Happy Halloween

Let me tell you, we really did Halloween right this year. First, we went over to our neighbors' house for pizza and beer. Then, Eva put on her frog suit.

Froggy wants an iphone, please!

Eva and Max really coordinated with the green amphibian costumes this year

It is possible the mommies are more excited than the babies in this picture.

Next, we lined up all of the kids in their costumes and all of the parents stood, snapping pictures, until at one point most of the kids were looking at the camera.

We were told there would be candy.

After that, we hit the road. The herd of preschoolers was really quite impressive.

Perhaps I should be concerned about the lady down the street and her demon spawn...

The decorations were a big hit

Though Eva was skeptical

Not sure how I'm supposed to reach the doorbell from here, mom

After a tour of Ollie's pumpkins

We retired inside so the kids could take a look at Noah's haul

They wouldn't let me have any candy, but I'll show them!

Look! A crumb! From the floor!! I will eat it!

Then Eva went to bed and we let Noah eat two pieces of candy

This may have been a mistake...

And now Noah's arguing with Chad about going to bed while I sit in the kitchen and write this post. Wish us luck.

Happy Halloween!

Baby party

Eva and her friends sure are interested in something...

Applicious

Hello, my precious apple.

nom nom nom

mine!

heh heh heh

Parallel play

This has started happening more and more



And it's awesome. I can just kind of sit by and stretch or drink my coffee or videotape them. For about 2 minutes until they both want the same toy and it's over.

Rocket Ship

Disclaimer: the following is really pretty dumb. I think it's totally hilarious. You probably won't, because in reality, it's not. In fact, you should probably click away now, back to work or school or your budget or whatever it is you are actually supposed to be doing on your computer.

You were warned.

May I present, Noah and Eva Pytel starring in "Fly me to the moon France"



and it's stunning sequel, "Fly me to the moon France, part Duex"



It's becoming clear that I need to get out more.

Cousins, again

Noah seems determined to be a great big cousin, just like he's a great big brother.

New cousins

So as you have probably heard, Baby Charlotte has arrived, and she is basically the sweetest and most wonderful baby you ever did see.

Don't hate me because of how well I rock a hairbow.

Eva and I took a trip to Badger Country to spend some time with the new arrival. Eva was a trooper on the trip.

Charlotte who? HAVE YOU SEEN THIS WINDOW!!?!?

Once we arrived, the girls got along great. And of course they would, they have so much in common! For example, Winnie the Pooh blankets:

A love of Target

And when they don't sleep well at night, a 5pm nap

(this nap was maybe my favorite part of the trip, as Sarah and I got to have a beer on the tailgate of the car while the babies slept)

Aunt Sarah is doing a great job managing her growing family

Max says: It's been quite an adjustment but overall I am SQUIRREL!!!!

But Eva was happy to lend a hand with diaper changes

Sure, Aunt Sarah! I'll just grab the wet bag for you...

What Eva did not like was any time mommy spent with Charlotte.

I seem to be losing my place as center of the universe. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!?

Luckily, Noah soon arrived to set Eva at ease

And Charlotte started to smile even though Eva was playing with all her toys

So overall, I think we can count the trip as a total success.

She's got a lot to say

And it's sounding more and more like actual speech.

A round of applause

Eva and I had an awesome week in Madison visiting Sarah and Alex and Baby Charlotte. It was a big week. I am beat. Until I have a chance to decompress and update, please enjoy a video of Eva's latest skill:



The best part about it is she'll make noise until she catches your eye, then she'll clap until you play along. SUPER cute.

Boys

I have been doing some important field research. My conclusion: two-year-olds are nuts.

Please see the following video clip as evidence. This is a small clip out of twenty minutes or so of playing in the closet, during which time they discussed mosquitoes, pie, trucks, dinosaurs, and several other non-sequiturs.



Nuts. But also cute.

Chalk Time

Our little budding artist.

Also, I would just like to mention how difficult it is to let her draw with the chalk while preventing her from eating it. Goes double for the crayons. Sigh.

Hayride

We have been visiting Drumlin Farm a lot lately, and recently took a hayride with some friends.

Noah and Rostam, on the lookout for cows

Eva and Alden, on the lookout for other babies

Also on this trip, Eva got to ride on my back in the Ergo for the first time.

I guess it was was comfortable, based on how quickly she fell asleep. Either that, or just the view was pretty boring.

Dreams do come true

Noah is getting better at approaching the cats gently, and I think Max is really desperate for petting. Either way, it's a win-win.

Yoga

Noah likes to spread my yoga mats out around the house. Makes for a good opportunity to stretch out in the hallway.

Yeah. His interest in yoga really cracks me up. But it also makes it basically impossible for me to practice.

Broadmoor

The Massachusetts Audubon Society had a membership special after labor day, so we joined so we can keep going to the farm. But now that we are members, we're trying to explore some of the other wildlife sanctuaries. The other day we headed over to Broadmoor.

It was beautiful.

We saw some crazy algea

Noah got to jump over a bunch of "really really really really big" rocks

He also kept stopping to "fish." And by that, he means poke a stick into the water.

Eva got to ride in the Ergo

And explore the boardwalks

What a lovely day.

The Airship in our Basement

Here at EntryopyLivesHere, we are getting very excited about our upcoming trip to Wisconsin.



Hope the badgers are ready for us

L'shanah Tova

Unfortunately we missed the shofar-blowing at services this year, but luckily Noah got to try it out at Grammy's house.



Happy new year, Lord of the Flies style!

Peek-a-boo is the best game ever invented.

Please enjoy my new favorite video EVER.

The gift of an ordinary day.

Inspired by this post, I decided to capture an ordinary day for us by setting a timer to take a picture roughly every hour on a totally regular day. I did chose a day when I didn't have to work, since pictures of my computer would be considerably less interesting. Eva is eight months old, Noah is two years eight months.

6am:

Eva's awake. And happy to see me. :)

6:30am:

Warming up to breakfast

7:30am:

We've sent daddy off to work, time for some climbing

8:30am:

Mommy begins negotiations with Noah about getting dressed.

There is a lot of whining involved.

9:30am:

Apparently mommy won that round.

We drove to Drumlin Farm and are finishing our nap/snack before unloading.

10:30am:

Noah and his friend Caroline are off and running.

11:30am:

Noah helps Caroline with the water fountain. Eva is asleep in the Ergo.

12:30:

Unfortunately, I left my phone in the car so you don't get to see the absolute madhouse that is lunchtime with two little kids. Instead, I present...

1:30pm:

Both kids are down for a nap. Mommy returns to the kitchen to tackle the mess.

2:30pm:

Mommy choses pilates over cleaning up the living room.

3:30pm:

Everyone's up again. Time for some milk.

4:30pm:

Ollie (from next door) comes over to help Noah with the garden.

5:30pm:

A bit of time for the bike before Daddy comes home

6:30pm

Dinner! All of the insanity of lunchtime, but with wine.

7:30pm:

Eva's had her bath and is headed to bed.

8:00pm:

Noah's had his bath and is flossing

9:15pm:

Kids are asleep. Kitchen is cleaned. Toys are corralled. Parents are beat. Project runway is on DVR. Also, apparently, living room picture is seriously askew.

Craziness. Jill proposes doing this four times over the course of the year, and I think that's a great idea. We'll see how different things are in a few months!