Levis Commons Costume Contest

Levis Commons had a Fall Festival yesterday. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I don't really see a repeat next year, but they had a costume contest that we 'entered' the boys in. Ben was in the top 5 for the 4 and under kids. There were some pretty impressive costumes, but the judging was based on applause, and there were a few other kids with a big cheering section. But that's ok. Ben still did a great job representing the hot air balloon :)

Three Little Monkeys

Jumping on a scale.

Little Boo at the Zoo

The day had finally come when Ben got to do two of his most favorite things - go to the zoo and get candy. Yes, that's right, it was Little Boo at the Zoo! This year Ben is a hot air balloon and because it is an awesome costume worthy of a repeat performance, Nick is a baby Elkhound. I didn't get any great pictures of Ben in the hot air balloon costume, but I hope to get better pictures tomorrow when we go to Levis Commons for their Fall Festival.

The hot air balloon costume was quite the hit at the zoo. Ben got several comments on the original costume. But he didn't really care. He just wanted to play with the toys in the Fisher Price tent, gather (and immediately eat) candy and see the baby elephant and hippos and alligator and snakes. Ben pretty much has a check list of what he needs to see at the zoo now, and knows where everything is located. He led the way most of the day since I let him walk and not ride in the stroller.

We spent the day with Cameryn and Andrew and Tiffany, Chris, Kristy and Meredith. Meredith took charge as Nick's personal chauffeur, to which we are very thankful!

As we left the zoo, Ben said, 'Mommy, I had fun' Awww :)

Pre-zoo costume fitting

The Fisher Price toy tent

Scooping out pumpkin guts at Nature's Neighborhood

Artistic freedom with face paints

Just exactly how much do three little monkeys weigh?

The carrousel ride - Ben held on for dear life!

Then the UT mascots Rocky and Rocksy took a turn on the merry-go-round. It was a highlight for Ben.

Wow, if looks could kill

That's better

And as usual, Nick just took it all in from the comfort of the stroller and just relaxed and enjoyed watching all the other kids

Just Chill'n

Thinking Inside the Box

There's No Stopping Him Now

And then Nick learned how to start pulling himself up.

It's not pretty, but it works

Nick is this close to really crawling. Right now he is doing a hybrid of rolling, sitting, rocking, scootching and crawling. Full on crawling is going to be a total game changer around here.

Now Isn't That Thee Cutest Thing Ever!

Without any prompting, Ben gave Nick a kiss this morning. And it was a nice kiss, not a 'I'm going to kiss you while I tackle you to the ground' kiss. Aaaawww, sooo cute!

Lem'me See! Lem'me See!

I got Ben one of the Playaway View video players from the library. He was supposed to have it for the camping car trip, but I didn't get to the library before the boys left. So he has been watching the Dinosaur Train all week. Several times he has gotten on the floor so that Nick can watch, too. And Nick is totally fascinated with it. Ben has been pretty good and just gotten up and moved if Nick was bothering him too much, but he has also been a good big brother and shared.

Ben's First 'Real' Camping Trip

Ben went on his first real camping adventure this weekend. Adam and the boys went to the Allegheny Mountains area in Pennsylvania this weekend. They were 'primitive' camping (read: no bathrooms), but with gourmet food (read: leg of lamb). Ben had a great time - he went fishing and on a boat ride and got to sit by the fire and use glow sticks and use is cool new ghost flashlight and dig holes in the mud and play with sticks. What more could a 2 year old ask for?  And it was perfect weather!

Peak-A-Boo

A Sandbox Play Date

Friday we went up to Ann Arbor to play with Alex and Luke. The boys all had a great time playing both in the awesome playroom and in the sand box. It was a beautiful day to play outside!