Since It's Almost Thanksgiving.....

I thought I would FINALLY post some pics about Halloween.

What? A sunny warm October day?

Time to head to the pumpkin patch!

Here's Katie and Mikey waiting patiently for the bumpy ride out to the field.

Katie's an old pro now. She's seen a few pumpkins in her time.

Mikey was totally confused.

Here's my pumpkin!

Well, if you can't figure them out, might

as well join them......

A very picturesque shot, I must say......

A few weeks later, it was time to Trick or Treat!

Flintstones, meet the Flintstones.

They're your modern stone age family.

I know what you're thinking.

I just exude awesomeness.

It was almost impossible to get Mikey to stay still long

enough for a good shot of his costume. But, I think this one

is pretty decent. Dude loves to move.

Trick or Treat!

I've probably said this before in last years Halloween post.

There is another sucky part to having food allergies on Halloween.

The only candy that Katie can eat just happens to be

the worse possible candy for your teeth.

Lollipops, gummy bears, Skittles, Sweetarts, Nerds, etc.

This year her Halloween candy trade-in toy was

Mr. Pteradon.

Here he is enjoying some Halloween Haul.....

Harsh Re-Entry

There is nothing, and I mean nothing worse than going grocery shopping the day after you get back from Walt Disney World.

What a cruel way to re-enter the real world.

There is nothing so mundane and so ordinary. Ugh.

As you walk the aisles you think to yourself, "I could be sitting on a shady bench next to the Enchanted Tiki Room enjoying a refreshingly cold Dole Whip right as this VERY moment. But, nooooooooooo, instead here I am picking up three boxes of Cheerios and four gallons of milk."

Sigh.

But then we encountered something much worse than grocery shopping. Puking your guts out. Yeah, I'd say that kinda sucks too.

A stomach bug was picked up while on vacation (just ask my sister about that - her whole family got it WHILE they were on vacation). It took a week for that nastiness to cycle through our family. Curiously, it skipped Katie. Weird.

After that, we all picked up a nasty cold that we are STILL dealing with.

Double Sigh.

So, now you know why I haven't posted in, like, forever.

Add onto that all the Halloween goings-on and we pretty much disappeared for a while.

I've got pumpkin patch and Halloween pics that I will get up here soon. I promise.

The Need

I have this need.

No. It's not a "need for speed". Ugh. Puh-lease.

When I was a kid, I had a friend and this friend had access. I mean TOTAL access. He went at least once a year. Sometimes even more. He would come back with stories. Ohhhhhh, the stories he would tell me! Stories of fantastical worlds where imagination is king and the sky is the limit. Fireworks - every night! Parades - every day! You want ice cream - a kiosk on every corner! You want fresh baked chocolate chip cookies - they pipe the smell out in to the street! Roller coasters, safari boat rides, geodesic domes! Oh my.

And then, I got to go to that place.

I have not been the same since.

That place is Walt Disney World.

It makes me happy. Purely and utterly happy.

This time, I got to share it.

I shared it with my mom and dad, my middle sister and her family, my little sister and her husband.....and most importantly with Huzbend, Katie and Mikey.

To say the trip was different this time around would be an understatement. Doing WDW with kids is HARD. Damn hard. Tiring too.

From a Park Touring Commando's point of view, we did not accomplish anything. We rode only a handful of rides and saw only a few shows in each park choosing instead to head back to our resort to relax in the pool and chill out. It may have gone against every bone in my body to do this, but the results were awesome. Katie and Mikey were happy and content most (not all) of the time we spent at the parks. And that, my friends, is what I really wanted. Everyone to be happy.

Katie had a great time hanging out with Granma, Granpa, Aunties and Uncles but most especially her cousin, Joey. Her favorite thing about WDW was, "the pool" with "meeting the princesses and fairies" coming in a close second.

Mikey wasn't too sure about the whole thing but, as Mikey tends to do, he went with the flow. I think his favorite thing was eating breakfast in the morning - eggs, pancakes, biscuits and discovering orange juice. Other than that he was either being carried by me the entire time or trying to get down to run around.

