Rockne's Halloween Party

We had another Halloween party to go to tonight at Rockne's. The boys dressed up in their costumes and we enjoyed time with friends outside. It was a nice cool night to be outside too. Dr. John dressed up as himself-when he was in med school, Dan (John's son in law) was a Gopher like Gerrit, Luke helped Gerrit with the games like the fishing pond and taking him for a ride in the wagon, Emmit hung out with dad sporting his costume (a football), I had to take a picture of my ghost suckers for Oma (I attempted to make them when she was visiting and it didn't work), Deb (John's wife) went as the Church Lady from SNL.

I will once again, wash Gerrit's costume so he can wear it tomorrow night (I should know better than to have white pants for the kid). I think we got our money's worth out of those girl's leggings I found on the clearance rack at Target last year!

I think the boys will visit a few houses tomorrow and then Gerrit will go with Luker and Maddie to officially trick or treat.

Punkin' Carving

Thursday night, Dahlen's came for dinner and pumpkin carving. Well, I should say, Luke and Anne (and eventually, Paul) carved pumpkins with Gerrit and I.
Gerrit did very well with a knife and with a little help from Anne he made lots of 'stabs' in his pumpkin.
He wanted an owl carved into his pumpkin so I did my best to get him an owl. 
Luke did the face and Paul did the boo. I made the 'bat' face.

Oma and Opa's Visit

We had some house guests last week. Oma and Opa came to hang out and get there Gerrit/Emmit fix.

We put Opa to work outside getting things ready for winter while Oma was busy doing sewing projects. Opa found time to do a little golfing with Adam and Gerrit (and Paul) as well as visit the auction with Gerrit a few days. Opa always takes Gerrit to the cow auction when he comes to visit (Adam and I have never been ourselves). Oma and I went shopping a bit when I had a few days off of school. We all went and watched Adam and Gerrit race and hung out at home. Oma gets a new knee next week so we didn't venture too far for her sake. The boys loved the extra attention and Adam and I liked the extra help around the house. 

 

I forgot to take pictures during their visit, so I quickly snapped these before they left:

Where's Gerrit?

Gerrit didn't want in on the picture taking at 6:30 in the morning!

ECFE Halloween Party

Gerrit joined his friends Abby and Olivia for a little pre-Halloween fun Monday night. Opa joined in the fun too and came to watch. We didn't have to stay but I wanted to get a few pictures (plus, it took Gerrit a good 10 min. to warm up to the idea and actually let me put him down!).

Here are a few pictures from the evenings fun:

He played basketball and trucks as well as talked on the 'phone' during some free time. The highlight was painting his pumpkin and having a snack. They read a few Halloween stories, sang some songs, and ended the night with pin the tail on the cat. Bottom left picture - Gerrit's tail is the one on the far left - yes, spacial awareness comes from his father! :)

Quote of the night: when in the car heading home, Gerrit asked why he had to put the tail on the cat. Maybe next year he'll understand that game!

We have more festivities yet to come this week with pumpkin carving tomorrow night, a Halloween party on Sat. at Rockne's and then trick or treating on Sunday a bit!

More pictures to come for sure...

3 Years Old

This is what happens when you leave a 3 year old outside by himself for too long:

 

This is what happens when you ask to take a 3 year old's picture:

Brotherly LOVE?

We keep telling Gerrit that Emmit will remember these times and that PAYBACK is HUGE!

 

Hockey Boys

We are not really hockey people, in fact, we can barely skate. My brother's family would like to think that because we live in MN, we can become a hockey family. Not really, they know we are a basketball family but like to tease us about hockey. This weekend Gerrit pulled out his hockey net (which made its way in the garage due to the basement remodeling). Here are a few pictures from Opa:

Gerrit showing us his grip

 He shoots...he SCORES!!!!

 Emmit's version of hockey

This is how you will often find Emmit - "he explores" by putting everything in his mouth!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Gerrit enjoyed a late season round of golf on his home course of Wanamingo Estates with Dad and Opa.

He insisted on teeing up every hole

Checking where the pin placement is and voicing his frustrations (with a grunt) when he was told the flag was far away

Check out that follow through!

(Gerrit insisted on this outfit. I had a hard time letting go and letting him be....)

Peek-a-Boo

Emmit enjoyed his car ride to Cannon Falls earlier this week with Oma and Opa. I don't know if he enjoyed it because he played peek-a-boo with Oma or because he was FORWARD facing!

{Please, do not call child protective services on Oma and Opa - we'll blame it on being old}

Hudson - Cyclocross

Today was a great day for a cyclocross race - not too hot, not too cold. We watched Paul race the juniors, Uncle Travis race (his 1st race ever) raced next, followed by Adam and then Gerrit finished it off for us. Here is a snapshot of our time in Hudson:

Gerrit had his 1st race of the season today. It was a long loop that included 

 180 degree turns

woods

straightaways

barriers

Gerrit had the largest cheering section too. It was almost as much fun to watch Luke, Paul, Travis, and Adam follow a 3 yr old around the course.

At the finish line Gerrit received a medal and he gave 'bones' to the little boy that was near him the whole race.

{Many people comment on how impressed they are that Gerrit is riding his bike w/o training wheels at age 3 - well, just go to a bike race and you'll see a lot of 3 yr olds riding bikes w/o training wheels.}

Photo Shoot Gone Wild

I attempted to take a Halloweenish photo today and this is what I got...

Cyclocross 2010

Adam decided to do a last minute race this weekend that was added to the calendar. Luckily it was close to home and the weather was great (maybe too warm). This was the first race for the boys to see this season as well. I made them matching shirts using freezer paper (as the stencil) and fabric paint. What a fun little project (I think I'd like to make more!)

