Halloween Howl

Last Saturday night we went to a Halloween event at the Nature and Science Center. They had some creepy animals and insects to pet, music, digging for bones in the dino pit, a night hike, and s'mores. I think the scariest part for me was when Eli pet the hissing cockroach...eew! We met the Klentzmans (Mia and her family) there. They had a blast, and we had another excuse to dress them up. Mia will be out of town for Halloween so we won't get to trick-or-treat with her this year. So, I got some pictures of the kiddos in their costumes last weekend. So cute!

Pumpkin Patch

Last week we (me, the boys, and Jen and the girls) went to visit the pumpkin patch in Elgin. I had heard good things about this pumpkin patch, so we made the long drive (about an hour) east of Austin. It was fun, but honestly I'm not sure it was worth the drive. We all rode together in the van, and I think Eli and Mia might have been more excited about riding in the back together than the actual pumpkin patch experience. It would've been more fun if it was closer. Anyway, they had farm animals to pet/feed, a crazy maze, pumpkin decorating, a hay ride, rubber duck races, and of course lots of pumpkins and pumpkin pictures.

Dance Party!

Our favorite place to hang out on a Friday or Saturday night these days is at Central Market. The reason is that they have good food, a great playground, and live music which the kids like to dance to up on the patio. We've found that a place with good food and a play area for kids is hard to come by for some reason. We usually go to CM with friends so that the kids can play while the adults actually have a conversation without many interruptions.
Eli has never been much of a dancer, at least not in front of a lot of people. However, when he's at Central Market, he loves to get on the dance floor and let loose! I think Mia had something to do with it. Once she leave the dance floor, he's not quite as brave. Apparently, Jed likes to be out on the dance floor, too. He just wants to do be a part of all the action! In these videos, Jed is interested in the tip bucket...smart kid! We need to get a good one of Eli dancing. He's just getting warmed up in these.

Eli and Mia

Mia is Eli's friend who we hang out with just about every day. It just so happens that her mom Jen and I are friends as well, and she also has a daughter about Jed's age. We have so much in common, it's scary! I've talked about Mia on the blog before. Anyway, Mia and Eli play really well together and have a lot of fun. As a matter of fact, they've told us they are getting married! The other day, we were at Locomotion, the jumpy place, and I went to check on them in the inflatable train. When I asked Eli if everything was alright, he said, "Yeah, Mom, we're getting married!" Then Mia pulls Eli back down by his foot and they disappear into the train. Okay. I don't know if I'm ready for this.

Mother's Day Out

I don't think I've mentioned anything about the MDO Eli has been going to. He started in September. It's a program where he goes one day a week from 9-12 and he gets a ballet class, a gymnastics class, and a swim class every time he goes. I think it's a great deal all around. Eli usually says he doesn't want to go, but by the time I pick him up he's had a blast! He also gets to take ballet and gymnastics with his friend, Mia. I need to go take some videos of him in action and post them here. Here's one of him showing us how he does a cartwheel and bow.

Miscellaneous

I don't know where Eli picked up this rock n' roll performance, but I think it's great!


Jed says several words now, but here is one of his favorites...



Eli has been interested in the camera lately. Here's a couple of his photos... I like the one he took of Jed.

Little Buckaroo Ranch

On Monday we went to a place called Little Buckaroo Ranch with a mom's meetup group. It's a small horse ranch near Bee Cave where the couple who lives there does field trips for kids. It was very well organized and kept the kid's interest, too. They sang songs, got kissed by goldfish, watered the horses, pet the bunny, rode in a tractor, pet a rooster, groomed the horse, fed the goats, and roasted marshmallows. We had a blast!

Fire Fest!

Last Saturday, we went to The Fire Fest in Buda, TX (about 20 min. south of us). It's a festival put on by the Buda Fire Dept. They had a fire fighter challenge where the fire fighters race while completing different tasks like climbing stairs, pulling the hoses up, and dragging/rescuing the dummy by dragging it to the finish line. Eli was amazed as he watched them race in the challenge. He stood perfectly still, had a straight face, and no talking! They also had many animals that I wasn't expecting to see, like a camel, a snake, big tortoises, a skink, goats, pigs, and horses. It was an interesting petting zoo! He got to feed the camel from his hand as well as the goats. Eli got to ride on a horse around in circles, which he thought was fun. We called it a fire horse, so he thought that was cool. Eli wore his full fire fighter gear, and all the fire fighters there thought that was great. He got several compliments and comments and smiles and waves. Mammy was with us and got to join in on the fun. It was a rainy day, but we braved the weather and went. I'm glad we did! Eli was in heaven!

Jed turns 1!

This past Tuesday, the 22nd, Jed officially turned ONE! It is hard to believe. Where did the year go? We had a small party last Sunday with family and friends at our house. Jed loved all the attention!











Eli & Mia












Jed & Eleanor











Jed & Cousin Grayson













Jed saying "uh oh"

Trash Truck Dance

Last weekend John and Eli got to go to see The Trash Project, a performance where trash trucks, cranes, dead animal pick-up trucks, and other trucks were choreographed to music. They had actual city workers driving and operating the trucks, and the music was all live. Read more about it here http://www.forkliftdanceworks.org/projects/trash_project/
It was Eli's dream come true! It got rave reviews. Apparently you didn't have to be 3 years old to think it was amazing. John said it was one of the coolest things he's seen as did other people who went. They had to turn away close to 1,000 people! Only in Austin would people be excited about seeing trucks dance to music!

I Stink

This is Eli reciting a whole book, almost word for word. The book is "I Stink" by Kate & Jim McMullan. We checked it out at the library and it came with a CD to follow along with while reading. Needless to say, Eli absolutely loves this book and has memorized it! We might have to purchase this one. I read that memorizing books like Eli does is a pre-reading skill. We can't skip any pages or any words while we read books to him anymore. I think learning to read might be in Eli's near future! We better get busy!

Silly Jed

Jed likes to make us laugh! Lately he's been putting food on his head. Not smearing it in his hair as much, just placing on top of his head and then waiting for a laugh from us.
















He's also figured out how to play the kazoo. It's hillarious when he crawls around with it in his mouth while playing it. That's talent! Maybe we have a musician on our hands!

Dress Up

Eli loves to dress up like any 3 year old should. Last week, I found the perfect fireman costume at Costco. It seems authentic...the colors, the material, the hooks on the coat, the reflective stripes, the red suspenders, even the built in gloves on the coat. It is the perfect fireman costume, and I think Eli would agree. He's worn some part of the costume every day since I got it. He calls it his fireman gear, which is appropriate. As you might notice, he and Freddy the Fire dog match now!





















We found another jump house called Locomotion Inflatables that is about 2 minutes from our house! I like it much better than Goin' Bananas because of the layout, better baby area, and the dress up area. They have rooms for the kids to pretend and dress up, like a little town. There's a vet, a diner, a theatre, a grocery store, and a mechanic shop. Eli spends most of his time in that area and takes breaks to jump. We meet friends there every Wednesday to play. It's funny because it seems like every time I look up to check on Eli, he's dressed as something different! I got some pictures of him as the veterinarian. I wish I had some of him as a chef and Scooby Doo, too.

Father/Son Bonding Time