Happy Halloween!

Brought to you by Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.

As in years past, we gathered with friends and did some daytime trick-or-treating at the downtown businesses in a neighboring town.

Here they are, Little Red Riding Hood, Strawberry Shortcake and a Puppy.

And here is Little Red Riding Hood's 'brother' dressed as the Big Bad Wolf. I lost track of how many times people commented to the Girl, "Oh and your little brother is the big bad wolf! How cute!!" Or, "Does your little brother want some candy?" I saw it coming though and had even considered tying a pink bow on one of the ears, but never did. Ha, ha!!

Red Riding Hood and Strawberry Shortcake, the best of friends.

Tuckered out after the afternoon's festivities.

Tis the Season: Parts II, III and IV

Part II: tradition

On Sunday afternoon we met up with friends at a local farm very near to our house. We love their pumpkin patch and have selected our pumpkins from this farm every year since we've lived in the area - the past four years.

Last year 'this pumpkin' was just weeks old and smaller than the pumpkins we brought home.

This year she selected her own pumpkin....

....and got to ride in the wheelbarrow.

Here's the obligatory family pumpkin patch photo. (J loves it when I make him and the Girls pose for these.

And here we are with our friends from college. They are a part of our tradition having joined us every year in the past four years. This year

they added their own sweet lil' punkin! I love how the venue is the same but our families are ever-changing and growing.

Part III: school days

On Tuesday morning the Girl's preschool had a field trip to this plant farm's pumpkin patch. Baby Sister was dwarfed by this giant

pumpkin. The Girl in search of the perfect pumpkin for carving.

Riding the kiddie-train is a must.

Awe....sisters!

Baby Sister's wagon is quite handy for hauling girls and pumpkins.

This shot was compliments of the Girl. Not bad for an amateur, eh?

Part IV: a-MAIZE-ing

Thursday afternoon we found ourselves with friends at this farm's pumpkin patch. The big hit here wasn't the kiddie-

train or the tube slides, the farm animals or the John Deere tricycles. The popular attraction...a huge pit filled knee-deep with dried corn

kernels. Seriously, could anything be more fun than making corn angels in mid-October with your best friend?

Here's the whole crew, except for Baby Miss I who was sleeping warm and snug against her Momma in the baby carrier.

Baby Sister was intriguied and would you believe that she didn't try to put a single kernel in her mouth?!

The kids were having so much fun that I just had to get in and experience it for myself. Talk about a treat for the feet!!

This One

This Little One keeps us busy!! We always have to stay on our toes with her, she is in to so many things:

Gulping milk from a sippy cup only to a)let it dribble down her chin or b)spray it all over me.

Pushing the buttons on the DVR and XBox or avidly pursuing the remote control.

Climbing into the Girl's old carseat to play with the straps before toppling backwards onto the floor.

Pulling herself to standing with the aid of the Girl's shopping cart. Which more often than not results in Baby Sister sprawled on the floor with the shopping cart tipped over on top of her.

Standing up underneath the table to look out the window and wave at Daddy who is feeding the dog.

And her newest passion....climbing the stairs any chance she gets, which only happens when someone (usually me) leaves the baby gate open. The other night I was in the kitchen peeling potatoes with her playing at my feet when I suddenly realized that it was awfully quiet and she was no longer in the kitchen. I immediately saw the open gate and bolted up the first flight to find her sitting at the top of the stairs grinning proudly from ear-to-ear. Talk about major accident waiting to happen - she's not yet figured out how to safely back down the stairs.

And this doesn't even cover the fact that she is constantly finding morsels of who knows what on the floor and putting them into her mouth. Retrieval of bits and pieces from her mouth occurs quite numerously throughout the day.

Busy, yes. Loving every minute, definitely!!

Leaf it to the Girl....

....to say things that 'leaf' us cracking up. Such moments are proliferous around our house these days. Upon inspecting a pile of folded laundry with a pair of J's boxer briefs on top she exclaimed in disbelief, "Hey, there's pockets in these underwear!"

And this amazingly humongous leaf was plucked from a tree full of comparably-sized leaves on our stroll (remember, I don't jog) home from preschool the other day.

Tis the Season

....for this!! On Thursday we visited our first pumpkin patch. Although we never actually made it to the pumpkin patch.
Maybe because there were so many other things to do and look at. Like this fella here. He was trying his best to lick Baby Sister.
Then there was the wagon ride down to the corn maze. Hold on Baby Sister, it's going to be a bumpy ride!! (Maybe Gramma needs to make some padded cushions for the backs of those seats?!)

Baby Sister was quite intrigued by the sea of green cornstalks surrounding us on all sides.

I very unintentionally, no really, had the Girls in green shirts that just so happened to be quite a good match to the color of the cornstalks. It was like camouflage!

Maiden Voyage

I have had my eye on one of these for quite some time now - a double jogging stroller. Not because I do - jog that is, at least not as a form of exercise. Totally don't, never have. But even I, un-jogger that I am, was attracted by it's front swiveling wheel that allows for spectacular maneuverability. Maneuverability aside, I really wanted a stroller that would allow both Girls to ride and I love that with this stroller they can sit next to each other rather than one in front of the other. This particular stroller has adjustable, reclining seats, a storage basket underneath each seat and a pouch on the back of each seat plus mesh storage pockets on the side of each seat, two cupholders and a small storage compartment near the handle and, are you ready for this?! A speaker inside the canopy so that you can plug your iPod in for music on-the-go!! A little perk that I discovered after having assembled the stroller and the Girl's favorite feature. Ah, this stroller, it really is a thing of beauty. A week ago when I finally bought it after having admired it for weeks, the Girl was just as excited as I was and that is why we headed out just after breakfast on Friday morning for our Maiden Voyage.