Huzbend and I had low expectations for this trip. I mean, it is always unpredictable when you set foot out of the house with a 4 year old and a 15 month old. We couldn't imagine the temper tantrums and chaos that awaited us at The World. And while I can't say it was a completely meltdown free trip, it was a lot better than we anticipated.

As much as I want to recount every day we were there in detail, I'll have to pass. I just don't have the time anymore for Trip Reports and the like.

My brain will remember the awesome stuff, like:

Katie jumping into my Dad's arms when she first saw him in the hotel hallway.

Katie and Joey jumping up and down together in excitement.

Eating Mickey Mouse ice cream bars as a family.

Joey puking on the sidewalk at Hollywood Studios.

My Mom dancing with Mickey Mouse.

Katie eating chocolate chip cookies and a brownie for breakfast.

Riding Dumbo as a family.

Mikey falling asleep on me in the Haunted Mansion.

Katie falling down the stairs at the hotel restaurant.

Watching Katie talk to the Princesses.

Mikey having a diaper blow out at dinner in Cinderella's Castle and having to wear just a shirt and diaper for the rest of the night.

Watching the Main Street Electrical parade with Mikey in my arms pointing and "talking" the whole time.

Riding Expedition Everest with Huzbend (thanks to Granma & Granpa).

Enjoying Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor starring Uncle Nick, Uncle Andrew and Auntie Kari.

Katie dancing with Goofy at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Katie screaming in fear on the Finding Nemo ride.

Katie talking to Crush.

Claire de Lune totally embarrassing my Dad at the Hoop De Doo Review.

The look on Katie's face right before we met the fairies.

Watching Great Granpa and Mikey share chocolate cake.

Mikey screaming for an hour on the plane ride home.

I'm sure I've forgotten some, but we made some great memories. Disney Parks are good at that sorta thing. You know what else Disney Parks are good at doing? Getting you to want more.

As I was walking down Main Street on our way out of the park on that last day, I cried. I always do. Usually I do it because leaving means a return to the mundane, the ordinary. I admit there was a little of that in there, but I think it was because I got to spend these moments, these memories, with not only some of the most important people in my life, but with my Huzbend and my two children. And I will never, never forget it.

There are some pictures, here.

And videos, here....

Say It Ant So

Remember these guys?

Yeah. The Ants. I promised I would give an update.

They came, they ate, they dug tunnels......

.....and then they started to die.

And now, there is only one.

This Ant must never escape his enclosure. Do you know why?

Because he must be one strong and totally insane Ant.

Just think about it.

He has spent the past 30-odd days trying to find a way out of this cage with invisible walls. A cage in which food and water drops from the sky and huge alien creatures gaze upon his anguish on a daily basis. He has watched his entire colony die and still he does not give up on his quest for escape.

If this Ant got out I'm thinking we'd have a Rambo-like situation on our hands. And there ain't nothin' Colonel Trautman could do to stop it.

They drew first blood......

More Words

I don't know how I could've forgotten this gem from Katie.....

"What's the heck of that?!?!?!"

I just had to get that one down somewhere lest I forget it's total uber-cuteness.

Just in the past week she's figured out how to say it correctly. So, I won't be hearing it any longer.

The best part about watching your kids learn language is the little mess-ups they make in trying to use their new found words.

Sometimes Katie likes to "complicate" stuff. I'm not quite sure what she thinks that means.

Then there were a couple of girls at preschool singing their version of "Who Let the Dogs Out". It went something like this, "Who likes to dog sit? Woof Woof Woof Woof".

Hilarious.

But, there is still one word that Katie doesn't say right and I just love hearing it. That would be "mavilla" for vanilla.

I know that It seems like I'm stuck in a rut with the blog right now. Don't worry. I'll have some new material in about a weeks time.

Stay tuned.

