Osceola to Dresser Pumpkin train...

Lots of fun. Hay maze, bouncy gym, haunted house, pumpkins, good food...and a broken down train that left us stranded there until 3 pm. We had fun though, very busy with all of the kids, but we think they had a really good time.

Walter got pooped out and actually fell asleep in my arms which was a first in a LONG time.

Chubby Winter Coat fun

Walter just started doing this scrunch faced smile that is just so funny to see. It will be in many pictures to come I know.

Well, it was a nice fall day last week and we decided we'd play outside. I didn't want him to get too cold though, so I put on his winter jacket. Pumpkin Head the 2nd came to be...

AuntHannah's return to Wisconsin

We had lots of fun with Nanners. She met Tucker Matthew for the first time, Rod's son. We hung out with Grandma G at the Senior Center in Ellsworth, and even got to Baypoint Park in Red Wing on a gorgeous afternoon.

We cooked a lot and made a giant muffin for Ryan on her last day visiting.

Uncle Rod put Walter on the slide for the first time. He didn't like it.

We put Walter on the swings for the first time also, not a fan.

He enjoyed eating rocks and climbing on the huge rocks that line the Mississippi River.

Ryan and I will miss her a lot. We had a really enjoy when she comes to stay.

Chilifeed

Wow, it's been a while. I have a lot of updating to do. We had our chilifeed / Walter's birthday party on October 4th, 2008. It was a lot of fun, and so many people came!

Walter and friends enjoyed painting pumpkins and eating paint. Checking out his Dad's Belarus tractor, and eating everything they could find. Grandma Linders won again this year. Rhonda Austin got second place, and Grandma Gert won 3rd place.

We also had a pinata that the kids liked. Their favorite candy was the wax dracula teeth.

Dub's 1st Birthday! September 25, 2008

It was a lot of fun. I started out the day around 3 am, prepping the cakes. They took me 5 hours, I am embarrassed to say, but I had a lot of fun too. Walter was kind of cranky, until his guests showed up. I made soup, beef barley. I had 2 gallons of leftovers, so I guess I made a bit too much.

We played in the yard for a while, in the stuff dad had laying around. We also played in the garden, finding 12 yellow bells to cut up for winter.

Then around 5 pm all of the good eats, friends, and family got his spirits up. He got a 4-wheeler from his Aunt Amber, that he loves. He puts it on its side and works on the engine, just like Dad.

Walter didn't want to just dig into the cake. Ryan had to show him how it works and that it was okay to just get messy.

This week we are prepping for the chilifeed/big birthday party. More coming later.

Labor Day Weekend Labor

We didn't do much of excitement, other than working on our shed. We decided we had better get going on the floor & doors before winter is here. We've been on hiatus with the shed, just saving for it and the slower winter months.

So we have another well behind the shed. It was used for the barn well before, but we wanted to use it for the in-floor heat and a sink basin for the shed. So, we started digging to find the pipe coming off of it, headed for the barn...or so we thought.

We dug down about 4-5 feet on the side facing the barn. No pipe. Thank goodness for the backblade & bucket on our tractor, but the work was still tough. Using post hole diggers (hand ones)...we dug down below the pressure tank...no pipe. Did we really think these blessings of God's creation would do something as stupid as putting the pipe on the backside away from the barn? Surely no...well...after digging some more...yes they did. Thankful to have found it, we had a water fight to get rid of the sand and dirt, then we ran into the kitchen to slam some ice water and rest, Walter napping the entire time. Then we got showered & dressed to go to Menards to pick up supplies. We loaded our trailer with 8' of foam height for the floor. It was a funny but freaky driving back home. I think we got about 3 mpg.

Walter got to hang with Grandma Gert & Grandpa Gary and then when we got back, we went to my folks for dinner. Double dose of grandparents day, which was nice for him.

Walter's new things...he's mobile and constantly walking everywhere.
He's learned to say, "Baby."
The only way he's scolded for digging in dog food that works, is to make him have a time out in the recliner. He hates it and throws a fit. I hate to admit it, but it's kind of funny. I gave him his milk to try to calm him down, and he threw it, in defiance.

He is growing attached to one stuffed animal. A dog that you can record messages on. Ryan's dad got it for Walter for Christmas, so I don't know where/how to get a back up one. I guess we'll tackle that obstacle when we get to it.

Otherwise, not a whole lot going on. Just processing tomatoes. I've made 12 qts of soup, 19 qts of juice, 8 qts of salsa, and I still have more to process, but I've been keeping up really well.

More in the days ahead...

Grandma Linders made Walter a Sweater...

Yesterday we went up to Fleet Farm, with Grandma Linders. I picked her up, and she came walking down the driveway with something in her hands that was brightly colored. She had crocheted a sweater for Walter, that is a rainbow of colors. She said it's supposed to be a size 2, but not the case. It BARELY fits him now.

I got home and I had to try it on him, for optimal photo fun, I was laughing hysterically just trying to get him dressed. It was reminiscent of "A Christmas Story," when the mom is dressing the younger brother to go out in Winter time. Walter was whining, I could barely get it over his huge head, and then to try to get his hands in the arms of the sweater, was a greater challenge yet! They seemed a mile long, and trying to find his fingers and pull his fat little arms through, just made me laugh. I brought him out and showed Ryan, who said, "What are you doing to him? Oh my goodness..." Dapper (one of our dogs) was wondering what I was doing also, and was looking at me like I was a terrible mom for forcing this on my son.

We also played dress up with our Napoleon Dynamite wig earlier that day. I think Walter likes it because he looks like he has so much more hair. He felt just as normal with it on, as without it. What a goof.