Dress Up

Joey loves to play dress up at school. When I picked him up on Friday, he was having a blast with all his friends.

Close Up

I haven't blogged in a few days, so I just wanted to put something up quick. Haven't done a "self portrait" with Joey in a while, so thought I'd see if I remembered how to use that function on the camera. The original photo is quite off-center, but thanks to a little cropping, it looks perfectly fine. More photos coming soon, I promise!

We're Going for a Walk

If you know my parents at all, you know how much they love to be outside, especially when that is where their grandchildren happen to be. It's no different when they're in Chicago.
Joey loved getting up every morning and immediately going for a walk with Nana and Pop-Pop. Everyone still in their pajamas, but enjoying the beautiful weather.

Joey especially loved walking around with his Elmo backpack on. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear he looks ready for kindergarten already. My little man is so grown up!

Nana Back?

When I picked Joey up from daycare, he asked if Nana would be sitting in the back with him. I had to remind him Nana and Pop-Pop already went back to Easton. Here's the parting shot before we loaded up the car for the airport. We miss you already!

Pumpkins

What good is a trip to the pumpkin patch if you don't pick up at least a few pumpkins?
Joey had one all pick out, but then ...
oh my goodness! Look at all the pumpkins! There are just so many of them!!
He really like this one ...
so Dad went in for a closer inspection. Look, Dad, even the bottom looks great!

Cow Train

There was this really cute cow "train" at Konow's. Everything was pulled by tractors, so we thought of course Joey would love it. And judging from this first picture, you would think that's the case.
Well, let me tell you, I have no idea how we got him to smile in this picture. Literally, this was one of the first things we tried. Mommy was going to sit with him. NO. He would have none of it. Maybe he was just so thrilled to not be in the cow anymore, he was willing to smile.
A little later in the morning, when our friends arrived, we decided to give it a go again. That's not a wave in this picture, he's crying for Mommy to come get him.
I gave him his pacifier instead.
He was apparently so pooped by this point, that Daddy said he laid on him the whole time. At least he didn't cry!

Tractor!

As I mentioned in my last post, there were some antique tractors at Konow's, and they were, without a doubt, Joey's favorite part of the day. I think he could've spent all day on them. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Daddy had a lot of fun on the tractors, too.

Children of the Corn

We headed south on Saturday to meet up with some friends at Konow's Corn Maze. It's a virtual Fall Wonderland, with, yes, corn mazes, but also pumpkins, tractors, a straw playground and a giant moon bounce. (Joey wasn't so keen on the straw playground or moon bounce; maybe next year.)
We only did the little kid maze this year. I've had friends do the adult maze, and it's taken them hours to get through it. Not something we wanted to do with a two-year-old. And I remember taking this picture, but I do not remember Joey smiling so nicely for it. What I do remember is trying to get a picture of Joey and Daddy, and having no luck.
I was able to tickle him enough to get a decent one of the two of us (and you'll notice later, the only picture of me). It was a great day.

U-S-A!

Last night, we took Joey to his first international friendly - USA versus Poland at Soldier Field.
Had he not been completely exhausted from our fun at Konow's Corn Maze, he might have actually enjoyed it. (He slept in the car ride home from our earlier trip, but didn't really take a nap.)
Joe and I both had fun, though, and our seats were great! Seventh row, at about the equivalent of the 25-yard line. There are so many Polish immigrants in Chicago, it felt like we were in Warsaw! Too bad the US team played extremely sloppy defense and allowed the Polska team to tie the game 2-2.

Daddy's Tractor

Shoes On

Joey has started trying to figure out how to put his shoes on. Sometimes he gets them on the wrong feet ...

but he keeps right on trying. (He gets his toes into the shoes, but not quite the heel. Something for Nana and Pop-pop to work on when they come visit.)

Up and Down

When I picked up Joey from daycare yesterday, he was playing on the alligator see-saw. Once I tried to join him, suddenly all the kids wanted to be on it, too. And they all fit!