Words, Words, Words

Recognizable Mikey Words:

Da da da da da da da (Daddy)

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmm (Mommy)

MA! (more)

Dat (that)

Dis (this)

Yight (light)

At (hat)

shhhhhhhh (cheese)

BAH! (Katie)

UH, UH, UH (kind of like a caveman noise - means any kind of animal he sees)

hhhhhhaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh (like a long exhale - his whisper)

Katie's Words:

Upon being told some of her ants were dead....."Don't worry. We don't have to get more ants, we'll just get a dog."

"Mom. There must be lots of people dressed up like Mickey Mouse all over the place." Sigh. She figured out that wasn't really the same Mickey in all those parades.

After explaining to Katie that she shouldn't tell other kids the park character Mickey Mouse is not real...."If Joey knows that Mickey is not real, then I can tell him that he's not real."

"Mom, your pancakes are super yummy."

I called Katie over to tell her a secret the other day. She came over and I whispered "I love you" and gave her a big hug. She told me, "That's my favorite kind of secret."

"Look! My belly is sticking out just like Mommy's! Her belly sticks out because she eats lots of food."

First Day of School

Monday was the first day of preschool for Katie. She's in the PreK class this year, which means next year it's on to "Big Kid School."

Wow. That was fast.

She had a great time and was excited about all the new stuff she does at school now - practicing writing her name, doing some simple math, leading lines, setting tables, practicing manners, and having her own journal among other things. They certainly keep the kids (and the parents) busy.

Thanks to a friend mommy for this great first day of school pic:

Mikey had his first day of toddler class on Tuesday. I totally forgot to bring my camera. Things were a bit hectic because I was on snack duty. Sigh. Second child gets the shaft....again. Oh well. I'll try to remember next week.

He was a little apprehensive being surrounded by so many new grownups and all the kids. Even though there are two kids younger than him in the class, he definitely looks the youngest. He's still got that baby hair goin' on and is still not walking exclusively.

He spent his time mooshing paint into his hands (and onto my shirt), playing with some toys, splashing in the sensory table water and sort-of interacting with other kids. He was exhausted by the time we left.

I tell ya, this year is going to be crazy. We've got preschool four days a week and most of those days I'm either watching one of the kids friends or dropping my kid off to be watched. But, when I get to work at the preschool and see how much my kids are enjoying their time there and how much they are learning - academically and socially - it's totally worth it.

Pluots, Ants & Legos

Since both kiddies are asleep I figured I'd get in a quick entry. Who knows when this will happen again! Hmmmm. Maybe I should be sleeping....

No matter! On to the posting, my friends!

Did I mention that Mikey loves to eat? He now tells me what he wants to eat.

For example, he'll point at the fruit bowl, I'll carry him over and then he will select his fruit of choice. On this day it was a super ripe pluot.

Watch the mess unfold.....

STEP 1: GET A FIRM GRIP OF THE PLUOT AND TAKE FIRST BITE.

STEP 2: SHOW MOMMY YOUR HALF EATEN PLUOT.

JUICE MUST DRIP DOWN ARM.

STEP 3: FINISH PLUOT. SIT QUIETLY AND HATCH

PLAN TO GET ANOTHER PLUOT.

Katie has some new pets. Meet The Ants.

Yep. The ants for the ant farm arrived this past weekend. It was my job to get them into their new home. It was kinda creepy. I had to put them in the fridge for 15 minutes to make them sleepy so that they wouldn't try to escape the tube they were shipped in. I guess, from what I read, the suckers can bite. I took them outside after their cold shock treatment and tried to pour them into the farm. Well, some of them must be cold resistant 'cause about 5 of them tried to escape by crawling up the outside of the tube. The resistance was quickly smooshed.

I have to say the ants are pretty awesome. They immediately got to work. They moved the dead ants off to the side of the farm and started digging a tunnel. They took the sand from the tunnel dig and mounded it on top of the dead guys. Weird....but fascinating. I'll try and post an updated pic of their tunnels.

We've also gone Lego crazy around here. We've been thinking about redo-ing our kitchen and, I guess, our entire downstairs. To get an idea of how our new plan would look, Huzbend built it out of Legos. Yeah. I know. HOLY NERDDOM, BATMAN.

