Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

Friday night marked our first snowstorm of the season! This is usually not something I get excited about, but this year Chad and I couldn't wait to see Dylan's reaction. And as we expected, he loved it. He is an outdoor guy just like his dad. Good thing Chad got boots and snowpants for his birthday because I'm shipping the two boys out to play while I sit inside and enjoy the view :) So here he is, Friday night ready to check it out...

Earning his keep. We are in the middle of celebrating Hanukkah and one of Dylan's gifts was his snow shovel. Just in time!

Saturday afternoon we headed over to my parents for some fun with Daddy and Grandpa Beej.

First snowman, please don't laugh. I had to quick snap the picture before he pulled the arms off.

Getting ready to go down the hill with Daddy...

Action photo. Big smiles!!!!

After a busy day of sledding we took Dylan down to the Christmas walk in the village. It was pretty lame but we got a picture with Santa. Just as I expected his reaction to be (Daddy is just off the photo to the left)

Happy Thanksgiving

Another Thanksgiving is in the books. We survived without eating too much turkey. Actually, Dylan wouldn't even give Thanksgiving dinner a try. He ate broccoli, sausage, blueberries and yogurt at both houses. That is his standard meal these days, and the spicier sausage the better.... Anyway, we spent Thursday night with the Weigle family at my parents house. Dylan took his first shared bath with his cousin Madeline. They ignored each other almost the entire time but it was a success. Neither of them were too photogenic but this one made me laugh.

Friday night we bonded with the Everitts and Dylan's 6 year old cousin Jon. The two are becoming fast friends. I got my first glimpse of what life must be like with two boys as Dylan out of nowhere became extremely interested in wrestling. It was all in good fun and no one got hurt. His new thing is giving hugs so Dylan clung to Jon's leg most of the evening. We can't wait to get these boys back together over Christmas!

And we can't forget what happens around Thanksgiving every year. Chad's birthday! We went out to Azteca with Chad's birthday buddy (and the love of Dylan's life) Reagan Hassel and family. Let's just say it wasn't exactly our best night out considering we had a 6 year old, 16 month old and 8 month old at the table. Good thing Mexican is fast. Next time, adults only :) Here is a picture of Chad with the kiddos below, Evyn, Reagan and Dylan. Happy Birthday Daddy!

15 Months

Ok so its been over a month and blogging isn't exactly my top priority these days. The newness of motherhood must be wearing off because I only took 3 pictures of Dylan in over a month. Oh well. He had his 15 month checkup and weighed in at a whopping 21 lbs 9 oz (less than 10th percentile) and measured 30.5 inches (under 50th percentile). I'm not sure if they are completely accurate as Dylan screamed bloody murder and put up a major fight during the entire appointment. I don't think it helped that the nurse was dressed up as a witch for Halloween. But we survived...

It has been a busy month as they always are. Most of you know I turned 30 last weekend. Minus the unsuccessful court case and a Hawkeye loss it was a great weekend. My college roomate and her husband came into town for the weekend. Friday Chad threw a fun party at Jersey Grille and Saturday we spent up in Iowa City cheering on the Hawks. Also, my older bro Ben came into town. He and Dylan really bonded. Dylan calls him 'Uh Bah' (Uncle Ben) and frequently asks about him when we go to Mimi's house so he will be excited to see him over Thanksgiving.

He looks very sweet and well behaved in the photo but don't let it fool you. Dylan is a piece of work. He is really into climbing, especially on the kitchen table. He also enjoys climbing on chairs and then diving off head first. He has successfully performed two complete sommersaults this past week. Perhaps he will be a gymnast. He amazes us every day with the new babbles coming out of his mouth. In the morning when he gets up he points to the TV and says 'Elmo On'. My other favorite words of his are doorbell and hairdryer. Not in perfect English but he is a great little communicator which is scary.

Thats about it for now. We have a fun filled weekend including a trip to Iowa City for the Michigan State game and last but not least Halloween. I'll try to get a good photo of our little dragon and post it before Thanksgiving :)

The Jury Is Still Out

For all of you who were on the edge of your seats wondering if I was guilty or innocent about the open container violation, you will just have to wait. Last Friday I woke at 6:15 am to make my 8 o'clock court appearance. I arrived in Iowa City only to find out this was an initial appearance, which meant I was SCHEDULING my court date. Seriously any lawyers out there, is this normal??? Can't this be done online or something? I showed up looking professional and with my 'statement' and photographic evidence for nothing. So my court date is scheduled for October 22 so stay tuned. Boo... And not that this needs to be repeated but I had to suffer through the Iowa v Arizona game the following night so needless to say it wasn't a stellar weekend. Oh well, if drinking tickets and Hawkeye losses are the two most stressful things I have going on right now I'd say life is pretty good!

