Halloween fun begins...

Last weekend was a busy and fun weekend, which was perfect since it kept our minds off missing Holly.  We went to my parents house on Friday night to see my Dad who had a 4 1/2 hour shoulder replacement surgery last Monday.  He was doing remarkably well, and after a small scare this weekend due to excessive swelling, he was back at work on Monday.  Riley got his Christmas photos taken at JCPenney on Saturday morning for our Christmas card (check that off the list, yea!), and that evening we headed to the Loeffler house for a fun-tastic Halloween party! We went to a local pumpkin patch on Sunday morning, and then took Toby to the dog park that afternoon.

The little skeleton (thanks for the pj's Grandma & Grandpa!) and his Aunty Lala on Friday night

 Old MacDonald on his way to the Halloween Party

 

Kelly planned some awesome activities for the kids! The first one was decorating pumpkins, such fun!

Each kid did such a great job decorating their pumpkins, and they had so many options to choose from (paint, stickers, feathers, googly eyes, sombreros... I could go on forever!)

Riley decided to eat the paint... I think he was trying to tell me that he'd rather be a vampire than a farmer

...and paint the table (thank goodness for table cloths and aprons!)

They served lots of fun food like "mummy dogs" and chick-fil-a nuggets. This kid was in heaven with his friend Caroline!

YUUUMMMM!

Then, they bobbed for apples

I love how the girls used goggles!

Caroline bobbed like a pro!

And, then it was time to jump in the bounce house!

Of course... Riley has to go down the slide head first!  Great reflexes, Matt!

Then, the kids decorated Halloween cupcakes! I think Riley preferred all of the candy toppings!

Sneaking another gummy worm

Caroline is thinking, "hey pal, don't think about touching my cupcake... yours is on your overalls"

So, the overalls came off and the farmer was pantless. At least he kept his hat on and had a cool tattoo, and Griffin played with him regardless.

6 Moms + 8 Babies/kids in costumes = pictures are easier said than done!  Thanks again to the Loeffler's for hosting such an awesome party!

On to the pumpkin patch, Peek-a-Boo

Why am I not surprised, head first again!

Loading all of the pumpkins into the wagon, so strong.

18 month checkup... at 20 months

Here are the latest stats for our future basketball player!

Our Sweet Holly

We lost our sweet holly to kidney failure this weekend. Our lively pup has always been a food lover... L.O.V.E.R!!!  So, it was a little bizarre when she started snubbing her food in July.  We just figured that she was sick of the same old food.. I mean, who doesn't like a little variety? We changed the food, but her weird behavior continued on and off. We took her to the vet for her annual visit in August and the vet praised her 4 lb weight loss. They did did usual battery of test, and the conclusion was that she was NOW..FINALLY... healthy due to the weight loss.  Last week she stopped eating completely, so we took her in again for a blood test and the results showed that she had stage 5 kidney failure and had lost 10 lbs in 3 months! What!? How did THAT happen!? They told us that she would have to stay at the dog hospital on IV's to see if the fluids could flush the kidneys out. She quickly became the "favorite" amongst the vet techs, she was such a good little patient and brightened everyone's day. They even sent us videos on our cell phones at night of her playing ball with the tech's. My mom and I visited Hol on Friday during lunch, and she seemed like she was improving. Matt agreed when he visited her that evening. Matt & I paid her a visit on Saturday morning and she had quickly taken a turn for the worse. She was shaking and obliviously in pain. Her blood tests showed that she was getting worse, not better with the IV's!  We were able to take her home that evening on high doses of morphine so that she could spend one last night with her brother Toby.  My family came over so that everyone could say goodbye to Miss Hol.  She was no longer her perky sweet self... she laid on the bed and didn't even want Toby to lick her face.  I talked to Dr. Mech that evening (an amazing vet and family friend... too bad he lives all the way in Michigan), and he assured me that putting her to sleep was our only (& most humane) option.  The following day Matt, Toby, and I took Hol back to the vet. We got to hold her on our lap as they put her peacefully to sleep as we told her what a wonderful companion she has been to us for 6 years. She was our first pet after we got married, and we have so many wonderful memories with her.  Our lives will not be the same without our sweet Holly.  We have been grieving since the loss of Holly, and it's been much more difficult than expected. Riley loved Holly too, and continues to run around the house saying "Hol! Holly! Wa she go?".  We have to keep telling him that Holly went "bye bye", and we are working on teaching him to say "Toby".  Thank you to Everyone for your sweet notes, thoughts, and prayers. They are all very much appreciated during this difficult time.

