Halloween Party!

On Wednesday, we were invited to an impromptu Halloween party for the kids at my friend Shannon's house. Now, my definition of "impromptu" is much different than Shannon's! As you may remember, she is the Hostess with the Mostest (her son Iggy had an amazing 1st brithday party in June)! She had a lovely lunch, all kinds of toys and activites set up for the kids, and a giant pumpkin hollowed out for the kids to take picture inside.

This group of babies, toddlers, and moms is a new playgroup we plan to spend lots of time with! Unfortunately, we've been busy this fall and haven't been able to get to many of the gatherings. Hopefully that will change because Logan and Iggy have so much fun together! And, of course, its so fun for me to be with all these new mommies!

Logan and I were a little late arriving because we have another commitment on Wednesday mornings. so, once Logan woke up from a good nap, then we went over to catch the second half of the super fun party! I brought Logan's costume along, but I didn't make him wear it. Believe it or not...I don't even have a single Halloween shirt or anything for Logan this year. Last year, when he was so little, I had tons of festive onesies and sleepers for him. Oh well!!

Iggy showing Logan his drum set...

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Logan decided he could just drum on the pumpkin while Iggy played his cymbals.

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Logan was seriously in love with this pumpkin...he couldn't get enough! Lula's parents grew it in their yard! But stay tuned because Logan was not a huge fan of being inside the pumpkin...

Logan checking out the gadget table...we don't have anything like that at home!

Our friend Iggy is always all smiles!

Logan and Iggy were so funny! There were millions of toys to play with and they were soooo interested in all the baby gear (jumperoo, exersaucer, swing, etc).

Laura made these adorable Halloween brownies...yum!

This is what Logan thought of being inside the pumpkin...

Lula and Iggy both seemed to enjoy the pumpkin a little more!

Home Sweet Home

Just another manic Monday...glad to be home!

Logan often gives the "book" sign when he wakes up, wanting a little story time first thing. I just love the "just barely awake baby look", you know what I'm talking about?! Logan has started to wave at everything and everyone...

Logan takes after John, choosing to spend lots of time in the garage when we head outside to play.

There's probably only a few nice days left with weather warm enough to spend much time outside...we're taking full advantage! Logan likes to wear his sunglasses, then take them off and put them on again. He also like to wear them and dance around like a "cool guy".

Logan loves walking around with his "popper". We go all over the neighborhood with this thing!

Checking out the dragon costume! Logan loves it this time! Its been hanging on our pantry door for weeks, and he's become quite good friends with it! He he his kissing the dragon/himself in the mirror!

Bath time is still usually super fun...especially when Daddy does the baths. Its his specialty these days! Logan loves to play and splash in the water.

Another Beautiful Wedding

What a busy week we had! On Wednesday, we frantically packed up and headed for Stillwater to spend the night before heading out for John's brother's wedding in North Carolina. We had a relaxing night playing in the leaves at Papa and Nana's house, enjoying a big dinner with Kyle and Ali, Amy and Andrew, and my parents.

On Thursday, my mom took us to the airport where we met John's parents for the big trip. Thankfully we left from the Humphrey Terminal in Minneapolis, so we didn't have to fight crowds. Logan was exccellent on the flight (only two hours, thank goodness!) despite a runny nose. We were worried his ears would bother him, but he did great! We even let him watch DVDs and try a lollipop for the first time (anything to get him to sit still for even just a few minutes!).

We met up with John's sister, Jenny at the airport when her flight arrived from West Virginia where she is interning at the University Hospital for Dietetics. We haven't seen her since the end of August, so it was great to catch up! From the airport, we headed 3 hours into the mountains to our beautiful lodging for the weekend. Eiselt's rented a vacation home in the Trillium Village in Cashiers, NC. It was AMAZING. I meant to take pictures, but didn't get a chance with all the business of the weekend. Of course, the fall colors were at "peak", so we enjoyed marvelous views all weekend.

