Thank the lord for friends.....

This past weekend, our friends Melody and David Goldmeyer came up for a visit from Texas.  Their son Luke is just 6 months younger than Michael so needless to say - we were all entertained the whole time.  It was so nice to have friends around!!!

Here's a pic that I just think is cute, from last week:

One of Michaels favorite things to do these days is play with bubbles in the sink.  He allowed Luke to join in the fun and I don't think Luke will ever be the same.  They could have stood there for HOURS, making a HORRIBLE mess......but what is fun without a mess!?!?
Melody and David lived in Minneapolis for a few years so they understood what we meant when we said "pack for warmth".  We had quite a bit of snow when they were here so we made the most of it and went sledding.  Here are a few pics from that:

Mr. Michael
Mr. Luke
The boys and they're dads:

Michael thought he was such a big boy pulling his own sled
Michael and Luke:
On Sunday afternoon, we ventured into the city to the old, famous Marshall Fields (its now a Macy's).  We saw the famous Christmas Tree and ate in the Walnut Room
....and of course paid a visit to old Saint Nick:

After dinner, we attempted to go see the lights at the Lincoln Park Zoo but it was sleeting/snowing/pelting little snow pellets that looked like dip-n-dots.  It was FREEZING - not so much fun.  So we grabbed a few pictures and left!

We're off to Texas on Tuesday and we can HARDLY wait......Texas here we come!

Thanksgiving Wii-kend

We had so much fun the past few days with family here for Thanksgiving.  Mom and David drove up from Arkansas and Jordan flew from Houston.  It was a house-full but it was such a blast.  We pretty much ate the WHOLE time and never had an empty belly.  

I take A LOT of pictures (shocker, I know) and recently my camera broke.  I've felt so weird not having a camera!!!  So, after Thanksgiving we went out and bought a FANCY new camera (Thanks for all your help David!) as an early Christmas present.  I'm up and running again.  

One night, Jordan made us this RIDICULOUS hot chocolate that our cousin told us about.  It was so rich, I sent my unborn child into a tailspin and nearly put me in diabetic shock.  

We gave Ryan his birthday present a few days early....and he was Wii-ly excited.  We've all been playing this new Wii all weekend.  If ever there was a doubt where Ryan was....well, the picture below says it all.  I just wish I could post the video of Jordan and him boxing - funny stuff.  

There was a lot of rough-housing and chasing Michael....and we all helped rake left over leaves and goof off in the yard.

This is serious Michael:

.....and the not so serious Michael

We played a lot of "Ready, Set - GO"

Of course, uncle Jordan gave Michael some coffee....and then Michael wanted his own big boy cup of the stuff.  Yeah, that's what my toddler needs - Caffeine!  

Mom and David helped put up some Christmas Decorations and the house became very festive, very quickly.....just in time for a little snow shower.

And then, THIS is what we woke up to this morning.  We're snowed in and trying not to go stir crazy.  It's pretty quiet around here now that everyone is gone from the holiday and I'm already ready for spring.  Chicago winters are the death of me!  

Fun filled weekend

This was definitely a VERY busy weekend.  We started the transformation from "office" to "nursery" which meant putting up the big boy bed.  Michael started off being obsessed with all of the tools daddy was using and proceeded to "fix" everything in our house.  Then, after watching the Veggie Tales Pirates movie - he transformed into a pirate for the rest of the weekend.  All of the sudden, the screwdriver and the phillips head became swords.  Note to other moms:  Might not want to start this with your todder - they hurt!  

We went to Lego Land on Sunday after church and got Michael this pretend sword - it works much better.  He had it with him the whole day....ARGH

The big news of the weekend was Michael slept in his big boy bed for the first time last night!  He went right in it as if nothing had changed.  Either he's totally clueless or just doesn't care!  He slept great and hasn't stopped jumping on it since.

On Saturday night, we ventured to this new restaurant with our friends that brings your food around on the little choo choo train.  CASH COW.  Why didn't I think of that!?  M was completely beside himself the whole meal....as was every other child in the place.  And that cupcake he's eating below - it was awesome!  I ate most of it.

And what's a weekend at the Pratt house without a little leaf pick up?  We're all done now though!!!  Thank goodness b/c we woke up to a little layer of snow on the ground today.  It's like the sun coming up - it's a for SURE thing.  Winter is definitely coming........somebody shoot me or get me a snow shoveling service for Christmas.  :)

Leaf us alone!

Yes, it's awfully pretty around here these days with the leaves changing colors.  The midwest is truly beautiful this time of year - something I didn't really see growing up in Texas.  While Ryan and I love to look at the beauty of it all, we can't help but curse it all at the same time.  We live on the corner, and because of the way the winds blow, we seem to get EVERYONE else's leaves.....not to mention, we have GIANT trees on our property to add to it.  Last year, we had 62 bags of leaves that took countless hours to clean up.  This year, I think we might be going for a record.  In the mean time......look at how pretty it is. 

I have another problem.  I've been a bit stroller obsessed since we found out we were pregnant with baby #2.  We do a lot of walking around here in our small town and the stroller purchase seems to carry as much weight as a vehicle!  So, thanks to my mom, we already have our fancy new double stroller!  Michael took a stroll this morning around the house with his pal Elmo.  On another note, if anyone has ANY questions about double strollers - I'm your hero.  I feel like I have a PhD on the subject!

Elephants and Arkansas

Happy Halloween!!!  Michael loves Elephants so we decided this year....he'll be an elephant.  It has nothing to do with the fact that it's an election year and we subjected our son to our political opinions.  :)  We DO live in Obama Land so the button didn't last too long because some of our neighbors didn't seem to think it was Michael's cutest moment.  

He went door to door for the first time and got lots of candy.  Ryan let him eat WAY too much of it.

Here's Michael's impersonation of Dumbo.

This past week, we went to Arkansas for a family get together.  My cousin Jason, and his wife Beth were home from East Asia for a few weeks so it was a big time.  We are both due within 2 days of each other so it was fun to have another pregnant gal around.  Here's a pic of all of us after Church on Sunday:

Of course, it felt like all we did the entire week was eat.  Michael helped Grammie make her famous rolls.

And he helped Dad make waffles...

Grand-Bob, Uncle Jordan, "Uncle" Andy and Michael:

Despite the weather being a bit chilly, we went out on the boat twice and Michael loved it. Andrew let Michael drive which just might be the highlight of his entire life so far.

 

The sunsets were amazing. Here's a pic of me with Heather '2' and Beth (that's Michael's hat that Beth is wearing. My son has a huge head).

Finally, what's a trip to Arkansas without a ride on a four wheeler?

Small Town Fall Fun

Our little town had a Fall Festival today so we went to check it out since soccer was cancelled due to an indoor dog show.  I know the Texas State Fair is going on right now and this was HARDLY of that magnitude but Michael had a BIG time and there are A LOT of pictures to follow.  We'll start with the petting zoo.  It was a really small pen with WAY too many aggressive goats, lamas and ducks.  Michael did get in but wanted to be held the whole time - and I don't blame him!

He loved the horses and rode them three times.  Each time, he would put his hand on his head and say "YEEEE-HAAW!"

He bounced in the bounce house....

He rode the swings....

Horsey pic with "Mom".  He doesn't call me "mommy" like most 2 year olds - he calls me MOM.
The Fire Truck was a big hit...

He picked out a pumpkin....

....and painted the heck out of it.  
Maybe all of that paint will keep the squirrels away this year?