Holly as a puppy, sitting on her toy (2006)

She loved when we dressed her up for Halloween (2007)

And put our glasses on her so that we could laugh!

Holly and Toby were inseparable from the time we adopted Tobes in 2007

Holly even had her 15 minutes of fame when she stared in a JCPenney Ad

More Halloween fun... for us... :)

 Holly is probably chasing balls up in dog heaven with her good friend Lily.

The Tree Farm

We had a very chilly Saturday morning (in the 40's!) so we bundled up on our way to the local tree farm.  We have two dead trees in our front yard, and Fall is the perfect time for planting. Riley had a great time running around in the mud in his cute rain coat from the Yates family. 

He ran so much that he took a nice long 3 hour nap when we got home! YEA!

This sweet man gave Riley and me a nice long ride on his "tractor" around the trees and through the barn.  Riley was in 7th heaven, and talked about his tractor ride for the rest of the day!

Halloween Decorations

It was a nice warm evening on Friday, so the boys decided that it was time to put the outdoor Halloween decorations up.  Riley and Matt tag teamed the whole ordeal, and Riley was such a big helper.

Hey, Dad... you go over here, and I'll do this side

Such a big helper!

Here you go, I'll bring you another one!

Time to break out the ghosts...

Steady... steady...

Time to do Riley's happy dance!

You turn around for once second and he's halfway in the attic!

3/4 of the way...

Made it!

*Side note: if you noticed the gigantic bruise on Riley's forehead you are not seeing things. I had two phone calls from his teacher on Friday. The first one to say he tripped over his own feet and hit his head on a table, and the second to say his cheeks broke out in a rash after his nap! Poor guy was a mess, but it didn't phase him!

The finished product, good job Guys!

Little Monkey

Our little monkey loves to climb... that is why I found him standing on top of the changing table in his play room the other day!! We ask, "How did you get up there, Mister?!" and tell him that he needs to keep his feet on the floor. 30 seconds later he is scurrying up the changing table again squealing with delight. I see some bumps and bruises in our future..!!

Boca Raton, FL

We took a long weekend trip to Boca Raton to visit our good friend, Sean.  He has always been so great about coming to visit us so we decided to take advantage of some cheap airfare, plus the fact that Riley still flies for free, and not to mention that he lives in an amazing condo RIGHT on the beach... how could we pass up this amazing opportunity for Riley to bond with Uncle Sean?! 

Riding from the airport parking lot to the terminal on the shuttle bus.

We arrived a few hours before Sean on Thursday night. We took a quick trip to the beach, and Riley loved putting his feet in the water and playing in his big "sandbox"!

Morning chat with Uncle Sean on the balcony

 We had to make a quick trip to the Boca Raton pediatrician on Friday morning. Riley woke up with pink eye... again. I guess it didn't clear up the first time, and came back after we stopped his meds.  Then, Sean's tire popped on his BMW while we were at the doctors office. It was quite the adventure, never a dull moment with the Weismann's and Mr. O'Connor!

  

We didn't let that ruin our day! We got back to the condo and got to spend the evening playing on the beach!

Uncle Sean bought Matt ... ahem... Riley a cool wagon and plastic sand toys. They were a hit!

Down to the water to fill up the pink watering can. Of course this was his favorite toy!

Look at that smile :)

3 peas in a pod 

This is some serious business!

Saturday was a little rainy (duh... hurricane season, we should have thought about that!), but it didn't matter because Riley had his swimmies, backpack, curious george, and two water bottles!

  Luckily, we had a beautiful Sunday morning on the beach

7th Heaven

Jamming to some tunes and soaking up the sun

The boys played a serious game of bocce ball on the beach

Riley observed and took a break for some pirate booty

The beach had several of these sea turtle nests. Apparently, this particular beach is one of the most popular beaches for sea turtles.  Too bad "Do not disturb" + bright colored tape = "COME OVER HERE" to a toddler! We had a few close calls, but no turtles were hurt during the duration of our trip. :) 

Riley and I took an evening walk on the beach, but he preferred playing with the shower hose near the pool. 

Please don't take this away from me, Mom!

Then, we chased lizards around the complex. The other condo residents really appreciated the toddler invasion!

View from the balcony

The other view, pool and the bay

 We had a great trip to Florida! Thank you to Uncle Sean for hosting us!! We will be back!