Frolicking in the Autumn Mist...

Happy Halloween! Yes, I know it's been a while since I've posted. Owen and I were in Murphysboro for 10 days and I just couldn't get it together to post while I was there. So now I'll start with our trick-or-treat night last night and then I'll go back and post pictures of all the fun we had with the family in the 'boro. We went to Pella last night and trick-or-treated with our good friends the Eisenbarths. Owen had lots of fun and caught on to it really quickly. He just loved it and Cody and I loved watching him experience it for the first time. He was the cutest little dragon out there, even though many thought he was a dinosaur! :)

Here's our little dragon, whom Auntie Beth nicknamed "Puff."

No dragon is complete without his wings and tail!

Grace the Vampiress, Owen the Dragon, and Lizzie the Barbie Fairy (she has a name, which I asked twice and I still can't remember! Sorry, Lizzie!)

First we headed to a nearby church where they do a "Trunk-or-Treat." That's where the parishoners bring their cars to the church parking lot and hand out candy from their trunks. It is great because you don't have to walk far and you end up with a lot of candy in a short amount of time!

Here's our little Dragon filling up his pumkin! Although, Cody said he doesn't quite know how to pick the "good" candy yet. :)

His first house

And you know me, I love to get pics of my two boys walking together. And it's even cuter when you see the back of the dragon!

Alas, our dragon got a little tuckered out by the end of the night and had to hitch a ride. Look at how heavy his pumpkin is!

We did get him to pose for one last picture before we headed home. Notice my husband got rid of the goatee while we were gone. I never thought he looked that young before, but now that he's shaved, I think he looks like a teenager!

So that was the Muhs Halloween! We had a great time and can't wait to do it again next year. Stay tuned for lots more pictures from the last two weeks! Happy Halloween!

The Snuggler

Owen just loves to snuggle these days. He'll climb up in bed and say, "Wanna snuggle Mommy?" Of course, it only lasts about 30 seconds but it is the best 30 seconds of my day! He'll snuggle anything though, his Thomas train, a toy, and just about any stuffed animal he can find. Here he is snuggling some Winnie the Pooh characters and his cherished monkey:
I don't know where this stuffed animal obsession has come from but it is definitely in full force these days. We've actually had to limit the amount of stuffed animals he can have in his bed because he wants to add a new one every night!

Presents from Grampa

Last Saturday while I was out shopping a package arrived at the front door for Owen. He and Daddy opened it and it was filled with Bears presents from Grampa Gary! Owen was so excited!

Owen with one of the 2 Bears cups in the package and his beloved new backpack.

He LOVES this backpack. He says, "Bears backpack! Wanna put it on?" Then he puts stuffed animals or anything else he can find and zips them up in there. Then he says, "Where's Big Bird?" He unzips it and says, "There he is! I found him!!!"

Of course, like most kids, the best part of a present is the box that it came in.

Also included in the package were a bottle, pacifier, and some cute jammies, all Bears of course, for the baby. I can always count on Grampa to outfit my boys with tons of Bears gear! Although, I am still cursing him for the life-size Brian Urlacher poster he gave my oldest boy that is currently on my living room wall. :) Thanks, Grampa!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Steve!

Well, I was able to get him to sit still long enough to deliver the message but then he REALLY wanted to see the message! I wish I could have taken a picture of him while he was holding the camera watching himself OVER and OVER again. He'd just keep pressing the button, watch it, and every time it stopped he'd say, "Happy Birthday, Grandpa. It's not working!" Then he'd do it all over again. Too cute! In any case, hope you have a great day today, Grandpa! We love you and can't wait to see you in a few weeks!

Doctor Update

I never did talk about my doctor's appointment from Tuesday so I thought I'd just post a quick update. Everything with the baby seems to be going well. My friend, Dawn (she's a nurse), had mentioned to me that she thought the "I'm a boy!" ultrasound picture could be a little doubtful so I decided to ask the doctor about it. He looked at it and said he didn't think there was any doubt, nor did the doctor who interpreted all my ultrasound pics. He said had there been any doubt, that doctor would have said so. So I guess there are never any guarantees but we're still fairly certain it's a boy. I was panicking because I thought I might need to be out shopping for girl clothes! :) The baby's heart rate was 144 bpm, and the doctor said, "Wow, you are pretty consistent!" He continued to name off a number of appointments where the HR was 143 or 144 bpm. I'm surprised it's not 190 with the way this little guy moves all the time! It feels like he's doing back flips in there lately!

Unfortunately, I am not doing quite as well as the baby. My nausea is still pretty bad so I had to be put on yet another kind of prenatal vitamin to see if that would help. But with the help of some anti-nausea medication (my best friend in pregnancy!), I'm able to make it through my days with a toddler who has decided that he'd rather nap less often these days! My baby is growing up! I am also still coughing pretty badly. I believe Monday will start the 7th week of that. I told the doctor about it and said that I was also feeling some shortness of breath at times. He listened to my lungs and said that I was wheezing so much I sounded like an asthmatic. So he put me on an inhaler 3 times a day, which I have to say is not as easy to do as they make it look on TV! I'm still not sure I'm doing it correctly and that it's getting into my lungs but I'm doing what I can! If anyone has any tips for me, bring 'em on! I'm just hoping this will all clear up soon and that it doesn't turn into anything more serious.

So that about sums it up! I'm off to try to get this kid to take a little rest so I can get one in, too!

Owen Tidbits

Just thought I'd share some recent Owen stories that we found funny.



*The other day he was watching "Curious George" on PBS and after it was over, the adult shows came on for the evening. Someone came on and said, "This program is brought to you by..." And Owen said, "The letter B!"*


*One night he put on his pajamas that have dinosaurs on them and I said, "What's on your shirt?" He said, "Baby dinosaurs! Aw, cute little baby dinosaurs!"*


*Yesterday he went with me for my regular OB appt. As soon as we walked into the doctor's office he said, "Baby in Mommy's belly." Then I told him I was going to get up on the table so we could listen to the baby's heartbeat. When I was done and got down, he put his Thomas Train on the table said, "Thomas heart." Later he went and used part of the nurse's blood pressure thing and put it up to Thomas and said, "Thomas heart."*


*This morning after I dried off from my shower he said, "Thomas's towel?" So I gave him the towel and he proceeded to "dry off" Thomas.*

*Every time we watch "Wheel of Fortune" and someone wins the bonus round Owen yells out, "Thoooooouuusand dollars!!!" just like the announcer does.*

*We met Cody for lunch today and Owen was eating curly french fries. He found a really big one and said, "BIG french fry!" Then he picked up a small one and held it gently in his hand and said, "Little baby french fry!"*

He amazes me every day with what's going on in that little head of his!

A Day Out With Thomas

On Saturday we traveled up to Boone, IA, about an hour from here to go to "A Day Out With Thomas." It is at a railroad station where they bring an actual Thomas the Tank Engine that takes you on a ride! They had lots of other fun stuff to do like a straw maze, petting zoo, trains to play with, and a jump house. We all had so much fun together! Owen just kept saying, "Thomas tickets! Thomas tickets!" when we first got there because earlier in the week he was with me when I ordered the tickets on line. I also don't think he quite got that we were riding on Thomas but he still had fun!

The big guy himself, Thomas. You could wait in a VERY long line to sit in front of him and get your picture taken but Owen just didn't have the stamina to endure the line!

Mommy and Owen on the train. Cody was so good to make sure that I got in my fair share of pictures this time around, which was so nice!


The Conductor on the train came through each car (and there were many) to see the kids and he would even take a picture with them. I didn't think Owen would stand with him for a picture so I just took one of the Conductor. Owen kept saying, "Hi, Conductor!"

Getting his Thomas "tattoo," Grampa Gary must be so proud!


Here he is checking out his tattoo. He has had more fun with it that I have been afraid to give him a bath because I'm not sure what he'll do when it washes off. Alas, we cannot put it off any longer so I guess it's bye, bye Thomas! It's all he's talked about since he got it and we even had to call a few people on the phone so he could tell them about his Thomas tattoo.

Coloring Thomas


He LOVED playing with the trains that they had set up under the tents. Looks like we're going to have to get him a set for Christmas!


His favorite thing at the petting zoo, the baby pigs. They were the only animal that he actually reached through the cage to pet. He would never feed any of the animals but he kept taking Cody's hand and putting it up to their mouths for him to feed them.

One tent had live music in it.

Owen joining in with the band.

Meeting Sir Topham Hatt. He couldn't wait to get up there and see him, he kept trying to push through the other people in line in front of us! Of course, once we got up there I had to get in the picture with him and he was so much in awe that he wouldn't smile for the cameras! Oh well, at least he didn't cry!

Baking with Mommy

I was going to make a cake for Cody's birthday last week but then decided not to because I thought we'd just have dessert when we went out at the restaurant. But we ended up being so full that we didn't get dessert! Since I was left with a craving for cake that was never satisfied, Owen and I decided to whip one up yesterday.

He got the box off the counter and kept saying, "Want can-cakes?" He thought it was pancake mix!

His favorite part was counting out the eggs, although he looked at me like he couldn't believe what I was doing when I cracked them all!

Here he is watching the cake bake in the oven. He went over to it and sat there and said, "Hi, cake!

And of course, what baker can make something so yummy without sticking their finger in for a little taste?

I wish someone else would have been here with us to take pictures because he had so much fun helping me pour stuff in and use the mixer. He saw the mixer and kept saying, "'Round and 'round and 'round!" When he helped me pour the batter into the pan he looked at it and said, "Cake water!" We had so much fun together but I think the best part for him was going through Mommy's measuring cup drawer and taking them all out to play with!

