What a Difference One Year Makes!

31 October 2009 - yep, three of them...we didn't believe the first one! And, according to babycenter.com, MP2 was the size of just a little poppyseed

31 October 2010

Not a poppyseed anymore, that is for sure!

Halloweenie

I will admit it, I have not enjoyed Halloween since my own youthful days of trick-or-treating...but there is something waaay more fun about dressing up one's baby than donning a risque [fill-in-the-blank, maid, firefighter, librarian, etc] and going out to a bar or party.

So, at just shy of four months old, MP2 enjoyed his first Halloween experience last night. The merchants in downtown CoMO host "Halloweenie" and there were kids blanketing the sidewalks in very cute costumes (no pressure!) getting all sorts of candy and treats.

We enjoyed meeting up with some friends who have children who can actually eat candy and therefore had much more reason to be at this event. Here are a few pictures of my favorite little pea pod...


All that fun wore the little man out...giving MP and I time to have dinner downtown with our friends after the festivities!



Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

All Good Things Must End...

Party's over...and we're none too happy about it over here!! Yep, next week I will be heading back to work. I guess complaints are not really in order, considering I am going to start back half-time for several months and I work from a home office, so it's not like I have to worry that I wouldn't fit into a single pair of pre-pregnancy work pants. But still, gone are our leisurely days...you know, the ones where I feed Max every three hours, try to get him to nap, and try to get household errands/chores done in between...yep, those relaxing times are o-v-e-r. We'll now be fitting all of that stuff in, plus 20+ hours of working. Man oh man. Personally, I think that MP is looking forward to all of his bonding daddy/baby time. If I were guessing, he may think I have been hogging MP2 all to myself! ;-)


We have certainly been packing in our share of fun while the weather was still warm. Last weekend found us hosting Nana & Papa, as well as checking out the MU homecoming festivities and host of ESPN College Gameday. Who knew what a big deal that was??


Mizzou actually set the attendance record for the college gameday show, and then went on to win the homecoming game against #1 ranked OU. MP and Papa witnessed the whole thing. There was bedlam in the streets of CoMO. It culminated in the goal post from the field being paraded down the main drag in downtown Columbia. I only heard about all of this secondhand, MP2, Nana, and I were hanging out at home during the game, as it was past MP2's bedtime. He did sport his team colors all day on Saturday though!

Over the rest of the weekend, while MP was studing, MP2, Nana, Papa and I hung out around town. Ice cream at Sparky's (none for MP2)

and a visit to Shelter Gardens were both on the agenda.
As you can see, Nana and Papa can hardly get enough of this little booger.

The rest of this week was spent doing some of our normal fun activities...I took MP2 out in the jogging stroller for his first run. You can see he appreciates my attempts to be fit. I struggled through a 4 mile run, and he napped pretty much the whole way.
He hung out in the bumbo...checking out his clown face rattle.
Learned to hop in the Jump-A-Roo...
Had a few fun baths
and hung out on the porch watching the dogs playing in the yard.
Now...we're all geared up for our first Halloween. In fact, this afternoon we'll be heading downtown to "Halloweenie" (trick or treating at the downtown shops). I'll leave you all on pins and needles wondering what MP2's costume is....stay tuned!

Running on Empty

Last weekend found the Pulle's headed north. It was each of our first trip to Iowa. MP2 and I arrived ready to cheer on some fast running...and that is just what we did. Goodness knows how MP can train for a marathon in the midst of law school, freelancing, and having a new baby at home...but clearly he made it happen - a 9th place overall finish of 2:40:14! Just incredible.

What could be a more stunning performance than that, you wonder? Well, I won't keep you in suspense. How about getting a 3 month old, up and dressed for a chilly morning, out the door, in the car, parked, back out of the car, and several blocks to the starting line in time to meet up with MP before the race began at 8am? Not bad for an amateur! (...and for the record, I would rather get MP2 in and out of the car 1000 times all before the sun comes up than run a marathon)


We got MP's stuff and headed out to the starting line to watch him begin. Believe it or not, MP is in the photo below.
On mile .1 we got a smile from him...

From here we headed to mile 6 (a high five was given) and mile 16 (a half grin, or was that a grimace?). It was all I could do to figure out where to go and get MP2 and I there in time. The camera was left behind. After mile 16, we were beat. So, on our way back downtown to the finish line, as MP was running his last 10.2 miles, MP2 and I enjoyed a local coffee shop.

I had a cafe au lait and a bagel....


MP2 had a catnap, then woke up and just relaxed in his bucket.


