Big Sis Practice

Kennedy is staying with us today.  Katie loves practicing being the big sister.  So far, she helped fasten a diaper, put a bib on, and fed Ken some yogurt.  Not exactly like it will be with a newborn that NEVER LEAVES, but good practice for me and Kate.

Click here to see the big sis in action.

It's a...

Tonight we announced Baby Bundt's gender to a few of our friends and family members.

We asked everyone to dress in blue or pink to show their guess for boy or girl.

Scott went all out!

Which one of these is doing her own thing?  My family had a lot of boy votes.

Uncle D is casting his vote on the official baby gender guessing chalkboard.

There was a tie!

Katie and her cousins cut through double layers of icing to discover the color of the cake and the big news.

Strawberry cake

Pink cake

It's a girl!!!!!!

Now we wait, wait, wait to meet her.

Costume #3 - Trick or Treating

Katie's friend Kennedy invited her to go trick or treating in her neighborhood. Before venturing out they watched and learned from Toodee, of Yo Gabba Gabba! fame, that eating too much candy will make you sick. Katie tells us, "I want to get sick."



Two Cool Cats!



This was Katie's first time to go trick or treating. She has been asking us about how it works for a few weeks now. She LOVED it! I am starting to suspect that my shy girl is not really a shy girl after all. Halloween totally brought her out of her shell. I adore this lady for handing out Goldfish crackers instead of candy.



See! No shyness! No trepidation! She's going for it! She's a trick or treat master!

Costume #2 - Wear your Costume to Music Class and a Halloween Party

Katie has been studying the costume catalog for months. Everyday she selects a new character she'd like to be for Halloween. Due to this indecision on her part, I have been trying to think of all the costume possibilities we can make from her dress up box. (Thank you Aunt D, Uncle H, and Aunt A for all the dress up goodies we have!) Here is selection #2 - the bride.



Katie's behavior was not awesome during music class. Her teacher mused, "She is really like a bride on her special day. She wants things to go her way."

The bride poses with her friend Buzz Lightyear after class. You can see their little faces in costume last year here.



Buzz invited the bride to his Halloween party the following day. Katie had so much fun. She actually got over her shyness and pushed through a group of kids to get to be first to pull the pinata string. I've never seen her do anything like it. A less shy Katie, may prove to be more difficult to steer toward politeness!

Running in the "don't drop the eyeball" relay race:



Playing with a new friend:



Crafting/Sampling glue:

Ides Girls

If you share birth dates, your name starts with k, you've got a green gingham dress, and are super duper cute, you can be in this picture.

Katie and Kennedy the Ides of March Girls.

Wardrobe provided by Katie's Meme.

Halloween - The Real Deal and Aftermath

Here are a few pics Granddad and Grandma, or Mahner as Katie refers to her, took on Halloween.







While K was celebrating at home with the grandparents and cousins, Jon and I were in NYC carbo loading on spaghetti! I saw Elmo - and a few less appropriate costumes - on Times Square.



The next day we ran 26.2 miles.





Then had pizza and dessert.




This video is of Jon after the marathon. Watch the little old lady pass him! A man offered us $20 to pay for a bike cab across the park. Jon looked so pitiful the man didn't think he could make it. Jon gutted it out to the next park bench for a little rest. Then he was fine.

Thanks for helping Jon raise support for Team for Kids and his first marathon!

Back at home, right when we really needed to catch up on laundry, errands, and housekeeping, K and Mommy were hit with nasty colds. This book makes K-T feel better.

I have read it 15 times in 3 days. So if you ever need help with your horse...

K's First Marathon - A Halloween Preview

It's just a costume. She didn't really run a marathon, yet I swelled with pride when I pinned her bib number on! K wore her costume to music class today. There was a puppy, fairy, pirate, and this Gabba Gabba guy. I'll post official real deal Halloween pictures after the weekend. Promise.

Pumpkin Carving

Park and dinner (an awesome dinner of pot roast, carrots, mashed potatoes, salad, the best green beans. and brown sugar cake - sorry no pictures or leftovers) preceded the carving. At the park, Grandma and Granddad tried to teach Katie to pump her legs back and forth to make the swing go. She didn't quite understand how to do it as you can see in the pic.



Katie's monkey dress. She wore this even though she had bad dreams the other night after I told her big girls had to give their pacis to the baby monkeys at the zoo. The night I told the story she awoke crying "monkey - paci - monkey". So we are going to try another route, at a later date, to reduce paci dependancy.



While dinner cooked, K and Granddad kept on eye on the Dodger game - keeping in touch with their Cali roots.



Our pumpkin Picasso -



Katie didn't mind the gooey pumpkin guts on her hands. She pulled the seeds out for us.



We had a friendly girls versus boys pumpkin competition. Lauren is working on the girls' pumpkin. When she drew the mouth with all those teeth, I am not sure she knew we were going to make her carve it out. You can see Ryan working on the competition's pumpkin in the background.



Boys' pumpkin on left - Girls' on right
Katie selected the winner. I guess she didn't realize which team she was on! She chose the boys' scary faced pumpkin!



A family of pumpkin carvers!

Oktoberfest

in our own downtown!


Fantastic German themed photo ops!


Our chums - Lauren and Ryan in lederhosen!


Petting zoo - rabbits, goats, and pigs, oh my! K didn't like the hay getting in her sandals. Daddy had to rescue her from it.


This pic is for the history books. Katie is letting Ryan hold her. Looks like he may be joining the ranks of the few chosen by K to hold her.

Where's Katie?

Maybe Katie should be Waldo for Halloween...



It seems everyone we know is expecting, or recently had, a baby. So if you know me and don't fit into either category - be careful! It could happen to you! That is all just lead in to my latest sewing, applique really, project - the necktie onesie. I have to say it is very difficult to find cute baby boy things to make. Especially since my specialties are skirts and tutus. Well, here it is...


It turned out more Bozo the Clownish than I had planned.

Katie had a dinner date with her friend, Jenna.



We received the Fisher Price catalog this week. The next one they send out is going in the diaper bag for dining out. Katie spent a good 15 minutes checking out the new toys. That's eternity in toddler time.

Rainy Days and Mondays...

...aren't getting us down. We have the September Cookie of the Month, the latest installment of Jon's Christmas gift, to snack on this rainy Monday. These are Neverland cookies - White Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Macadamia Nut. Not sure the history on the name. I think it is a Peter Pan, not Michael Jackson, reference. No staging of the dog in this pic. Abbey just happened to be in the shot. It works though.



Katie had a play date with her cousins' cousin Cadyence. Say that three times fast! Again I marvel at how anyone can capture two or more children in one photograph. Here is my best shot of the girls eating crackers. And just think on it - in 8th grade I dreamed of being a photographer when I grew up!



I guess Abbey didn't want to see them go...



My Morton Salt Girl

Remember (to go to) the Alamo!

Here are a few picks from our 4th of July weekend trip to San Antonio. We stayed with my friend, Lauren's parents. They live just outside of San Antonio in a beautiful home surrounded by trees. We got too busy and hot to make the trek to the Alamo, but Katie had the best time visiting with Keegan, one of Lauren's nephews.

K & K checking out the view. I am sure they are hatching a plan to escape and climb that tree.


Gidget and Moondoggie


What a sweet helper!


I had to include this picture since it appears that I am running just a bit faster than Ryan, a Boston Marathon runner!