What We Love

Owen and Maren both love to read books, but Maren takes this love to a new level.  This is what happens when we finish reading books.  

Another favorite activity in our house is taking the puzzle mat apart.  Maren takes breaks from this task once in awhile, but Owen is obsessed!  He can't even be bothered to get dressed before getting to work on the mat. And when he succeeds in getting one whole puzzle piece, there is a lot of celebrating (and chewing)!

Finally, Owen loves the vacuum.  He will scream until you pick him up and let him "help" you vacuum.  So, if you want a good workout, feel free to come to my house to vacuum while carrying around my 22 pound son.

Ten Months Old!

Owen and Maren are 10 months old!  I am a bit behind on posting these pictures because, well, chasing two babies crawling in opposite directions keeps us busy.  Also, our house is a bit chaotic as we are still working on repairs from the storm damage.  I'm not going to expand on all the house details because when I look back on this year, I don't want to think about construction, I want to remember how obsessed these two were with their 10 months stickers!

The stickers weren't on for more than 30 seconds before they both started trying to remove them.  

These are the only two pictures with both babies sitting still and looking at the camera. 

I had the "brilliant" idea of taking the sticker off and putting it behind them.  (They did not forget about it)

Owen decided that picture time was over.

We tried putting a sticker on Cooper, and he didn't like it either. 

I think we're going to have to get creative with our 11 month stickers.

First Trip to Como Zoo

Over the weekend, we took advantage of the nice weather and brought the kids to Como Zoo for the first time.  Owen loved watching the seals, fish and polar bears (basically anything swimming), and Maren was most excited by the giraffes.  We look forward to many more visits to the zoo!

 

The whole crew checking out the fish

 Getting ready to visit the monkeys!

 



Owen and Daddy watching the polar bear.

Outside the polar bear exhibit

 

Maren's reaction to the giraffes

 

A couple of other pictures from the weekend. . .

 



Maren's excitement after crawling from one end of the room to the other.

Getting ready to run some errands in adorable vests

 

And, finally, a video of these two crazy kids "sharing" a toy. 



First Halloween

Owen and Maren did not wear costumes this year, but they did put on some Halloween outfits and enjoy their first Halloween!

 

The day before Halloween, we went to a party at Teeny Bee Boutique in St. Paul.  Both babies love playing with the new toys and seeing other kids. 

 

 

We did a load of laundry Wendesday night, and put their Halloween outfits on for some pictures on Thursday, as well. 



This is how Owen tries to stand up - just sticks his butt right up in the air. 

 

Cooper was not happy about his Halloween collar.  

 

My office decided on a slumber party theme for Halloween, so I wore pajamas to work. 

 

Finally, these two greeted all of our trick-or-treaters!

Picture Update



We have two very mobile babies!  Owen and Maren have mastered crawling, both army and up on their hands and knees.  Maren has also started to pull herself up on furniture.  They spend a lot of time exploring, playing with toys and reading books.  Maren has even started to crawl to her bookshelf and pick out books to read. 

 

Here are some recent pictures:

 

 



Owen spent a good part of a morning trying to fit in this box. 

Maren knew she looked adorable in this dress!

Guess who can stand in her crib. . . 

 

While his sister tries to climb out of her crib, Owen has opted to eat his way out!

 

Watching some TV. 

 

Maren working on a puzzle at the library.