THREE

Sam is three! We spent last weekend celebrating – when all was said and done, he had five birthday celebrations! It was great fun to watch him revel in all of the attention, but by the time all was said and done, I was exhausted. Three year olds really know how to party!

We had his well-baby check on Wednesday and he checked out as a completely normal kid. He’s growing just fine, and he’s now in the 60th percentile for height and 75 percentile for weight. Potty training is the only major hurdle we still need to overcome on his road to becoming a little kid. We’ve owned a potty since he was about 20 months old and we’ve been talking about it for what seems like forever. We started training in earnest this week, and so far, it’s been ups and downs. A couple of big accidents (including one in the doc’s office), but a couple of big victories too. I’m focused on making it work and will have five celebrations of my own when we finally crack the code.

Goodbye Fall, Hello Winter

Before diving into celebrating Sam's birthday we said goodbye to fall and hello to winter. In typical MN style, we were in the upper 60s at the beginning of the week and making snowmen at the end of the week.

Sam was ecstatic about the whole thing - when we noticed the snow on Saturday morning he immediately starting jumping up and down and yelling, "I get to build a snow man!" I felt like crawling deep under the covers, but I couldn't help but get swept up in his excitement. That's the beautiful thing about children. Seeing the world through their eyes gives almost everything (even a wet and soggy blanket of unseasonable snow) a certain amount of wonderful.

Happy Halloween

Despite Elliott's ear infection and Steve's cold, we eeked out a decent Halloween. Quieter than I would've anticipated, but there was plenty of sugar-induced fun. Elliott was the cutest creepy crawly thing ever and Sam was all too happy to bring his monkey costume to life.

Boo

Preparations are underway for the big day. Just a week to go. Here's hoping Sam is more interested in trick-or-treating than pumpkin carving. After the first five minutes he was ready to move on to a new activity. That left Steve and I on our own, and quite frankly, I had forgotten how much muscle goes into pumpkin carving. Obviously I need to get to the gym.

Elliott at 9 and 10 Months

I have really been falling down on my monthly Elliott updates! I just realized that I missed his 9 month update all together! OOPS! It's not for a lack of action. Elliott is growing and changing every day. Last month was marked by a bunch of new teeth and a newfound love of waving. Every morning Elliott sends Steve to work with a hearty wave and a smile -- and I'll speak for Steve and say it's a great way to start the day!

Now that he is 10-months-0ld, he is crawling and climbing like mad! He's up and down and in and out, and keeping us on our toes. He started clapping yesterday, and couldn't be more pleased with himself.

He's a real doll!

Waving at 9 Months:

10 Months

Teeth!

A is for Apple

We topped off a glorious fall weekend with a trip to the apple orchard with my mom. We were there the moment the doors opened, which is the way to go on a picture-perfect fall day. By the time we were leaving the place was crawling with people. We loved it all - the hay, the hayrides, the tractors, the goats, even the apples. We didn't notice the wine samples until we left - next year that might be the first stop.

Como Town

Today was a glorious fall day so we decided to check out Como Town before it closes for the season. It was a big hit all around! Elliott was in awe of the rides, the music and all of the lights, and Sam enjoyed testing out his driving skills on a few of the rides - each a take on a different moving vehicle.

The adjacent Como Zoo left us missing the expansive and meticulously maintained Lincoln Park Zoo. I found myself actually looking away from a few of the exhibits, but I suppose the kids don't know the difference -- looking up at the giraffe still got lots of ooohs and ahhhhs.

Can't wait to go back in the spring when Elliott can really get in on the action!