Some Fun Firsts--Halloween, Solid Foods and Family Vacation

I cannot believe it's been almost a month since my last post. So much for my promise to blog once a week. It's amazing to David and me how the work hasn't doubled with two kids, but more like quadrupled. I don't know how parents with more than 2 kids get anything done around the house. I guess it's all how you choose to spend your time. Oscar is so active and so much fun, so our weekends and spare time are truly centered around him and keeping him busy. Otto just comes along for the ride--he's such a good sport.

Here we are taking a hay ride at the Weston Red Barn Apple Farm in Weston, MO. Oscar really liked riding in the tractor.

Our friend, Karen, took these pics and Oscar likes to give "Aunt Karen" his shy face.

Karen is Noah's mom. Since Noah and Oscar are in the same class, Karen took these pics for me at the boys' school Halloween party, which was held the Friday before Halloween.

You'll notice Oscar is wearing last year's peanut costume. He didn't want to wear his Elmo costume around the house, so we figured we'd spare his teachers the drama of wrestling him into it at school--and went ahead and sent in the Peanut. Still can't believe it still fits.

Since it was cool outside Halloween night, Oscar reluctantly agreed to wear his Elmo costume. Yay! Oscar is just like his dad in that he hates wearing warm clothes. Here he is with the candy bowl we left out for the neighbors (complete with a "Please Take 1" sign). We all went trick or treating together and had a blast.

Here's Otto ready to get his trick or treat on.

Oscar is talking so much. He cracks us up with all the phrases he learns from school. "I Did It" is probably his most commonly used one. "Not Nice" is another popular one, not sure if I captured that one on video this month or not.



Thomas the tank engine is (dare I say) now more popular that Elmo in our household. Oscar still loves Elmo, but he is now obsessed with Thomas. He didn't realize I was filming him below, but this is the little dance Oscar does when the Thomas theme song starts before each episode.

Look at my sweet boys...


Just like his daddy, Oscar loves the Fall. I don't really like it that much because it just reminds me that winter is on its way.



David is so good about taking Oscar outside lots...

...and getting him to run off all that extra energy. In the video below Oscar is asking for "More Whee" meaning he wants to run downhill some more and yell "Wheee...."

Otto is starting to make all kinds of adorable baby sounds. Here he is making raspberries...

Oh geez, we started solids and (as expected), Otto was not excited about his rice cereal and peaches.


We were trying to catch the moment on video, but as soon as Otto has the attention of both his parents, Oscar demands attention as well. See how cluttered our house is? Would you believe we have a cleaning woman who comes twice a month? Once she leaves, though, the house returns to its crazy state.

Please don't be alarmed by Otto's gag reflex . This is just his very first time ever eating solids, so it's a common reaction.

Oscar wanted to be included, so we let him "help" feed his brother. Oscar was calling it applesauce. Too cute. Truthfully, though, Oscar is a big help when it comes to feeding Otto. He kind of functions as the house jester. When we feed Otto, Oscar runs around performing slapstick comedy stunts and cracks his little brother up.

I don't have any recent videos of Otto eating, but he's really a good eater now. At school, his teachers say he opens his mouth "like a little fish" for his food. It's so nice to have a baby that likes to eat. Remember how hard it was for us to feed Oscar? We had to distract him or make him smile and then sneak the spoon in. So much drama around meal time with that kid. Sheesh.

I can't seem to capture many videos of Otto laughing. He was squealing for me here, but as soon as he noticed the camera, he stopped.

Here he is grunting in his saucer. I don't know what we'd do without this exersaucer. Oscar loved it and Otto seems to be enjoying it just as much.

Okay, most of you know, we recently took our annual vacation to Zion National Park in Springdale, Utah. This was our first time traveling with BOTH boys. What normally is a relaxing retreat for us, was anything but, this time around.

All the pics below were taken in the hotel room or on the balcony of our hotel room because we didn't leave the room much, we didn't even make it into the park this year.

David developed pneumonia on the trip over. He actually started showing symptoms at Kansas City airport as we were leaving. By the time we arrived in Utah, he was extremely sick. Luckily, he was able to find an urgent care clinic in Utah that treated him with antibiotics, steroids and breathing treatments.

So, we took it easy (or tried to) during our vacation.

Here are some tranquil photos from the balcony of our room. Isn't the view breathtaking?

David took these pics out by the pool. Oscar liked looking at the "waterfall" by the pool and the plants with berries.

Here's Oscar with his favorite Thomas book. This was a birthday gift from our friends, Angela and Aaron and their son, Peter. Oscar takes this book everywhere.

Luckily, Oscar didn't seem disappointed that we never made it inside the national park. He had fun hanging out in the hotel room. Sometimes he had a little too much fun. (I'll get to that).

You can't really hear too well on this video, but Oscar likes to flip through the pages and whisper the names of all the different tank engines.

Here's David practicing tummy time with Otto. As part of Otto's PT, we're working with helping Otto push up on his arms. He doesn't want to do it.


Luckily, Oscar comes over and provides a fun distraction for his baby brother during tummy time.


At times, Oscar had a little too much fun in the room. I sure hope the Desert Pearl Inn lets us come back, because this photo does no justice to how loud Oscar was actually screaming. He was jumping on the bed to "make Otto laugh, " but kept getting too carried away. Truthfully, we needed to take him out more and run off that extra energy, but with David's pneumonia, he needed to rest. I was too tired to manage both kids on the town by myself--after keeping them occupied and worrying about David for most of the trip. (sigh).

Someday, we'll look back at the whole trip and laugh.

Speaking of laugh, here's a cute video of David playing with both boys.

Oscar regularly asks to "make Otto laugh," so I had to catch it on video. It's hard to believe, but Otto already looks up to his big brother. He's such a good audience for Oscar, because he finds everything Oscar does hilarious!

This was not so funny, but I know it will be someday. Oscar insisted on sleeping with the Phone Book. It was his most favorite part of the hotel room and threw the hugest tantrum if we wouldn't let him take it to bed with us. So, I caved. I'm not proud of it, but this vacation was unusually "eventful," so I gave in.