Let's Go Hawks!

So I am incredibly behind on the blog!!!  It's been a busy month here at the Heinrich household, so finally getting caught up!  

Here are some fun pics from the Iowa vs. Michigan game that Nate & I went to earlier this month.  We took a bus trip with some folks from Templeton Rye and Baconfest.  It was a great time getting back to Iowa City, cheering on the Hawks and seeing old friends!  

Thanks to G'ma & G'pa Heinrich for coming up to babysit for the day!!

Nate & Bush

Only in Iowa :)

On the road

Sam & the Big Boy Bed

Well, it's been about 2 weeks now since Sam appeared in our bedroom, while we thought he was fast asleep in his crib.  The little monkey was climbing out with no hesitation and could do it in about 3 seconds.
Our first attempt was to put the crib mattress on the floor (so he wouldn't break an arm!), which ended up being an epic failure as he ran wild around his room and out the door.  Next step was to gate him, which lasted about 2 seconds until he learned how to scale the gate without it even falling.  So, after a long week of battling at nap and bedtime, we moved the big boy into a big boy "full-size" bed.

We are one week in and he is doing really great.  Each day has gotten better and today he didn't even cry or whine before nap or bed!!!  He's not even getting out of his bed anymore, so I think the novelty of having so much freedom is starting to wear off!!  I'll post pics once I get his new big boy room decorated!

Here are a few pics of Sam helping Grandpa Heinrich attach his headboard to the bedframe...

Sam & the Potty

So I got ambitious and busted out the potty for Sam.  He is always trying to pull his diaper off and says "pee pee" so I thought I'd give it a whirl.  As I suspected, he's still just a bit young.  He would rather climb on the potty, stand in it and on it, rather than use it for actual pottying.  He has however gone on it a couple of times, so at a minimum we're just starting to talk about it.  

Mia is his biggest fan and tells me all the time that Sam needs to go potty.  She lays on the floor by him and says "Come on buddy, push it out!!!"  Poor kid better get used to having 2 moms around the house!

Beggar's Night

We had a pretty nice night for trick-or-treating this year and the kids just loved it!  We had a ton of kids come to the door and the whole neighborhood was buzzing.  Nate took the kids out, while I stayed back to pass out candy.  In DSM, trick-or-treating is called Beggar's Night and it is the night before Halloween.  While I think it's odd to not have it on Halloween, it's pretty fun because the kids are supposed to tell a joke to get candy, hence Beggar's Night.  The kids got a TON of candy and it's all I can do to keep my hand out of it!!!

Mia loves Halloween, the dressing up, the candy and all things scary!!  She has been asking all week if it is Halloween again yet :)

  Pumpkin Carving

The witch and the elephant

Elephant on the loose!!

Diving in!

KC or Bust

I've never loved the state of Kansas as much as I do right now!!  The Larson's will be moving to Kansas City in just a few short weeks.  We are so thrilled to have them within a 3 hour drive of DSM!!  Since they have already sold their house, Andrea came up for a long weekend and I headed down there, solo, to house hunt with them for a day/night.  What a treat it will be to live so close to my sister again - it's been almost 10 years!!!   Oh yeah, and the kids will love it too!!!!

Pre-Halloween Fun

We have had a busy week of Halloween festivities already!!  Costume night at dance class, Reed's Halloween party, Preschool Fall Party and Trunk-or-Treating night with Moms Club.  Mia LOVES Halloween and is into all things scary!!  She is obsessed with her costumes and getting candy of course.  Sam on the other hand was petrified of his Halloween costume, but he did like the candy!  Not many things scare him, but I guess wearing a spider outfit does :)  We'll see how he does on Halloween night!

Ready for costume night at dance class

Mia & her friend Lily

At Reed's Halloween Party

Mia & her playgroup friends

Working on our Halloween craft

She's into all things scary - hence the scary pumpkin face!

Preschool Fall Party Dau

Getting ready to head to Trunk-or-Treat with Moms Club

Buddy was scared to death of his costume

He eventually wore it once we got there!  Our little spider!!

Trunk-or-Treating

Bonfire & Picnic

We have had an unbelievable stretch of beautiful fall weather here in Des Moines for the past few weeks!  We took advantage of the almost 80 degree temps this weekend to have another backyard bonfire with our neighbors and a picnic on the front lawn.  

The kiddos were so excited for the bonfire & smores!

Sam helping daddy get ready

Mia & Lillie

Picnic!

Can't put down the hockey puck long enough to take a drink :)

McTeacher Night

We had McTeacher Night at McDonalds last week for Mia's preschool fundraiser.  The teachers served us our meals and a portion of the proceeds went to the preschool.  It was a great time for the kids, especially meeting Ronald McDonald, whom they both loved!

High Trestle Adventure

We drove up to the High Trestle Bridge in Madrid last weekend, to get a look at this beauty!  It is one of the largest pedestrian bridges in the country, spanning 1/2 mile and towers 13 stories high above the Des Moines River.  The bridge is a part of the pedestrian trail that runs for 670 miles throughout central Iowa,  for use by hikers, bikers, walkers and runners.  Pretty cool!  

Heading to the bridge

Pretty views

A look down the bridge

View of bridge from the highway