Spiderman and Little Miss Bee

Happy Halloween! We had a pretty good day today and of course had fun trick or treating this year with Luke. We managed to score H1N1 vaccines for the kids this morning so they both got the shots for what it is worth! Luke had to be poked twice since he was kicking, screaming, and flailing... but he was fine right afterwards. Charlotte already had a runny nose but hopefully it won't turn into anything too serious. Aunt Kathryn came home for Halloween and we visited with her in the afternoon. Then we all went to Amy's house for pizza and pictures before trick or treating! It was very cold and windy so Luke didn't last very long trick or treating before he announced, "I'm done." It was too cold to take Charlotte along so she stayed with my mom to help pass out candy. Here's Luke with his loot... (Charlotte wanted to check out the candy as well!) he wanted to take a bite of everything and then just give it away or put it back. He doesn't seem to like a lot of the candy he bites into haha But he does like M&M's and most chocolates! He started getting a little hyper haha but I guess that's what Halloween is all about when you are 2! Here is a video of Luke's first solo trip up to someone's door. He said the trick or treat and the lady confirmed for me that he did say thank you all by himself haha I'm such a nosy mom! You can tell from his walk that he was proud of himself!

Busy Baby

Charlotte's been a busy baby in her 7th month of life. She started eating some finger foods (and refusing baby foods...), started pulling herself up to standing, walks along furniture holding on, claps her hands, imitates "da-da-da", and all while fighting off a nasty virus earlier this month! Her mommy is very proud of her. Her little personality shows through more and more each day. She does the cutest little laugh when she holds your hands and thinks she is walking. She definately gets to where she wants to go, although she still prefers to be held and carried a lot! :) I can't believe how "big" she is getting although she still seems like a little peanut when she is standing up! She still does a belly crawl but really only crawls to something that she can pull herself up on and stand. Luke didn't pull himself up until around 9 months I think so I wasn't quite prepared for this! If I am remembering correctly I think Luke babbled a little more whereas Charlotte often seems pretty quiet still. She's been spoiled in the sleeping area in that her crib is still in our room and she often shares our bed halfway through the night. She is getting a little bit better about letting us lay her down for naps in her crib and staying asleep for longer stretches at a time.

Take a Hike

One of the reasons we bought our house was for the location (the house has been a "money pit" and we have had all sorts of woodland creatures invading us) but we are on a small no-motor lake with a game preserve across the road. We love to be able to just walk across the road and take small hikes in the woods. Luke loves this as well, however during the summer we had to avoid the woods because of too much poison ivy and too many mosquitoes! We kept promising him once it gets colder the buggies won't be so bad and we can take walks in the woods. Well, finally today everyone felt well enough to be able to get outside for some fresh air and take a little hike together. It was also nice to do something as a family that we all enjoy because sometimes that just doesn't seem to happen very often anymore! I had yet to try Charlotte in the Ergobaby carrier on my back. Now that she can hold her head up good, it was a perfect fit. I wasn't sure if we had her in right at first, but she never cried and fell asleep pretty fast so I think that means she was in okay! I loved feeling her little arms around me. We hiked back to the dam and looked at the water rushing through and then we climbed up onto a high ridge where you can see more ponds out in the game preserve. The cool, crisp autumn air felt good in our recovering lungs. We saw some wood ducks flying away with their weird squeaky call and a couple blue herons flew over the water. I wished we would have had an extra person to take a shot of all four of us on our first family hike into the woods. Maybe Aunt Kathryn or Nana can tag along next time and try to get a good shot of us all together!