Halloween

I always loved Halloween. I grew up with some pretty great Halloween experiences with my friends. Dressing up like ninja turtles with Han and Kylee and going to a great party at Tracy's freshman year was one of the best ones ever. College was full of great Halloween parties as well. Tim and I fell in love at a Halloween party (it was my dance moves that won him over, not joking). But at some point it lost its excitement for me. I think when I got married. Tim and I were too mature or something. Probably just too cool, that's usually the case with us. We are pretty cool. Anyways, kids make Halloween so exciting again. I love getting them dressed up and I love their excitement. Halloween is the best. And we have learned that Max loves to freak himself out. He loves witches, ghouls, ghosts, and anything spooky. He thinks they all live in our basement and he will go down there trying to find them and then freak out and run upstairs crying and then do it again. Another benefit of Halloween with kids is you get to eat all their candy. It was like the Jimmy Kimmel challenge but we actually ate it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK-oQfFToVg.

How cute are kids on Halloween?

 Playgroup party. Yes, that's Fitz laying on the floor.

 Day 4 in the Brown Bear costume

 "I'm a scary monster!"

MCW trick-or-treat

 Church party

 Cutest skunk in the world

Grandpa Greg & Grandma Dee

We had an exciting visit from Grandpa Greg and Grandma Dee. They have only been to Milwaukee once before, when Max was born, so we were all excited to have them visit again. We went down to the lake, ate lunch outside at Alterra, sampled the great food at Brennan's, ate custard at Kopps, went to La Reve, and of course to the Elegant Farmer. Hard to believe they were only here for 2 1/2 days considering how much we did and how much food we ate...It was a great weekend full of good conversation and good company.

My dad is a huge pie guy so we had to take him to the Elegant Farmer just for the pies. In case you are wondering how good these pies are, they beat Bobby Flay in a throwdown.  http://elegantfarmer.com/

 
Here is Grandma Dee with Fitz. I have to say, I think he won them over with his love of cuddling and constant pleasant attitude.

Thanks for coming and please come again, preferably before we have another baby...I don't anticipate that happening for at least 5 years...

The Elegant Farmer

We took the boys to the Elegant Farmer. It is a beautiful farm with a pumpkin patch and apple orchard. Max took a pony ride, we took a family tractor ride, Fitz picked out some pumpkins, and Tim and I bought the world's best pie and donuts. Wisconsin really knows how to do apple and pumpkin picking.

May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons

Despite what you might think, that title is not a curse. It's a blessing given to many women in India and the name of a book I read. I won't go into the depressing details of that book (spoiler alert: it's about female infanticide). I always thought I would have daughters. I pictured myself watching Pride & Prejudice with them on the weekends (PBS version of course), shopping, baking sweets together, talking for hours upon hours about who knows what, teaching them feminist ways...you know, all the stuff I did with my mom. Daughters are the best, I would know, I am one. I was afraid to have boys because every once in a while you see one of those little boys that is absolutely wild and I didn't want one of those. The ones that wrestle, throw things, yell loudly, taunt other kids, never stop running around. Then I had Max and he was a perfect angel and I wasn't so nervous about boys anymore. But by 18 months I realized he was everything I ever feared. By 2 I realized he was worse than I feared. He runs wild most of the day. He is one of the loudest people I've ever met. Once he picked up a lamp and threw it at me. It shattered. He picked up a piece of glass to throw that at me but it cut his hand open.  He loves to break and destroy things, he loves to run away in parking lots and tell me he is going to get hit by a car, he loves to throw objects at people, he loves to draw on our newly painted walls, he loves to take the screwdriver and dig holes in our new wood floors, he loves to take his fork and stab the table to make marks on it, he loves to break lamps (mostly by throwing them), he loves to steal candy at the store, he hits other kids, especially his baby brother, he hits me, he just stopped biting people. He can go an entire hour talking straight (I've timed it). He is a bit much sometimes. I don't think he will be interested in watching P&P or talking about his feelings and so far he hates shopping. But I have to say that I have learned to embrace the wild child behavior. He loves life. He's just always looking for a good time. He is happy to be alive, happy to experience new things. I love that the way to get him to sit still is books. I love that he says we are best friends. I love that he asks for family hugs. I love that he wears his Halloween costumes like they are normal clothes. I love that he is crazy. I never thought I would say that but I really love it.

 When I found out Fitz was a boy, I cried. But Fitz is of course a perfect angel. He is simply sweet. He never yells at me, never hits, never breaks things. He just watches all the crazy happening around him and smiles. He always seems to be smiling.

The past few weeks we have made some real progress in brotherly love. Max finally gives Fitz positive attention and lots of love now. Fitz is loving it.

Picnic in the Park

I love being outside. I love good weather. I love fall in Wisconsin. We had a great fall this year. The boys and I spent quite a few afternoons picnicking. Just looking at these pictures makes me want to bask in sunlight. But as we have been warning Max for weeks, winter is coming...and now winter is upon us. (Game of Thrones reference for any fans out there). My boys also love to be outside. Max doesn't mind the cold but I am a desert soul and just sit by my window staring outside now that it is too cold for picnics.