Fall

I can't believe how long Wyatt's eyelashes look. I'm so jealous!

This is Chloe being cute after her hair cut a couple of weekends ago.

Here is Chloe starting to throw a fit and hiding behind a column.

Please. Tell us how you really feel Chloe.
You aren't so sneaky. We figured out how to find you.

Busted!

Here is Wyatt chillin' looking super cute in his pumpkin outfit.

101 Market

This was our second trip to the 101 Market this year. I'll have to post the other pictures someone soon. It was a great day. We hit the train, pedal cars and corn pit.
Chloe saw the sign for the haunted house and said, "Looks like they are open for business!"
Indeed they were open. They said that it was kid friendly, so Chloe and I both had our first haunted house experience. Seriously. I've never gone through a haunted house before. Because they are designed to scare you. Why would I want to do that to myself?! Well, today I did it for Chloe. It was light, no one jumped out at us and there were barely any special effect sounds, so we both managed pretty well. I can't imagine going through at night with people dressed up trying to scare you. No thank you. I'll still pass on that.

After all this fun, someone we know came up to say hello (what are the chances?!). The H Family was there too! Chloe was so excited. It's all she could talk about this afternoon.

We got some good pictures for Grandma Jan and Grandpa Dave.

It was a nice surprise to see them there!

Banana split

I don't think this zero to six month costume is going to work for Wyatt this year. It's been returned to the store because of how hard it was to stuff him in there just to take these picture! :). That's just good parenting, right? Costume too small for your ginormous baby? Just take it back after you get funny pictures!

Maybe we should sue for emotional distress. The tag said it would fit babies from 0 to 6 months. He is three months for the love! We would drive the changing of infant Halloween costume sizes just like the person who made adult tags read "one size fits MOST".

Just look how distressed he is!

Chloe quotes

Chloe says some fun things here are some of her latest and most memorable Chloe-isms

What in the world?!
That's like four bucks! (Super expensive=$4)
I want to be a princess zombie! (For Halloween)
We haven't been to McDonalds in like fifteen years! (Chloe you haven't been around for that long) What about five-teen?
Its not funny!
Oh my goodness!

Be quiet, I'm trying to concentrate!

Two Weeks In

The first week back to work went fine. Work was fine, the kids were great. Though to be away from them and really nice to come home at the end of the day. There were a few people who asked "Are you glad to be back?!"

What am I supposed to say to that? If I say yes, it sounds like I don't want to stay at home, that it was a horrible time and that I just can't get enough of my job. If I say no, then I'm an emotional wreck who is looking for sympathy and isn't ready to 'be back in the swing of things. I don't ever love going to work, and if I could, I'd love to skip the working thing all together (who wouldn't, right?!). I walked back into a bit of a mess with changing expectations and some on going challenges. Even if I weren't gone for three months, being at work wouldn't be fun. You add interrupted sleep and a complete change in schedule at home and it's a recipe for some stress. I made it through the first week back without tears and got most of what I wanted to get done at work and at home, so I'll call it a good week.

I guess I will continue to give my non-answer to those who ask, "Since I have to work somewhere, it might as well be here!". Those people who have heard me say it seem satisfied with that explanation. I'm not sure what it even means, but I'm going to running with it!

Last week before my return to work

On Monday, I have to return to work. I'm doing my best to soak in all of the fun and goodness of being at home. While I miss my friends, it's going to be very hard to go back. Until then, here is some fun that we are squeezing in while I avoid thinking about next week.

Deep thoughts

Grandma Jan getting Wyatt to smile, talk and coo!
Head of the table.
Funny story... it was the first day of school in our neighborhood, and we watched 10+ kids get on the bus in front of our house in the morning. Chloe said that she missed her friends (she plays with two of the older neighbor girls) and when they got home from school, she informed me that she was going to wait in the deck for them so they could play. I tried to tell her that they weren't going to be outside for a while, and she told me that she would sit on the blanket and wait for them. I thought it got pretty quiet, so I peak outside and here's what I see:

When she woke up she was very upset because she thought she missed her friends playing. Also, she didn't know how she got inside. :)

"Look mommy, I'm a worm!"
We went to the Mall of America today, which was pleasantly empty with all the kids back in school. Chloe enjoyed the rides, looking around and she even got to eat her favorite - McDonald's! We knew she was reaching her limit when she got frustrated in the bumper cars and ended up just sitting there crying. It was so sad. I think we've all been there after a bad day or horrible commute. She really needed a nap. In fact, we told her that if she could stay awake all of the way home we would buy her a pony.
Good thing she didn't make it, because I don't think our neighbors would appreciate a horse in our back yard.

This evening, Wyatt also crashed early and without being swaddled (which has rarely happened, unless he is in his car seat).

Now it's my turn to get some sleep!

Updates including the State Fair

We've enjoyed the beautiful weather with afternoon trips to the pool. I actually have a bit of a tan (tan for me, which means I'm not completely glow in the dark)



Chloe enjoys playing in her water table on the deck, driveway or yard. On this particular day, she asked why she couldn't swim in it and asked me if I could help her float on her back in it.




Wyatt is still growing, we just moved him into size 3 diapers. Technically he is still within the weight range of size 2's, but the number of complete blowouts is quite ridiculous and he is a the low end of the range for size threes - so I just went for it. So far it has saved me a lot of scrubbing of clothes...so I like it. He's outgrown most of the 3 month clothing he has, can make 3-6 month clothing work, is fitting into mostly 6 month outfits and just today rocked a 6-9 month pair of pants (which were long but still cute).




We went to the stare fair on opening day and had a great time. Chloe did great walking most of the day, being a good listener and no major melt downs. It was Thrifty Thursday, so we were able to let her ride on quite a few rides. She wasn't the biggest fan of the bumper boats until she got out of her boat. I'm a horrible parent because as she sat there spinning, and spinning and spinning in circles by herself, I just couldn't stop laughing. Wyatt did great too, he stayed on schedule with eating and only got a little fussy when he got a little warm at one point. We found shade and it worked out just fine






When we got home after the fair, we though Chloe would crash, but we met our neighbors in the driveway and Chloe played with the three little girls for quite some time. She did sleep like a rock, but I think I needed the sleep more than her!

I am trying to prep a little for work by trying to fed Wyatt formula. I have fed him a bottle for his last feeding in the evening, Which has worked well. On the second night he slept SEVEN hours (of course I didn't go to bed when he did, so I missed that sleeping opportunity!). With seven hours of sleeping, I thought formula was a magic potion! It hasn't worked out like that every night, but he is stretching out his keeping at night, so I'm feeling pretty lucky. Like two nights ago, I got six SOLID hours of sleep... Ahhhh sleep.

We made a trip to Ikea for some boxes for Wyatt's room, under his changing table. Turns out I don't have a picture of that right now, but we also found some really cute lights that look perfect in Chloe's room. They give a white and pink glow at night.


The countdown to my return to work is in the back of my mind. I miss the people, but not the actually working part. It's nice to spend time at home with my family! I guess I better go buy some lottery tickets.