Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Updates

Mommy, Daddy, Alex, and Julia went to the Haunted Trail last weekend with Alex's friend, Gabrielle, Mommy's friend, Kristine, and Kristine's mom. We had a blast...it was a little chilly and wet, but overall it was a great time! Alex loved walking along and seeing all of the college kids dressed up in costumes and since it was the 'non-scary' weekend, he handled all the ghosts and goblins just fine! His friend, Gabrielle, wasn't so sure regardless!

We also hit the ISU Homecoming Parade Saturday morning. It was fun as always! Tons of marching bands, floats, school spirit...and the dreaded candy! On the way back to our car, we stopped by Uncle Jeffy's house to see his new dog, Aly. She is so cute!!

Mommy has been working on the final touches of Alex's costume for the past week or so with the help of Grandma Stephens. Grandma Stephens has been helping with the sewing aspects, which Mommy is not so good at and Mommy has been focusing on some of the 'decorative' aspects! Thank goodness Mommy bought Julia's costume after Halloween last year...one less thing to worry about!

Both Alex and Julia have been struggling with colds for the past few weeks. We just can't seem to get past it and Mommy had to even keep Alex home from preschool last Thursday, which wasn't real popular with Alex. Mommy decided to take them to the doctor today because Julia seemed to be developing the cough Alex woke up with last Wednesday and we found out they both have sinus infections! Welcome to winter!!

Julia started walking with her hippo last week. It is so cute to see her toddling around with it...she definitely understands what she needs to do in order to start walking on her own, but we are not sure that she is quite ready to take the plunge. She still seems a little bit 'floppy.' She'll develop her balance in her own time...Mommy and Daddy are definitely not in any hurry for it to happen!

We are looking forward to all the fun activities to come this week. Hopefully, Alex and Julia are already on the road to recovery, so they can enjoy all that is planned for them this week!!

Julia Dances

Julia has discovered a love for dancing! Now, she doesn't just dance to the music, but she also intentionally plays music on her baby i-pod, piano, or old McDonald's farm toy just so she can dance. Daddy is a little worried...could this mean lots of money towards ballet, jazz, and modern dance lessons??

Video: October 10th, 2008

Chicago Trip...The End

Monday, October 13th...

We left our hotel in Lombard for the last time in the morning and headed over to Aunt Tonya's apartment. We had a nice lunch and the kiddies destroyed Aunt Tonya's perfectly perfect apartment (not anymore!!). We then left to head over to Bultema Farm in Beecher, but found out that poor Aunt Tonya had a flat tire! Alex got the biggest kick out of that...stinker!

After some rearranging, we managed to make it over to Bultema Farm. We picked pumpkins from their pumpkin patch, went through a straw bale maze, took a hayrack ride, and got lost in the corn maze. Needless to say, we had a blast!!

After dropping off Aunt Tonya and making sure she made it to Sears on her fix-a-flat tire, we headed back home with a small detour in Chatsworth to see Daddy's grandma and grandpa's old house. Once home, we smothered Duke with smooches and relaxed for the rest of the evening!

Chicago Trip Continued...

Sunday,
October 12th

We visited Brookfield Zoo on Sunday after being awakened at 6:30 by the fire alarm going off at our hotel. Fortunately, there was no fire, but there was quite a big mess
of water in the hotel
when we went back in. Luckily, it was on the other side of the elevator bank from us!

It was a great day to visit the zoo! It was unseasonably warm with a high in the low 80s! We had the chance to see tons of amazing animals including elephants, giraffes, gorillas, dolphins, seals, and penguins. We were also able to see the dolphin show, ride the carousel, and the tram! All in all it was a great time (with the exception of the temper tantrum over the giraffe on the carousel!)!

After the zoo, we drove to Elgin to meet some of Mommy's old co-workers for supper! We met Bill, Alicia, Julian, Tony, Kelli, Josh, Zack, Rich, Belinda, Maddie, and Mary for supper at Red Robin's. It was tons of fun, especially since Mommy misses her friends!

Chicago Trip Continued...

Saturday, October 11th...

Alex really enjoyed making sandwhiches at the Potbelly's Sandwhich station. This was a real thrill for him, because he always likes to pretend to make sandwhiches for Mommy!

Julia loved playing in the padded areas for babies while Alex ran around exploring the areas of the museum.

Trip to Chicago

Friday, October 10th

Alex and Julia 'foolin' around at the Shedd Aquarium. We had a good time, but were a little bummed to find out that the Oceanarium was closed for renovations.

After the Shedd Aquarium we walked around the Museum Campus for awhile to check out Lake Michigan (AKA the 'Big Ocean' according to Alex) and the beautiful Chicago Skyline. Alex was psyched to see 'Aunt Nett's old work' building (the CNA red tower).

After good times downtown, we headed to our hotel in the 'burbs.' We ate at Portillo's (Daddy's favorite) and went swimming at the hotel pool! Alex and Julia had a blast swimming and chasing eachother around the pool while playing tag!

To be continued...

New Pictures

Alex on his first day of preschool!

One of Alex's prize watermelons!

Julia having fun in a storage box!

Julia and Alex at the ISU Horticulture Farm!

Julia Says Mama!

Julia has added another word to her vocabulary this weekend...mama!!

Julia's 9 Month Appointment

Julia's stats:

18 lbs, 2 oz: 50%
28 3/8 inches long: 75%
18 inch head circumference: 90%

Julia's doctor says she is a wonderfully, healthy little girl and is right on track!! She received her polio and flu shots today. She cried a little, but was happy as soon as Mommy cuddled her.

Alex received his flu shot today as well. He decided to cry about 2 minutes after he got it! He was very dramatic and kept crying until I took him to see Meema Stephens at work. He then said that he felt better! Silly Alex!