Halloween at the Zoo (Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison)

The Henry Vilas Zoo has a Halloween day every year.  Since Brady is young enough to not really know that the long, long, long, long lines are people trying to get candy, we were able to just put the boys in their costumes and walk around and see the animals and other kids in costume.  This year was the first year Brady was able to decide on his own costume and he chose Superman.  Nathan is using the hot dog costume that we bought 2 years ago for Brady's first Halloween.  The weather was great, sunny and about 60 degrees.  Here are some pics of the cutest Superman and Hot dog you will see!  ;) (We did forget to bring Superman's cape, but we'll remember it when he goes trick-or-treating this weekend!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween Fun

Pumpkin decorating time.  We decided not to carve them this year since Brady surely would have put up a fight about not being able to use a knife, and instead Momma found some really cute, foam Halloween stickers at Michael's.  They turned out to be GREAT for decorating pumpkins and Brady had a blast.  Here are a few pics of the decorating fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Bring on the squash!

Well, after almost 2 weeks of rice cereal for dinner, we decided it was time for Nathan to move on to the veggies.  This time around, Momma has decided to make our baby food...or at least until she decides she's sick of it.  Although, it is definintely a LOT cheaper than buying the Gerber foods that we used for Brady, which are now selling for about $1.22 for 2 little containers.  For the $2, or however much the squash cost, we got two ice cube trays full!  The website that I have been referencing for the homemade baby food suggests pouring the puree into ice cube trays (as each "cube" is approximately 1oz and 1 serving for baby) and freezing.  After the puree freezes into the cubes, you just pop them out and put them in little ziploc bags and store for later use. 

Here's the squash before: (Why the two separate baking pans, you ask?  Well, my other, larger baking dish is sitting in the fridge with leftovers in it and I was too lazy to clean it up)

and after: (yes, I know my pouring was a bit sloppy, but it tastes the same, nonetheless!)

Nathan getting ready for his first taste

Not too sure about this foreign flavor!

Well, actually, that's pretty good, Momma!

 

Happy squash eater

So, he'll have squash for dinner a few more nights (just to make sure he tolerates it well enough before moving on)  What to try next??  Maybe sweet potatoes, or peas??

 

Pickin' Pumpkins

Saturday we hit up a pumpkin farm with some friends.  The day was not as fun as momma was hoping for.  It was freezing cold and very windy-it was even snowing on our drive there!  Yes, October 10th in WI brought us our first snow.  (Nothing that stuck to the ground, thankfully!) We forgot Brady's jacket at home.  Luckily, he was wearing 3 shirts and we had his hat and mittens, but he was still freezing and had to wrapped in a blanket and carried around the entire time. He was also miserable because he was a bit "backed up" and his tummy was hurting him.  (Also part of the reason he was upset and wanting to be carried the entire day.) Nathan was not happy being confined in his sling and also had to be carried.  Carrying a 16lb baby and a, nearly, 30lb child for 2+ hours=extremely sore arms the next day!  On the bright side, we got to spend time with good friends and came home with 2 good looking pumpkins.  Fun day for the Paczesnys at the pumpkin farm; maybe next year!?!  :) 

Brady's face here explains just how happy he was the whole day

There were goats and a few other farms animals

Corn maze

Checking out the already picked pumpkins

We decided to take the hayride to the field and pick our own pumpkins

Nathan was nice and cozy warm and fell asleep on the hayride

And after picking our pumpkins we went inside to warm up and have some lunch.  This is Brady playing with our friend Kylie

 

Fall Fun

Well, the leaves are falling and it's time to start cleaning up the yard a bit.  I made the mistake of thinking that this year would be easier-you know, Brady would be more into helping rather than hindering, as was the case last year.  I couldn't have been more wrong!  It was almost pointless to even try to accomplish any raking with Brady around.  As soon as I had a good pile, it was quickly destroyed.  So, I gave up for a while and started taking pictures of the handsome little devil instead.

 

These last three images are courtesy of Photography by Brady...he's getting to be pretty good with the camera!

And this is what sweet baby Nathan did while Momma and Brady worked/played outside this morning

 

Let's get caught up!

Momma is finally going to start working on the blog...obviously, Daddy has not been to good at keeping it up to date! ;P

Brady has since turned 2, and is seriously acting as such. He is busting out new words and phrases everyday. His latest comedic line came this past Saturday when he was looking for his Daddy and he said to me, "Where the heck is he?" He is also becoming VERY independent, finding the need to do everything himself...and yes, that does mean it takes 30 minutes to put on a pair of socks-with lots of frustration and screaming along the way. He is also into pouring his own drinks and snacks into their cups and bowls. He is such an awesome big brother! He loves Nathan and is always wanting to kiss and hug him. Brady has also recently started his first swimming lessons. He was a little hesitant the first night, but he now loves it and talks about swimming all the time!

Nathan is now 5 months old and has had several recent milestones; he started eating "solids"-rice cereal is on his menu now and we will start adding fruits and veggies once he gets the 'eating off a spoon' thing figured out. He has also finally figured out rolling from his back to his tummy, after rolling tummy to back at 3 months. He is able to sit up unsupported for short periods, which Brady did not do until just about 6 months of age. And this past Sunday he was baptized. It is CRAZY how quickly the time is going with him! He is seriously the happiest baby we have ever seen and are so blessed to have him in our lives! He brings us sheer joy!

You will see a bunch of pictures to get us caught up to speed...Iam still trying to figure out how to use this so this posting will look a bit weird, I'm sure but I will try to be on top of new postings from here on out!