Pre-Halloween Festivities

October is always a fun month filled with fall and Halloween activities.

First fall activity was a trip to Kristin's Pumpkin Patch, our favorite local place to pick out our pumpkins.

Caden claiming his pick

Cole preferred pumpkins of the small and bumpy variety.

Making a trip through the small corn maze

Caden and Cole with some of our picks

Loving brothers ;)

Next activity is a family favorite--The Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular at Washington Park

Caden and Cole posing with a Buzz Lightyear jack-o-lantern

Nana and Papa joined us at the event while Curt was working an overnight shift at the hospital.

Kieran fell asleep as soon as the sun set. I have a feeling he'll be more interested in the jack-o-lanterns next year.

Cole posing with a Blue's Clues jack-o-lantern

Next...Cole's Halloween parade at preschool

Cole LOVED being Mario! He couldn't wait for Halloween to be over, so he could wear the hat whenever he wanted. (I feared that he would ruin the costume before Halloween if he was allowed to play in it.)

Later that same day...I helped at Caden's Halloween party. There were two Luigis and two Marios. Caden is the Luigi on the left side of the photo.

Luigi waiting to bowl with pumpkins. This pose became Caden's "Luigi pose."

Caden and Cole with our jack-o-lantern

Cherry Hills' (where Cole attends preschool) Fall Festival

Cherry Hills puts on a great fall festival with games, inflatables, pumpkin decorating, horse and hay rides, and food. After Caden and Cole played games inside, we ventured outside to the four inflatables. Here is Cole enjoying the inflatable obstacle course.

Caden (without a head in this photo) and Cole would have stayed in the inflatables area ALL day if allowed.

Caden's "Nana pumpkin" is sitting next to him.

Cole, proud of his painted pumpkin

As usual, Kieran enjoyed the scenery from his Baby Bjorn.

Happy Fall!

Kieran at 3 months...

What Kieran has been up to:


Hanging out with Aunt Mariah

Smiling at his animal mobile...

and the octopus hanging over his playmat (although he looks a bit distressed in this photo)

Sitting up like a big boy in his Bumbo

Drinking from a bottle when necessary without a problem

Playing in his exersaucer (looking a little overstimulated by all of the toys in this photo)

Hanging out with Aunt Shannon and his big brothers on Halloween morning

Kieran's official 3-month photo

Three months have flown by! Kieran is not lacking in chubby rolls. I'm not sure of his actual weight, but he is definitely growing. His spiky and fuzzy hair is growing too. Kieran continues to be a very happy little guy--full of smiles and laughs. He is very ticklish! He cannot even change clothes without bursting into giggles. He is making lots of noises, blowing raspberries, and imitating tongue clicks. It is very appropriate that Cole wanted to name Kieran "Bubble" because he usually has a bunch of bubbles sitting on his lips. He is grabbing and chewing on his toys and trying to sit up straighter when he's on someone's lap. Kieran loves watching his big brothers and playing pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo. He is such a joy! We feel so lucky to have Kieran in our family.

Kieran at 2 months

What Kieran has been up to:

Growing...Aunt Mariah gave Kieran this adorable outfit. His body exploding out of it was my sign that it was time for 3-6 month clothing.

Cole with Kieran sporting his first 3-6 month outfit

Kieran even outgrew his bassinet. He is now in his crib in his room. He still amazes us with his sleep when we compare him to Caden and Cole. A typical night includes a five-hour stretch of sleep followed by a feeding and another 3-hour stretch of sleep. BUT in the last week, Kieran has had a couple nights of 7-8 hours of sleep! Woo hoo!

Playing...Kieran seems partial to giraffes. He is spending more time on his playmat. He is trying hard to grab his toys and has occasional luck.



Napping...While Kieran loves to be cuddled, he will nap in his swing or pack-n-play. Here are Papa, Kieran, and Mia resting and watching football.

"Talking"...Kieran is cooing, making other noises, and attempting to imitate us. He tries and sometimes succeeds in imitating our tongue clicks and raspberries and sticking out tongues.

Here are a couple of Kieran's 2-months photos.

In the middle of a coo

Big smile for Daddy!

At his 2-month check-up, Kieran weighed 13 pounds, 2 ounces and was just shy of 24 inches long.

I had to include this photo of the big boys and Mia. Mia found a warm spot on a cool weekend morning.

Cole at Preschool

After Labor Day, Cole started preschool at Cherry Hills Preschool. He attends five mornings a week from 9:00-11:30. I'm thrilled (and pleasantly surprised) to report that Cole enjoys going to school! I wasn't sure how he would react to a five-day program.

This preschool provides tote bags for the kids to use as school bags. Here is Cole showing off his artistic work before heading to his first morning at Cherry Hills Preschool.

Cole waiting for the doors to open

Cole (with Kieran in the background) showing off his completed homework


After the first full week of school, the entire Cherry Hills Preschool met at the Children's Museum in Decatur for a fun field trip. Cole had a ton of fun!

The airplane has always been a favorite for Cole.

We went through the senses exhibit several times.

Cole thought it was hilarious to press his face through these sticks.

This visit, Cole spent a lot of time in the climbing structure. I was thankful that there is not an exit to the second floor since Kieran was sleeping peacefully in the stroller.

Bubble fun!

After having fun at the museum, everyone walked over to the playground outside of the zoo for a picnic and more play. This was the only picture I snapped at the playground because Cole was having so much fun running around with his new friends.

Labor Day Weekend 2010

While Curt was on call, the boys and I spent part of Labor Day weekend in Rankin with Nana, Papa, Aunt Shannon, and Josh. We spent Saturday afternoon at the Sweetcorn Festival.


Caden and Cole were very excited to spend an afternoon on carnival rides. Jumping in the bungy harnesses was one of their favorites. They felt like they were flying and LOVED it! Other favorites were the big slide and the funhouses, but I don't have any pictures of those.

Caden flying high

Cole with a big smile, Caden is behind him in the white shirt

Caden rode a few rides solo because Cole declared them too scary this year even though he rode them last year. Cole wouldn't ride the kiddie dragon coaster, but he rode the tilt-a-whirl with Papa and Caden. (I don't even attempt to understand his reasoning.)

Cole rode this tame octopus while Caden rode a "scary" ride.

Caden rode on the hang-gliding ride...

while Cole devoured this mess of an ice cream cone.

And this is what Kieran did during the festival...slept peacefully.

On Sunday, we enjoyed the beautiful weather in Nana & Papa's backyard. While I was feeding Kieran, Josh taught Caden and Cole how to climb a tree. Both boys were super proud of themselves! No one was injured, so I was happy for them too.


Flying paper airplanes with Josh

While the big boys played, Kieran got in lots of cuddle time with Papa...

Aunt Shannon...

and Josh.

Fun family weekend with gorgeous weather!