School Pictures

I just got my school pictures back. Daddy says I look like a little girl! Mommy can't believe they got me to pose like this!

More Fall

Hi! We had a pretty calm weekend, but kept busy. Mom took Friday afternoon off to do some shopping in preparation for my birthday party, which is going to be Thanksgiving weekend at Boppy and Poppy's house. Then she picked me up early from school and we played on the deck. In this photo I am telling her to sit next to me.

Yesterday we did some of our usual Saturday stuff. I went to the grocery store with Mom and at Dad's suggestion we tried one of the "car" carts, so I could play driver. Mom quickly discovered that they carts are twice the size with half the steering control. We kept getting stuck on the shelves and then I would knock a bunch of cans into our cart while Mom was trying to get us unstuck. It was pretty funny!

Last night we had a new babysitter- one of my teachers from school. I was so excited to see her that I did a dance when she came in. Mom and Dad went out for dinner and a movie.

Today we got up and went out to a state park, but the weather wasn't nice enough to go for a walk in the woods and we were cold so we decided to go to our favorite ice cream place out there and have one last ice cream cone- thankfully they were still serving pumpkin ice cream. I love that stuff . . . and Mommy does, too!
Later today we played in the leaves and took a little walk. I was Daddy's girl most of the day. I watched some football and we looked at pictures on the computer together. My "I love yous" have evolved into "I you." Jen and Billy, please don't think I am cheering for your college team! Also, when I want to know where Mommy is, I say "Mommy, are you?" as I walk around the house.

I'll write more soon. Until then: "I you!"

Halloween Continues

Halloween week continues here. My school had a Fall Festival to raise money for charity on Friday night, so I got to wear my costume again. And now that I got the hang of this trick or treat thing I was better prepared to collect the goodies! Mom and Dad thought it was funny because I literally tried to walk out the door with three pumpkins and a bucket!

I had a terrific time at the Fall Fest. I saw my teachers and a lot of my friends. I played all of the games-- and some of them twice. I got my face painted and out of all the choices they showed, I picked the football! In my excitment I ran from one side of the gym to the other and kept Mom & Dad busy. I was terrific at bobbing for apples. I got two. And, the lady who runs the daycare voted my costume her favorite!

Yesterday I had a lot of Daddy time which was very fun and funny. We went to the grocery store and to his office. And we watched the ND football game together.
I like to carry my pumpkins around as purses as I take my pig for a walk. We also played outside a little this afternoon and collected some leaves. I helped Mom lay them out on wax paper and she ironed it. Then I carried it around for a few minutes, crumpled it in a ball, and threw it in the trash. So that was a great project . . .

Tonight I ate one of my apples (that I bobbed for) and thought it was delicious. I had never eaten an apple like this, so it was pretty fun. I sat on the cedar chest in Mom & Dad's room and just ate and ate.

Aside from this, I started saying my name. I know all the basic colors, including "mean" which is how I pronouce green. I said "love you" the other day ("shoe shoe"). And, Mom is so happy because I figured out her clothes sorter and started picking Dad's clothes up off his chair/floor and putting them in the whites or darks compartments- and I got it right most of the time!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween! I had a terrific time trick or treating, although I was a little shy at first. I was excited to wear my tights, but a little leary of the rest of the chick costume. After a minute I put it on and was pretty happy about it, but once we got outside I got nervous and for the first time ever I said "Inside!" Then I decided I wanted to go see Kim across the street and I got warmed up to things after I took all the Smarties out of her bowl. I loved seeing the neighbors and all the pumpkins. I didn't say many "trick or treats" but I did say "thank you" a lot. And some "bye-byes."

When we were done I came home and dumped all my candy out, moved it around and sorted it. Aunt Jen would have been proud! I got three Reese's peanut butter cups, per Dad's instructions and I even shared them with him. Then I decided to hide some of my candy in my room. That sounds like something Mommy would have done!

Hope everyone else had a good Halloween.

"Picture Perfect"

As you can see, we finally got our pumpkins! The weekend was beautiful. Yesterday we had our family picture taken outside in a park. Lily came, too. It was a lot to manage, but most of us did a good job. I didn't especially want to sit down when asked and at times I didn't want Mom or Dad to sit down, but our photographer was great and worked with us.

Then in the afternoon after my nap, we went to a farm to pick my pumpkins. Mom has been waiting and waiting for a nice fall day to do this. We got out there and it was beautiful. Then Mom went to take a picture of me picking out my pumpkin and "uh-oh" we didn't have the memory card in the camera (after trying to get our computer fixed during my nap it was still in the card reader at home!) We had a great time nonetheless. We got our pumpkins, visted the petting zoo and played in some play houses. I wasn't tall enough for the pony rides yet- 2 inches shy of the cowboy's hat. Then we ate some kettle corn and drank some water . . . and then on the way home it all came up again, if you know what I mean. Thankfully, Mom was in the backseat so she was able to contain the situation, but it was still gross. I've been under the weather since then, but made a comeback this afternoon.

