Happy Halloween 2010

Today was Eddie's first Halloween.  Even though he was sick, we still made the best of it!

Uncas carving his pumpkin

Finished products

Charlie stole Sammy's hot dog costume

My little sock monkey

Very first time trick or treating

Getting candy from Janis - yum!  Too bad he can't eat any!

I'm Back!

I'm back from Seattle!  I had a wonderful time visiting Lisa and her boys, but I am also very happy to be home with all my boys!  I am tired tonight and since I was gone all weekend, I need to be in bed early since I will be on Eddie-duty tonight!

I promise to post more pictures later, but here is a cute one of baby Ezra and Caiden!

Fall Weekend with Grandma and Grandpa

I tried doing this post yesterday, uploaded all these photos and then somehow lost all the photos.  I got annoyed and just walked away from the computer.  I am determined to get this posted today because I leave tomorrow for Seattle.  I have a lot to do packing-wise for me and for Eddie.  Eddie is going to hang out with Grandma Nimz up in Duluth while Uncas and his dad go fishing and hunting.  This will be the longest I have been away from Eddie ever and to say that I am freaking out is an understatement.  I keep on trying to focus on the positives like sleeping through the night and being able to hold Baby Ezra for the first time!  So - I need to finish this post and get off the computer now!

This past weekend my parents came up to visit Eddie.  The timing was perfect because Uncas had a conference for work on Friday and Saturday.  In fact Friday night he didn't get home until 8:30 pm, so I was happy when my parents pulled in at 5:00 pm.  Grandma was able to give Eddie a bath and help put him to bed.  After Uncas got home that night we enjoyed some Molten Dark Chocolate Cakes to celebrate my Dad's birthday and we gave him some presents.

My mom handled all the time night feedings, so Uncas and I were able to catch up on our sleep, although I wasn't really able to sleep in because I am so used to getting up early in the mornings.  My mom and I took Eddie for a little shopping in the morning.  Then after Eddie's second nap we went to the Como Zoo in St. Paul.  It's a free little zoo and while Eddie's still a little too young to enjoy seeing the animals, we had fun.  They also have a really nice carousel there, so we took Eddie on his first carousel ride.  It goes pretty fast, so we actually sat in some seats, but after the ride we took a couple of pictures of Eddie on one of the horses.

That night we made homemade pizza and watched some baseball.  On Sunday morning my dad had found this recipe for a ham pastry ring thing.  He emailed it to me, so I thought he was really excited to try it.  Unfortunately we didn't really the recipe very well until I actually making it.  It called for diced ham, green pepper, red onion (so far so good), diced apple, diced grapes, chive and onion cream cheese and Caesar dressing!  If you think it sounds gross then you would be right.  We threw most of it away and Uncas made some scrambled eggs with ham for us instead.  You can read my dad's take on it here.

It was a fun weekend, although it went by way too fast!  We all enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa stay with us!

Riding the carousel - he didn't want to sit still!

Checking out some fish

Eddie with hair!!!

Sammy loves to cuddle with Grandpa

Grandma and Eddie

7 Months - Continued

Here are the updates on Eddie for this month:

• Crawling!  That's right - you started crawling this month and you get better and better each day.  I have been amazed at your dedication and determination with this skill.  You rarely get frustrated, you just try and try again.  I was worried that we would be in huge trouble immediately after you started crawling, but you haven't been so quick to explore.  You like to stay close to your Mama and Daddy and of course Sammy.  Sammy has taken refuge in the dining room at his heater spot.  You have recently discovered where he is, but it takes a while to get there.
• Teeth!  This was the next big milestone this month and it happened right after the crawling!  You have two little teeth in the bottom front.  I think you will be getting more in soon as the past couple of days your mouth has seemed to bother you.  I love it when you smile and you can see those two cute teeth in front!  
• Sleeping - well, this is still a work in progress.  We started moving your bedtime back to 6:30 in hopes that it would help you sleep later in the morning (the pediatrician said it would help - hah!) and because daylight savings will be ending soon.  We did this for about 2 weeks and the results weren't that great.  I finally just said screw it and we moved the bedtime back to 6 pm.  You slept later the past few days and the wakings at night have been less.  We'll just deal with daylight savings when it comes.
• Food wise you are still eating pretty well.  We have had some struggle with the formula recall, but we seem to be past that now.  You still eat solids about twice a day and take a bottle about 5 times.  You also still wake up for a middle of the night feeding.
• You really like to scream.  Not in the sense that something is wrong, but when you are happy or just in the mood to talk.  We can also get you to "talk" when we mimic you.  Your babbling doesn't have any sounds like "mamama" or "dadada", but that's ok.  It seems like when you do start talking, you probably won't stop!
• Your coolest skill, in my opinion, is that you can whistle!  You purse your lips together and blow air and sometimes a whistling noise comes out.  I think you learned this from your Daddy.  He whistles to you a lot and think you try to copy him.  It's the cutest thing, although sometimes you don't make the actual whistling noise.  Sometimes you'll be playing on the floor and you do it.  It's the cutest thing!
• You are definitely starting to get more attached to your mama and daddy.  Sometimes when we leave the room, you don't like it one bit and start crying.  But for the most part you are still a very happy baby!

I tried taking some pictures yesterday and I only took three and they weren't that great.  Someone didn't want to pose at all.  The best one he is munching on a straw!

7 Months!

Wow - today is 7 months already!  I can't believe we are into the second half of his first year already!  I am going to relax after a fun weekend with my parents, so I'll post more about the 7 months tomorrow.  It's been a big month for Eddie, so I will have lots to write about.  And I also need to do a recap of our fabulous weekend too!

Here are a couple of pictures:

Wordless Wednesday

"See my teeth?!"

