Catching up!

It's been a few busy weeks, but here are some new pictures!

This is our beautiful tree! It's a lot more compact that any of our other trees have been and we love it! Every morning Milo brings me an ornament (a few times a day, actually) and asks me to put it back on. He won't tell me where he got it from, though!
Milo just barely fits in the drawer of his train table! I couldn't believe it when he tried to get in it again.
About a week and a half ago we went to Tot Skate at our local rink. Milo wore his skates for about 15 minutes then took them off himself (they were just the ones that go on over your shoes with velcro). After that he just took his push toy and ran around the rink. He would run it into the wall and tell me it was stuck. I really wanted him to exert some energy so once we "hit" one wall I would ask him if he could hit the opposite wall. We did this a few times. He had a good time and didn't want to leave when it was time. I think they have it again this Friday, so we may go.
This is Milo standing by himself with the skates on. He actually moved a little bit by himself and then would fall. He didn't get upset, he'd just get up and try again!
We decorated gingerbread houses and a train over the weekend and this is silly Daddy with his beautiful tree ornament that he did himself! I think he then ate it, I'm not too sure, though!
Milo LOVED decorating the train! He was so focused the whole time that he barely ate any of the candy! Once he was done he ate plenty of the candy, though! I think Maizie ate more candy than went on her house!
Milo was nice enough to share his Lucky Charms with future-Uncle-AJ. They were both having a great time!
I just thought this was a cute picture of Milo and Maizie looking at each other while eating their Lucky Charms. Grandpa Joe looks pretty good, too!
Milo still likes to sit in the toy box and play. I think he'll stop when he's too big to fit in it, just like his train table.

Milo has been LOVING the Christmas shows on tv! He has us all lay down on the floor with blankets and pillows to watch them. I knew we should've DVR'd some of them because he's asked for Snoopy and Shrek since they were on! We are currently watching "Yes, Virginia" that I DVR'd Friday night while we were all out.

I can't wait for some light snow to fall so we can go see the Christmas lights in one neighborhood.

Have a great week! Happy Hanukkah!

We got a Christmas tree today!

We went and got our Christmas tree today from Hensler's Tree Farm. I, of course, would like to have colder weather for this excursion, but I don't think we'll ever have a 50 degree day to go get a tree again!

Milo putting the topper on our tree. You should see the ornaments at his level, they are grouped together. At least he had fun!
Jesse carrying Milo in his usual fashion.
At Hensler's they have a big wooden train for the kids to climb on, and once Milo saw the sign, he pointed to it and told us that it meant "track". That kid amazes me sometimes!
Milo, Kalei, and Cei in the tree, all being ornaments.
This is the new cut-out at Hensler's. Since it's a train Milo loved showing me all the parts of it.

Jesse is behind the upside down tree. What a strong man! Cei did help him carry it randomly and Kalei kept telling me that it's a good thing we're girls so we don't have to carry things.
Kalei, Cei, Milo, and Jesse on the tractor ride to the back field so we could find out tree. And what a beautiful tree we found! I think it may be the best one we've ever had! It's a Fraiser Fir, which we've never had before.
This makes me smile! Milo watched people put their trees on the carts, so he picked up a trimmed off branch, put it on the cart, and wanted to help me push/pull it around! You have to look closely to see the branch.
John is so funny! He wanted to get Milo's attention, so he put these branches on his head and started calling for Milo. I think everyone besides Milo loved this, Milo just smiled! We were all laughing!

Have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I know we're excited about all the food tomorrow! I taught my neighbor's daughter (13) how to make French Silk Chocolate Pie today, she was very excited to be able to take it to their Thanksgiving tomorrow!

I've started knitting again and have been on a roll for the last month, making four sets of fingerless gloves and this adorable hat for Milo! He wears it for a few minutes then takes it off.

This was taken the first morning he got the hat.

One of the girls (ladies) I know was selling some things and so we bought this picnic table from her. Milo loves it (he wanted to play cars on it as soon as it was set up.). This is the day we bought it, November 22, and he ate lunch at it! What crazy weather!

