More pumpkins

We had an eventful weekend. We went to a Halloween party where Natalie was able to pick out more pumpkins - we have quite the collection of pumpkins on our front steps! She also had her face painted and indulged in some Halloween cookies. Owen was excited about getting a pumpkin, but he really enjoyed drinking the apple cider! We got more Halloween goodies from Grandma Phyllis - Natalie and Owen are loving all of the decorations.


We also went to a birthday party for Natalie's friend Arianna. It was at the Party Gym, so there were lots of things to play with and climb on. And of course, who doesn't enjoy pizza for lunch?





Owen continues to climb all over EVERYTHING - we're seeing a lot of bumps and bruises in our future. He's talking more and more - he says dada and mama (to the right person), cat, kitty cat, ball, book (buh), truck, dog (dah), and the other day he said something that sounded a lot like i love you (garbled, of course). He has started giving kisses - the other day he leaned over a gave Mommy a two-hander (hands on each cheek)!
Natalie is such a good big sister and a good helper for Mommy. She loves playing with Owen (90% of the time!) - she loves to have him chase her ("C'mon, Owen!"). She does get him into trouble too, though - she's always coaxing him into getting into (or onto) things he's not supposed to, then she disappears and leaves him caught in the act! She's also good at comforting him when he falls or bumps something. She also loves to help Mommy with everything - groceries, laundry, picking up and bringing things to Mom...Mom is enjoying this!

Cold Weather and Pumpkins

It has started to feel more like Fall (although it's getting ready to warm up again for a few days). We had some chilly weather over the weekend, and because of that we mostly stayed around the house. Last week, Mom and Dad went with Natalie on a school field trip to a pumpkin patch. We went on a hayride, picked out pumpkins (Natalie tried to bring home about 10, but we cut the number to 4), visited the animals (goats, chickens, sheep, and a pot-bellied pig - that Natalie really wanted to pet), and had a picnic lunch.


We had a good time. Natalie was traumatized by the port-a-potties, though. She was thoroughly disgusted (can we blame her?).
Owen is still working on walking - each day it seems he adds another step or two to his walking distance. He is really hard on his toys - everything gets thrown, dropped, banged, etc. He now loves to throw everything over the gates around the house, and he lets his cars roll across the coffee table and crash to the floor.


He has also started climbing - he climbs on all the bins in Mom's office, and all of his toys that are raised (music table, turtle). We've noticed that he just plays rougher than Natalie did at that age. He also is really good at stacking blocks and building things (and knocking them down, especially if Natalie spent time building something!).

Columbus Day

Natalie and Owen's school was closed for Columbus Day. Owen stayed home with Mom, and Natalie went to work with Dad. It was a great adventure, just for Dad and Nat. They took the train into the city and went to Dad's office. Natalie was patient while Dad did some work, then they went to the Columbus Day parade. Natalie was very excited about the marching bands - especially the trumpets, maybe she'll play like Mom? - and the horses. She and Dad had some good bonding time. Owen was thrilled to have free reign over the toys at home, and he took full advantage of being able to play without Natalie bossing him around!

Halloween is Coming....

We are getting in the Halloween spirit. We got Natalie and Owen's costumes a couple weeks ago, but lately we've been reading Halloween stories a lot and talking about pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns and candy. And now because of some of the stories, Natalie has become aware of monsters. She's had a few nights where she cried for Mommy and said she was scared because there were monsters outside her window. But Mommy explained that there were no monsters around our house, and if there were Stella and Yoda would scare them away. That seems to have eased the fear a bit. We got a package of Halloween goodies from Grandma Laura and have been enjoying the pumpkin boppers and the dancing ghost. Natalie is very excited about wearing her costume in a few weeks. Maybe Owen will be able to walk when we go trick or treating? He's more courageous every day and we fully expect him to just walk across the room one day soon.

Things have been a little less hectic around here - work has slowed down a little for Mom and Dad seems to have things under control at work. Natalie has basically mastered potty training - she starts wearing underwear at school this week (big step!). After that we'll tackle nighttime, and then it's Owen's turn.....(but he's got a few months before then!)
We had a good weekend - the weather was really nice! We went to Manhattan on Saturday and met Aunt Karen for lunch. Then we went to the Children's Museum where Natalie had a blast! There were Dora, Diego, and Bob the Builder exhibits. There was also a baby area with a crawling obstacle course that Owen loved.




On Sunday we went to Montclair for lunch and went to a playground. Natalie had fun swinging, alone and with Daddy, and Owen really loves to slide.
Mommy and Natalie made Halloween cupcakes too. We had a great time decorating them with worms and candy corn (although Natalie put as many toppings in her mouth as she did on the cupcakes). Natalie even helped stir! Owen seemed to be a little leery of the final product, but they turned out well.


In other news, Natalie has a new favorite song. "Kaboom!" from the Grey's Anatomy soundtrack has knocked "The Sharing Song" right out of the number one spot!