Happy Fall!

We took some bubble bath pictures, the only problem was that it got really slippery in the tub so I had to help Pete balace a little!! We'll try it again in a week or two when he's a little stronger.

Speaking of strong, he still isn't crawling, just rolling, scooting, dragging... but he can push him self up to sitting on his own. I'd say this is his favorite thing to do these days. he looks so proud of himself and likes to look around and pick up his toys. He is grabbing onto the edge of tables, toys and his crib to try and pull himself up- sometimes he does it!

This baby yoga pose is the start of him sitting up usually.

We ran the Octoberfest half marathon in LaCrosse this weekend! My mom and dad also trained for it this summer and ran too so it was fun to do it as a big family. I got a new  PR (1:44) and dad also did. (He hadn't done one before!) Mom had only run a half marathon faster as a part of a whole marathon... After we were done running we just got lunch from the grocery store and then went to Myrick Park to eat, play and stretch out for a while.

Pete was glad we did that instead of going to a restaurant to eat!! My parents thought it was funny that he was "talking" so much. He is starting to yell and make noises that sound like a baby hawk- (He is going to be a Winhawk some day!)

That night we took a family walk at SMU as it was getting dark. When we got out of the car, we made the same deal we always do: Erin takes care of Pete and Garrick takes care of Scooter.

Me taking care of Pete:                    

Garrick taking care of Scout:

We are still pulling burrs off of Scout 2 days later. He sure had a lot of fun though!

Triathlon!!!!!

We went to Devil's Lake for the triathlon as we do every year. Last year, Pete and I watched- I was so tired and didn't think that I would be able to haul myself up and down the hills... This year I didn't have an excuse so the racers were me and Garrick and my dad!

 

It wasn't as cold as it can be at the start, but it was still pretty chilly! Pete was bundled up and checking out what was going on. He was a little overwhelmed by all of the people and was not his usual smiley self. I think he is learning the whole "stranger" thing and that gets him once in a while.

The swim went really well for all three of us! There were very few waves, the sun was out and no one got stuck in a big mob getting splashed. My dad gets the prize for the best swim out of the group.

The bike is hilly- there are no hills as big as the one at Trinona, but there are 3 or 4 BIG climbs and a few smaller ones. Garrick has been biking so much this year that it was no big deal to him and he def gets the prize out of the three of us.

The run is flat, out and back, and through a campground. I got the prize for the best run out of the group- under 23 min! However....

Garrick is the only one of us that got an actual prize! He placed 2nd in his age group which is one of the toughest groups- lots of fast young guys! He also was 22nd overall. Not bad considering he didn't practice swimming at all and has run only once in a while this year.

Pete got the orange eater award- we thought it might hurt his tummy, but he loved the slices and just sucked and sucked on it. (That is Paul holding him- one of the ski patrolers- he and Joni and Sue came to watch the race and hang out for a while- so fun to see them :) )

Can't wait til next year!!

Pete + Grandma = True Love

Pete says- I can do it myself!! He loves to stand and play with his "incrediblock". It has lights, buttons to push, and a ledge that he can hang onto and pull himself up on! He is so proud of himself.

Grandma Viv hadn't seen Pete for a while- so she came to baby sit Pete on Monday while I was at work. I think that they had a pretty fun day together. They sat and played with blocks, wa†ched the dogs play and read books. Pete sat on her lap after lunch, read a book with her and mom thought- wow is he sitting still!, He never is that still- she looked down and he was out like a light.

Summer in September

We are still having cool foggy mornings, but the afternoons are so warm and sunny, we got to be out a lot this weekend in the sun at our neighborhood block party and we went out on our neighbor's pontoon boat this afternoon. We said we could have skied since it was so warm though!

Pete even got to help Tom AKA "Old Man Nelson" drive the boat! We couldn't find a brimmed hat so the Pooh hat made another appearance... the kid is going to be wearing that hat until he is 6. He also got to hang out with his "favorite friend" Julie. 

He also has graduated from sitting in his car seat in the grocery store to sitting in the cart- I think that he's a little scared though... he hangs on pretty tight. But he does like to look around, see all of the colors and people and grab at everything that I'm putting in the cart. 

