Pumpkin Picking

We had a great trip to the pumpkin patch at Simmons farms yesterday. Katherine thought the ride on the tractor was pretty special, and she loved running around the farm field. She was a bit wary of the giant slide and hay maze, but after watching Luke she was willing to try them out. 

Even Marie joined in on the fun-- crawling through the long tunnel and holding her tiny pumpkin. 

We went home with the 2 cutest pumpkins in the patch, as well as the 2 orange ones we plan to carve in a few weeks. 

Happy Fall!!

happy birthday Aunt Mary Beth!

Happy Birthday Aunt Mary Beth!!

We hope Aunt Mary Beth enjoyed every minute of her birthday, and that she got to take some time to relax with friends. We're all super excited to see Aunt Mary Beth and all of our Texas family in a couple weeks.


Know that we're sending tons of hugs and kisses down to Texas, and we pray that this year is the best one yet!

9 months with Marie

Marie has officially spent (roughly) the same amount of time out of the womb as she did in the womb. :-)

Here are some updates on what she's up to, and some of her favorite things:

• Marie adores our Kitty and chases her anytime she's within sight
• She isn't much of a giggler, but she has a very ready smile, and she scrunches up her nose and snorts a little when she's excited. :)
• She's a master climber and can get up the stairs much faster than we wish she could. 
• Marie said her first word-- "uh oh!" She loves dropping her food/toys and watching Mommy and Daddy pick them up... over, and over and over again.
• Marie's a great eater, but remains extremely petite. We've nicknamed her Tiny, which we say with the deepest affection. 

Marie continues to be super easy going (most of the time), although she hasn't been sleeping quite so soundly as she did before. She's learned that Mommy is almost always willing to cave in and nurse her if she wakes up at night, so she's started getting up every couple hours for an excuse to have more mama-snuggles.

We're so blessed with every minute we get to spend with each of our girls! It will be fun to look back 9 months from now and to see how far Marie has come again. 

We had an awesome week at the shore with family this year. Here are some highlights from each family member:

Mommy:

• Getting to spend the whole week with my family and nurse Marie whenever she wanted
• One day to nap and sleep in
• Hanging out with family in the evening while kids were sleeping

Daddy:

• Seeing Katherine on the beach
• Fishing with Grandpop
• Date night with Mommy

Katherine:

• Sugar, sweets, and Aunt Mary (aka the Chocolate Giver)
• Building sandcastles on the beach
• Keeping up with the Boys

Marie:

• Mama Milk on demand
• Her first Mack & Manco's pizza
• Splashing in the water + the breeze in her hair

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Daddy is officially a quarter of a century old today!!

We had a great celebration with our Pittsburgh family yesterday, complete with fireworks instead of birthday candles (although we didn't light 25 fireworks). 

Katherine, Marie and Mommy are so thankful for Daddy, and we love him to the moon and back, 25 times!

The dictionary of Katherine

As both days and years seamlessly become weeks we've noticed that some of the things that we once thought we could never forget have already become foggy memories at best. So in order to help us remember some of the cutest moments, we've decided to list out some of the best

1. nom in nom in noms (m & m's)

2. putterply (butterfly)

3. You (Katherine)

4. Cassie (Katherine)

5. This guy (when pointing to anything)

6. patterpiller (caterpillar)

7. penny pig (guinea pig)

8. oscable (Popsicle)

9. nambie (grambie)

10. pop pop (granpop)

11. pewter (computer)

12. wanky (wrinkly) Especially cute "Cassie SO wanky"

13. "Momma buh bye to number 4" 

14. Both (referring to getting any number of objects over 1)

15. I'm so proud of you! (referring to any other person in the house hold going potty and promptly giving them a high five)

16. yesterday (referring to any time period prior to nap)

17. tomorrow (referring to any time period after nap)

18. "Awww Man!"

19. belly (referring to her imaginary friend Madame Blueberry)

20. Katherine sad. Katherine go night night and feel happy?

21. Katherine says Whaaaat?

22. I love you

23. Big hugs. Little Hugs. Baby hug? (We have to do big hugs, little hugs, baby hugs and kisses before every bed time and to every good bye)

And I'm sure we are already forgetting some, but at least now we will have these :-)

Happy Birthday Alex!!

Today Katherine's big cousin Alex turned 4 years old! And what a party he had! Between pirate ship brownie chocolate chip cookie cake (WHEW- that was a mouthful... literally!), barely destructible pinatas, and fireworks... there will be plenty to remember and be thankful for in this upcoming year. Here are some photos:

Here is everyone playing with the pinata (I took the quiet option here and watched from inside, so sorry the picture isn't the best)

The cake and the birthday boy at their finest

Marie trying to blend in as one of the boys

 There were lots of good presents

 And fireworks

But Katherine was a bit intimidated by the sparklers

Alex thought they were pretty spiffy

 And everyone enjoyed the upper deck view of the fireworks!

But by the end, Marie was pretty pooped (also literally)