Go Badgers!

In honor of tonight's big game, here's a look at the kids sporting their Badger wear earlier this season.

The girls are ready for game day

An armful of two of the cutest Badger fans I know

Eli making his list for the farmers' market (cheese curds, meat stick, donut...the boy knows the good stuff!)

Ready for the market (list in hand)

Taking a break to enjoy a cinnamon roll on the Capitol lawn

Handsome and Cute

The littlest Badger fan was on the move!

Hungry (but still happy!) baby Badger

Keeping up on the news during lunch

Wedding Weekend in Lake Geneva (and Papa Birthday Celebration!)

Our good friends picked a LOVELY weekend for their fall wedding in Lake Geneva, and Mimi and Pa were kind enough to come along with us to serve as the in-condo child care for the weekend. There are not too many pictures from the weekend, as we were all pretty busy chasing kiddos (Mimi and Pa) or celebrating and then desperately seeking coffee (Mom and Dad). A few of the highs and lows from the weekend:
- Discovering that Evelyn can take her naps away from home, especially impressive since we were in a condo that slept six adults, but had no real walls or doors to separate sleeping spaces!
- Enjoying the outdoor pools that were heated so warm that we were actually able to get in them during the cool fall days.
- Getting to see many good friends (and their sweet babies), some of who now live out of state or even across the country.
- Being able to stay out past midnight and dance on the wedding night, and which helped us feel not so old when we had to ask the people in the hall to be quiet the second night so they would not wake up our kids.

After a full weekend, we decided to crash on Papa's birthday plans as well, and so we took the long way home to visit with Papa and GG for the afternoon and go out for birthday dinner. The kids did pretty well (only a couple mini-meltdowns from them, and not one from Mom and Dad!), especially for a long-haul weekend, and it was such a blessing to get to spend time with my grandpa on his 87th birthday!

Pajama Playtime

Yeah, I stand now

Looking beautiful in Mimi's "chapstick" (I think that's the lipstick, buddy)

Movie star ready for her stroll about town

Tired, but determined to finish his chocolate ice cream

Enjoying the lovely day outside

What's for dinner?

The birthday boy

Grandpa's girl

Grab a Seat, The Dentist (Neat!), Something to Eat

Time again for a catch-up post of random happenings. So, without further ado...

Evelyn is on the move, and ready to explore anywhere (but mostly wherever her brother or his belongings are currently located).

Laundry baskets help with containment

Just relaxin'

The big boy milestones just keep on rolling for Eli. He did a great job at his first trip to the dentist!

Keeping those pearly whites pearly white

This year for Taste of Madison, we again opted for the "picnic and food runner" approach, which allowed the kids to play and run around while the adults took turns visiting the various stands to bring back delicious eats!

A little lady and her daddy

The food critic ponders her first bite...

...delicious!

A Day* in the Life of Eli Monkey

While sorting through packed-away kids clothes in the basement recently, I happened to open a box marked "Halloween Costumes", which led to the triumphant return of Eli Monkey. Eli Monkey likes to go on all sorts of adventures, as you will see in the following pictures, and as adorable as it is to see a preschool-sized monkey pitter-pattering around your house, the icing on the cuteness cake is that he refers to himself as Eli Monkey the entire time as he narrates what Eli Monkey is doing throughout the day.

*As a disclaimer to the post title above, these pictures are actually from a series of days. Since re-discovering the beloved monkey suit, it has been in use, on and off, for about a week, at least once a day. Inside or outside, in air-conditioned comfort, or end-of-summer-heat, Eli Monkey is up for adventure anywhere. Eli Monkey almost got to attend the first day of preschool, but I made a last-minute negotiation so that the monkey suit could stay home. The suit has been laundered a couple times, most recently after Eli Monkey was coloring outside with sidewalk chalk and had taken on a rainbow-colored hue. Even now, during nap time, the monkey suit is propped in the corner of Eli's room, ready to be called into duty at any time. If he didn't need help getting it on, it would be entirely probable that Eli Monkey would come walking out of the bedroom after nap time.

You may be thinking, how nice for mom to already have the Halloween costume covered for this year, with a no-additional-cost option that your child clearly adores. Well. That does seem logical, but this is a preschooler we are talking about, so you would be wrong. This year, he wants to be a giraffe.

Sneaky Monkey

Eli Monkey

Train Conductor Monkey

Farm Monkey

Snack-time Monkey

 Camping Monkey (the trashcan is his campfire...just go with it)

Sibling Monkeys

Did I mention we have two of the same monkey costume...cause we do. And there is actually a third in an infant size packed away too. (Insert some joke about us being more fun than a barrel of monkeys) :)

First(ish) Day of Preschool

This summer, we started participating in a preschool co-op one morning each week, as an alternative to a more traditional preschool. There are six children, ages 2 1/2 to 3, and each week one of the moms is the teacher and another mom is the helper. Thus far it has proved to be a positive experience for both Eli and Mom, as Eli gets to learn all sorts of new information, play with friends, and practice listening to another adult within the structure of a school setting, and Mom gets to exercise her creative muscles a little in developing and executing lesson plans with a group of sweet, energetic preschoolers. Over the past couple months, the preschool as been rotating between members' houses or local parks. This week was a first day of sorts, as we held class for the first time in the preschool classroom (a co-op preschool space with classroom and gym) that we will be in for the fall semester. Here's the round-up of the summer preschool fun, and the obligatory first-day-of-school-front-porch picture.

Construction Day

Watching the construction workers do road work

Building with marshmallows and toothpicks

 Chickens

Snack and story time

Collecting eggs

A Day at the Marsh

Exploring the marsh

Making frog puppets

Herbs

Circle time to start out the morning

Trying herb tea

Making art with plants

Story time

Farm Day

 Building a barn

Sensory table

Zoo Day

More sensory table fun

Making a "shaker"

Camping

Listening to nature sounds in the tent

Collecting items on a nature hike

First Day of Preschool

Ready for school

Moving our bodies

Heading home after a busy morning