Oktoberfest and Pumpkins

Brian went to Oktoberfest on Wednesday. Yup, THE Oktoberfest in Munich. He went with a group of families from work and they had a great time. They took the train there - about a 2 hour ride - and back. Brian said it was the largest fest he has ever seen and it was amazing. They stayed about 4 hours and that wasn't nearly enough time to see and do everything. The women who went along had their cameras (of course!) and took some great pictures and sent them my way. I wasn't brave enough to take Luke up there, although he would have enjoyed the train ride, being a the Fest would have been too overwhelming for him. Maybe next year? Here are some pictures, hope you enjoy them!

Oktoberfest! - the Paulaner tent
Another huge beer tent
The Paulaner horses
I believe this is where the group ate lunch


I know it looks like Brian is on a kiddie ride, I mean he is sitting on a SWING after all...
but THIS is the crazy, terrifyingly high ride that he is on. ACK!

And here is the view from way up there.

In addition to the Oktoberfest fun, Brian came home from work last night with a special surprise for Luke. Luke and I were in the baby's room trying to hang stuff on the walls when Brian called up that he bought Luke a present. Luke looked at me and said "a present!?!" I told him to go downstairs to see what it is. I heard his little feet thumping down the stairs and all of a sudden I heard him take the biggest inhalation of surprise and heard him exclaim "oh! what is it?!?" Brian laughed and asked him what it is and Luke exclaims "It's a PUM-KIN!" Luke was so excited - he sat by it for at least 15 minutes, trying to pick it up and just checking it out. He kept exclaiming "mommy! mommy! is a pum-kin!" Brian is talking about carving it this weekend (I know, a little early) but he said that we can always buy another one later in October. Here are some pics of Luke and his prize pumpkin.

By popular demand...

Really? A picture of me? Ahhh, I get it. You all just want to see how pregnant I look. Well, although the pooch is noticeable in person - all my neighbors are getting excited by the barely noticeable pooches going on (there are 3 pregnant women in my neighborhood) - on camera, well, I think I just look a little thick. :)

Luke and I filled up his pool with water again this morning, this time allowing about 5 hours for it to warm up (once again, he can't swim until after nap time!). He does surprisingly well with this rule and is just happy to help fill up the pool. He held the hose the entire time - wow, 30 minutes of just standing there, waiting for the pool to fill, and he loved every minute of it. And since I, of course, think my child is uber cute and I can't get over the fact that he is growing up so fast, I had to take more pictures. So sorry if you are feeling inundated by Luke pictures but come on people, this is our family blog and I know there is a high demand for Luke pictures in some sects of the family (grandparents anyone?).

So without further ado, here are our pictures from our fun, sunny, summer morning -

It's me!! Oh, I am squatting and it is kind of shaded....okay, next!

Here you go. It's me, a little over 14 weeks along, hanging out with Luke. (If you click on the picture it will open in jumbo size!)

Oooo - it's a heat wave. Time for summer fun!

Today was the first nice summer day we've had in awhile. After a few weeks of temperatures in the 50s and 60s, I think we were all anxious to get a little warmth and some sunshine. Today, mother nature complied. When Luke and I ran to the grocery store this morning it was 76 degrees and by the time we arrived back home it was warming up even more. I thought today would be the perfect day to surprise Luke with his own little pool in the back yard. A couple months ago Brian bought Luke a table that has a circular area attached to it - it can be either a sandbox or a pool and we hadn't used it for either, until today. Once Luke went down for a nap I filled that puppy full of water (brrrrr!) and hoped that the 2 hours that Luke would sleep would be long enough to warm it up at least a few degrees. Luke woke up fabulously happy and I hooked him up with a snack (bananas since he keeps getting leg and foot cramps at night - let's see if it works!) and brought him upstairs to get his swim trunks on. He was a little confused but I told him I had a surprise for him. When he peeked out the back door his whole face lit up. I had water in the pool, the umbrellas open, watering cans and buckets ready for the water and all he had to do was open the door and get out there. And once he did he was the happiest child in the neighborhood for the entire 2 hours he played and splashed in there. A neighbor boy came down to hang out with Luke and they filled up the bulldozer with water and would dump it out with a large splash that delighted Luke, they put water down Luke's little slide and they pretended to fill up Luke's lawn mower with "gas" using the watering cans and pool water. Every once in awhile Luke would jump into the pool and lay on his belly and kick his legs really fast then shoot right back up and exclaim "it's COLD!" while shaking his arms (sign language for cold). He loved every minute of it and after we emptied the pool he told me "i pway in the po-yol a-marrow, i go to the po-yol ano-yer day" (translation: i play in the pool tomorrow. i go to the pool another day.) So if it is warm enough we will fill that pool back up again tomorrow. So little water, so much fun. Here are the pics: