Halloween Pictures... better late then never

Halloween is a very stressful time in our house since Kate has a peanut allergy. I would say that the majority of Halloween candy that is handed out while trick-or-treating contains peanuts or is made on a facility that processes peanuts... hence Kate can't eat them. Luck for us the last two years we have celebrated Halloween up north at the cabin with our good friends the Ristamaki's. They host a Halloween party with a scary haunted trail for the kids to go on.. they also make the party peanut free so Kate is safe. Everyone has a great time!! Here are pictures of Kate and Evie in this years costumes... Kate is Cinderella and Evie is a pumpkin. Evie is dressed in the same Halloween costume that Kate was in on her first Halloween.

Saying Goodbye...

It has been a little over a week and half since we said goodbye to our dear kitty Jules. Jules had been sick for over 2 years with renal failure and put up a great fight. Jules and his brother Vinnie have been with Ted and I since our days in college... he will be greatly missed. Peace and love dear kitty!!

90th Birthday Party....

Ted's grandparents came to Minnesota the middle of October to visit and to celebrate their 90th birthday. Ted's uncle Larry also came to town to celebrate with everyone. We had a great time visiting with them, having dinners together and catching up. It is too bad that it was SO cold and snowy while they were here... a little different weather than what they were use to in FL. Check out the great pictures!!

Most of the gang... Grandpa, Ted, Evie, Corbin, Kate and Grandma.

Uncle Larry with Kate... she really took a liking to him!!

Grandma, Grandpa, Larry and Ted's dad Dick.

Jane holding Evie and her giving smiles to Grandma.

Grandma, Grandpa, Kate, Evie, Corbin, Ted and Eileen.

We have the giggles....

What I should say is that Evelyn has the giggles. Evelyn did her first full belly laugh yesterday!! Daddy was changing her diaper and was making fake farting noises with his mouth... Evelyn thought this was great and let out a huge belly laugh. I was on the phone with my mom and came running into Evelyn's room to hear her laugh for myself... what a great laugh it was. Now it is time to get this laugh on video like we did with Kate. Here is a video of some of Kate's first laughs. Enjoy!!

Bubbles and Smiles...

Evelyn is now a little over 10 weeks and with that comes some wonderful new skills... blowing bubbles and smiling. She actually has been doing both of these things for a little while, but they are definitely more frequent, hence easier to get on film. Check out these skills!!

Snow. Seriously??

We Minnesotans are a hardy bunch, but when snow starts falling on Oct. 10th... our hardiest gets tested!! Kate woke up this morning absolutely elated that it had snowed. I moaned and groaned as I looked outside and she jumped for joy and smiled ear to ear, she was eager to play in the white stuff. After breakfast it was time to drag out the winter clothing... here is Kate all ready for some outside fun in the snow.

You Know Your Baby Has Long Hair When.....

Fall in Minnesota means colorful trees, yummy things to harvest from the garden and of course a chill in the air that prepares you for the upcoming 6 months of snow and below zero weather. Ted and I were giving Evelyn a bath the other night and after she was all cuddly warm in her pajamas we looked at her large mop of wet hair and just knew she would be cold if we didn't get that dry soon. So, out came the blow dryer!!! Yes, I said the blow dryer!! It seemed so unnatural to be blow drying my 9 week old baby girls hair. It only took a couple minutes and luckily she seemed to enjoy it... maybe she too was thinking warm island breezes just like her mommy. Here is a picture of the event, Ted and I laughed a lot at this whole process... actually Evie's hair has brought lots of laughs, it is so darn cute!!




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2 Month Check-up..

Yesterday was Evie's two month check-up, it is always fun to see how much your baby grows between visits. The doctor thought that Evie looked great and was surprised to see that she still had a full head of hair... with blonde tips I had to add. I had no major issues to discuss since she eats well, sleeps great and in general is a very laid back baby. After a thorough check-up it was time for the shots... UGH!! I know this is harder on us parents than it is on the baby, but boy does it suck. Evie got three shots and a Rotovirus oral vaccine. Overall, she was quite the trooper and with a little nursing at the end she fell fast asleep. Here are her stats:

Weight: 10.8lbs

Length: 22 3/4

Head: 15 1/4

Here is a picture of Kate at about the same age.

The start of a good thing...

It is a Sunday night, tomorrow Evelyn will be having her 2 month check-up and I am reminded how fast Kate (5 years old) and Evelyn are growing. I just want to bottle up their childhood and hold on to it forever... what better way than a blog. I can not only share with friends and family what is going on in the our little piece of the world, but I can also look back in several weeks, month or years and review the past. So, here's to a good thing.... Cheers!!