Happy Halloween!!

We had a GREAT fun-filled Halloween weekend!! Friday night, we headed over to Grandma's and Pops' house in our costumes to visit with all of our nieces and nephews and the rest of the family. ALL of the kiddos were too cute all dressed up!!


Nathan ready for the rest of his tiger costume.


Andrew all ready to go!!

Our lion and tiger all smiles :)

ROAR!!

The boys with a few of their cousins...Caroline (50's girl), Andrew (Lion), Nathan (Tiger), Kathryn (Minnie Mouse) and Henry (Monchichi - a Vehige favorite!!)

Then, on Saturday we were able to celebrate our good friend, Kate's first birthday!! We had a great time at the park and LOVED seeing Kate dig into her cake :)

Finally, Halloween was here and the boys were all excited to go trick-or-treating!! PaPa, Gigi, Uncle Todd and Aunt Laura all were over to help us celebrate Halloween. The boys had quite the entourage following them door to door :)

Nathan and Andrew all ready in their costumes.

Andrew starting out at his own house getting LOTS of candy from Gigi.

On the prowl.

Our little tiger hitching a ride from Gigi.

Andrew had no fear even at some of the scarier houses - he was just focused on what kind of candy was behind each door he went to :)

Our little lion finally pooped out and had to get a lift back home from Daddy.

Enjoying some of his treats!!

Halloween Party!!

Today at Andrew's preschool, they invited all of the parents to come participate in snack time and watch the kiddos sing songs before dismissal. The older classes got to dress up in their costumes and have a parade, but they kept it simple for the little guys.


Here's Andrew starting to dig in...


All of the kids at snack time. I was amazed at how quiet it got and how well-behaved they all were.

Andrew enjoying his apples and caramel dip.

Joining hands for their first song - what a hoot!!

Any thoughts!?!?

We started off today just great. The boys did well in their therapy and we enjoyed lunch with Gigi. Then came nap time and everything kind of went downhill...


Andrew and Gigi matching with their yellow shirts and sunglasses!!

So Andrew has been doing great in his big boy bed until yesterday at nap time. He came out of his room to tell me he had poops - which I was thrilled!! We would like to start introducing the potty soon and Andrew is showing some readiness signs. Then, I realized that not only did he come out of his room, but that meant that he got out of his bed!! We have been waiting for this to happen, but I thought it would take him longer to do it for some reason.

Anyway, we completely failed with nap time on Tuesday to say the least. It was a constant battle of him getting out of bed and me putting him back in it. Today, I told Andrew that he could read books and/or play in his room, but he was to be quiet and not leave his room. Nathan was sleeping and it's quiet time for everyone, even Mommy. Andrew was definitely quiet, but this is what I walked into when getting Andrew:

Nothing is left hanging in his closet.

The closet floor is a mess...

And all of his clothing is in a pile on the floor!!

Not only was every single hanger off of the rod, but every single piece of clothing was off of the hanger. We had a nice long talk about this behavior and Andrew helped Mom pick everything up. I should have known something was wrong when he was too quiet, but I was being optimistic that he had actually fallen asleep!! I hope nap time isn't over!!

GREAT News!!

Nathan had a VERY BUSY schedule to keep last week. Along with his usual therapies, he had check-ups with his Neurologist and Neurosurgeon along with a follow-up EEG to see how things were doing. We heard back from the Neurologist today that his EEG looked normal and we can start weening Nathan from his seizure medication - yea!!

This will be a very slow process over the next few months. We are hoping all goes well and Nathan remains seizure-free!! Unfortunately, Nathan will always be at risk for seizures due to all of the trauma and damage that his brain has endured. For now things are looking great and we pray that everything continues down this path!!

Trinity Fall Festival

This afternoon we headed to Andrew's preschool for a fall festival!! Gigi and PaPa met us and we all enjoyed lunch along with live music, making crafts, browsing through a book fair, and most of all spending time outside at the petting zoo and on the playground :)

Andrew feeding a bunny.

Checking out the chickens.

Watching the tiny pig.

Okay, now the next couple of pictures don't do it justice, but the camel couldn't get enough of Nathan. He scoped him out and then had to get up close and friendly :)

Here is the camel checking Nathan out - Nathan has NO idea...

Up, close and personal - I still think Nathan is too busy with his toys to notice the camel.

All smiles with the camel's attention :)

Not too sure what was just happening :)

Andrew riding the pony!!

Andrew showing Gigi one of his favorite pieces of playground equipment.

Home Improvements

Andrew and Steve headed up to Parkway Early Childhood Center for their Home Improvements Workshop. Andrew did a lot of painting, hammering, measuring and enjoying numerous activities.


Getting ready for some work!!


Sporting a hard hat - didn't last too long :)


Working all of the different levers and latches.



And of course ending the day outside on the playground!!

Purina Farms

After the boys' therapy today, we headed to Parina Farms to meet up with our friends, the Adair's and Witthaus'. It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed eating lunch outside, seeing lots of animals, enjoying a dog show and ending the day with a hay ride!!


Andrew was captivated by the pump that milked the cow.


Nathan and Kaitlyn hanging out in their strollers :)


Getting a close look at the Herefords!!

Group shot!!

Busy Weekend!!

We made the most out of the awesome weather this weekend!!

We started off Saturday by attending Capable Kids and Families' Fall Family Celebration. The boys had a GREAT time and Andrew did lots of crafts - he made a face mask, stamped a card, made play-doh and decorated a place mat with a picture of our family front and center. Nathan loves the place mat and mini pumpkin he got :)

Family Pic :)

After lunch we headed to another Pumpkin Party put on by our friend's real estate company. Our family was able to pick out another pumpkin (Andrew can't get enough) and enjoyed ALL of the festivities - live music, games, give-a-ways and hanging out with friends!!

Sunday we headed to an actual pumpkin patch - Stuckmeyers!! Andrew couldn't believe we were getting to pick out more pumpkins. It was a great morning - Andrew went from one thing to another and both boys were pooped by the time we were home for lunch :)


Daddy and Andrew found a keeper!!


Andrew with lots of pumpkins.


Our boys :)

Our little pumpkins :)

Andrew found a HUGE pumpkin and posed with his gord.

Leading Mommy through the corn maze :)

All ready for his tractor barrel ride.

Nathan and Mommy.

Our happy little guy :)

All done for the day...

Zoo with Gigi and PaPa

Today Gigi and PaPa took Andrew to the Zoo while Mommy and Nathan spent some QUALITY time together :) Andrew loved walking all around and ending his day with a train ride. Thanks Mom and Dad for giving me a little break - it's amazing how much you can get accomplished with just one kiddo!!

Andrew LOVED the hippos.

I think this picture is precious - he couldn't get enough of the acquariums and all of the fish!!