This venue was a practice driving track for various emergency agencies. The only shade we could find near the course was the shade of a cop car! Gerrit loved all the space to ride his bike. I think he was just as sweaty as Dad.

When you need to take a break from biking...

Emmit's on the Move

Luckily Emmit doesn't head to the stairs much (yet).

Emmit walks along the sofa and has taken a few steps with the push toy. (He is 1/2 dressed because he was getting ready for a tubby and we got side tracked with walking practice.)

A Visiting Seal

Yesterday Gerrit was wheezing periodically, especially when he was active. As the evening progressed, the wheezing was more pronounced. I was worried it was the start of croup so we discussed the plan of action for today - Adam would stay home if necessary because I had a meeting I needed to go to. This was day 3 for Adam being off work (but honestly, he could've used another day home to get rid of his cold). We were proactive in getting 2 humidifiers set up and giving Gerrit a hot steamy shower (I remembered these tips from Erika when Emmit had croup this summer). So we put him to bed and all seemed fine - no cough, no wheezing. Around 11 Adam woke me up, holding Gerrit in his arms and Gerrit could hardly breathe. I told him to start a hot steamy shower and sit with him. So there we were, the 3 of us in the bathroom, sitting on the floor breathing in the steam at 11 pm. Gerrit was a bit panicky because he couldn't breathe easily and Adam and I discussed a trip to the ER. I didn't want to go because I knew we'd sit there for 3+ hours before we'd be seen seeing we weren't bleeding etc. Adam was worried Gerrit would get worse as the evening progressed. I suggested calling our friend John who is a family doc at Mayo despite the late hour. He always told us to call him before going to the ER so we did. Luckily it did not sound like he was sleeping and he volunteered to come over. After checking him out, he gave Gerrit a steroid. It was a pill so we crushed it and put it in apple sauce which didn't seem to matter - Gerrit didn't want it. We got it down him and I felt relieved because I knew from Emmit's experience that this was the best thing for him and he'd make it through the night. John left and said he'd check on him in the morning as he had the day off.

It was now 11 30 and we bundled Gerrit up to go for a walk and let him breathe in the cool air. Adam took him and Gerrit was wide awake and asked which direction they were going to go and was pretty chatty for 11 30 at night! When they returned I tucked Gerrit into bed with me so we could keep an eye on him and we had a peaceful rest of the night. A few seal-like coughs but that was it!

Gerrit did ok staying home with Adam. He fought Adam for an hour about riding his bike! It was a beautiful day and Gerrit couldn't understand why he couldn't ride his bike. Adam reminded him that he hadn't ridden his bike either because he was sick with a cold. Together they rested and watched movies.

Gerrit sounds a bit better and a second dose of steroids today should be enough to get him over the hump. I will be staying home tomorrow just to make sure he lays low. I picked up a few movies from Luke and Paul and bought him a new Lego toy so we have something new to do. A few silly bands were a great pick me up when I got home too.

We are so thankful to have John nearby and I'm sure Erika is thankful too - saved her a call at midnight and not much she could do on the phone! I was tempted to call her just for reassurance! It is not fun being sick but I think it is worse when your child is sick.

(Gerrit is wanting a snack and sees that I'm typing - he wants to know who I'm texting! Amazing how perceptive this kid is!)

Homecoming

I forgot about homecoming this past weekend...Gerrit and I went to the game with Anne, Luke and Paul while Adam stayed home with Travis and watched Date Night. This was our first football game of the season and Gerrit had a blast. He wished we had taken a football to the game (which I thought about but purposely forgot). 

Gerrit watched the game a bit but wanted to hang out with Luke and Paul (who were too cool to watch the game and hung out with their friends). We couldn't find Luke but Paul had walked by and Gerrit wanted to go with them. Initially I didn't think Paul and his friend wanted a little 3 yr old following them - big 8th graders. Then I thought, they might want a CUTE 3 yr old with them to attract the ladies. I asked if they cared that he went with them for a bit and told Paul not to feel obligated to take him. Then I mentioned the lady factor and he smiled and his friend admitted to having the same thought as me! So they took the cute 3 yr old with them and as they were walking away, Paul's friend suggested Paul carry Gerrit for effect! I just laughed and went back to watching the game.

After getting a snack and hanging out with 8th graders, Gerrit found Luke and Maddie and disappeared with them for a while. I think he enjoyed hanging out with the big kids as well as watching the game up close (we sat on the sideline). I think he will be one of the few kids who starts school and has his own group of friends in high school!

We won the football game easily and Gerrit did great staying for the whole game.

Hokey Cow*

It's been a while since I last wrote. Day to day life seems to get the best of us sometimes. The basement is dry, but not much progress because Adam was under the weather this week (bad cold). Adam's dad and step mom came for the weekend and then Luke and Paul were with us during the week. We now are back to the 4 of us for another week and a half and then my parents come for a bit. One thing I did do a lot of was cook and I must say, I made some yummy meals! They were all new recipes and I think they turned out great! I made Spaghetti pie, grilled  balsamic chicken, a mexican dish, chocolate/caramel apple dessert, pumpkin tartletts, and french dip sandwiches (which were super easy). {I linked the recipes because I told my mom about them and this way she can access them easily- don't make too many mom because we will having them when you come!}

I don't think I took many pictures this last week either. Guess I need to work on that again. Maybe this week will be a bit slower and we can get back into the routine we are use to. (I can hope right?)

*Gerrit's way of saying "holy cow".