Lately...

Our little family has been so busy. I feel like I've posted some stuff, but there are so many things that happen (big and small) that I don't want to forget someday. We've all been sick recently, which makes it even harder to find time to blog. Tyler got his first fever last week - poor baby. It's nice to have photos to help remember, but kids do things so spur of the moment that you can't always catch it with the camera.

I'll see what I can remember about what all is going on with us...

Tyler has been getting better and better with self-feeding. Tonight, he had rice and beans. I don't think he managed to get any rice in his mouth, but he did get most of the beans. I can't rely on him to feed a whole meal to himself, but it's fun practice for him to have some finger foods. He is really getting into it. Vincent started preschool in September. He goes two days a week for 3 hours each day. Tyler and I pick him up in the alley behind the school, and it's so cute to watch him come out of the gate and look for us. Usually he has some sort of art project in hand to show us. It has been a very good experience for us all, and he loves his school.

We were so lucky to have a visit from my Aunt Melinda and Uncle Ben recently. It has been since Vincent was born that we last saw Melinda, and even longer since we saw Ben.

Vincent is now mostly wearing "big boy pants." Starting November 1st, we told him that he will only wear a diaper for naps and bedtime. I wouldn't say he's 100% potty trained, as we are still having to remind and ask him to use the potty. Each day, though, he seems to get a little better. Tonight after dinner, he left the dinner table and then ran downstairs shouting, "I gotta go, I gotta go!" He's probably going to hate me one day for posting this... This Halloween, Vincent and I carved our first jack-o-lanterns together. The last couple of years, I didn't want to tackle such a project with him, since I feared I would have more frustration than fun doing it. I'm really glad I waited. We had a good time. He actually just painted a pumpkin while I carved three. He did help take some of the pulp out, but didn't enjoy it.

November 1st, daylight savings ended. We made our annual drive to Maltby Cafe for an early breakfast. Look at the size of that cinnamon roll! Vincent got his own plate of food, which he surprisingly ate most of.

Vincent and Tyler are starting to play together a little bit. Just a little. Most of the time they're doing their own things. Vincent will be building something, and Tyler will come over & destroy it. It makes Vincent very upset. Sometimes, Vincent will initiate a little wrestling with Tyler. It usually involves Vincent tackling Tyler and rolling him around on the floor. Tyler just puts up with it. Here they are pretending to be riding in a boat. Vincent is the driver, as you can see.

Tyler has two little teeth! Unfortunately, this is the best picture I could find with his teeth, since he doesn't show them off very often. Look very, very closely, and you can see two little white things sticking out the middle of the bottom. Try clicking on the picture, and maybe you can see a larger image.Inspired by the rice krispies treat Vincent got from his Aunt Diana for Halloween, I decided to make some myself. It's been many years since I last made these, but I think I'll be making them more often now. So addictive and good! Vincent helped me measure the cereal, stir & melt the marshmallows, add the cereal to the pot, and finally, taste test it.

A couple of weeks ago, David started to try putting Tyler to bed on his own. In fact, he has put both kids to bed on his own twice now so that I can go out with friends. So sweet. Tyler still will not take milk from a bottle. He won't take milk from a sippy cup, either. He drinks water from a sippy cup now (so cute), but was pretty upset with David when he tried to give him the milk. Instead, David just comforted him to sleep, and I immediately nursed when I got home. Not ideal, but at least I got to go out.

We are settling into our new house. It's coming along slowly, but still not as organized as I'd like it to be. We are loving the extra space and the garage. Our car didn't fit at first, but with a little bit of moving stuff around, it does now. And, just in time for the rain. As long as we live in the Pacific Northwest, I think I will always need an attached garage. Or, at least until the kids are a bit older. Our new neighborhood is nice, too. There are restaurants and shops within walking distance. We definitely miss our old neighborhood and the business that we would walk to over there. It's not that far from here, but there are several steep hills to climb up to get back there. REALLY tough pushing two kids up those hills in the stroller.

David and I are going out on more dates recently. Not as often as we'd like to, but it's an improvement over how it was in the past. One weekend, we went out two nights in a row!

We're looking forward to the holidays this year, even though we have no plans to travel to see family. It makes us sad not to see them, but we are happy to start making our own holiday traditions. I'm planning to cook my first Thanksgiving turkey. We're also very excited about Vincent's 3rd birthday. We'll be in town the next few months, so let us know if you are visiting Seattle. We'd love to see you!