Decorating Halloween cookies

The "germ" cookies, as I called them, are finally getting decorated by Xander. We set them aside for him to eat. He made one for his grandma Linda, but I made her promise to throw it away as soon as he wasn't looking. Lord only knows how many times he sneezed on it!

Making Halloween cookies

Xander had a nasty cold, so he wasn't allowed to touch anything, but I wanted him to feel like he was helping. He stood at the counter with me while I mixed the dough. After, we let him have one chunk of dough to roll out and use the cutters on.

Carving pumpkins

Chris and I had already carved a couple of pumpkins, but we saved one for Xander to help with. Not surprising, he didn't like the slimey pumpkin guts to touch his skin. We tried to show him that it was okay, but he wasn't having any of that. He tried to scoop out a little without actually touching it.

Trip to the farm

Xander and Chris got to go for a ride in some big tractors today. The family, who rent some of great grandpa's farmland, were very nice and let them go for a long ride. It was a beautiful day and Xander (and daddy) had a great time!

Sick day (or almost a week)

I hate seeing my little one sick, but he is Sooo sweet when he has a fever. All he wants to do is cuddle and be held, which Chris and I were more than happy to do. He snuggled all day on the couch with us and slept quite a bit. But there is no arguing from him, which is so nice. Everything you tell him to do, he says "okay mommy, thank you mommy" and he tells us he loves us all day. It would be great, if it weren't for the fact that he doesn't feel good. Which is why we are fine spending the whole day inside, taking care of his every need. Like watching hours of Blues Clues!

Hanging around the house

Colored pensils are his favorite right now
First time playing with playdoh and he didn't eat any! He tried, but I managed to stop him.

Play time at Lew's house

Noni and Lew invited us to come play at their house today (again!) and we had a great time. Xander loves that he gets to jump on their big couch, something he isn't allowed to do at home. Noni takes off all of the pillows, which gives them plenty of room to bounce. I love the way that the boys play together! They walk around with their fingers up their noses or hands down their pants, just like a couple of buds, just hangin' out. It is quite something to see! And of course, they always want to eat each other's food at snack time.

Children's Museum & Curious George

We took Xander to the MCM to see Curious George. I knew it would be busy, but we had no idea just how bad it would be. The line to get pictures taken with George went on forever. Much longer than Xander would have ever had the patience for. We opted to let him play and then stood on the stairs over looking George so that he could see him when he came out to greet the kids. By that time, Xander was so tired, but I couldn't tell if that was it or if he was sad that he didn't get to see him up close. Broke my heart! We told him to wave as soon as George came through the doors. He got so excited when George "waved back" at him. Nevermind the fact that there were hundreds of other kids waving at the same time. In Xander's eyes, he was waving just to him. How sweet is that?!?

Face painting! First time trying it and it was a big hit.

playing in the water
Not thrilled with the ant
Waving to George from a distance. He was so tired, but his smile was so big when he saw him
George from afar

Since he didn't get to see George up close, we did buy him a cute hat. He's all about the monkey!

Emma Krumbee's

We met the Dreveckys for some fun at Emma Krumbee's. It was a beautiful day (much better than our last pumpkin picking experience). We spent much of the time chasing the two kids around. It was hard to get them to stand still long enough to take pictures of them. What a difference a year makes!

Silly boys

What can I say...they are my goofballs!

Raking leaves

Chris took Xander outside to have a little fun in the leaves. Very little work was done in the yard, but Xander always love an opportunity to use his rake.

Picking pumpkins

Today, after Chris was done with work, we went to Pine Tree Apple Orchard. It is an event that Chris' work plans every year. Unfortunately this year it was so cold! They actually had canceled wagon rides to the pumpkin patch for the public, but managed to take our group out for a shortened ride. It was probably in the 20s by the time we got back! We stuck around for a little while after, eating apple donuts and drinking hot apple cider, which was a huge hit with Xander.

Our Duluth Weekend

We decided last minute to take a weekend trip, to get away as a family. Xander had never slept at a hotel, so we weren't sure how that was going to go. That, and being two, makes him an unpredictable travel companion. It was interesting. The first night was a nightmare! Xander didn't fall asleep until 2:15 a.m. - long after Chris and I ran out of patience and were in tears. The second night he was only up until just after 11 p.m., which was much more do-able. Over all we had a good time, but have decided it is best if we stay closer to home, at least for now. :-)

Checking out the lighthouse
A quick (and disgusting) lunch before we all took a much needed nap
shopping
trying on a Duluth Pack
More shopping in Canal Park
enjoying the view
Throwing rocks in the water
strolling back to the hotel
Gooseberry Falls

If you are a true bird-nerd, you will understand why this is funny (or just plain sad)