Fall Fun

Here are some pictures of Fox playing outside this week. He really loves his wagon, both riding in it and pulling/pushing it around. It used to be Daddy's wagon when he was a baby.

And here he is jumping into a pile of leaves Mommy raked up:

Here s Fox wearing his Halloween costume. He is a mouse, and he loves it. It is nice and warm, too.

We also bought some pumpkins. He has a lot of fun playing with them, and he also enjoyed watching us carve the big one.

Fox's Skills

Here is what Fox can do!



And here he is being cute.

Little Genius

Fox is a little genius. He has put away childish things, like goldfish crackers and blocks, in order to have more time to spend pondering the economy, the war, tax policies, and the upcoming election. Today, three times he identified Barack Obama on the tv and in Time magazine. It was amazing. He sort of says "Obamama" but still, that rocks. So now, he can quack, moo, bark, and identify the (knock wood) future president. Below, he is deep in thought about the current political climate.

And here he is pretending to be a witch. I guess he hasn't entirely put away childish things.

But he is working on growing a goatee. Until he can get it to come in a little thicker, this Oreo beard will have to do.

So Like Us...

Fox is turning into a tiny, little adult. As you can see, he does things exactly as we grown ups do. For example:

He enjoys post-bath nude tower building:



He makes very serious facial expressions:





He works hard for a living (he's actually watching the Vikings game in this shot):


He wears mittens around the house on 70 degree days:


He drives vehicles inside the house:


He thinks he is food:


Ok, that's enough of that. This is just a shot of me and Fox on my birthday:


Here is Fox showing off his sling. He hurt his arm and got nursemaid's elbow, which means he popped a bone out of place a got a tendon stuck in between two bones. It required a horrifying trip to the ER, which I won't go into right now (if you want details, feel free to call me). He is all fixed up now, and he didn't really even need the sling, but I had to take some pics anyway, because it was so cute.

Big news, plus pictures

Lately when we ask Fox "Where's the baby?" he points to his mommy's tummy. And if we say "Say goodbye to the baby" he waves at his mommy's tummy and says "Ba-ba." That's because Fox has a brother or sister on the way, and Fox apparently knows where he/she is currently sleeping.

Yep, Sadie is pregnant, and Fox will be a brother. I should probably write "Sadie is pregnant!" On Seinfeld, Elaine broke up with Jake Jarmel because he wrote a note about somebody having a baby and didn't use an exclamation point. So, Sadie is pregnant! (In case you haven't figured it out, Joe is writing this).

That's the big news, but we have some pictures for you too.

Before we all go back to school, we took another trip to Underwater World at the Mall of America.

Fox likes to be surrounded by his stuffed animals. He sometimes throws his animals into the crib and likes to play around with them.
Obviously Fox watches his mommy and daddy closely: he wanted to climb into the front seat of the car and be the driver.

Fox got to go to the State Fair and hug a giant gopher. He still refers to any animal as "Mmm."



Politicians are known for kissing babies, and now Fox has been one of those babies. Here is Fox, mommy, and Al Franken.

Update!

Fox had his first ever slumber party. He invited all his closest non-human friends. It was quite the adventure!

We went to the zoo again today, as our final family activity before I go back to work Monday (blah). The zoo was very fun. Fox and I went into the butterfly display; we each got landed on. Fox had a big one land on the back of his head as soon as we got in, and then another one landed on my toe. I think he thought my bright red toenail was a flower of some kind. He must have wanted some food from me. I had nothing to offer. But it was fun to be there anyway. We don't have pictures of the butterfly place, but we did get some elsewhere. Here is Fox riding a turtle:

And here he is running along the path. He is getting very independent lately. And fast!

I tried to get a picture of Fox looking at the buffalo, but he was more interested in the construction of the new polar bear habitat, which was happening behind me.

Ok, that's it for the zoo. Last weekend we went camping with the rest of the Fischers/Hazelwoods/Sarahs. It was fun. Here is Fox hanging out with Grampa by the campfire. Featured in the background--our new tent, with no raccoon holes in it! Much improved from our last tent.


For Fox, the most fun was playing with Molly's cool hangout.

Here is poor Fox waking up from a nap in the hot, hot tent. Poor sweaty baby!


Near our campsite was a beautiful place to hike. Here is our family by a lake:

And here is Fox hanging out with Grampa at the rock beach. He had fun throwing rocks into the river.

That's it for now! I hope that even though the summer is ending, the fun will continue. Fox is looking forward to going to hang out with other kids while we are at work. He will be going to daycare with Shannon, our friend from church who took care of him the last quarter of the 07-08 school year, from when my maternity leave ended until when summer began. We are all very excited about it!

The Final Parade

Fox not only tells good jokes, but he does amazing celebrity impressions. Guess who this is?



He got pretty interested in the camera and got close enough to investigate. Then Joe took this picture.


Here is Fox at the Sinclair Lewis Days Parade (or, the Sauk Centre Days Parade, as I like to call it). He had fun picking up candy, looking at horses with Grampa, and running around gleefully.