If you wouldn't mind...

Please say a quick prayer for these sweet red cheeks today. He has another appointment with the allergist regarding his poor skin. Thus far all of the blood work has come back normal but they may do more blood work or scratch tests today. We have been working to get this all under control for a very long time. Luckily up until recently it was not bothering him but now that we are getting colder weather he is beginning to scratch his cheeks and I am worried that it will scar. So if you have a few minutes we could use a couple of extra prayers this afternoon. Thank you!

Mommy Time and Mischief

I love mornings with Alex and Ben. They generally wake up around 7 and I don't start watching Sylvia until almost 9 a.m. Alex and Ben love that 2 hours of "mommy" time (Don't get me wrong, they love spending time with Sylvia but they definitely enjoy my undivided attention.). This morning they were in an especially good mood and were both getting into all sorts of stuff. Alex and Ben mischievous??? Never!! ;) One of the boys favorite pastimes lately is pulling all of the shoes out of the cabinet we have next to the front door. So I spend most of my day putting them back so that I don't trip on them but they LOVE it! They also like to get into the utensil drawer and pull things out....so I randomly find wooden spoons etc. in some very random places. Anyway here are some photos from our morning.

Alex and Ben trying to figure out how to unlock the wheels on their highchairs...highchair races of course.

Headed for more shoes...

Do you think these will fit?

I can....almost....reach...it....

GOT IT!

Me mischievous????

Never....we are too sweet!

One Last Glimpse

Last weekend after several weeks of cool/cold and rainy weather we got one final glimpse of Fall. It was beautiful sunny skies and low 70's! AWESOME! Although I had a huge list of things to do I couldn't help but spend some time outside with Jon and the boys. We went on a great walk and took the boys to the park one last time before it gets really cold and snowy. Alex and Ben had such a fantastic time. They got to run around in the grass, swing on the swings, and climb on the playground equipment. It is hard to think that by the time we visit the park again next spring the boy will almost be 2 years old. I can't even imagine it. They are growing and changing so quickly right now. Everyday they learn something new, say something new, do something new. Here are some (ok more than some) photos of our fabulous afternoon.

Preview---

Can you tell that the boys had a ton of fun?????

Pumpkin Patch 09

I can't believe it is October....let alone the end of October. I LOVE Fall and have been enjoying the beautiful weather and changing leaves. Things have been crazy as usual around here but we have been having a great time.

Last weekend we met 2 of my sisters, my brother in law and my nephew at a nearby pumpkin patch. As I think I may have mentioned before, generally in the Chicago area pumpkin patches consist of pumpkins that have been brought in for purchase and is in no way what I am used to growing up with. Once again this year we went to Sonny Acres Farm here in West Chicago. They have something going on basically year round. In October they decorate with piles of pumpkins, they also have a farm market, spook house, costume shop and all sorts of Fall displays and attractions scattered about. They also have a little festival or fair area where they have child rides, a petting farm, and fair food. It is actually very nice and we had a great time spending the afternoon with family. Graham got his face painted like a ninja turtle and had a blast. It was really busy and so the boys enjoyed the afternoon mainly from the stroller. They aren't quite big enough to be a part of most of the festivities but they loved being outside and enjoying the weather and company.

Here are some photos from our afternoon:

1 Year Photos

Ok so Alex and Ben turned one.....in May. I know what you are thinking...."You waited until August to get their photos done?!?!?" No but they were definitely late. We had them done in July. We had scheduled them originally for the first week in June but then it seemed like every week someone had a scratch or bruise on their face.......so we did a LOT of rescheduling. The last appt was originally set up when Jon could go with me to help out. Now that the boys are walking....or rather running...I knew I was definitely going to need his help. Unfortunately he wound up having to work but luckily my mother in law was in town and was willing to go with us. She had NO idea what she had gotten herself into (Thanks again Karen!!!!). Our appt was around 2 and they were so busy that they didn't even start taking the boys' photos until after 3. The boys were of course antsy but did well waiting. When they finally called our names the photographer came to get us and of course took us to the one photo area that is in the very front of the store next to the HUGE glass walls (This photography studio is in the mall.). It started out okay but quickly turned chaotic. The boys were so intrigued by all the people in the studio and all the people out in the mall that they did not want to sit still for photos AT ALL. The even better part is that I am running around like a crazy person trying to keep them both seated, standing, and positioned for the poor girl. Needless to say by the end of it all we had some good photos but I was EXHAUSTED and Alex and Ben were too. We finished up and she told us to come back in 30 minutes to view the photos.....it wound up being 2 HOURS! Here are some of the proofs. Some of these are much better cropped and edited but these are the photos that I have saved digitally. I will try to get a photo of the framed shots some other time.

Where do I begin?

Ok well if you haven't noticed and most of you probably haven't.....I may or may not have "forgotten" to blog for the past 6 weeks. Oops! Things have been crazy around here lately and they really show few signs of slowing down anytime in the next decade. So I will try to catch up this week on some of the highlights. I am working on a blog post now but I am waiting for the pictures to upload so hopefully it will be ready soon.