Weston is growing!

Good news on the home front: Weston continues to grow! We were never really worried, what with his milk, goldfish cracker, and bean soup consumption...but it is nice to see that he's holding his own in the world of 2 year olds. Here's the breakdown --

Weight: 29 lbs 12 oz (70th %ile)
Height: 36 1/2 inches (91st %ile)
Head Circumference: 19 3/4 inches (85th %ile)
Chin Dimple Depth: .20 cm
So in the last year, Westy has added over 5 pounds and 5 inches to his little frame. His head has grown by an inch (mouth by at least 2 inches), and his chin dimple has remained the same. The only healthy shot he needed to get was for the flu -- lucky boy! Daddy was with him and said Weston sat up and watched the nurse poke the needle into his little chicken thigh. His face turned bright red and he looked away and pouted. That was it! Amazing.

Miles and I decided we better get immunized against the flu bug too, so we went to the clinic after school/work. Weston came along for support. We opted for the nasal mist and it was slick. Literally! A little sniffling and we were done. Easy peasy.

Here's the happy two year old, proud of his newly documented dimensions --

And here are the brothers being silly on the stairs. A great place to play!

Until mommy intervenes and demands attention.

All in all it was a great day. Then someone lost his pants in a wrestling match and life came to a crashing hault. Bummer! Better luck next time, kiddo.

We love you, Westy doo-daa. We are proud of you for growing but it does make us a little sad to watch you become a big boy.... Thanks for being our happy little howler monkey!

Halloween: Take I

We got a jump start on Halloween tonight by attending a big party at the Owatonna Country Club. It was a spooktacular time! There were a few games, hair spray/painting, nail painting, pumpkin decorating, a hayride, haunted house, and plenty of food. Best of all, there were lots of friends!

Who invited the zoo animals?? Watch out for the monkey on the run!

Weston was so excited to be there with his best buddy, Jae the Pumpkin (or "ponkin").

Miles did a great job playing games, including this one that earned every kid a piece of candy regardless of which square they landed on...or didn't land on. Pretty sure a four year old created those rules.

It was about 65 degrees outside -- perfect for a hayride!

The kids quickly piled in the middle. Wise choice.

Cute little Finley (who ditched her elephant costume before we could even see it) and her cute little mom (dressed as Flo from Progressive Insurance) helped keep order on the wagon.

And now we have a pile of candy that needs to be eaten. I better get a start on it. As Miles pointed out, Halloween is only 8 DAYS AWAY! Isn't October going by SO FAST? (another Miles-ism)

Happy birthday to WESTY!

Weston celebrated his birthday in style today! His real birthday isn't until tomorrow...the 15th...but we got an early start. By late morning he was finally convinced that he is indeed having a birthday. Whenever we'd ask him whose birthday we were celebrating, he'd exclaim "Bapa!" He clearly forgot that both Grandpas already had their birthdays for the year :)
He was also a little confused over the whole age thing. With a birthday comes a new number. It's a hard concept to grasp, I know. So for the last several days, whenever he was asked how old he's going to be on his birthday he'd exclaim "ellow!" The cute little guy is so busy learning numbers and colors that he's getting them all mixed up. By this evening, though, he had it straightened out. Mostly.

We had a house full of family today and it was wonderful. We missed several key participants, though, including Hannah & Vivi, Uncle Evan and Auntie Beesie, Uncle Charlie, and Auntie Anne. But we talked about each of them on several occasions, so that helped make up for it :)

These pupcakes got everyone in the mood to party.

And these pupcakes were most certainly the life of the party!

They built towers -

and did their best to hide from parents who wanted them to sit quietly with their hands in their laps. It sort of looks like Grandpa Dave was suckered into their mischief over there in the corner....

The party animals also ate a nice lunch (this is the pre- shot, of course).

And sang a beautiful rendition of HAPPY BIRTHDAY! for Westy. Notice Auntie Angie clasping her ear to help keep the tune...

Then it was pupcake time!

Weston did a great job blowing out his candle with the help of his big brother.

And this photo is worth a million bucks even though it's a messy blur....Weston's going in for a smooch on mama! He's so stingy with his kisses. This was probably the first kiss mommy had gotten in days from the little stinker.

Nummy!

Sharing some chocolate frosting with Uncle Will.

And offering to share with others. Believe it or not, there were no takers.

Finally -- present opening time!

Weston took his sweet time, as evidenced by these faces.

The boys couldn't take it anymore and decided to get things moving. They were so efficient, we might encourage them to start a gift opening business together some day.

Toot tooooooot.

I noticed this pile of socks and had to take a picture because their socks won't always be this small or clean. Nearly every time the boys are all together, their socks end up in a pile. Wait until they're 15. As Grandma Doreen said, we'll be lucky if it's still just socks in the pile when they're that age. Eeeeek!

Weston Charles Grimmius, you are a sweet little boy. Thank you for bringing so much happiness and fun to our family -- we are so glad you were born! We are eager to see what your 3rd year brings....new skills, new words, new silly games, and hopefully a quieter voice. We love you, baby. Happy, happy birthday!