This is the same day, and he and Jesse did some more yard work. I'm not sure how much Milo helped, but at least he's using his wheelbarrow.

We hope everyone has a happy and healthy Thanksgiving! Christmas decorations are going up all over the place, but with this weather it doesn't feel right!

Beautiful November Weather!

Happy November! We are having such beautiful weather here in Mishawaka! Sunny and in the 70s!

The only thing health-wise that's going on here is that Milo has his 2 year molars that are attempting to come to the surface. They're not quite there yet, but we can feel them. He continually chews on his hands and randomly drools. Quite interesting, since he was never a chewer and only gets drooly at teething times. I thought it was supposed to get easier on the kids as they got older!

My friend, Bethel, has a pair of these fingerless gloves and it inspired me to learn how to make them. This is the pair I made for myself, then I learned how to use double-pointed needles (which makes it so you can knit in a circle) and made my neighbor a pair. I'm currently working on ANOTHER pair for my sister-in-law!

Since it's been so beautiful outside, we took the advantage and I cut Milo's hair. This is the first time he wore the cape!

Milo on his Harley. He can reach the pedals but prefers to push it with his feet. He decided to tip it and then make it fall over. I took this picture right before it tipped.

Jesse drew Milo a hopscotch board on the ground and Milo looks like he's doing it correctly, but he just runs through it!

Drawing with Daddy.

Raking the leaves with Mommy. He loves when you rake into the pile and make them fly in the air and land on him! We didn't get any good pictures of it. Right after this, Jesse turned on the leaf blower and moved them all in about 15 seconds. So much for my hard work!

I came out of the kitchen the other morning to find Milo "hiding" in the coffee table. He thinks this is hilarious and backs his way into it! I think it's a good way for him to dust the shelf for me!

I worked a fundraiser at Chick-fil-a on Tuesday night and this is Jesse, Milo, and Princess Milkshake. I also got to do the "hokey-pokey" with the cow and the kids.

Jesse has Wednesday off for Veterans Day (Thank you, Veterans!), and it's also our 10 year anniversary of being together! 10 years! Dang!

Have a great week!

Halloween!!!!

We had a great Halloween! Milo stayed nice and warm in his monkey costume (thanks, Amy!) Milo had caught on very quickly to go up to the houses for candy. We went around with Michelle, Bella, Andrew, Brittiney, and Hula. After a while Andrew was taking Milo up to get the candy. They both had a great time!

The neatest thing that happened was as we went up to one house, there were a few people standing around a fire pit in the driveway. I said, "Come on, Milo" and two women's eyes bugged out, looked at me and said, "Is his name really Milo?" I said yes, and they said that there was another Milo in the garage. It was a 79 year-old man! We went in and talked to him, and he had NEVER MET ANOTHER Milo! What was even funnier was that as I was talking to Milo's wife, she asked me if I'd had him through Allied Physicians (insurance). I said yes, and she must do their paperwork, because she remembered reading his name when he was born and had gone home to tell her Milo! And the 79 year-old Milo was also born in August! I just thought it was a cool thing that happened.

After all their hard work of getting candy, Milo and Bella were drinking Andrew and Brittiney's drinks. Chocolate milk just wasn't enough for them, they needed Hawaiian Punch and Iced Tea!

Harley playing with Milo.
Monkey Milo on Daddy's back (he does this all the time at home, it's how he gets up the stairs to brush his teeth). What a cute picture!
Hula in her princess costume. She wouldn't wear the crown.
Showing some of his loot. He calls it a "sour" instead of "sucker". This morning he told us he wanted "candy, chocolate". Jesse told him he could have some after lunch.
Milo, Andrew, Michelle, and Bella coming back from getting candy. I don't know the random lion in the middle, she wasn't with us!
One of the first houses he went to for candy. He wasn't scared of any house or person, so that was good. He's very good at saying, "thank you" and "treat". Bella was really good at saying "trick or treat".
Heading out to trick or treat! They were smiling at Michelle, but at least they're both smiling!
Adorable monkey!

Have a great week! Only 25 days until Thanksgiving!

