There Once was a Princess and a Dragon

I was really excited for Halloween this year becuase I thought it would be really fun to find some sort of "matching" costumes for the kids. While at a Carter's outlet one day, I saw some cute princess stuff on sale and decided we would have our very own fairy tale story of the princess and the dragon. I then found a super cute dragon costume at Gymboree (which I had a gift card for) and we were set! Our day started out with my parents bringing the kids to my school for the parade and my class party. Hannah and Cameron were the hit of the party and my 6th graders loved them! The weather was nice for the parade in which the kids peacfully rode along in the stroller. Then we headed upstairs to my classroom. Hannah got a plate full of goodies, and Cameron got passed around almost the whole time. They had a blast!

After naptime, some playing, and a Jack-O-Latern pizza, we were off to Trick-or-Treat. Again, we just did the short part of our culd-e-sac, but that was plenty for our fairy tale characters. Once we got home, Hannah enjoyed handing out candy about as much as getting it. It was a fun night and I think it will just get more and more fun every year!

I also have to add these two pictures of our "Adoraboo" son and "Little Pumpkin" daughter! Man...they both look so big!!!

The Quest for 11

Our St. Louis Cardinals had quite the season this year and for us fans it was full of ups and downs. In August, our post-season hopes were slim and most fans were talking about next season. However, the Cards made a historic run and came from 10.5 games back and squeaked into the post-season as the Wild Card team. And it wasn't over there. The Cardinals continued to win each series and became the National League champions. Onto the World Series! It was an exciting series, especially game 6 which will live on in baseball history. After winning their 11th World Series, Cardinal Nation came out in full force for a celebratory parade. My parents and I went to this in 2006 and we decided it was a must for our family. This afternoon, we all made the trip downtown for the parade. My parents scoped out the beginning of the parade route, or actually the "pre-parade" route and it was a perfect spot for our family. He had a great time cheering on our Redbirds and seeing them with their families.

Six Month Stud

Six months -- half a year -- I truly can't believe it! Cameron is starting to really come into his own personality. And it is one that we just love! For the most part, he is one happy, smiley, fun-loving boy. While he still gets fussy when he's over tired or ready to eat,. the rest of the time he is happy. What makes his personality really show are his expressions. He has the most expressive eyes that shine when he is happy! Cam is still our big boy! We don't go to the doctor until next month, but he is pushing just over 20 lbs. according to our estimate. Our son doesn't miss too many meals! Right now, he can squeeze into some 6-9 month clothes, but 12 month definitely fit better. He takes 4 bottles a day and each have 7 oz. for a total of 28/day. He also eats three meals a day including cereal for breakfast, and both a veggie and fruit for both lunch and dinner. He continues to sleep great at night going to bed around 7:30-8:00 and is up between 7:00-7:30 the next morning. Naps still aren't super consistent, but we get by with a short one in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon. Cameron also continues to amaze us with his strength. He is sitting up pretty well unassisted and only topples over when he is getting tired. He has also now figured out how to scoot himself across the floor to get where he wants go and what he wants in his hands. He will lift himself up into a push up position and propel his body forward to move. I don't think it really matters that he isn't "officially crawling" because I think he is going to start going fast here soon. We continue to be amazed at our beautiful baby boy and feel blessed to call him our son!

Football Fever

We are sports family, no doubt, and it is always exciting when the football season begins, especially for Tim. While I will be the first to admit that I am ready for it to be over in February, I too enjoy the new seasons. Our favorite teams to cheer on are the Wisconsin Badgers, the Green Bay Packers and of course our alma mater, the WIU Leathernecks. Within the first few weeks, we had celebrated each of these teams.

Early in the Badger season, we headed up to Kyle & Nikki's so the four of us could go to Camp Randall and cheer on Wisconsin. Tim became friends with a season ticket holder after going to the Rose Bowl in January and she hooked us up with some tickets. It was a warm day in Madison, but we had tons of fun! Here are the four of us cheering "On Wisconsin!"

We also, of course, root for the Green Bay Packers. We didn't get a chance to cheer them on in person, but got a nice family picture of Tim, Hannah & Cameron all sporting their green and gold.

Finally, we made our annual trip to Macomb to meet up with our great college friends for WIU Homecoming. What a great weekend as always! This year, we stayed out at the Christian camp that some of our friends grew up at and stayed up way too late talking! The next day, our celebration continued with the homecoming parade, the football game, and eating at two of our favorite places. Here we are with some of our favorite people!