And the Costume is...

Supergirl! Sorry to those that voted for Cookie Monster in masses, but Katie couldn't pass up wearing her favorite letter (and first learned) on her chest. See a short video clip above.

We had a fun Halloween. Dad was proud of his little crime-fighter. Perhaps next year (after Katie has mastered the stairs) we'll join in the trick-or-treating, but Katie had fun playing host to our steady stream of visitors all night. We bought a little too much candy (after running out last year), but became fairly popular with the kids when we later started giving out two handfuls.

More Nephew News...

Mike's nephew's, Tom’s, varsity 8th grade football won their Catholic League quarterfinal game 28-24 and play Saturday for the right to go to the title game. Here he is shown in one of his 7th grade games as quarterback (in white). Tom Brady? He wishes!

Happy "Devil's Night" everyone...

Who's That Guy?

We spent a crummy autumn day at home relaxing today. You have to be pretty creative when entertaining an almost-two-year-old inside all day - lots of book reading, dancing to the Wiggles, pushing matchbox cars around (vroooom!), and even some Sesame Street watching. Can you tell whom Katie is pointing to in this picture?

Oh, and this isn't necessarily a hint for Katie's costume...or it could be....

Hillmen History

Finally, a post about something other than the usual suspects...boring, old, us! Mike's nephew's, Ben’s, JCA Varsity soccer team won their Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Regional with a 2-1 victory over Crete Monee. This is the first regional championship in school history and they move on to Sectionals with a game Tuesday against Bremen High School. Good luck, Hillmen...

Update: JCA lost 2-0 to Bremen on Tuesday night, but that didn't stop Ben from a mention in the "Chicago Sun-Times" for a shot on goal during a flurry of shots in the second half. The Hillmen put together one of their best showings of the season in the second half, but couldn't get the ball past an excellent goal-keeper to make up an early deficit. Still, JCA is a Junior-led team and should return a strong club to the field next year.

Hard-Knock Life

Katie has it good these days.

Most weekends (and many weekdays) involve a trip to one of her favorite neighborhood parks.

While swinging is still part of the routine, the highlights now involve any push-toy that she can find.

Here's the spoiled princess after her park visit this afternoon (i.e., wiped out). Note the one pacifier in her mouth and one reserve in each hand. That's how Katie rolls!

Only a little over two months before evil Daddy takes the pacifiers away for good...

Uhmm-Mmmm

Our family visited a local church's pumpkin patch today to purchase our Halloween pumpkins (or as Katie calls them, "uhmm-mmmm"s). Katie had a lot of fun pushing and pulling one of the church's little red wagons before finally realizing that she was surrounded by some pretty cool pumpkins. She was really drawn to the tiny 50-cent ones that were more her size. We'll probably carve our picks later next week.

Speaking of Halloween, we've gotten a lot of votes on Katie's costume...thanks for your participation! It looks like Cookie Monster is the current popular pick. If you haven't already done so, please look to the right-hand column and cast your vote!

Eating Out of the Palm of His Hand

Uh oh, Daddy, look's like your little girl was flirting with the guys again. Then again, she'd do anything for some goldfish... Her buddy Charlie (almost 2 years) was more than happy to oblige today at playgroup.

Here she is jumping for joy over her goldfish. Tomorrow's a big day for both Katie and Charlie - it's time for their annual Halloween party. Stay tuned for some cute photos!

The Playground Gang Does Fall

Katie and her good buddies Allison, Lyla, Anamarie, Patrick, and Ryan met today at another area fall festival. The kids had a BLAST at all the various attractions: a sand pit filled with buried treasures (including a $100 bill!), some cool slides, mechanical horses/cars/carousel, a hayride, and an animal pen. Katie was especially enchanted with watching some older kids feed hay to a goat. Everywhere she went after that, she scooped up hay and said "Go! Go! Go!" We think that Katie is already planning her trip back next year. Please take a look at the photo album from today's adventures in the right-hand column.

