Halloween with Thomas and Friends

We spent Halloween night at the Rugnettas' house and attending the great block party in their neighborhood. We went to this same block party in 2011 when Elliott was just six weeks old. I was not sure Elliott would even wear a costume this year. Grandpa Nick sent a great Superman costume over a month ago. We talked about it frequently and Elliott said he was going to be "big muscles" for Halloween. However, we could not get him to even try it on after repeated tries. On the morning of our first Halloween party, he told Coco that he wanted to be an elephant. So, the wild goose chase began. We went to three stores but could not find an elephant costume. Elliott and Coco were in Party City when Elliott spotted this Thomas the Tank Engine costume. Victory!!



Sophia (a garden gnome) and Luca (Nemo).

Thomas, the gnome, and Nemo.

Lucy wore a glow-in-the-dark skeleton.

Ned dressed as a cowboy. The high point of the block party is a parade of all the kids in costume. It is organized by age group with a prize for the best boy and girl costume in each age group. Ned wore his age group! This is especially impressive since he was missing two key pieces of this costume - cheapo plastic spurs (that looked awesome) and real leather chaps that Coco had saved from Holly and Ted's riding years many moons ago.

Gnome, Cowboy, and Nemo.

Elliott was very distracted by this tractor costume during the parade. He followed this little boy around, admiring his tractor.

A little farther, still following the tractor.

Thanks to the Rugnettas for including us in your Halloween fun. We will miss you when you move to India in a few months!

Late October Catch Up

Jesse arrived home last night after 12 days overseas. We survived, thanks to tremendous help from Coco and Poppy! Two days after Jesse left, Elliott came down with a pretty high fever. Since any illness is scary for little Lucy, Elliott spent a few days at Camp CocoPoppy while Lucy and I went back home. Two days with only one kid were like a vacation. Elliott had a wonderful time with Coco and Poppy. He didn't really want to come home. When he was feeling better, Lucy and I met them for dinner out. Elliott tried on Coco's lighted reading glasses.



Pretty silly!

He was all smiles, but quite the handful (typical two year old behavior).

Drinking from a big boy cup. The plaid jacket belonged to Ted.

Last week, Lucy had an appointment with the pediatric cardiologist as a follow up to her NICU stay after birth. Her ticker is a-ok! She has a benign opening called a PFO that closes on its own in many cases. Approximately 25% of the population lives with a PFO. She will see the cardiologist again in two years to see if it closes or not. No action is required in either case.

There must be something in the water. About 90% of my close friends have had babies in the past year or will be having a baby in the next six months. It's a baby boom! I have made some wonderful, lifelong friends since we moved back to the area four years ago (four years?!? where did that time go?). Two of these great friends are Danielle and Leigh. Each of had a beautiful baby girl within three months. Leigh wrote a beautiful blog post chronicling our pregnancies. Thank you so much for for logging our shared experience and the arrival of our three girls!
Danielle and Emma (three weeks)
Emily and Lucy (six weeks and mid yawn)
Leigh and Hollyn (16 weeks)

Lucy now likes sitting in the highchair at the table during dinner.

Elliott climbed up to see Lucy. I snapped a quick picture before getting him off of his sister.

Elliott likes to stay in the shower and play with his shapes for long after I am done showering. I love how cute and little he looks here.

On the lookout for Poppy.

 

Sibling Love and Such

Elliott really loves Lucy. He asks all the time to "see her," "kiss her," and "hold her on couch." When we have Lucy on her activity mat, Elliott crawls right in to lie next to her.



"Pet her."

My face looks goofy when I have to use all my muscles to hold my head up!

Holding hands. These two make my heart swell. 

The week before Halloween, we carved a pumpkin. Elliott getting excited to carve.

He put his hand in once and had zero interest in helping scoop out the pumpkin guts.

But he loved watching Daddy do it. "What doing, Daddy?"

The look of joy when Jesse lit a candle in the "pumpkin face."

Another day, another cute dress. This one was handmade by Aunt Hol!

This is not the most flattering picture of Lucy but it was too funny not to capture and share.

I love watching these little people sleep, especially when Elliott cheeks get impressively large during car naps.

 

Random Catchup

I've gone from taking lots of pictures with the big, nice camera to taking more pictures with my phone. My hands always seem to be busy with a kid or two. Here is an assortment of pictures off my phone from the last two weeks. Someone in these two weeks, Grandpa Nick came from a visit. We had a wonderful time - and I failed to get a single picture of him with the kids. Fail. Next time, Nick.

Elliott loves wearing his bike helmet - even in the car.



Chubby knee dimples make me smile.

Lucy attended her first meeting and slept the whole time. Aunt Hol got some snuggles.

She's more and more alert every day. This is just shy of one month old.

Lucy and Penny got side by side diaper changes. Penny lit up next to Lucy and tried to hold her hand. How do you make Penny look big? Put her next to a newborn. Lucy is in the 75th percentile and Penny is in the 2nd. We have been very lucky to get almost all of Elliott's clothes as hand-me-downs from Ned. When Lucy was born, I assumed we would have the same arrangement with Penny. However, Lucy is currently six weeks old and approximately 11 pounds. Penny is 10.5 months and 15 pounds. It looks like Lucy with pass Penny in size in a hurry! Would anyone care to place a wager on when this will happen?

Eyes - 10/21/13

Elliott building a big tower.

Cute outfit from Danielle - 10/23/13.

 

Lucy - 1 month; Elliott - 25 months

I have a new goal to take pictures of Lucy as each month passes. Since the kids' birthdays are so close, they can even have month shots together.

Still too little to hold herself up so she's propped in the corner of the couch.



Waving hi?

25 months, 1 month.

Look at that love he has for her. He calls her "Baby Foosey" or "Baby Loofey."

This is Elliott around one month old.