Our dog, or as we often refer to him as "Lazy Bones!"

Finally - someone going after Daddy's shoes for a change!

Wood Lake Nature Center

Today was yet another beautiful day in Minnesota.  We decided to check out the local nature center that is about 2 miles from our house.  I am embarrassed to say that I have never been there, even though the whole time I have lived in the Twin Cities, I have lived in or near this area.

I was impressed by the size of the place and can't wait until Eddie is older.  It will probably be a great place to visit to burn off some energy.  The only downside is that pets are not allowed.  I completely understand, but I think that is one of the primary reasons why we haven't visited there sooner.  It was a lovely afternoon.

Date Night

Our date night was actually more of a date day.  Our friends came over with their daughter - Eddie's little friend Ashley this afternoon, so Uncas and I could go to a movie and dinner.  We saw the movie The American with George Clooney.  I really enjoyed the movie, but I liked some of George's other movies better.  Uncas and I really enjoyed the time together and Eddie seemed to have a great time with Ashley.

Eddie grabbing Ashley's leg!

This week has been fun watching Eddie discover his mobility.  He still doesn't move very fast and isn't too quick to explore the whole house.  I think a second tooth will be popping through soon.  One of the funniest things about Eddie is that sometimes when he crawls, he pushes up with his toes and it looks like he is doing yoga!

Downward Dog

We have been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather outside a lot during the day.  I put down a blanket and he likes to crawl to the edge and pull up grass.  He also likes to try and eat leaves.  I usually love cool, crisp fall days, but I can't complain about these 80 degree days. 

Here are a few more pictures of Eddie from this week.

Had to put in this picture of Sammy - totally spoiled dog still lives here!!!

Speaking of Sammy - look who found his heater spot!

Eddie's going to get you!

Winter hat made by grandma N

Attempting to get a picture of his tooth.  He reached for the camera right after, so there ended that idea.

Notice his outfit for the middle of Oct!

Wordy Wednesday

This week has been relatively uneventful in our household.  I have been adjusting to the little crawler, who yesterday has started to master crawling on hardwood floors!  I really assumed this would take him longer to conquer, but no such luck.  That was a stupid assumption on my part because 1. he is and has always been a very active little boy and 2. he is really quite strong. 

The other thing that I am adjusting to this week is Eddie's attachment to me.  Usually I can leave him in the living room to play with toys while I run to change loads of laundry or run upstairs to grab something, or just to go into the kitchen to make some lunch.  Now if I leave the room or sometimes just put him down, he throws a fit.  But since he can move, he will start to crawl, while crying, to find me.  It's a little surprising to me, although I studied all about attachment last fall.  The thing is sometimes I am not out of his line of sight, but he just doesn't want to be by himself.  Of course other times he will be fine, but still start crawling to find me.  The sight of seeing his little face peaking around the corner and then the big smile that spreads across his face when he finds me is truly priceless!  Of course it's not just me.  A few time recently if Uncas has left the room, Eddie hasn't been too happy about that either.  This little boy clearly loves his parents!

While Eddie is a crawling machine, he hasn't really gotten into many things.  I know that it will come soon enough, but he seems more focused on being able to move himself around to different toys or to the dog.  He loves crawling after Sammy.  Sometimes Sammy likes the chase and I think wants Eddie to be faster, but other times he wants nothing to do with it.  The problem is that if I am on the floor by Eddie, Sammy wants to be by me, even if Eddie is crawling after him.  Since Eddie can't crawl up me (yet), Sammy huddles up as high as he can on my lap.  Or he also jumps up on the couch to avoid Eddie.  Sometimes he'll leave the room, but he'll usually come back and head for the couch.

Enough about Eddie, now I must get back to cheering on the Twins!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's 75th birthday!  He is seriously one of the funniest people I know.  I would like to believe that I get my sense of humor from him.  Some people may not get it, but that's ok - we just laugh at you!  If you want proof of how my dad thinks - check out his current blog post*.

Probably the only disappointing thing on my wedding day was that the photographer did not get one picture of me and my dad.  It really bothered me when I saw the proofs and to this day it still upsets me when I think about it.  But fortunately for me, this photo was taken of the two of us, I believe by my mom, before I changed into my wedding gown.  It's probably one of my favorite photos of us, although it would have been made even better if we were both looking at the ceiling (inside joke). 

I look forward to celebrating my dad's birthday when he visits in a couple of weeks! 

*FYI - my dad is retired.

Showing Off

This weekend Eddie was fortunate enough to show off his new crawling skills for Grandma and Grandpa N.  Their dog Sophie (much to Sammy's delight) also came with which made for a very fun weekend.

Eddie had a lot of fun playing with Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday morning. 

Grandma's knitting was all the rage with Eddie and Sammy! 

Grandma's yarn makes for a nice pillow!

Must get into Grandma's knitting bag!

Need to work on those zipper skills!

During the day Uncas and I left Eddie in Grandma and Grandpa's capable hands.  We did some shopping and purchased a kitchen island and a fire pit.  Both required assembly, so Uncas and his dad were busy the rest of the day.

Grandpa supervising Uncas

We doubled the amount of counter space in our kitchen!

 I love our new island in the kitchen.  We really increased the amount of counter space that we have.  I am really excited to finally have some great workspace when I bake in the kitchen.


Last night we had a fire in our new fire pit.  It was the perfect night - cool, clear and no wind at all!

New fire pit

Eddie loved watching Sammy and Sophie play together.  He was definitely intrigued by Sophie's fur since it's so different than Sammy's. 

It was a very fun weekend that ended far to quickly.  Fortunately for Eddie, he'll be heading up to Duluth in a few weeks to spend even more time with Grandma and Grandpa N!