Annual Pumpkin Patch Trip

October of course also means our annual family trip to the pumpkin patch we've been going to since Mason was little.  

Here's our annual family pumpkin patch picture!  Love Madden's little Buddha belly :)

Madden thought it was hilarious that he could lean against the pumpkin and stand up unassisted.

Of course, had to get a shot on the tractor.

The sunflowers were amazing! 

Then it was time for the hayride!  Both boys loved it!

And after the hayride, the corn maze.

My absolute favorite picture from the trip...look at Madden's face! 

See you again next year, pumpkin patch!

Halloween 2013

We started asking Mason earlier in the fall what he wanted to be for Halloween, and he kept saying "a race car driver!"  We knew he was saying that just because it's what he was last year, and in his young age probably thought that's what he's supposed to be for Halloween every year.  But after throwing out tons of other ideas to him and him insisting on being a driver again, I figured hey, the costume from last year was huge, it probably still fits, let's get our money's worth and wear it again!

But this year, we decided to use his costume to create our whole family's theme, since it was our first year with another child to outfit.

And so, that is how Madden became a stop sign!  And I became a police officer.

 And Gigi became a road.

And Tristan became a mechanic again.

 And my dad became a stop light!

 I think all the costumes came out pretty great, especially my parents', since my mom actually took the time to make theirs.  Don't mind the screaming baby.

 Not so sure he likes being a lame-o stop sign.  Who's idea was this, anyways?

 My handsome driver.

They sure are cute, these two!

As is tradition, we headed up to the cousins' house for group pictures before kicking off the trick-or-treating.  Grace was a hippie, Addie was a go-go dancer, and Ava was "Memo".

The whole gang!  Todd was Austin Powers to go along with his 70s girls, and Laura & BG were scuba divers and Opa was Bruce The Shark, to go along with "Memo".

 Our traditional girls shot, assuming the position (wine glasses in hand).

 Yup, dad's costume lit up!

 The little ones hitching a ride.

Trick-or-treating was SO much fun this year with Mason.  He remembered exactly how it worked (with just a few reminders to say "thank you"), and we made it quite a few blocks farther than we ever have, he was having so much fun.

This little guy did as well as could be expected.  Lasted a few blocks, then it got dark and his bedtime, and he was over it.  So daddy took him home to get him in bed and hand out candy while we finished up with the big kids.

Once we got home, Mason got right to work organizing his loot. 

 And to cap off an already great night, we recorded "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" for Mason.  We're not sure if he was exhausted from all the day's excitement, or in a sugar coma, but this was his expression during the whole viewing.  Wonder what color that lollipop was he'd just eaten?

Daddy is imitating his ridiculous face.

Parents switched off, still openmouthed.  That Charlie Brown sure is fascinating.

 Here's to another successful Halloween in the books!  It was so much sweeter as a family of four!

Madden - 11 Months

Here we are, less than one month away from having a 1 year old!  Crazy, crazy.  

Little man has just discovered books, and wants to be read to constantly.  Here's to hoping we have a fourth bookworm in the family!

In fact, "book" is one of his new words.  It's not quite the full word, but he's got the "b" down enough that we know that's what he's saying.

This month has been an explosion of growth for Madden, verbally.  He is now saying mama, dada, uh oh, night night, book, ball, bye bye and hi.  He can also tell us what an elephant (brrrr, with arm in the air), monkey (ah ah), and fish (kiss kiss) say.

Little man is still working on his moving skills, as well.

We're actually surprised that he's not walking yet, a month ago we could have sworn he was that close, but it appears that he'd much rather crawl.  We're working on it though, and even in the last week have seen a huge step towards official walking (pun intended hehe).

Not that we're necessarily in a hurry for him to start walking.  We know that'll make life even crazier...but man having a walker can be easier than having a crawler - it's DIRTY business!!  I'm ready to get him off his hands.   

He got himself in here by himself, by the way, but had no idea how to get himself out!

He is however loving the walker around the house.  He gets so excited when he uses it, those little squeals kill me!

And in the meantime, he can get anywhere he wants, he is a mean, fast crawler!!

Helping with laundry.

Helping cousin Grace with her piano skills.

We're also starting the roughhousing early around here.  Mason and Tristan are always wrestling these days, and Madden wants to be right there with them.  I have a feeling he'll be holding his own, and maybe beating up his brother, sooner than later!

Head-butt!

 Mason is getting better and better with him, and I may even go as far as to say I can see a relationship forming between the two of them.  I know that makes Madden SO happy, he sure does love his big brother.

 We just love this cutie more and more as the days go by, feisty and opinionated as he is!

 I mean look at that face...what's not to love!!?? 

A lot more happened this month - specifically, a long visit by Gigi and Pop, and Madden's first Halloween.  Posts to follow!

Jenna & Cam Came to Visit

One of my best girlfriends from college, Jenna, lives in Denver, which is great considering we head that way so often.  We unfortunately didn't make it out there last year or this year though because of Madden, so it had been WAY too long since we've seen each other!  So, she decided to just pack herself and her almost-2-year-old Cameron up and come to us instead!

These two became fast buddies.

They flew in Friday afternoon, and we spent the rest of the day playing and letting the kids get to know each other.  Then on Saturday, up bright and early with the kids, we decided to hit the Wild Animal Park.

We decided to take my double BOB and an umbrella stroller so that we had seating for all 3 kids.  That sounded like a GREAT idea, until we packed everyone up and realized my car is way too small for all of us and that gear!!  Luckily, Jenna had some room up front, and cuddled with the umbrella stroller on the ride there and back.  Such a good sport :)

This picture does now do the crowded backseat justice.  Let's just say, if we were to have 3 kids (which we're not), we'd for sure be getting a new car.

Luckily, despite the cramped quarters, everyone was happy!

We made it!  Checking out the lions.

Taking the safari train ride, which the boys loved!

Madden was a trooper, despite skipping his morning nap.  He dozed in the stroller a bit, and was a happy boy the rest of the time.

So, apparently I only took pictures at the WAP, and of course didn't get a single picture of Jenna and I together.  We did have Opa over later on Saturday to watch the Gator game, and as usual was a hit with the kids.  Everyone loves Opa!

It was so great to have them come for a (very quick) visit!  The boys had a great time together, and it's always refreshing to spend time with my best friends who I don't get to see too often.  We're hoping to make it to Denver next summer to visit them and all our other friends who live there - by then there will be THREE new babies to meet, including Jenna's 2nd, news she surprised me with that weekend!