After a long nap we carved and decorated my pumpkins. I liked drawing on them with markers the best. Lily tried to help, too. So now that we have them decorated we're all set for Halloween. I've been practicing my "trick or treat" and I am excited to wear my costume. I will send photos tomorrow.

Photos

Dad got our computer/photo problem worked out, so we added the photos to the last few weeks' posts. We'll have more tomorrow.

No Pumpkins Yet . . .

Yesterday I went to Gym class in the morning and Mommy got to see me in action. She was impressed with how quickly I could get around!

Then we went to a wedding that was about an hour away. Mom & Dad had hoped I would sleep in the car, but that did not happen and then we got lost in this small town and walked into the church 1 minute before the wedding started. Once the ceremony began I was quite vocal and sitting in an echoey part of the church. Everything I did and said sounded very loud to Mom and Dad! Dad's favorite moment was when he and I were out in the vestibule and I saw a poster about a Notre Dame weekend trip and I pointed and said "Football."

Today we planned to go get pumpkins but the weather wasn't very nice. We went to this little farm by our old apartment and ended up looking at their sheep and goats, but decided to buy our pumpkins next weekend. Hope we get them before Hallowen!

In other news, I told Daddy I wanted to go "pee pee" today and when he put me on the potty I went! That was a big deal. We work on it at school (and I get a chocolate chip when I try), but now that I seem to be understanding it we're going to really start working on it at home, too.

Visit with Jamma

I had a terrific visit with Jamma, while Mommy & Daddy were away at a wedding in Connecticut and then off to New York for two days. We played outside a lot and took tons of walks. I think we were at the playground every day while she was here.

Boppy, you will be happy to know that I wouldn't call her anything either! When she would ask if her name was "Jamma" I would shake my head and laugh saying "Noooooo!"

On Saturday we went to a Gymboree class and I didn't stand still for a minute. I haven't been to gym class since last winter so it was a huge difference for me. Last time I was just learning to walk and now I run everywhere! I loved the trampoline and it was circle day so we had hoops and rings to play with. And I think I did some sort of leg lift exercise!

Later that day Great Uncle JJ and Great Aunt SuSu came for an overnight visit. It was great to see them.

The only bad part of my visit was when Jamma took me for my flu shot. She said Mommy scheduled this on purpose so she was the mean one! To counteract that she took me out for an ice cream! And the photographic evidence indicates that I may have had an ice cream cone and a sundae?

I talked to Mommy and Daddy several times a day while they were gone and said a lot of "Hi!" "Hi!" "Hi!" I missed them, but I loved having Jamma here. We miss you, Jamma.

Yellow is back!

One of the most exciting things about my weekend was that I got a new box of crayons and the color yellow returned to my life. We lost yellow from the old set several months ago and my artwork hasn't been the same since. As soon as we opened the new box, I yelled "Yellow!" and grabbed it.

Besides my continued love of coloring, my other favorite thing to do is wash my hands. I got a new step stool for my bathroom so I can stand there and wash my own hands and brush my teeth.

It was kind of gloomy here this weekend-- not the beautiful fall days we have been waiting for. We took some walks and played outside, but it was chilly. On Sunday we went to a big festival and I ate some yummy food. My favorites were polish sausage and funnel cake with powdered sugar.

Jamma arrives from Canada this week for a visit. I can't wait!

Grandma & Poppy

We had a nice visit with Poppy and Grandma this weekend. I say Grandma, because I decided both Poppy and Boppy refer to Grandpa. So I guess we're still working on what I am going to call Grandma. Poppy and Dad had their golf outing on Friday and I spent the day with Grandma. When Mom was done with work the three of us went to pick up my new school shoes and went out to dinner. On Saturday we played a lot and I checked out my new toy bin. I thought it was terrific that I could fit in it and was shouting "Wee Wee Wee" and laughing and smiling. Then, all of a sudden, I thought I was stuck!

We went out to a dairy farm and I saw the goats and we had ice cream. I am in love with pumpkin ice cream. I think I ate a whole double scoop cone myself. I would not let go of Mommy's cone. And then Poppy showed how much he loves me and gave me the bottom part of his cone and I liked the chocolate ice cream, too. I just kept licking and licking. Last night we went to a bar to watch the Notre Dame game with the local alumni group. I was very sociable for the first quarter then I came home with Poppy and Grandma. Another victory for the Irish!

This afternoon I helped Mom & Dad make peanut butter cookies. I rolled the dough into balls and then helped make criss-crosses with a fork and sprinkled sugar on them. Then I licked all the sugar off my hands and helped sweep all the sugar off the floor. Tonight at dinner I made Lily the happiest dog in the world by giving her half my cookie. That dog loves peanut butter!

My favorite activity this week is drawing with crayons. I like to trace people's hands and have them trace mine. When I am done I collect all my papers and fold them up in a box and then when I color again, I have to unpack them all and lay them out. My other new trick is undressing in my crib during naptime. This has resulted in a few messy situations so Mom & Dad are working on outsmarting me on this one.