Hot Tub

Last weekend, Ben went for a dip in the hot tub. He is not as big a fan as Bradley is.

Thanks for Nothing

Now that the grass has gone dormant, Ben has decided to help with the mowing.

Early Halloween

We started celebrating Halloween early. First, we made pumpkin heads. Bradley made a clown for himself and a pirate for Ben. Then we went to the Boo Bash, like we did last year. The Boo Bash had crafts, a little but of trick or treating, story time, and a hay ride. Ben likes his costume so much, he asked to put it on later to go to the park. That is surprising since the outfit is a little small. He has trouble walking and even more trouble standing back up while wearing it. I am glad we didn't have a repeat of the Angry Bumblebee.

Operation Reciprocity

Ben was channeling his inner Howard Beale on Sunday. I guess he had enough of being pushed around by Bradley and he finally pushed back. And, it was unprovoked. Where did he learn the revenge is a dish best served cold?

Vocabulary Explosion

Ben really unloaded some vocab on us this weekend. He said book, ball, and bus while referring to said objects. He can almost say shoe and shirt. Ben also is able to repeat the word bear. He is most proficient at saying the word MINE after Bradley takes a toy or blanket from Ben.

Another Fun Weekend

We had another fun fall weekend. Maybe fall should be in quotation marks. It was near 80 degrees, but the leaves were changing, so it is certainly fall. Jake came over for lunch at the train restaurant and a trip to Cosley Zoo on Saturday.

As if that wasn't enough fun, we went to the Brookfield, aka Chicago, Zoo. Bradley really wanted to go to Chicago on Sunday, so we told him the the Brookfield Zoo was in Chicago. We didn't really want to drive all the way to Chicago and get caught up in the marathon traffic. Lying to children is so much fun!

Lucky 7

Ben's seventh tooth appeared this weekend. He has started eating hot dogs and can usually eat an entire one by himself. And I mean by himself. We put a sliced hot dog on a plate and give him a fork and its bye bye hot dog.

The Fireman

The fire department had an open house on Saturday, which was the perfect opportunity for Brad to wear his fireman outfit. At the event we learned about 911 and how to stop drop and roll.

Holy Cow!

The Cubs are in desperate need of help. We did Aunt Lisa and Uncle Chris a favor and made a personal appeal to a higher power.

Rochelle

We went out to Rochelle to watch the trains on Saturday. It is a very popular spot due the heavy traffic caused by the intersection of the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern lines. The town has a dedicated viewing platform to watch the action from a safe distance and a mini (but real) engine that kids can play on. We were there less than an hour and saw three trains. As you can see from the picture it is a bit loud. The town also has a vintage gas station that serves as a visitor center.