Trick or Treat!

We have been having so much fun with Joel lately! He is at the perfect age where he is independent and can entertain himself for a while but where he still likes to imitate us and try new things. He really enjoyed trick-or-treating. We went to three houses in our neighborhood and then went to three other friends' places around town. By the third house he had figured out to take candy from the dish and put it into his pumpkin. So cute! He also saw our neighbor's dog dressed up like a bumblebee and had the funniest look on his face when he saw her! I wonder what goes through his head sometimes! He was very cooperative with wearing his kangaroo suit. Daddy let him have a sucker for a while in the van. He was neat about it and didn't make a mess at all. We got home about 8:30 and got him ready for bed. I think he was a little too wound up after the evening's activities, because he got me up at 3:00 this morning, crying and sniffly. He seems okay today, with no sneezing or coughing that I have heard. He has also been doing some really silly things lately. I think he likes to entertain us and make us laugh! He wears his bucket as a hat, tries on our shoes, and walks around backwards for no apparent reason! He makes our days so much more fun and full of life. Hopefully we're not spoiling him too much.....! More later!

Ready to go!

Trick or Treat!

On the move! Joel seemed to like wearing his kangaroo costume, and he even carried the pumpkin without protest! I think this picture is funny....he looks so determined on his way to the neighbor's house! :0)

So cute! Bailey was following Joel around in his costume, snffing him. She actually stood still and let him pet her. I was trying to get her to sit for the picture, and Joel patted her and clearly said, "sit". My angels....

I LOVE this picture! Joel was playing with the Devil horns that Bailey had worn before for Halloween, and Rob put them on him for a minute. Joel didn't mind at all! Those big blue eyes get me every time! He's too cute to be a devil!

Joel has started to like trying our shoes on and walking around in them. This picture was pricless...PawPaw face, Mommy's shoe, and clapping all at once!

Bucket Head! I still don't understand this! Usually if you try to put anything on his head he yells and pulls it off. He was playing with Rob, put the bucket on his head, and left it there for almost 15 minutes, while running around, playing and riding his zebra! Goofball!

The Great Pumpkin...

We decided last night to finally carve one of the pumpkins for Joel, since it was rainy and too cold to take a walk. I was all excited and got everything ready. I was hoping Joel would be into pulling out the pumpkin insides, but he really didn't seem to care! Rob and I gutted the pumpkin and I carved it while Joel sat in his highchair and played with the little battery-operated light we got to use inside the pumpkin. After the carving was done, Joel was finally interested....in pulling out the light! He lifted the lid several times to get the light, and then he would put it back. He did that several times before he was on to something else. He liked it when we put the pumpkin outside and turned on the light inside it, but other than that he wasn't interested. Hopefully he's a little more excited about the Halloween costume later this week! More later.....

Joel and his favorite pumpkin...

Getting ready to carve!

Joel, Daddy, and the finished product!

Family Pictures 2010

All Dressed Up and Somewhere To Go....

Joel wore this adorable little suit to my cousin Stephanie's wedding last weekend. He was totally adorable, and a big hit at the wedding reception! Unfortunately he fell asleep before the dancing got started so he couldn't show off his new moves!

What a little stinker! He was sitting behind those pumpkins, cute as can be, until I got the camera. At least he's smiling....!

His pensive, thoughtful look! (Actually I caught him off-guard at the park!)

Such a face! He was acting silly and giggling all morning!

Update....

I have the sweetest, most adorable, cutest and smartest baby boy on the planet! He is the love of our lives and I thank God every day that he is ours. Joel Aiden, your mommy and daddy love you more than you will ever know. Now....stop being ornery and GO TO SLEEP!!!!! :0)

THIS is what I found when I came out of our bathroom yesterday afternoon. Yes, he was stuck! He gave me a big smile and a kiss (which is hard to come by these days!) when I pulled him out. Then he just stood there for a while, jabbering and pointing at the table. I'll bet he doesn't try that again!

Nanook of the North! On Sunday night, Rob wanted to take Joel and Bailey for a walk so we bundled Joel up and they went. He was pleased with his "big boy gloves" that had finger holes. I bought the hard hat at a garage sale. He makes us laugh so much!

Pumpkin pickin'.....

We took Joel to a couple of pumpkin places today after lunch at IHOP (Rob's favorite!). Joel did really well at lunch, but fell asleep just before we got to the petting zoo. Once he saw the animals, he woke up in a hurry! We saw chickens, lambs, goats, a pony, and a donkey. The pony was Joel's favorite. He was pretty brave and got right up against the fence. He touched the pony several times and was yakking a lot and pointing at him. He didn't like it when the pony walked away or when someone else wanted to see the pony! We did see some pumpkins, but Joel was much more interested in the carts they had to put the pumpkins on. He didn't pay any attention to the pumpkins at all! Oh well.....I explained to him that sometimes we do things just to make Mommy happy! I'm not sure if we will attempt to carve the pumpkin or not......Anyway, Joel turns 19 months old tomorrow. It truly doesn't seem possible. He wears us out and drives us crazy sometimes, but we wouldn't trade it for anything! More later....

I liked this one. Joel enjoyed pulling individual pieces of straw out of the bale. Not so excited about the pumpkins, though! :0(

My grumpy little pumpkin! He REFUSED to smile. Daddy had just pulled him off the bug cart he was pulling around. He is definitely all boy....anything with wheels or buttons are at the top of his list!

So darn cute!

Joel loved the pony! He liked all of the animals, but he kept going back to the pony over and over again. Daddy shoed him how to feed the pony corn off the ground. Joel liked watching Rob do it, but he wasn't so excited about the pony licking his hand! He was so cute talking to the pony and petting it.