Big Girl

Time for a general update on our little (big) girl:

Recent accomplishments: Jumping/hopping, Balancing on things (parking beams, wood barriers, etc.), Identifying more letters of the alphabet everyday, Going up and down steps using the handrail, Asking for things by name

Likes: Pacifiers, Cookie Monster (and cookies!), Reading books, Running up and down hills, Pigtails, Picking out her shoes for the day, Dancing

Dislikes: Healthy food, Sitting still, Using her utensils, Bubble baths, When you cannot figure out what she is trying to say

Back to Normal

We were all a little bummed when Grammy left today, so we decided to cheer ourselves up with a visit to the Potomac riverside with Maureen and Connor (15 months). The little ones always have a smile on their faces when they hang out together. (That is, they smile when they aren't fighting over the pink stroller.)

By the way, Katie was a CHAMP for Grammy this weekend. We didn't know what to expect with our first trip away from her, but she did not cry or complain even once. As a matter of fact, she called Mama "Mah-nee" a million times today. We think she would like to replace us. She's probably wondering when we are going to travel again...

Planes, Trains, and Obama

Grammy (Mah-nee) had a very important reason for visiting us this week. Mike and Traci travelled by themselves for the first time in Katie's young life. (Thanks for babysitting, Grammy!) They flew to St. Louis to attend the wedding of a great college friend, Christy W (pictured, center in white shirt). Although we definitely missed the little one, it sure was fun to drink and be merry like the old days. Traci was lucky enough to be a bridesmaid in the wedding, so she got a lot of time to hang with the bride. Mike, on the other hand, was Mr. Tourist, visiting the zoo, some parks, and other city sights. We very stupidly forgot to bring our camera to the wedding, but here is a shot from the day-after party. All pictured were classmates at ND.

A lot of the wedding guests took advantage of a cool surprise bonus of being in St. Louis for the weekend...a bunch of us headed over to the huge Barack Obama rally held under the Arch. We were just a few in the crowd of 100K and we couldn't even see the stage, but it was something to behold. We had fun watching the excited supporters, the equally entertaining protesters, and even the enterprising street vendors selling small Obama buttons for $5 (800% profit, anyone?). As you can see from the shot, we were WAY too far away to see much of anything. (You might be able to notice the tiny "big screen" toward the center of the picture. If we jumped, we could catch glimpses of the speakers.) This is the exact moment that Obama came onto the stage, so everybody was quite excited. We were all standing right under the Gateway Arch. If you were watching on CNN or Fox, you had a much better view.

Where Did It Go, Mah-nee?

Katie and Traci took Mah-nee (Katie-speak for Grammy) to one of her favorite playgrounds today. Or, at least we thought we were going to... When we arrived, we saw that the entire location had been razed!! All that was left was a lot of dirt and "Warning - Stay Out" signs. Even the swings were gone. Katie was stunned and it was hard to pull her away to another nearby playground. We'll keep checking back to see what they do with the place.

Grammy is Here!

Well, the day started a little rough for grandmother and granddaughter... Katie was not expecting a visitor when we brought her downstairs to see Grammy. She basically cowered away in fear, and tried to jump the stair-gate to run back upstairs. However, once they shared a nice breakfast, some new truck toys, and Katie's favorite books, the two bonded. Now we cannot pull them away from each other.

As for today's adventures, Grammy learned A LOT about Katie's energy level. We went to our weekly playgroup and Katie's favorite playground. Grammy said that she is going to get into the shape of her life just trying to keep up with the crazy one this week. She also asked why Katie would not stop to get her picture taken....I just laughed hysterically at that question. Here is one of Katie's few respites of the day...doesn't Grammy look a little tired?

Down on the Farm

Today, we took our second annual trip out to Cox Farms for its fall festival. The sun was beating down and temperatures reached 82 degrees, but Katie still managed to get into the fall spirit with her farm girl outfit (doesn't she look like Marianne from Gilligan's Island?) and by posing with the Great Pumpkin.