A Little Boy I've Never Met

This is Evan deMello. He and his family are very good friends with my cousin Beth's friend, Melissa. He is four years old and was born with a heart problem. In June of this year he got his long-awaited new heart but, unfortunately, due to many complications he is still in the CICU in the hospital. His kidneys have stopped working and he spends all day lying in a bed with countless tubes hooked up to him. He has been close to death more times than any 4-year-old should ever be. I started reading his story on a blog that his family keeps to update friends and family about his condition. The faith and strength of both Evan and his parents has had a very lasting affect on me. I never thought I could learn so much about life and how much we should embrace it from a 4-year-old, especially one I've never even met. I know that many of you that read my blog have also been touched by Evan's story. The reason I am writing about him today is because today is Evan's 4th birthday. His family, friends, and organization that runs his website are trying very hard to raise money for the family. They have set a goal to try and raise $5,000 on his 4th birthday. The cost of a heart transplant exceeds $500,000, not to mention the cost of the many months he has been in the hospital. His parents are running out of time off from work and have had to take shifts staying with Evan at the hospital, which is 2 hours away from their home. I can't imagine leaving my son while he is fighting for his life and having to go back to work. So I'm asking you, in honor of Evan's birthday, visit his website, read about all he has endured and make a donation. It doesn't have to be much. Even $1 would help. Keep this family together in the most difficult time of their lives. And if for whatever reason you can't donate at this time, please keep them in your prayers. When you do stop by, be sure to sign his guestbook and let them know you're rooting for them.

Parytin' with the Old Dudes

For Cody's birthday, I arranged for him and 3 friends to head over to Iowa City (about an hour from here) to a golf and gambling resort and spend Saturday and Sunday golfing, gambling, and drinking...which I think are his 3 favorite things in life so it worked out pretty well. I managed to keep it a secret from him for a whole month so he was quite surprised when I sprung it on him last week that he'd be going. The guys showed up at our house to pick him up bright and early on Saturday morning. Cody hates it when people make a big deal out of his birthday so they showed up with the van looking like this, just to spite him:



Isn't that great?! He got a pretty good laugh out of it, but I think I laughed harder! I also made all of them pose in front of the van before they left, which they reluctantly did for me.
After all the flash photography they got on the road to make it in time for their 10am tee time that I set up for them. Cody said the course was great and they had a GPS system on their golf carts that would also send them updates with sports scores! He was in heaven! Afterward, they checked in to the hotel. Two other guys joined them and they had a great dinner and gambled for the rest of the night. Luckily, Cody came out even so he was happy about that! I'm told that at 11:45pm Cody and Travis were at a table and decided to head up to the rooms to see what the other guys were up to. They knocked on the door and one guy answers half asleep and informs them that the rest of them were also already alseep! So Cody and Travis headed to their room, turned on Sports Center and Cody was snoring in 3 minutes flat! And I here I thought they'd party all night! It's hell to be old...

A big thank you to the guys who went the extra mile with beer and gag gifts for him. It turned out better than I expected and I think everyone had a good time. Thanks so much, guys!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is Cody's 30th birthday! Happy Birthday, Cody! I've been trying all morning to get Owen to say happy birthday to his daddy on video but he just wouldn't do it. He kept wanting to look at the camera because he thought there was a picture of Daddy on it! Finally I resorted to a still shot and this was the most he would cooperate with me:

You can see he has his Pella truck in his hand. He loves playing with all of Cody's Pella trucks and he calls them "Daddy." That's what he calls anything with the Pella logo on it because he always sees Daddy wearing it. So this morning he had two of them lined up and he said, "Two Daddies!" This boy loves his daddy! And so do I! Hope you have a great day, honey! You deserve it! And all you people at Pella reading this, be sure to make a big deal about it being his birthday when you see him. He just loves it when people go on and on about his birthday and make a fuss over him. *wink, wink*

Big Brother Owen

Hi, all! I realize it's been a while since I've posted. To tell you the truth, we just haven't had much going on to post about! Owen and I are still battling a cough, although thankfully mine is much worse than Owen's. I'm going on 5 weeks of coughing and the doctor says it's just something horrible going around town and I just have to wait it out. Not only is it hard to sleep at night as a pregnant woman, as a coughing pregnant woman it's even harder! So I have been very tired most days as I've only gotten 4-5 hour decent blocks of sleep. Maybe this is God's way of preparing me for the baby?!

