On Saturday, three generations of Seidler boys (grandpa, dad and Mathias) made a road trip down to Purdue to visit Uncle Nathan. It was a lot of fun! We were able to wander campus, have a meal at Jake’s and see firsthand how many video game accessories three college-age men can squeeze into one room.
Thanks to dad for driving us down and to Nathan for being a very gracious host. You can see all the photos from the trip here.
Mathias seemed…intrigued by his first year of trick-or-treating on two feet. Thanks to a great gift from his Uncle David, he went out as a fireman. The costume made its debut on Saturday, when we strolled up to Lincoln Square for a Halloween event hosted by local businesses.
Mathias originally cried with every sighting of the jack o'lantern, but by Saturday he was ready to carry it.
As always, mom helped the little guy navigate the unfamiliar.
"Hey, this isn't so bad!"
Little did Mathias know that dad would eat most of his candy.
Tonight, we headed out again to see what sweets the neighborhood had to offer. We were off to a great start after visiting our landlord, Patrick: he gave us four Reese’s peanut-butter cups!
Posing on our stoop before heading out for tricks or treats.
But the second house we visited had a very scary set-up, and Mathias spent most of the night after that in tears. We did get a good haul of candy, but our little fireman didn’t earn any commendations for bravery this year. But, it was still a lot of fun. We’ll see if he’s ready for the ghosts and ghouls next year.
Lori’s mom was just in town for a week, which is a fun time for all of us, but an especially fun time for Mathias. Baby boy spent the weekend being tickled, swung through the air, and generally loved. He was even pretty good for a long trip to the Art Institute (although that was aided by the fact that he fell asleep halfway through the Soviet TASS posters exhibition).
Bathtime is a particular highlight for Mathias and Oma—they disappear and giggle until he turns pruney. Here’s a video of the two of them getting sudsy with some bubbles.
This weekend we packed into the car and drove to Pittsburgh to visit our friends the Wilsons. They have a little fella of their own, Adam, who’s 14 months old, so we were ready for plenty of toddling fun.
It was a great weekend! We went to a pumpkin patch to play at life on the farm, we visited the zoo, and we even had lunch (and a cask-pulled ale!) at a great British pub on the south side of the city. Our little Corolla even passed 200,000 miles on the way home.
Thanks to Kev, Mary and Adam for a great weekend! Here are some photos of the fun—you can click here for a full slideshow.
Mathias went on his first pony ride. Unless all cowboys start with tears, it doesn't seem he was born for life in the saddle.
Modeling our dream jobs at the pumpkin patch.
Boys, if you work real hard and eat right and exercise, you'll still never be as tall as an elephant.
Just for posterity’s sake, here are our launches with the apple slingshots.
Mathias takes the Swiffer for a tour round the apartment.
We also got to spend some time with Eamonn this weekend, babysitting him while his mom and dad went to a charity event. The two guys had a lot of fun playing with each other—they’ve definitely become little boys. They’re both walking around now, but they still retreat to the high chairs to eat!
Two of James’ best friends—Mahim and Jeff—visited last weekend, and we had a great time hanging out, heading to dinner and watching the silly things Mathias is capable of. (We also watched a lot of football, which must have been a thrill for Lori, although she always handles the weekend pigskin domination of our tv set with good grace.)
Heading to Welles Park for some run-around time with Mathias. (Jeff may have graced the destination with a questionable story about how public pools in France make you wear Speedos.)
Saying goodbye to Mr. Jeff
Mathias paints on the back porch with mama.
Lori brought Mathias to the zoo this Wednesday to visit me—and run off a little steam walking around zoo grounds! The two of them had a nice picnic lunch by the flamingo lagoon, after which we snapped this shot.
We planned to go to the penguin house, but we only managed to make it 200 feet before I had to do back to work! (In addition to staring at the ducks and jaguar, Mathias was busy picking up every leaf, stick and twig we passed along the way.)
Lori and the dude made it all the way to Regenstein African Journey, where Mathias helped one of the zoo photographers get a shot of the blue-bellied roller by making enough noise that it hopped out from its comfy spot in the corner to see what the new intruder was. Mathias then ended up at the curiosity cart near the meerkat exhibit, where he watched the animals until his mama finally had to drag him away.
Vital Statistics Footnote: At his 15-month check-up this week, he weighed in at 26 pounds even (less than at 1 year! Guess he’s really moving) and stretched out to 33 3/4 inches.
Mathias helps Oma and Opa rearrange their pantry while down in Florida.
