Nolans 1st Halloween

It's no surprise I'm deeply in love with Halloween.  However,  I'm so done with being a smurf.  I think Nolan feels the same way.. 

This last weekend we went to "Boo at the Zoo" and "Trunk or Treating" at our church.  We basically used our child to get a ton of candy.

Papa and baby smurf

Our smurf family

A double smurf stroller!

The papa smurfs were so excited..

The baby smurfs were less excited...

Nolan would not give the giant cat the time of day...

Little children were excitedly screaming "IT'S A SMURF FAMILY!!" when we'd walk by.  Sadly, this made me feel cool.

Since Nolan ignored the giant cat earlier I forced him to get a picture with him.

Parker and Nolan at trunk or treating..Not used to seeing each other in costume.

  Tonight we decided to stay home and pass out candy to the hyper neighborhood children.  While we waited inside for the little midgets to come Nolan went through the bowl and licked every piece of candy.

 Hans said this was disgusting and unsanitary but it kept Nolan happy so I disagreed.  I hope that your children didn't get candy from our house. My favorite trick-or-treater (besides Nolan)  was a 6 year old ninja type child that told me "Happy Holidays." I gave him 5 pieces of candy.  Now to start thinking of costumes for next year! 

Homecoming!

It was my 5 year Luther Homecoming this year and BEYOND freezing..

Nolan with two of his favorites! (yes he's helping Joe hold his beer)

Katie G!

Nolan of course pooped his pants upon arrival.  On our way inside the building to use the nasty bathrooms these nice ladies offered their dorm room for a diaper change. He was in heaaaven.  What a player!

Friends!

 Nolan and Harper were among the few babies that were forced to go to homecoming in the cold. At least they had each other.

We told them to enjoy the scenery now as we wouldn't be able to afford Luther College.  They seemed fine with the idea of going to a community college.

Harper falls down the hill soon after this..I would like to say it wasn't my fault but that would be a lie.

The sweet McDonald baby showed up too!  

Trying to smile but their faces were frozen...

Eventually Nolan's face just froze in this angry position:

Oh yeah Hans was there too!  He actually got a speeding ticket on our way home that night.  Unfortunately Nolan's crying couldn't get us out of the ticket!

11 MONTHS!

Our baby boy is 11 months old today!

He celebrated the occasion with one of his favorite friends, Jada!  (Feelings not always mutual..)

Jada: "JUST because your 11 months old today does NOT mean you can touch and harass me."

JADA:"MOM WHY AM I NAKED?" 

Nolan constantly has to have his hands on Jada's head..Pretty sure he is pulling at her hair most of the time but she doesn't seem to be bothered by it anymore.

Laughing at crazy mom, Katie.

Nolan: "WAIT a second..when did you learn how to laugh?" 

                                                  It's like they're at the movies..

Nolan: "Lets see how this brick looks on your head."

Jada showing her muscles! It won't be long and she will be able to defend herself!

Nolan: "Ok I'm officially done smiling for pics. Time to relax."

Nolan craves coffee

My new favorite coffee at Dunn Brothers: Sea Salt Caramel Skinny latte  (I don't know how "skinny"  it  is with all the whip cream, caramel, and salt they put in it ..but frankly my body doesn't care)

It's very  hard to enjoy my special cup of Joe with Nolan around though..He craves the sea salt caramel skinny latte as much as I do... 

I guess it could have been the "Mmmmmmmmm" sounds I was making when I was drinking it.     

 Next time I guess I will try not to enjoy it so much in front of him.

 I did give him  a cracker if that makes you feel better for him..

Walking!

Nolan is officially walking like a drunken sailor!! He will be 11 months in 2 days!! Here's the link: Nolan walking

Football game!

Nolan and Jada went to their first junior high football game together... 

I've cut out Hans so that you can concentrate on Nolan's expression.  Either he's afraid Jada's turned into a pumpkin or he can't believe she gets a pacifier and he doesn't!

They always give each other serious looks when we get them together. Probably asking each other "where in the world have our parents taken us to now?"

Jada didn't last long before she was bored to sleep..

Halloween costume #1: CARL

My friend Bridget texted me a picture of a baby impersonating Carl from the movie "UP" thinking it would be a great idea for Nolan's Halloween costume. I agreed!

If you haven't seen the movie...Carl  is 78 years old, very angry, and by tying thousands of balloons to his home, he set out to see the wilds of South America.

Just in case you needed another shot of him..

First we had to go to Card Factory Outlet to get our balloons! Didn't realize my car was so small..but luckily Nolan didn't mind.

Then I had to scout the yard to see where we should take the pictures..Nolan (who looks like a hyvee worker at this point) anxiously looked out the door wondering what I was up to.

 Then he saw a car and could have cared less about what I was doing.

It was Nolan's nap time when we decided to take the pictures so he was in an extra ornery mood just like Carl...possibly angrier..He are some outtakes:

(After we had a small mishap on the concrete we decided to move the shoot to the backyard..we haven't  raked our leaves because we don't own our house anymore so we could care less.  Sorry future homeowners!)

 It was pretty windy out today...

 Baby down!  He's not hurt..he's just trying to stay in Carl character...

 We decided to let him use his little cart that he's loved since he's been old enough to crawl..

 This worked better....but other things started failing...Nolan was not meant to be Carl for Halloween..good thing I got him a smurf outfit for actual trick or treating!

Perfect last picture!