After which we headed back downtown, once again parking, out of the car, several blocks to get to the finish, and then waiting for MP to arrive. This time I had the camera on the ready...saw MP heading across the mat, and then MP2 at that very moment (most likely prompted by my cheering) spit his pacifier out, and it went across the barrier and onto the race course getting me all in a fluster, and I missed the photo op.

Luckily, a nice race volunteer returned the plug...um, I mean pacifier, and we headed to meet MP who handed off his finisher's medal to MP2. Now we know what it'll look like when MP2 finishes his first marathon!


We got out of there, back to the hotel, packed up, and headed to Baby Boomers, home of the first cookie. While MP and I enjoyed seeing for ourselves if President Obama had good taste in cookies, MP2 had enough of Des Moines for the moment.


We couldn't leave town without visiting the Iowa State Capitol! So, MP2...time to wake up for more photo ops! (Good thing that baby is a trooper) Here we are at the cornerstone of the building...clearly, I need to get some more seasonally appropriate sunglasses, but that is neither here nor there.

MP and MP2 on the steps

Iowa hasn't been around all that long!

Look at that beautiful gold domed Capitol!

From here, it was back to CoMO. It was a great trip in all, and MP is already talking about a repeat performance next year. (eeek.)

Never a Dull Moment

We are welcoming fall with open arms around here - though summer temperatures continue to creep in every now and then. I am doing my best not to complain, because I will take an 86 degree October day over a 46 degree October day all month long. Last winter here was pretty brutal, and fearing a repeat performance, I intend to enjoy each warm moment I can get.

We've been staying very busy with Oktoberfests, Fall Festivals, and hosting grandparents over the last couple of weeks. At the beginning of this month MP2 cheered for his dad at a race for the first time. It was a 10k that both MP and I ran last year (though, it doesn't feel like I am running when MP finishes in about half the time as me!), but this year MP had the honors. With a 7:15am start time, I am not sure what we would have done with MP2...that's a bit early for a babysitter (and, considering we haven't had a babysitter yet - I am not sure that was going to be our first experience). Here are the MPs just across the finish line.

If running skills are genetic, then in no time at all, MP will be cheering on MP2...I mean look, MP2 is definitely his mini-me.

After the race (and yet another disappointing attempt at having brunch in CoMo - how can a college town lack breakfast restaurants?!?! I just don't get it), we headed to Oktoberfest in Hermann, MO. It is such a picturesque town right on the Missouri River about an hour from us. It was a bit windy and a little chilly, and MP2 was skeptical about our being able to have a fun time
But once we tasted some wine and started swinging him around, he definitely changed his mind and had a fun day!

All that playing wore him out, and as we had the requisite German fare for a late lunch, MP2 had a nice lap nap. Note he's following in his mommy's footsteps being able to - through a nap, no less - hang onto his plastic wine cup. We're one classy family!


This past weekend, we were happy to again welcome Franma and Grand Dan to town for a nice long weekend visit. We headed to yet another Fall Festival...this time, it was the Pumpkin Festival in Hartsburg, MO - and this time, it was about 20 or so degrees warmer. It did not make it feel like Halloween is right around the corner. We had a great time nonetheless. We walked through the town (which, on a normal day, has a population of 108...but on this day is thousands more)...
...and finally ended up on the front porch of the town watering hole. It was much cooler in the breezy shade of the porch.
We got a bag of popcorn which was larger than MP2

...and then we headed out to get some pictures amidst the pumpkins. I had dreams of cute pictures which I have seen friends post on Facebook, or send out on their holiday cards. Unfortunately, we missed our feeding/sleeping/good mood timing - and even though I knew it would be a bad idea, we pulled a sleeping MP2 out of the stroller and tried to ever so gently place him among the large pile of Halloween cheer. As you can see, this did not go over well at all.

On that note, we called it a day.

MP2 got some QT with Franma and Grand Dan. Franma gave MP2 a bottle once each day of her stay - including on Saturday night, allowing MP and I time to go out for dinner. It was my first taste of sushi since sometime last fall, and man, was it good!




We've been seeing much more of that little smile on film- it's still tough to catch him in a full face smile, but I am getting better at capturing at least a little grin.


MP2 is also getting so much bigger. I swear every time I turn around he is looking more and more like a little boy...

...getting so interested in the world around him. Figuring out that those are his hands on the end of his arms, and he can use them to reach and grab and touch things.
These days he just chills out on his belly - we even get smiles! To see him getting bigger and stronger every day has been pretty amazing, and so much fun.