My intention was to walk to the shopping center less than a mile from our house for a few essentials (such as toilet paper!!) but 2+ miles later we ended up at the library. Totally the Girl's idea.

On our way back we stopped at the store for the above-mentioned and much needed toilet paper plus a few other things. I knew that the most difficult part of our trek was still in front of us as our neighborhood is quite hilly and we live at the top. I struggle to push just Baby Sister up by herself in the old stroller, however, I had convinced, no make that delusioned, myself that with this new stroller and it's spiffy maneuverability that the hill would somehow be much easier to climb. Nevermind the additional 38 1/2 pounds of the Girl, not to mention the 10 library books, the 2 pound block of cheddar, and the 5 pound bag of sugar now securely nestled in the storage baskets below. Or the 24 rolls of toilet paper precariously balanced on the canopy. Whose idea was this anyway?!

We eventually made it home but only after the Girl got out and helped me push at the steepest part of the hill. I told her that we might not make it home otherwise and upon hearing that she was more than happy to oblige my request that she get out and walk. As you can see, Baby Sister hadn't a care in the world and fell asleep while I was huffing and puffing and the Girl was reading library books.

Holy Cr@p!!

Both Girls got well-child check-ups on Wednesday afternoon. Here they are flaunting their band-aid festooned arms after enduring a battery of vaccinations. Three for Baby Sister and five, yes FIVE, for the Girl. Of course these beautiful smiles were no where to be seen in the doctor's office. I didn't even tell the Girl about the check-up until lunchtime the day of because I ultimately knew what her reaction would be. "Do I have to get shots?" Were the first words that spilled out of her mouth. Much to my surprise she didn't put up a fight leaving the house but as we were nearing the doctor's office I heard a sniffle from the back and looked in the rearview mirror just in time to see a huge crocodile tear rolling down the Girl's cheek. It was heartbreaking. We arrived at the doctor's office and thankfully were called back almost immediately. In addition to the typical height/weight measurements the Girl's check-up involved numerous other activities. The nurse asked her what her full name was to which the Girl ducked her head and hid behind the hair that fell across her face. Next she was asked to draw a picture of herself on a piece of paper. After much encouragement from the nurse and a gentle reminder from me that there would be no surprise without full cooperation (yes, I believe in bribery every now and then), she drew the cutest darn picture of herself complete with spiky hair - definitely her father's daughter. Next she was asked to count and again she dropped her head and wouldn't utter a peep. On to the hearing test. The nurse let her listen to what the beep would sound like before placing the headphones on her. She told the Girl to say, "Beep" or raise her hand whenever she heard the beep. The headphones went on and the Girl's eyes glazed over. The nurse started the test and when the Girl didn't respond she repeatedly asked, "Did you hear a beep." Of course the Girl, in her absolute stubborness, just kept on staring straight ahead as if she hadn't heard the nurse. This apparently rattled the nurse as she asked me if I thought the Girl had a hearing problem. Hearing problem, no. Listening problem, yes. After the brilliant success of the hearing test the nurse didn't even bother with the eye chart that she had brought in. After the nurse exited, our doctor, whom we (and when I say "we" of course I mean "I") adore (have I mentioned that before?!) came in and went through the usual check-up routine with both girls. After having answered a handful of questions I had regarding the H1N1 flu vaccine she dropped the bombshell that the Girl was due for 5 vaccinations. What?! I figured that she would have to get two or three, but five?! The doctor said that we could forego a couple of them and then vaccinate her next summer before kindergarten but I figured we might as well get them over with now and save her the anxiety next year. This entire portion of our conversation was done via mouthing and a certain amount of cryptic code as neither of us wanted to set the Girl off any earlier than absolutely necessary. Once the doctor left the room and as we were waiting for the nurses to return with the dreaded shots, the Girl asked, "Do I have to get a shot?" To which I replied, "Yes. But you aren't getting just one, you're getting five." As I grimaced and braced myself for the inevitable, ensuing screaming and protests, I was shocked and amazed to hear the Girl blurt, "Holy crap!" followed by genuine laughter. Indeed. Crap is a four-letter word in our household but on this day it was a totally appropriate exclamation warranted by the prospect of five shots. Unfortunately the laughter did not last and when the time came it took two nurses to help me wrangle the girl out of her shirt (the Girl has an affinity for tank tops lately, especially as it is now too cold to wear them, but wouldn't you know that on this day she chose to wear a long-sleeved shirt) and I felt sorry for all the other children (and parents) waiting for shots who undoubtedly heard the screams and cries ringing through the entire office.

As for their stats:

The Girl weighed in at 38 1/2 pounds and measured 40 7/8 inches tall, which placed her in the 75th percentile for both categories.

Baby Sister is still a Pipsqueak at 18 pounds 6 ounces (10th percentile). She is 28 5/8 inches tall (35 percentile) and her head circumference is a whopping 18 1/2 inches (92 percentile). Gotta love those big noggins!!

Yoga Baby

On Tuesday night the Girl and I rolled out our yoga mats, put in our yoga dvd and....

....Baby Sister took to it like a fish to water. Here she is doing a downward dog.

Not quite sure what this pose is but I love how she's intently watching the video.

"No cameras allowed in yoga Mom!"

Going through the cat/cow series.

Cutest little yoga baby I've ever seen.

This One....

....is full of mischief.

Ever since she has discovered how to pull herself to standing, she is getting into everything!!

But I love watching her discover what the world has to offer and the look of accomplishment on her face is definitely something to cherish.

All too soon she will figure out how to walk and these days of crawling will be just a dear memory.

Oh how I love that little grin!!