Anyway, I was cleaning out Owen's closet and drawers today and came across his "Big Brother" shirt that Auntie Beth (and Uncle Ryan and Cade) gave him for Christmas last year when we were expecting the last baby. I have to admit that after we lost the baby I had to tuck it away in the drawer because it was hard to see. So when I found it today I had to put it on him and take a picture because, unfortunately, I don't think it's going to fit him by the time the baby gets here! :( Sorry, Aunt Beth. At least he looks cute in it now! He kept walking around saying, "Big brother! Owen big brother!" It was so cute! I still don't think he gets what's going on but he's at least talking about it.

I can't believe what a big boy my baby is!

And of course, since this weekend is the big Murphysboro Apple Festival, which, unfortunately, we will be missing this year, I had to take a picture of him in his "Apple Shirt," as he calls it. He just loves wearing it.

For those of you not in the know, that would be Captain Applesauce on the shirt. Cody just thinks that's hilarious that we have something called Captain Applesauce. I'm so used to it I never really thought about it, but I guess it is pretty funny! Apple Festival is one of my favorite times of year in Murphysboro and I'm just so bummed that I'm missing it. I hope everyone has a great time! Good luck to Cade, who will be on his very first float this year!

BIG Muhs News!!!

We are so excited to announce that Cody has accepted a new job at Pella Corp.! Although it will be a couple of months before he moves, he will be headed out of the plant and back up to the corporate offices to work as a Senior Reliability Engineer. This means a promotion, with more pay and more importantly, less hours! Yes, I'm ecstatic about more pay but I am more excited about the less hours part. He will go from working from about 7am (although sometimes earlier) to anywhere from 7-9:30pm, to working 7:30am-5:30pm. Now we can finally enjoy dinner as a family at night! And it will be so nice once baby #2 is here that he will be here nearly every night for bath and bedtime and I won't have to go that alone as I sometimes have to now. He will be working with the design engineers, process engineers, and quality engineers to work on projects that make Pella quality even better. Cody is very excited to use what he has learned over the last 7 1/2 years in this new opportunity. While he enjoys working in the plant, I think he is really excited to try something new and different. Congrats, Cody! We are so proud of you!

Fun Weekend at Lake of the Ozarks

Friday morning we set out for our first vacation (with kids) with the Calverts and the Elricks. Five kids and six adults in ONE condo for an entire weekend! It was crazy! But we had a great time. Owen loved playing with all the kids. The Moms got to go to a spa for pedicures Saturday afternoon, the Dads went jet-skiing on Sunday morning, and we all went to a water park on Sunday afternoon. It between all that we did as much relaxing as possible with 5 kids at the condo.

Logan and Jack enjoy powdered donuts while watching a little tube on Saturday morning.

The kids decided to try their luck at a little poker. I hope Owen had more luck than his daddy did! :)Cody and Dusty took Owen and Logan on a walk by the lake to feed the fish. We had a great view of the cove from the balcony of our condo, which is actually where I'm standing to take this picture. It was screened-in so we could just let the kids go in and out without worry and they loved it! Owen kept running in and saying, "I see a canoe! I see a boat!"

The Elrick brothers-Jack and Mason. Aren't they so cute?!

Uncle Cody reads to Madeline. She'll love anyone who reads to her!

Molly turned the big 3-0 while we were there so we bought her a cake to celebrate. The kids loved helping her blow out the candles!

Ted after a couple of hours of jet-skiing. We couldn't get over how high his hair got! We started calling him Lance Bass. We tried to get him to do a little dance for us but he never would oblige.

Michelle and Madeline relaxing on the balcony.

Jack playing on the balcony. What a little cheeser!

The Elrick fam at the water park taking a little break.

Logan loves to cheese it up for the camera!

Molly and Jack playing in the kids water area. The kids just loved it!

Owen and Daddy going down the water slide together. He had so much fun in all the water!

On Monday before we headed out of town we went to a place called Miner Mike's, which is kind of like Chuck E. Cheese's. The kids ran around for 2 hours playing all the games and had a ball. The is Owen "riding" a jet ski.

Owen's favorite game was the basketball game. He never did get it in the baset but he didn't care. He just wanted to keep throwing the balls. He laughed and laughed!

Owen, Logan, and Jack on the horses. There was a train ride above them that they all could not keep their eyes off.

Ted, Jack, Cody, and Owen riding the train. It was actually like a roller coaster that just went around in a circle about 5 times. Initially we thought it was too fast for the kids to ride but they wanted to ride it so we decided to let them try it. They loved it and rode it twice!

Owen smiling as the train speeds around the track.

Madeline shows off her loot she got with her tickets from the games.

Alas, the only picture we got of the 3 Moms all weekend. At least it's a good one! I'm also pretty sure this is the only picture I was ever in since I was behind the camera the whole time. I guess there's always next year.

Though it was crazy and tiring, we had a wonderful time and are hoping to make this an annual Labor Day vacation. At the end of the weekend Cody asked Owen if he had fun this weekend and Owen said, "Fun a-cation!" I couldn't have said it better myself!