There's a New Sheriff in Town!

I finally found a costume that Mat and I both agreed on, and I must say that Mathew made a pretty cute sheriff! He was a quite a hit wherever we went. He was also a lion earlier in the week when we attended the Dubuque Halloween parade. I still need to upload that pic, which was pretty darn cute as well (thanks Jen for the costume).





Our week was full of Halloween festivities. It seems like Halloween is becoming less and less about the actual trick or treating on the night of and more and more about the other organized events at churches or in the community. Monday night, he and I (Daddy had class) attended the parade. It was so much fun, and he loved it! Wednesday night we took him trick or treating at the college. Saturday night, he got dressed up once again to attend a Halloween fundraiser party for Unicef. I wasn't feeling well, so Daddy took him to this event. Then, today we took MJ trick or treating at the local grocery store. It was such a cute idea. They had trick or treating stations at each area of the store...handed out milk at the dairy, apple in the produce section, cookie in the bakery, etc. Such a cute idea for kids! Then, we had our traditional pot of soup for dinner (white chicken chili this year), and handed out candy from home to the trick-or-treaters.






This pic was taken as he was zipping down the dorm hallways looking for candy. Neither Mat or I could begin to believe how much he caught on to the whole trick or treating thing! I fully expected to carry him and him to act shy. But he was knocking on the student's doors, smiling away, and grabbing candy out of the bowls and tossing it in his bag.



What a great Halloween week we had! I just love Halloween, and it's even so much better to see it through MJ's eyes as he begins to enjoy it on his own as well. I think he might be a little disappointed tomorrow when we don't take him anywhere to rack up some more candy! ;)

Is Dubuque Where It's At?!?

My jury is still out, but maybe Iowa's not so bad after all. Thanks to my mom for sending this article our way. Click on this post's title for an article about the best small towns to raise a family.



This was a picture I snapped late this summer while my friend Kelley was here visiting. This "elevator" which is basically a cable car runs downtown, just a short walk from our home.

Dubuque is still becoming home for us, but we have been impressed with the many family friend options of things to do. Hopefully we can make some friends this year and make it feel a bit more like home. Who knows what the future will hold for us, but Dubuque is home for now!

Pumpkin Picking

What a difference a year makes! Last October was quite cold; we even had our first flurries during the first weekend of October. When we went to look at pumpkins, we just kind of plopped MJ down among the pumpkins and were mesmerized as he explored them.




This October has been quite warm...temps in the 80's this past weekend. When we tried to get him to pose with pumpkins for the traditional picture, I captured this sweet face of our hot and tired toddler.



He was busy and on the go, but such a great helper! I just love this photo. MJ adores his daddy and loves to be a helper. They were on the hunt for the perfect pumpkin...well Mat was, anyways. MJ was just having fun with the wagon of course!



Last year I remember how MJ's face lit up as he watched his daddy feed the goats. It was his first time being around many animals and he seemed full of joy just watching them.



This year, MJ was full of that same joy, but he loved petting and feeding the animals. He was amazed by all the chicks. There were hundreds of them! When he went in to the goat feeding area, he wasn't timid at all. I think he felt like they were dogs and just went around petting and following them all.



We had such a wonderful time this weekend, not only at the pumpkin patch but with friends and family in Naperville, IL. My dear friend, Shannon lives there with her hubby and adorable baby girl.



We were able to spend some time with them as well as visit with family and friends that were in town to run in the Chicago marathon. It was such a wonderful weekend!

18 Month Pics

Click on the title to see pictures from MJ's 18th month!

18 Month Stats

Mathew had his 18 month Well Baby Visit last Friday. This was one of the first appointments where he didn't start crying the moment we walked in the office. He was actually sitting in his diaper just playing and laughing when the doctor came in. Perhaps actually being away from the doctor for 6 months helped his memory fade. This year we won't have to be going for the monthly synagis shot, so it should be a more normal fall and winter (fingers crossed).

He weighed in at 23.8 lbs, and was in the 20th percentile for weight. He measured 31.5 inches long and was in the 25th percentile for height. His noggin' took the lead with the 40th percentile with a head circumference of 47.5 cm. He received 5 shots! Poor guy! He didn't like that part of course, but we have been so lucky in that he never seems to get crabby or run a fever or demonstrate any kind of reaction to shots. When we go for his 2 year check up, he won't have to have any shots. Hooray!

We even bought MJ his own potty the day after his appointment! We had been thinking about it, and then they encouraged us to go ahead and begin exposing him to it. He has made his own little sign language that he uses to tell us when he's dirty, so now if we can only figure out how to get him to signal us before he actually goes! I think we're still a ways away from full on potty training, but since he seems a tad interested in it, we'll play it by ear and see how it goes.