Halloween

The weather was perfect on Halloween. We went to our friends house and enjoyed some dinner before we headed out for a night of trick or treating.

Fairy Princess

A fairy princess and a puppy!

The flash may have been a little bright.

Gavin and mommy ready for some trick or treating.

All the kids!

Gavin actually looks like a little puppy!

Kaitlyn trick or treating! 

Fall Leaves

So far we have had a pretty decent fall.  It hasn't been too cold, so we thought it would be fun to take some pictures in the leaves one night.

Okay, mom - I am really not sure what I am sitting in, but.....

......I don't like it one big.   

Take two!

Yep - I still don't like this!

Apple Orchard

October had perfect weather to go to the apple orchard.  We met our friends David and Heather and enjoyed the beautiful fall day. 

Look how tall I am getting!

Who knew a pile of hay would be so much fun.

Enjoying an apple donut.

Kaitlyn's choice for a picture with the wooden cow.

I know there aren't any pictures of Gavin, but I promise you he was there.

Bath Time

I have been waiting for the day that I could give both kid's their bath at the same time.  So much easier than doing bath time twice in one night.  Kaitlyn was so excited to show Gavin all the bath tub toys.

Gavin 8 Months

Gavin is growing like a weed.  He is already in 12 month clothes and has graduated from the infant car seat.  He also loves his rice and oatmeal cereal.  He seems to like all the foods we have tried.  His least favorite is peas.  He usually gags at the taste unless we mix it into the rice cereal.  He also has figured out how to roll around the floor to get things.  He hasn't mastered the exact way to roll to an object, but he eventually gets there.  He also loves to sit up by himself.  A few times mom didn't make sure all hard objects were out of the way if he tipped over.  Mom learned her lesson very quickly after that. 

So Big!

I can sit up all by myself.  We noticed that with Gavin's new found freedom he is much more content. 

I am so cute!

I can do it all by myself!

Kaitlyn and Gavin. 

Kaitlyn's Swimming Lessions

The past year and half we have tried 3 different swimming lesson locations.

In the summer of 2010 Kaitlyn and I did a parent and child swimming class through the Red Cross at the W/M high school.  It went okay.  Kaitlyn wasn't a big fan of the cooler water.  (Either was mommy.)  I decided Kaitlyn needed to start getting used to water getting on her face and dunked her under the water after she jumped off the edge of the pool into my arms.  (Not such a good idea - she refused to jump in after that.)  We learned another lesson... when Kaitlyn decided she wanted to take extra long baths we told her that when her fingers get pruny that it means she is done taking a bath... well she used this trick while at swimming lessons.  "Look mommy, my fingers are pruny... I guess that means we are done." 

Last winter we tried Safari Island swimming lessons.  Here the lessons were taught in a zero-entry pool with no need for a parent to be in the water.  The class sizes were small (3-4 kids each).  The first time she did pretty good.  Each lesson there after got worse.  We tried everything from bribery (candy, ice cream, etc.), stern discussions with privileges taken away, and numerous other tactics.  Nothing worked.  She spent most of the time on the edge of the pool shaking her head when the instructor asked her to get in the pool to do an activity.

So, this summer Nate and I decided to try Foss.  We had heard wonderful things about Foss Swim School.  Yes, it is a lot more expensive, but worth every penny if they can get our little "princess" to swim.  (A necessity if you live in MN and own a boat.)  We started her in a 4 week Swim camp to see if she would like it.  And....

She loves it!!!!

These are pictures from the swim camp with her instructor Katie.  Kaitlyn listened and did most of what was asked.  She wasn't a big fan of getting water on her face at first, but now she will put her whole face in the water.  We love Foss and recommend it to any family.  They work miracles. 

Late Summer Post

The problem with having 2 cameras is it is hard to keep track of what camera you have taken pictures on.  Well, I just found some pictures from a boat outing from August.  Since the weather feels like August I thought I would put them up. 

Gavin and Kaitlyn relaxing on the boat.

Gavin napping.  We bought a clip on fan, so he was nice and cool.  Don't worry... kid's don't need a life jacket on if the boat is anchored. 

Kaitlyn loving the water.

Cheese!

I am sad to say that we will be winterizing the boat in the next few weeks and putting it away for the winter.  Good bye summer and welcome winter. 

Landscaping Phase 3

I think we are on phase 3 of our landscaping projects.  I am not sure how many phases there will be, but I am married to a Landscaper so I doubt we will ever be completely done with landscape projects.  Last year we built a new deck.  We planned on finishing a new paver patio under the deck last summer, but when Nate was laid off from work we decided to wait until this summer.  Well, it is finally done.  We still have a few more things we need to do, but that will happen next year.

Here are some before and after pictures.

Before.  Small deck, no stairs, concrete patio, no garage access to backyard.

View #2

Start of a new boulder wall.

New access door to garage.

Boulder wall and boulder steps.

Kaitlyn, Brayden, and Kaylee Spring 2010.

Starting to build the new deck.  14' x 24'

Making progress!

Almost done!  Summer 2010.

September 2011 - New deck stained with new paver patio.

Upper Patio!

Lower Patio!

Kaitlyn's new play set we got for free.  Just needed to add a coat of stain and it looked brand new.

New Patio and deck.

We still need to add sod, plants, and another patio for our fire pit.  That is our next phase to be completed next spring/summer.  We really enjoy our new outdoor space.  It was worth the wait.