We have been feeding Pete solid food for a few months now, we have been using his bouncy chair or bumbo and are sitting on the floor or putting him on the table (not a very safe idea, since he can crawl out of both) so we started to look for a high chair that we liked. We didn't want plastic since we are going to have it around for a long time and the wood options are limited. Garrick's mom offered us HIS high chair- a chair that grows with the kid- The use them at her house as regular chairs... but it didn't have the cushions or the high chair rail- SO we got to work- we bought them ($80!!) and realized they didn't work with such an old chair- so Garrick made the bar and I made the cushion. We just have to add the webbing and a seat belt and we are set to go! We love the chair- it just sits up to the table. 

Now, I know every mom says that her baby is the cutest, smartest, sweetest... but Pete really is!! He figured out (with the help of his grandpa ida) how to send his mama flowers at school on my first day back! I wasn't totally thrilled about going back, and was worried about how Pete was doing and in the middle of the day a bunch of sunflowers (my fav) and a note came to me! The note said- "I'm OK mom, BUT HURRY! love, Pete." 

SEE-- I DO have the smartest, sweetest, cutest, most loveable little boy in the world! :) (My dad isn't too bad either!) 

life as a day care kid

We have started day care this week- Pete is starting to get the hang of sleeping in a room with another baby, eating with another kid and learning to make messes with other kids! Ryland is 14 monthes and he is also getting used to having another baby around, but I know Pete loves to watch Ryland and see what a big kid does all day. Here they are playing with a bin of oatmeal that she lets them spread out all over the floor, then they sweep it up and do it again the next day!

Here Pete is on his way into see Susan. He says, "see mom, i'm so cute and sweet- you don't want to leave me!!" He actually does like it and  they get along great... I'm learning to deal with it as well. 

4th of july... i mean Labor Day weekend!

We went up to Garrick's parent's house this weekend for a 4th of July Party... a little late! They always have a party for the 4th, but Linka was in California and Erika wasn't in MN, so she waited until all of her kids and grandkids were in town. It was so fun to see all of the family and lots of friends that are almost family at their house- we played croquet, ate lots of good food and Pete and Benj got passed around for everyone to play with. As you can see, Pete was very tired by the end of it- but found a great place to nap.

Pete has been sitting up for longer periods of time and can push up so well on his arms and knees and is still scooting a little bit to get to toys and other key items (the dog). We were outside the other day and this is what I saw- he had pulled himself up with the toy bar and was sitting there looking SO proud of himself!

We also have been starting to use our bike trailer a little bit- we have used it for running and walking a lot this summer but now think that Pete is big enough to hold himself steady to go for hour rides or so. We biked to Trempleau along the river and through Perrot State Park, Garrick had to deal with the humiliation of me dropping him up a hill (I caught him off guard- it didn't happen again!), Pete slept and I got to take pictures, watch for traffic, and keep an eye on Pete.

Summer is officially over, school starts tomorrow and Pete starts day care 5 hours a day, 5 days a week- wish us luck!!

Good bye summer

We have started to use our bike trailer on short trips around town- once in a while we get crazy and use the tandem with it- we get a lot of funny looks- that's for sure!!

Pete has started day care this week, it is going pretty well... we both have our days that we are lonely I think- but 10:30- 3 isn't such a long day!! 

He's taking more and more interest in the animals- he pets, pulls and smiles and yells at poor Scout, but Scout is so happy to lie and take it as long as he get some licks in too!!

We had some speical visitors from CA!! Erika, Bobby and Benj came to visit us for the day in Winona- they came back for the MN state fair and a family/friends visit. We took a walk around WInona, went to the playground for Ben to play at and had dinner at Bubs. It was so fun to see the kids and how different they are at just one year apart. We are going to the cities this weekend to visit some more with them and the rest of Garrick's family. 

Pete is now able to sit up pretty well on his own and suck his thumb- he is also scooting all over the place. He can roll to get to whatever he wants to and is also starting to push his feet up under his butt to push himself forward.