Little Zoo Boo, Pumpkins, and a New Tool Box

On Sunday we went to Little Zoo Boo here in South Bend and it was PACKED! The kids had a good time, though, Milo would hold out his hand for the candy, say "Thank you" and then put it in his bag. I thought it was hilarious! One woman handed him a lemon ball and he looked at it and said, "sour", which I know I've never said around him! We've never had them in the house!

Milo sitting on Mommy's car waiting for the Striegel's to show up. This is the closest I got him looking at the camera.

Me and Milo at Little Zoo Boo.

We carved our pumpkins last night. This is Milo helping Daddy carve his pumpkin. It was so cute because Jesse would draw different kinds of eyes, nose, and mouths on the board and Milo picked them out. Then Jesse drew the face on the pumpkin, Milo approved, and the carving began!
Milo with his finished pumpkin. Once again he wouldn't smile directly into the camera!

Our pumpkins out back with candles in them. Awesome!

Milo with the pumpkins.

When Jesse found out that Milo was going to be Handy Manny for our party Friday he ran out to the garage and made this tool box! Awesome! It looks very much like Manny's.

Milo carrying his tool box. He likes to put other things in it besides tools, like remotes for the tv and stereo!

I can't wait until our Halloween party tomorrow and trick or treating on Saturday!!!

More Fun

We've had a fun week! First of all, we are totally pacifier free!! Nap time was rough in the beginning, although bedtime was no problem at all. The last few days he's been falling asleep within half an hour of being laid down at nap time, he hasn't gone to sleep that quickly in weeks! He also falls asleep in the car around nap time without a problem. Jesse and I are very happy.

On Wednesday we went to a pumpkin decorating party with our Mother's & More group. It was such a beautiful day that we spent the whole party outside! The only downfall to the party was that Milo got stung by a wasp while we were putting the face on the pumpkin. The wasp barely get him, but he screamed for a minute, yelling, "BUG! BUG!" His finger swelled a bit, but he's fine.

Milo's going to be a monkey for Halloween, we've borrowed a costume from our friend, Amy. He gets to wear the costume tomorrow (Sunday) for Little Zoo Boo, and then on Halloween. For our Mother's group party, he's going to be Handy Manny, since the party's inside. I'm going to be Kelly, who runs the hardware store (how perfect, she has red hair!).

Milo trying on the monkey suit. He loved it and wore it for about 15 minutes, playing.

Milo was playing Friday morning and told me that his scooter was stuck and out of gas. This is him putting more gas into it. He cracked me up!

Milo decorating his pumpkin at Mary's. This is moments before the wasp stung him. After the pumpkins were decorated we lined all the kids up along the fence, with their pumpkins for a picture. Before I could get my camera ready, Milo got up and went to play, so the picture is of all the kids minus Milo, but his pumpkin is in the picture!

Last weekend we went to Leininger Farms and went through the corn maze and got our pumpkins. This is Milo and Hunter in the wagon to go find pumpkins.

Milo hitching a ride through the corn maze. We thought he would run through the maze, but he was more interested in being carried (and of course we thought he'd enjoy free running and left the stroller in the car.).

Milo trying to pick out his pumpkin. He would go to all these different piles, try to pick one up, and tell us it was too heavy. This is the only picture I got of him actually attempting to pick one up.

Peeking out of the pumpkin face!

Today we went to Heston Steam Train Museum in La Porte. With as much as Milo loves trains, we knew this was a good idea. The weather was AWFUL, but we all had a great time. It did nothing but rain and was probably 45 degrees. Oh well. They have a bunch of old trains that people can climb on (but not go in). This is Milo driving a train.

Daddy and Milo standing next to one of the tractors. Grandma Jeannie loves cows, so this one is for her. Don't you love that Jesse and Milo are both giving thumbs up?

Me and Milo on the Ghost Train! It is a 2.5 mile ride through a forest and is great for all ages. While the train was moving Milo danced/rocked in his seat. It was also relaxing because once he put his head on Jesse and just leaned back.

We have a fun week ahead of us, too, with Little Zoo Boo, the Mothers & More Halloween party and Halloween on Saturday!

Happy Halloween!