Change of Plans

Our original plan today was to go to the Louisburg Cider Mill to pick some pumpkins and have doughnuts and cider but the full moon and mother nature had other plans. Our friends Dan and Mary asked us awhile back if, when Mary went into labor, we could watch Tristan since we live close to the hospital they would be going to. We said that would be no problem and so last night we got the call! Mary was in labor and so we picked up Tristan from the hospital at 2AM for a sleepover at our house. Then funny thing was that Chris was at Grammy's house last night so Tristan got Christopher's bed all to himself and we were treated to a child who slept until 9AM! We are hoping Tristan left some of that magic in Chris' room. Anyway, when Chris got back, the two boys played for a couple hours and had a great time until Dan came to pick Tristan up to meet his little sister, Mia Han-Lee. Mother and baby are doing just great and we can't wait to meet her! It was a fun night and morning for us all!

Overland Park Fall Festival

On this beautiful fall day, we went over to downtown Overland Park to have some fun at the annual fall festival! On our way over to meet Grammy, Christopher stopped by the firefighters table and picked himself up a helmet and a badge to become an honorary fireman. The festival was terrific and very busy! Here is Chris jumping in one of the bouncy houses.

And as if he had a radar for it, Chris found a trough full of corn to play in!

Although there was a super fun parade that we watched (more on that in a bit), Christopher will tell you that his favorite part of the festival was this group called "Sit Means Sit Dog Training" that put on performances throughout the morning with their amazingly talented dogs. This training group didn't just work on sitting and staying; they showed us all kinds of amazing tricks the dogs could do like leaping up a tree and jumping off it, landing on a person's back, frisbee catching and my personal favorite--sitting on a fire hydrant!

Chris was so impressed that he immediately began doing his best dog impression, jumping around, rolling over in the grass and barking. Here is our little puppy in training...

When we told Kasey about the dogs we saw, she was SO not impressed. She then showed us her own personalized trick: curling up on the couch and looking cute! Anyway, the parade was pretty cool through downtown OP. After we got past the multiple Republican and one Democratic candidates (this is Kansas after all), the cool parts started to parade by us. There were three high school marching bands, big Army trucks, a youth ballet group and, of course, fire trucks! Here is Chris watching the marching band from Shawnee Mission West and also waving to the fire trucks as they passed...

As we walked back to see the dog group (again!) we passed the Shawnee Mission South band who Chris and I danced to. Here we are...

Finally, what day would be complete for Christopher without an up-close and personal visit with a garbage truck? I love the way he is mesmerized here by what he sees!

It was a fun and beautiful morning at the OP fall festival!

Tennis anyone?

Yesterday, the Woglom family picked up some tennis rackets, each in our own favorite color. Yes, that is in fact how we choose our rackets these days! When Chris returned today to find his new green racket, he was so excited that he asked to play with us right away. We played Wimbledon style on the grass in the backyard. So far, Christopher has a wicked two-handed backhand. He also requested that Grandma Jan come out to Kansas so she can play with us (hint hint). One time, when Chris hit the ball onto the deck, I was going to be the designated ball retriever but alas I was beaten to it. Kasey grabbed the ball and proceeded to play her own game of tennis!

Mmmm, this tennis ball tastes good! Woof woof!

Strutt with your Mutt: Version 2.0

Today we participated in our second annual Strutt with your Mutt walk to benefit Wayside Waifs, a local Kansas City animal shelter. Kasey, of course, was the most excited and although he barely fits in the jogging stroller anymore, Chris was fired up to go along for the ride! It was a cool and beautiful morning for our 3K walk and all of the doggies got along well. The funniest part of the walk was the 3 beagles in front of us. One of them was barking his beagle bark the whole time and eventually his two friends joined in. It sounded like they were on the hunt for some bunnies! After our walk, we went to a new (to us) park in Fairway. It was such a nice day to be outside and we were remarking that reason #28 that we love our new hood is the wide array of great parks relatively close to our house. After Chris got dirty enough there, we ran home to change and then revisited Cafe Gratitude for lunch. Here are my two boys while waiting for dessert...

And here they are being a couple of goofballs!

Outdoor fun

It's amazing now that the weather is finally cooling down; we've been able to enjoy our backyard fully! As we were running around after dinner in our flat yard, I realized how much more we need to be doing this. Some of my fondest memories from childhood include running around in both my dad and my mom's respective yards and I am hoping Christopher will feel the same way about this yard too. Here are Chris and Daddy getting some exercise...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWjtNZnPHzM

Chris also wants everyone to remember how much he loves his dog!

Stylin' and Profilin'

After school today, we went over to Olivia's house for lunch and playtime. Olivia just had her birthday party last weekend and got all kinds of fun new things. One of her favorites is a hair stylist kit full of brushes, a hair dryer and all manner of tools to make your hair fabulous. Here she is giving Chris a new hairdo. It was so cute because he just kept cracking up while she brushed his hair because he is so ticklish!

Construction

Christopher built this fabulous contraption for his "pet" ladybug. This is the first time I've really watched him sit down and build a structure like this on his own without any help. Go buds!

The vet is in

Apparently Kasey needed a blood pressure check this morning. Dr. Chris said it's probably because she was on the plane for too long. Who knew?

Random pictures

Here are some random pictures from our day. First, here are our two kids cuddling together...

We had lunch today at a yummy vegan place downtown called Cafe Gratitude. It is literally a block away from our first apartment here in KC! The food was very yummy and Chris finished off his meal with a vegan chocolate mousse which he enjoyed very much!

The weather was beautiful today so in the afternoon, we went over to the Prairie Village Jazz Festival. It was great because the festival was right near a great playground so Chris played while we enjoyed the music. Here he is on a very big turtle...

More first day pics... first day with friends

Chris and Olivia...

Chris and Pete the Cat...

Chris and Olivia and Pete the Cat...

Chris and Luca...

That was pretty much all the photo-taking our little guy could take. He had a great hour at school on his own today! First full day will be Friday...

First Day of School... Kinda Sorta

Here is our little man getting ready for his first day of preschool at LUMC! Well, it's not a full day and it's not with the whole class but nevertheless, it will be without Mommy. Even though Chris has gone to LUMC for a couple years now, it's been children's day out rather than official preschool. Today really does feel different! Partly, I know what it's going to be like for him because this is the grade level I first taught out of college and it feels like Chris is going to "real" school for the first time. We will let you know how it goes!

Of course, Erik the penguin had to make an appearance in the pictures as well!

And yesterday, Chris and Kenyon got one last hot and sticky summer day to play! We went over to our old stomping grounds at Black Hoof Park by Lake Lenexa to play and the boys had a great morning. Now it's time to hit the books.

Notice our little man is totally representing with his Yankees shirt on. Apparently they are going to need all the help they can get as the post season approaches!

Labor Day fun

Labor day was not necessarily a rest of CJ Woglom. On the contrary, we decided to make it a day of crazy fun! The first thing we did this morning was go to Nico's birthday party at Jumping Jax, an inflatable place similar to where we had Christopher's party. Here is Chris and the other kids this morning...

Chris had to take a nap today because later on in the afternoon, we went to the lake with the Montello family as we did on the 4th of July. The boys drove the boat, went swimming, and played on the beach. Later we went back to their house for dinner and some outdoor playtime! Here are some pics from the afternoon. Luca is seriously such a ham!

Here is yet another picture that demonstrates Christopher's crazy driving skills! 

When we were playing in the backyard, Luca requested that Lindsey and I dine at his little outdoor restaurant. We were served (there's no other way to say it) rocks with our wine or, as Lindsey said, we had wine "on the rocks."

We all had a fabulous Labor Day weekend and now it's time to hit the books for everyone. While most Kansas kids have been in school for the past several weeks, Chris will officially join them as he starts school this Wednesday and Friday and we know all you east coast readers will have your kids start this week too. Have a great school year everyone!