And just one more thing....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Greta had an amazing time trick or treating with her daddy (mommy and Wessy the cutest Octopus in MN stayed home to make sure other trick or treaters left with plenty of treats). She really "got" Halloween this year and loved it. All things "spooky" have been ruling the day in our household. We've been having spooky dinners (dinners with our spooky flickering halloween candles-thanks granny!), making milk carton skeletons, carving pumpkins and making creepy noises. Our favorite story: when Daddy & Greta approached a house that had some seriously spooky decorations going...Daddy said, "Gboo are you sure you want to go to this spooky house?" G's response: "Don't worry Daddy. You don't need to be scared. I'll keep you safe." Shew. 2nd favorite story...on the way to go see Grandma & Grandpa Greta says..."I think they will think I look very cute. In fact, I think they will say I am quite fashionable." I could not make this stuff up.

We hope everyone had a fun & spooky evening!

love the Creepy Christiansens

without further ado....

Greta's Halloween Program (only her class and the whole school numbers)

I think her finest moments come in the first and the last 30 seconds of the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nseZYfmNjo8

Pre-Halloween Hilarity

Hello friends & family!

I don't know that this post will be truly hilarious, but it has been a silly time at our house. Exhibit A: Mom & Dad thought it would be worth a try to see if we could groom Jersey ourselves at home. $30 set of dog clippers later we are clear that it was a terrible idea. Jersey looks like a Bichon of the streets. Pitiful. I don't know why he doesn't run away.

Exhibit B: Wes is really digging meal times. Except for peas. And that he hasn't quite mastered getting the little sweet potato puffs into his mouth after he picks them up. Love this Peas face (well prunes was the 1st course, but this is the face post peas). Oh who am I kidding...I love all of his faces.

Exhibit C: Gboo and her classmates gave a fabulous Halloween program for all of the paparazzi parents (of which we are a part of course). We have some pretty good video and we'll try to add a post with some clips for your viewing pleasure. Let's just say she was right at home on the "stage." So much so that her teacher Mrs S made her the line leader so that Greta could "set the mood" for the rest of the class. Oh man. She's sporting her kitty costume which her mama made her. She threatened not to wear it as she decided to be a butterfly after the cat costume was complete. Um, tough kiddo. But she seems pleased and even let us paint on her whiskers (she has a thing about face paint....she's the only kid in the history of the world that hates face painting. ah well.). Good stuff. Everyone is excited about Halloween...so I'm sure we'll be posting again to share those photos with you. Mom and Dad just want to know...is it Thanksgiving yet? We're ready for a glass of wine and extra help putting the kids to bed :). A busy few weeks and then we'll be heading south for the holiday....can you tell we are excited? Enjoy our sillies...

Baby Wes.....6 months old!

It is happening so fast. Cliche, maybe, but absolutely true. Our little guy...or maybe I should say our YOUNG guy...is getting big. Sigh + mama tear. I'm doing my best to take in all of these sacred times, but for the first time I am really experiencing the classic "I wish I could make time stand still" moments on a regular basis. I'm really curious about what is going on in that Wessy noggin, but I so enjoy our daily snuggles and smiles that I'm ok with waiting a while longer to find out.

We went for Wes' 6 months check up today and here are his stats:

Height: 27 3/4 inches (88&ile)

Weight: 19 lbs 14 oz (85%ile)

Head Circumference: 17 1/2 inches (70%ile)

Mama is still shocked that he hasn't tipped the 20 lb mark as he FEELS like he has! Our doctor was pleased at his progress and thought he looked like he was right on track. Wonderful news.

Other exciting things our guy is doing:

sitting up unassisted

moving objects from hand to hand

doing a little bit of eating...which we will be ramping up now

lots of squealing...LOTS

giggling

pushing all the way up on his arms to arch his back and look up

lunging for objects just out of reach

rolling back to front and front to back

SNUGGLING (ooo mama loves this one)

Oh, he is a love. Even big sister can't resist him. So here's a post dedicated to our baby boy...already 6 months old! Enjoy the cuteness!

Pictures taken on yard clean up day...right after little pumpkin boy woke up from his outside nap.

Hello most lovely October EVER

Yes it is true. Last year on this date we had snow. This year....sunny and 80 degrees. YES PLEASE! A little slice of heaven right here in the Mini-apple! We've been doing our best to get out and enjoy the great weather and the gorgeous leaves. This last weekend we went to a fall festival (thank you Edina Realty) that had pumpkins, cider, s'mores and PONY RIDES. That's right...mama finally made good on daddy's promise to take Gboo on a pony ride if she started to use the potty train. Better late than never right! We had a lovely morning with Grandma and Papa and came home with 2 pumpkins (we now have a pumpkin for each family member...I'm seeing the birth of a pumpkin family in the works...yeah, I do). We've also had a chance to get some funny and occasionally cute pictures of our wee ones together. Fun stuff.

One quick story from Greta's preschool....on Thursday one of the preschool teachers was observing Greta's class in the muscle room (indoor playroom). Gboo had all the kids corralled in the corner whispering to them. She then announced...Mrs C, I am Greta the magician. Now I will do my great magic trick. I will make my class disappear....Hocus Pocus! One by one G's classmates loaded into the long pipe on the equipment until all 9 of them were inside. Mrs C talked Greta into making them reappear so G went over to the pipe and whispered something then yelled Abracadabra! One at a time they all came piling out. Greta was of course very proud. Mom and Dad love that story as well...I guess we'll have to see if she will use her powers for good or for evil.

for a little laugh...our little cherub in action

Last Sunday, Greta sang in worship for the first time with the other Cherubs at our church. You'll see that I use "sang" very liberally...waved is more like it!

Enjoy...just follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ55iLB_r_Q

More fall fun

We've been doing our best to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather while it lasts. Lots of trips to the park & a visit to a local apple orchard with the young married couples group at church. Fun! Baby Wes has also had his first solid food. We are easing into that scene very gradually...so just cereal and pears so far. It has given us a break at dinner time...we aren't getting the happy "me too" wails that we've been getting accustomed to while we eat! Wes is also enjoying sitting up a little more (getting closer to unassisted sitting...def likes the view sitting up!) and has even been doing some standing at the ottoman with a spotter. Viking baby is strong! Preschool continues to agree with Gboo as she looks forward to what will happen in Mrs Shooooooooobloooooom's class each day. You'd think she was a southerner with her ability to stretch her teacher's name into a 10 syllable word! G has her first big head/chest cold, so we are watching her carefully and praying that her body fights this off with no trouble. Right now, it seems to be troubling her parents much more than her. So all is well up here. Hopefully some pictures with some fall color will follow...they are forecasting an exceptional year for leaves up here this year!