Lucky

Eli:

is saying "Dah-DEE" (to both daddy and mommy, too) started about 12 months
also says "Dah-GEE" for anything resembling a dog - started about a month ago
says "Uh-Oh"
says "Ahh-Boo" for apple
says "Peh-Puh" for pepper
says "Nuh" for nut
said "Get-TEE" tonight for spaghetti
says "Chee" for cheese
Loves finding and pointing at clocks and ceiling fans
Points at lights hoping we will turn them on
Makes kissy sounds when he wants a drink
says "Ahhhh" after sips of water
waves Bye-Bye (and has for about a month)
Shakes his head back and forth for "Boi-oi-oing"
walked about 15 laps around the ottoman tonight crawling under our legs as we sat on the couch
reminded me not to forget his pacifier from daycare by making kissy sounds as I was leaving
will let us know when he is ready to go ni-night by walking over the to the door upstairs and banging on it
loves climbing the stairs
has 1 molar all the way in, 1 three-forths of the way in and 2 half in. Brutal.
stands at his high chair when he is hungry
heads towards the bathtub if you even mention bathtime
gets sooo excited to see mommy when I pick him up from daycare everyday. Awwww.

Ben:

peaked his head in a tree stump at a park and yells, "Hey there's a vitamin in here!" It was a snail. Still makes me giggle.
has had many moments of frustration (getting ready in the morning, etc.) balanced by the sweetest moments where he asks for a random hug.
is starting to sound out words to spell them.
is getting better at writing some letters.
loves to watch sports on TV and asks a lot of questions.
makes me laugh. A lot. I wish I could record some of our car conversations. I can rarely remember WHY I was laughing and smiling on my way to work, but I do remember laughing and smiling.

These boys make me so happy everyday. I am so lucky to be their mommy.

Tryon Creek State park

The weather was been phenomenal, especially for October. Not much rain, and even spots of sun here and there. We had an open house today from 12-3, so we headed out to a State Park near Portland to enjoy the fall leaves. The boys and I had a nice time on a short hike, and then had a much needed picnic lunch of Subway subs, juiceboxes and chips. The light was just right, so I took a ton of pictures and couldn't decide which ones to post, so I posted pretty much all of the decent ones. Sometimes it takes less time to post all of them rather than sift thru and debate which ones to post...

The Cavalry is Gone...

Last week, grandma and grandpa were here to spoil the boys (and us) for a week. Here are a few pictures. We all miss them so much already. Thanks for the visit g-ma and g-pa!

Thank Goodness for Photoshop

So this picture was from the pumpkin patch last weekend - and I totally loved it, except for the random kid in the background (which really was ridiculous, because there really weren't many people at this farm - the kid jumped in the picture on purpose, while his dad just watched... Hmmm). So, I did a quick lesson on Photoshop Elements - which I had used in the past, but never for this kind of thing and voila' - the jumping boy is gone. Kind of eerie, really, but yet, pretty cool. Andy asked if i could take care of some of the gray hair - I told him I didn't have THAT much time. Ha-ha.

Quintessential Pumpkin Patch Pictures

We had a very nice outing at the Pumpkin Patch again this year. Grandma and Grandpa got to join us. Here are the pictures.

First haircut and more walking

Eli got his first haircut on Thursday.

Ben got one also.

Here Eli is, walking up a storm...

And hanging out with grandma!

Moments after these pictures were taken, Eli crashed and scuffed up his face pretty badly. Poor kid. Daycare has jokingly requested that he wear a football helmet, as he has crashed there twice last week. Good thing kids heal pretty fast. He already looks better, just 2 days later.