tRiCk-Or-TrEaT

GRRRRrrrrrrr....scary purple dragon!!

Last weekend Elias went to his first pumpkin carving party as a pumpkin!

Momma and scary purple dragon!!

Our little pumpkin!

Goofy Monster!!

Our friends Amanda and Avery stopped by for some tricks and treats! Avery was a little farmer...so cute!

Our neighbor biked to work (8 mile commute) with Herman the skeleton on the back of his tandom!

Milestones....

This leaf is so great!!
Hmmmm...I wonder if I should eat it? (He sure tried!)
Where's Eli?
Such a big boy!!

On October 10th our little peanut turned 6 months old! We can hardly believe how much he's grown physically and developmentally in just 6 months. Our little peanut is not so little anymore as he reached 15 lbs a few weeks ago! This means he's quadrupled in size!! When Elias was first born, it was hard to imagine him at six months or even one month as we were taking it day by day trying to figure it all out. Now I have a hard time remembering him as a newborn and the days seem to fly by.

Elias has had some big milestones happen in the past few weeks. One being his ambition to move! He now rolls from back to stomach and stomach to back until he rolls to where he wants to be or until he reaches that toy in his sight! It is too cute and so fun to see him concentrate so intently! As I write this blog, he has managed to roll himself under the couch!!

He loves to study things, the latest being spoons and tags(and leaves)...he loves tags! Now I know why "taggies" where invented! He smiles and giggles at his familiar surroundings, especially when he sees Mikko and Marla and when Daddy comes home from work! He's in love with his Papa!! He also admires and has learned so much from his new friends...Jake, Izzy and Drew...the children I nanny for. I will introduce these wonderful children in my next blog as I have some cute pictures to share!!

Another huge and wonderful, maybe even miraculous milestone...Eli finally falls asleep in the car and is content for longer periods of time in his carseat! phew!! All I can say is PHEW!!

I know so many of you reading this can relate to these small (but so big!) milestones! It continues to amaze us how absorbant and aware these little creatures are and how quickly they change! We love all the updates on your little ones!!

Sending our love to you all...

Angie and Chris - Two Year Anniversary

October 7th... our 2nd anniversary! I cannot believe it's already been 2 years since Angie and I tied the knot. I feel so blessed to be married to such an amazing, beautiful and caring person such as Angie. All of our friends know what type of person she is, but I get to spend every day with her... how I got so lucky, I have no idea.

All right... sorry about all the mushy stuff.

Ang, please don't be mad at me, or embarrassed that I hacked into our blog and posted this... I just wanted to make sure you know I'm thinking about you. You are an amazing person, and a wonderful mommy to our son.

Happy Anniversary Ang... I LOVE YOU!

Love, Chris

It's that time of year...

Fall is here! The trees are beautiful, the air is cool and crisp and I have the desire to make soup. Yes indeed...it's that time of year! You know, time to start thinking about Christmas!!! I know, I know, it's only October...HAPPY OCTOBER!!...but seriously, Christmas is just around the corner and we should all be prepared. Don't be afraid to get out the music and start plotting and planning where to put your Christmas village(ours consists of a bar, church and coffee shop!). Oh, I'm just so excited for Christmas this year...well every year, but this year especially! With Elias in our lives, holidays have a deeper meaning. I'm so excited to share with him the holiday spirit...that magical feeling on Christmas morning! Our little boy will be almost 9 months at Christmas...how fun! How unbelievable that he will be 6 months in just a few days. He is definitely absorbing the world around him and changing daily! He is a little giggle monster and sometimes just a monster! :) We are in love with our little pumpkin! Here are some pictures of our little one and the beauty that surrounds us here in Northfield.

Weekend Adventures...

Here are a few pictures from the weekend! Thinking of you all and sending our love... Smiling at autie RaRa at the barn dance...
Eli in his new Peru hat from our friend Sarah who traveled to Peru last Spring...thank you Sarah!

Mikko giving kisses to his best buddy!!
Just chilling out in my new chair...the Bumbo!
Mikko giving more love...

Daddy and Eli on the giant swing at the barn party!!

Mr. Giggles

So, I've sat down at the computer about five times today to write a blog entry. My goal today was to write a longer than normal entry....as I have so much to share! The reality is, I am currently writing with one hand, Elias sleeping in the other. Will I get to share my deep thoughts today? NOPE! Tomorrow?? Probably not. One of these days I will get to it...just like I will get to those dishes and piles of laundry! :) Being able to hold my little peanut as he sleeps in my arms is so worth it...so much more important to me. This time with him, this moment, is now and will not be here forever! And the dishes, laundry and computer will! As a new mom, "patience" has a whole new meaning.

Speaking of treasuring the moment, we finally captured a glimpse of Elias having a giggle attack and we finally figured out how to download videos! It seems that every time we bring out the camera for one of those precious moments, Elias stops whatever he's doing because he is so intrigued by this amazing contraption with lights and buttons. Enjoy watching "Mr. Giggles"!!

Looking back....

Chris holding Elias in his first days of life...he was so little! And here they are now...Elias is about 4 months in this photo and pure chunk!



We love to look back at the first weeks of Elias' life and talk about the journey...the tears and laughter, the worries and joys, the growth as new parents and our complete amazement of our little boy! He was such a peanut...Here are some pictures comparing Elias in his early weeks of life to now!!

I remember my sisiter Sally and I getting so excited to put him in his new chair...we just giggled as he barely fit in one corner. Now look at him...he is almost too big!!
Cousin Liam and Elias a day after Liam was born. (Elias was about 5 weeks old) And here they are already having beers together!