass too quickly. Brad (and the other daddies) agreed that they enjoyed the 1+ age, when they become more mobile, active and interactive.

Almost three months into Arnold's life, I can't imagine our family without him. It is certainly different with two children, but it is certainly a blessing. Wouldn't change a thing.

More Photos...

Chuck E Cheese

Aaah... our first Chuck E Cheese visit. I think it is one of those outings that indoctrinate you into parenthood. Talk about overstimulation. Arnold never knew he was there - slept the whole time.

We went with the Knauffs and Emma Claire and Addie could not have been happier, which in turn made me happy. Not a place I want to visit every weekend, but certainly worth tolerating the chaos for a couple of hours on a Saturday night.

I especially love this photo of

the daddies feeding the tickets into the machine so their girls could cash in on two lovely plastic peace symbol necklaces. They came up a few tickets short of being able to afford two. Brad offered to pay the guy for the second one, but he gave it to us anyway.

More Photos

Rebel Fans

More Photos

Gopher's Game

Emma Claire and Brad went with Harrison and Jonah to the home opener for the Gopher's. They got to sit in Harrison's box seats.

All Emma Claire could talk about was getting a pom-pom. She learned the M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A cheer.

Not to worry - we are still Rebel fans. Unfortunately, neither team is winning.

More Photos

Junior Jogger

I have been meaning to post this for some time now. Mom brought it to me when she was here for Arnold's birth.

I guess my love for running started at this point in my life... (although, I don't look too enthused in this particular shot). Thanks Mom!

Ducklings in the House?

Emma Claire: Mommy, there are ducklings in the house!

Me: How many are there?

Emma Claire: Four.

Me: How did they get here?

Emma Claire: In a car.

Me: Who drove?

Emma Claire: The mommy duck.

Uff da!

Emma Claire after school the other day: "Uff da!"
Me: "Emma Claire, where did you learn that?"
Emma Claire: "at high school."

First of all, when did I start dropping my baby off at high school?... Secondly, it hit this southerner at this moment that my little girl is a Minnesotan - born here and to be raised here. This is my personal favorite "Minnesota" word. The first time (and most every time since) that I heard it, I just have to giggle. For my Southern readers that are unfamiliar, I took the liberty to Wikipedia it...

"Uff da is often used in the Upper Midwest as a term for sensory overload. It can be used as an expression of surprise, astonishment, exhaustion, relief and sometimes dismay. For many, Uff da is an all-purpose expression with a variety of nuances, and covering a variety of situations. The expression has lost its original connotation, and it is increasingly difficult to specify what it means now in America. Within Midwestern culture, Uff da frequently translates into: I am overwhelmed. It has become a mark of Scandinavian roots, particularly for people from North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota."

Give You Peas

At the end of bedtime prayers each night, I always say with Emma Claire the verse "may the lord bless you and keep you... etc. " It ends with "...and give you peace". She now tries to say some of it with me and always says the "give you peace" part. Last night, she said this, followed by "we have peas at our house! - I like peas" (she, I guess, was remembering that we had peas for supper).