Rock-a-Bye Baby...

So remember when I said Carl likes to climb into the rocking chair to help him wake up?

Last night, Jon and I heard Carl make a little noise about an hour after we put him down for bed. Now my internal dialogue at this point was, "Oh great. He's not asleep yet. We're in for a fun night. That 4 HOUR nap was maybe a little much for him and now he's going to have a hard time sleeping tonight." Turns out...

He was just trying to get comfortable! I moved him to his bed and he laid right down. At 1 am, when I heard him next, I checked on him and he was back in the rocking chair. What a cutie! Maybe I should have just reclined the chair a little bit and left him alone?!

Palm Trees to Bare Trees

More to come from our visit to Hawaii but first...

Daddy was kind enough to keep some leaves on the ground for us to play in when we got back to the mainland. We kinda missed peak colors in our yard while we were gone, but playing in leaves is just about as fun. He did a lot of raking while we were gone, but we have a big yard with lots of leaves so it worked out well. Both Brianna and Carl were excited about the piles, Brianna a little more so, as you can tell she just wanted to be buried. They played a long while and didn't want to come in the house when it was time. They were so used to their Auntie Laura's house in Hawaii, where they just let themselves in and out to the backyard all day long. It's a good thing for meal times to coax them back in!

B even got into the spirit of raking and started to help. She has a small wheelbarrow too that she tried putting leaves into before her brother would come and knock it over. I think next year we'll have to look for a child sized rake because the pooper scooper rake, a manageable size for a child, is not meant for leaves (plus it's kinda gross if you think about it - oh well!).

Freedom From Crib Walls

Carl has made a huge leap in growing up since getting back from Hawaii; he no longer sleeps in a crib! We removed the outside railing and put on the guard rail, so he is now in a big boy bed. I wasn't sure if he was ready or not, but while we were in Hawaii, it seemed he would have rather slept on the air mattress that I was on, rather than the pack and play that we set up for him. It seems crazy that I've just switched his world around after all the craziness that has been going on, but he loves it. It's amazing how you just seem to know, and how they seem to "tell" you that they are ready for something more. It's fun to reach milestones in their lives! Most mornings he just hangs out on his bed till I open his door. He doesn't really cry anymore in the morning, just talks and laughs until I get in there. A few times now I've found him on the floor curled up but he looks so cozy so I don't bother moving him!

One morning I thought I heard him, but he wasn't crying or anything, so I went in and found him rocking himself in the rocking chair in his room. He just looked at me and smiled as if to say, "I'm awake, but I'm still waking up. I'll come out when I'm ready." Sure enough, I left him and he came out in something like 4 minutes. Too cute!

We've also discovered that this little guy is a climber. He climbs in his bed just fine, but for an added challenge he goes over the guard rail. Plus, his sister sleeps on a twin mattress with a box spring and a bed frame, then there's the guard rail on her bed - he climbs up and over that. If it's accessible, he'll climb it!

Second Star to the Right and Straight On Till Morning

Last year for Halloween, my 2 local sisters and I thought it would be fun to coordinate and do themed costumes for the kids. It was so much fun to see them all together that we thought to do it again! This year's theme for Halloween were characters from Peter Pan. But since I was in Hawaii right before Halloween and my sister there helped me with Brianna and Carl's costumes, AND she said it wouldn't be too much to do a couple more costumes... All 7 cousins got in on the adventure this year! We were able to capture Wendy and Tiger Lily for a photo while we were still in Hawaii and caught Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and Smee back in Minnesota. 

Every year since Brianna was born, we dress up and go into to Jon's work for a little in door trick-or-treating. People who want to participate in seeing trick-or-treaters puts up a little pumpkin on their cubicle wall and bring in treats for all the kids that come by. It's so nice to be able to walk around in the warmth and see all the other fun costumes that other kids wear. People were a little confused about who Carl was, but that was just fine, he still looked cute! One person said, "Oh, what a cute little monster!"(play on words intended) 

After that fun ended, we went home, grabbed some dinner, and decided to walk around our block. We already had plenty of candy, but since we skipped out on our neighborhood the last few years, we thought it would be fun to see our neighbors and show off our cuties. Enjoy the fun!

My precious Tinker Bell and Crocodile! 

A classic duo, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell! 

Here's Wendy, Tiger Lily, Crocodile, and Tink! 

Never mind the person behind the crocodile... you don't see anything...

The rivalry continues!

Check out more pictures of the Pirates on my sister's blog.