And speaking of life is good we had an awesome time tonight celebrating Madeline's birthday. I'm not sure if there is anything more fun than watching a 1 year old discover cake. She took about 10 minutes to warm up to the idea but then it was game on. We have a chocolate fan!!!

And don't forget about Dylan. He loves birthday parties. Two forks are better than one!

Happy Hawkeye Fans

Football season has returned and Dylan has a new black and gold fall wardrobe. Minus the open container ticket I received last week (court date is scheduled for Friday so stay tuned) we have enjoyed our Saturday trips to Iowa City and look forward to the rest of the year.

I've been too lazy to post these days so here is an update on our almost 14 month old terror (yes, terror). Dylan's favorite toy is his silly Fisher Price corn popper. We have to take it for a walk every day. Most of you are friends with my mom on facebook so you probably saw the video she posted. Other than walking his pet corn popper Dylan keeps busy by climbing on anything and everything. The good news is that he waits to get into mischief until he is sure someone is watching... ok, its not really good news because he loves the word 'No' and any kind of negative attention. Oh well. Slowly but surely I'm working on this discipline stuff.

Dylan's favorite foods are carrots, broccoli, and sloppy joes. He refuses to eat any kind of pasta, even mac n cheese. Hope that changes soon....His favorite outing is the Childrens Museum. Below are a few pics from our most recent trip.

Playing with blocks

Cruisin the ramp in the toddler play area

Driving the John Deere Tractor with Madeline

His favorite toy at the Childrens Museum is the mop in the play kitchen. So today Mimi splurged and bought Dylan his own cleaning tools. The kit included a broom, mop and hardwood floor cleaner so he is set. After about 30 minutes of running around the house this afternoon I couldn't believe how much dirt he was able to pick up on the microfiber cloth. Next time I'll throw a little Bona cleaner on the floor and we'll both be happy. Sounds like this will become our new after dinner ritual?

Done with the kitchen and onto the dining room

And last but not least he is making the transition from two naps to one afternoon nap. So if you see me before noon and I'm not showered that's my excuse. Ta ta for now!

MIA

I have a pretty good excuse for the lack of blog posts the past few weeks. I will try to keep this as short as possible but here goes. Three weeks ago Dylan got sick. High fever and completely unable to sleep. I felt like I had a newborn again. But anyway, we survived. A few days later I came down with a headache and fever. I hardly ever get sick so I was pretty bummed. I shipped Dylan off to grandma and stayed home and slept. After 3 days Chad convinced me to go to the doctor. I was hoping for an antibiotic or pain medicine but the convenient care doctor sent me straight to the emergency room. WTF it was just a headache?!? After 6 hours in the ER I had a spinal tap to confirm viral meningitis. I had to stay overnight in the neuroscience wing of the hospital. Of course my headache went away by this point and I felt fine but they wouldn't let me go home until 5 the next day. Boo. All was well for two days until I came down with another bout of headaches. Turns out it was a complication from the spinal tap and I needed two days of complete bedrest (only get up to go to the bathroom). That didn't work so Friday I went back to the ER and had an epidural blood patch. And yes, it was as bad as it sounds, dont ask. But hooray, 11 days later I am finally back to normal! Woo hoo! I don't know what I would have done without two awesome sets of grandparents in town and an amazing husband. We also got a visit from Dylan's great grandparents DD and GG last week. Dylan loved having a new audience to show off all of his new tricks for. Hopefully he didn't wear them out too bad...

I can't believe its Labor Day next weekend! We are planning on going up to Iowa City for the Hawkeye season opener. Sorry Dylan, no games for you this year :( Go Hawks!

Madtown

This weekend we took our first family getaway up to Madison. I lived there for 4 1/2 years during college but spent most of my time drinking (and occassionally studying) so I decided it was time to check out all of the awesome family fun Madtown has to offer... We stayed at the Holiday Inn in West Towne and it was pretty sweet. They had an indoor waterpark perfect for toddlers. Dylan is now obsessed with waterslides. We also checked out the local zoo. Dylan was not a fan of his porta crib so he wasn't the best sleeper but other than that we had a great time. Action shots below!

A view of the pirate ship. Dylan is holding a plastic egg playing 'keep a way' with the little girl.

Going down the baby slideAnd back upGoing down the big slide with mom - bracing for impact!

Petting the goats at the zooHamming it up for a photo. He thought it was hilarious to stick his head through the holes.Dylan's first trip to mom's favorite college bar the KK! Sorry Dyl, 20 more years and I'll buy you a famous lunch box shot.