Friday included some preparation and the rehearsal dinner. Since John officiated the wedding (his first of several soon to come!), he spent lots of time preparing and making sure details were all set. John did a really marvelous job with the ceremony and the message. It was so amazing to see him take such a special role in his own brother's wedding. It was emotional for all of us and such a beautiful day! Scott and Jessica did a great job of really making the day reflect who they are as a couple. Thanks for such a great celebration!

Logan and John at the rehearsal dinner

Logan had fun walking around, exploring the site...with cell phone in tow! Logan is actually running, now and its getting hard to keep up!

Cousins Jack, Joe and Kate Eiselt from Charlotte, NC. The "unofficial" host family - they did so much work locally to help Scott and Jessica's day be perfectly planned!

Rehearsal dinner paviliion

The cousins loved entertaining Logan!

Logan looked so cute in his little outfit! Like a little boy, not a baby! He was such a trooper this weekend. Deprived of sleep and fighting a nasty cold, he was a very well behaved and loveable little guy all weekend long!

Logan had fun playing around in the chapel while we waited for the ceremony to begin.

With just enough pews for family to sit, the 25-ish group filled this lovely chapel for the ceremony.

Serenity Chapel from outside

The chapel was just beautiful with the surrounding woods. This was a little pre-ceremony Eiselt pow-wow. We had family pictures right before the ceremony began, so we waited for the bride's family to arrive before taking our seats in the small chapel.

All the Eiselt boys! Bob, Jack, Scott, Logan & John, Joe, and Tom

Jessica: the beautiful (and so relaxed!) bride!

The New Eiselt Couple!

This is the only family picture we got from the day of the wedding, but the photographer took many where I think Logan was even smiling! Hopefully I'll be able to post some once they're available!

At the reception, cousins and family had so much fun playing with Logan!

What a fun trip and what a special celebration! Congratulations Scott and Jessica!

"Ball"

"Ball" is officially Logan's favorite word. He only has a few: "uh-oh", "hot", and "ball". Logan has quite the stash of balls to play with in his toy bins, so we hear this word very frequently! His newest and favorite past time is putting the balls into buckets, bowls, or anything that will hold them (as you see with the strainer in these photos!). Then he runs around the house with them, taking the ball out, putting it someplace special, making sure to get our attentions so we see how wonderful his skills are, then picking the ball back up and finding a new exciting location to travel to and repeat! I have to say, I am thankful he enjoys keeping himself busy - even if only for a few minutes!

Concentrating!

Could this be any cuter?!

Hopper Boots

I'd been anxious for Logan to by sturdy on his feet so I could pull out the rain boots on a wet day. Well, Logan is walking very well and its been raining for two days! So, we put the little hopper boots on Logan's feet and went out to splash in some puddles! Logan was just so interested in his feet, he couldn't really concentrate on walking or splashing, he just wanted to play with the froggie on his feet!

We ended up carrying him around quite a bit because it was hard for him to walk in his heavy boots!

The most fun was once we came inside. For about 30 minutes, Logan played with his rain boots, walking them around, taking them to their spot in his room, then out again, then to the stairs, and so on! It was so funny! He wouldn't even stop for a minute so I could take his jacket off. Busy, busy boy!

A Must See

Yesterday we had the best time with our photographer in Minneapolis. Our favorite part is that Ben is a friend of ours with tons of talent who fit us in to a busy schedule. Even though Logan is almost 14 months, I consider these his "one year photos". The wait ended up being great because he is walking so well now.

The photos far exceed my expectations...I don't really know what to say except that the slideshow is "a must see". Ben comes highly recommended by us, so check out his website (and our photo slideshow, too!!). Here's how: click on the link below and see Ben's post "LJ on the move". Right below the post is a link to click and see the slideshow.

www.bdphotography.blogspot.com

Wow. Thanks so much, Ben! It was a blast and you are so talented! Can't wait to get some prints!