One caveat, only the upper half of what you see below is actually our house remodel. The lower half including the horse, Admiral Akbar napping and the StormTrooper powwow are Katie additions.

Here is our new living room set up....

And here is our new kitchen/dining room lay-out.....

Other August Stuff

I apologize for the lack of content this month. It was atrocious.

It was a triple super-dee-dooper busy month. Totally jam packed with stuff.

Hopefully this post full of ultra-cute pictures will make up for it.

I guarantee that by the time you finish reading this entry, you will forget that I used a totally awesome word in my second sentence.

Wow. I didn't think you would forget that fast. You didn't even see any pictures yet.

On to the post......

Mikey has entered what we like to call around here "The Honeymoon Phase." We've gotten through the boring and even tedious baby months and now everything that he does is cute. He could be covered head to toe in mud, he could be throwing food around the room, he could've just pooped out the back of his diaper and it would still be cute.

Don't mind the cheese stuck to the top of his head. Just bask in the cuteness.

To start off our month, GmaC came for a visit. We had a good time hanging out at home and visiting our favorite Seattle attraction, the zoo.

"I'd like a bagel, a hotdog, some potatoes, carrots, raisins, grapes, a few strawberries, a cup of yogurt, a garden salad with dressing on the side and a fruit smoothie....."

We also took advantage of the spectacular weather by spending some quality outside time. We took a walk......

....and then ate some pretzels.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to GmaC and to recover we went out and did some blueberry picking. Nothing helps you get over the goodbye blues like hiking out into the middle of a field full of bushes inhabited by lots and lots of spiders.

Mikey tried to pick some berries. The problem is that he doesn't like them. He'd pick one, eat it and then spit it out right onto my chest (he was in the Ergo carrier). Sigh. Another shirt ruined.

Katie had a great time trying to fill up her bucket. I actually think that more blueberries ended up in her tummy than in her bucket. I think the u-pick berry farms should weigh you before you enter the field and weigh you again when you come out. That way they can make sure they are getting the money they are due.

Here is a picture of me at age 4.

Oh wait, that's Katie.

Since you are a loyal reader, you know that I already posted about Katie's birthday exploits. The day after her party, we headed to the local water/amusement park. A good time was had by all, except Mikey who doesn't like cold water and Mommy who is not a big fan of water parks.

Daddy, the water taxi.

"Now this is more like it!"

Go, SpeedRacer, GO!

The next day we headed off to a state park cabin for a two night stay. I have to say, I was impressed with the digs. They weren't too skeevy and were actually quite comfortable.

"Hike you will, Mommy. Find the waterfall, you must."

It was totally worth it.

After the hike, we headed back to the cabin for some crawl around in the dirt time...

...some stair climbing...

...and some marshmallows.

A week or so later, we were off the the county fair in the pouring rain. Believe it or not, there were NO complaints. Katie walked the whole time. Mikey rode most of the time. There were lots of farm animals, lots of mullets and even some dinosaurs.

"Ummmmm. Did you hear something?"

Upon finding out that this cow's name was Princess, Katie told the owner, "I don't think her crown can fit on her head because it's so big."

Katie also got to play her first carnival game. We chose the pop the balloon with the dart game. We got three tries for five bucks.

After a quick dart throwing tutorial by Mommy, she managed to pop one! She was able to select her prize.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet "Wet Duck".

Mikey kept himself busy learning how to walk. Here he is taking Molly for a stroller ride.

Upon being disappointed with the late onset of his walking skills, Mikey decided to bulk up a little by doing some weight training.

As you'll see in a portion of this video, his efforts have paid off.

FOOOOOOOOUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

Four.

I can't believe it.

She's FOUR.

Wow.

Somedays I just look at her in disbelief. She's so big now. I'm forgetting her baby-hood. I have to go back and look at pictures to remember how small she was. I want to scoop her up and ask her to never get a year older.

Her imagination is on fire. Her emotions run high. She has A LOT of love to give. She is the sweetest little girl, like, ever.

I am so proud to be her mother. You know what? I can't believe that I AM her mother.

In the past couple of days since her birthday there have been times when I look at her and I see a "mini-me". It is the strangest feeling ever.

Ugh. Enough about that stuff. I'm getting all verklempt.

On to the party!!!

The day before her party, Katie helped me make her "birthday treat". She requested chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and with a little help from Martha Stewart, I delivered. There was a lot of cocoa in dem dere cupcakes.

We held the party at Katie's favorite park. Lots of her preschool buddies came out to celebrate her big day with her. She picked "Star Wars" as her party theme. Ahhhhhhh, chip off the ole blocks. Yes, even the nerd in us seems to have been passed on to our children. And believe me when I say don't get her started on World of Warcraft.

The kids enjoyed the cupcakes and after the gift unwrapping we packed it up. Mikey was SO done and it was getting close to 90 degrees. So, we went home and Katie continued the present unwrapping.

The rest of the birthday weekend was spent at a water/amusement park and then we went camping in a cabin for two nights. I don't know how we are going to top that next year.

And so now we are the parents of a four year old AND a one year old. There's a lot of old going on around here.......

What's A Year?

Shhhhhhhhhhh.

Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm huntin' cheerios.

Whazzat? You saw me? Darn it all! What good is wearing camo jammies if everyone can still see you? Jeez.

Well, since you found me I guess that means that I have to post an entry or something.

July was a super busy month.

It started off with a march in a parade!

All I know is that my stroller had balloons and pinwheels on it and I was freezing my butt off. Then at the end of the parade it got really loud and big red trucks drove by us. Hmph. I got to eat grapes though. So, it was all good.

Then all of a sudden, the sun came back and it got warm again. I hear that is what is supposed to happen in the summer.

We hit a whole bunch of playgrounds and I got to ride in a swing. It was totally awesome.

It got SO hot, that Mommy put on my swim shorts and plopped me into a pool. I did NOT like the pool.

Here's what I think of YOU, pool!! THBBBBBBBBBPPPPPPPPP!

Here's something I DO like.

Cherries.

I love me some cherries.

Actually, I love me A LOT of cherries. Bags and bags and bags of them.

Here's a look at some of the other goings on in the month of July......

Although I am not walking yet, I get around ya'll. I crawl faster than the cat who sits in our yard runs when the sprinklers go on. That's right. Ludicrous speed, people.

I'm working on the walking, alright? I "cruise" as they say. It's just a matter of time.

So, in the meantime, I've been working on other modes of transportation.

Here's me and Daddy doin' a little biking.

And in case he's busy, I've always got my fall back.

I just have to figure out how to get it to move when I am actually sitting on it.....

We went away last month too. All the way to a place called Portland. Daddy rode to it on his bike. I hear it's a long way. All I know is that I was sitting in the truck a long, long, long time and I was not, not, not very happy. We had to stop at an "Old MacDonalds" parking lot (as Katie calls it) for a little "sanity" break (as Mommy calls it).

But, once we got to Portland it was all good. I tell ya, I had a good time investigating every inch of our hotel room. Here's me and Katie smudging up the closet mirror.

And then, before you know it, someone told me that I was a whole year old.

Huh? I don't even know what a year is.

But, I guess it's good 'cause we had a party. I like parties.

My whole family sang to me and there was this flashy light on a stick and they blew and it disappeared. I was a little creeped out by that. But then, they gave me a taste of the stuff the stick was in and WOW, it was awesome.

After I ate that cake stuff, I got a whole bunch of new toys from all my relatives from all the way across the country. I loved the toys as much as the cake. I play with them every day!

I want these birthday things more often. They totally rock.

Now listen up.

If you for one second think that I am going to disappear just 'cause I've hit one year you've got another thing coming.

With all the cool stuff that's happened in Year One, I can't wait to get to work on Year Two!.

I'm just gettin' started.