Katie was having fun on the slides on Daddy's lap until Mommy decided to send her down on her own (note Traci's sinister grin at the top).
We joined up with one of Mike's co-workers and his wife (also Mike and Tracy) and their 9-month old daughter, Quinnlan. Despite all the activities for kids, Katie seemed to enjoy running up and down the hills the best. The corn maize was also a highlight for everyone.
After a fun day, it was off to I-Hop for a quick dinner and then back home in time to get to the bus station to meet...GRAMMY! Grammy is in town to visit Katie for the rest of the week. I'm sure Katie will be surprised and delighted in the morning...

Big Day, Part Two

SUBTITLE: Marching to the Beat of Her Own Drum....

As mentioned yesterday, Katie went to the first big birthday party of one of her playgroup buddies, JD. It was held at a Gymboree playgym, complete with a choreographed program led by a Gymboree employee. Unfortunately for that employee, Katie decided that she did not want to be part of ANY of the planned action. No limbo, no circle games, no singing...you could basically find Katie climbing on gym equipment as far away from the center of action as possible. I tried to capture a shot of this (Katie is on the far-left in blue, shying away from the crowd). Maybe there is a need for the structured activities and socialization of pre-school after all....


Not only did she shun the planned activities, but she became a rebel rouser as well. I think the employee was trying to lead the kids in some kind of bubble activity when Katie found the basketball hoop and balls. As soon as the other kids saw her shooting hoops, they dropped what they were doing and joined her instead....

Finally, she joined in the parachute activity! Now we can claim that Katie was actually at this party with her friends! Thanks JD, Francie, Justin, and Paulie - the party was a smash!

Big Day, Part One

Katie had quite the special day today. She not only got to visit the local fire station, but she also went to one of her buddy's birthday parties. We'll talk more about the party tomorrow...

Anyway, for those who don't know, it is National Fire Prevention Week, and all of the local fire stations hold open houses for the general public. The nearest station is literally a 5-minute walk, so we had to take Katie to see her beloved fire trucks. She was SO excited on the walk over...but she got really intimidated when she saw the real things. She whimpered and gave us the pouty lip if we took her anywhere near the trucks. At first, she would only play with the fireman dolls and fake matches (!) they had on hand. Finally, she warmed up to the firemen (and women) who handed her tons of treats, and we got this picture. Maybe next year she'll be ready for the real tour.

Buddy for a Day

Katie has recently become enamored with a new-old buddy she has named "Big Bear." This special bear has been a part of our family for many years. Mike got the oversized bear with an interlocking ND sweater for Traci years before they married. Later, Geno adopted it as his own buddy, sleeping and playing with it. Now, Katie has fallen for Big Bear. She always wants it to sit on her Elmo couch, she often "feeds" it with her sippy cup, and today she asked to have it accompany us on our errands/playground run. Here's Big Bear in the Target cart.


Of course, Katie wanted to push Big Bear in one of the neighborhood park's cars. Doesn't Big Bear have the life? (Unfortunately for Traci, Big Bear is kind of heavy and cumbersome for a lovie.)

It's the Great Pumpkins, Charlie Brown!

It seems as if our local farmers' market is in the full swing of autumn, with all of the pumpkins, gourds, apples, and mums offered. Katie took quite a liking to a couple of the larger pumpkins (white one included), but Mama had to say no. Couldn't imagine the walk back to the car with pumpkin, diaper bag, and kid in tow...


Speaking of autumn, don't forget to participate in the 2nd annual Katie Costume Guessing vote on the right panel of the blog. You have until Halloween to make your guess from our four choices, all of which were strongly considered.

Up, Down, All Around

Whether she's scaling a "mountain" or running like the wind, there's no stopping Katie when you set her free. This is her at her purest level of joy.

Cursed (Part 2)

For the second straight year, the Cubs dashed our dreams of attending a World Series game at Wrigley Field by getting swept out of the playoffs in the first round. Here Katie poses with our unused tickets to World Series Game 3.
Here is picture of Katie posing one year ago. Perhaps the Cubs can mature as much as she has...there's always next year!

Nice Shot, K-Mac!

She doesn't quite have the form or the follow through yet. Heck, she doesn't even know what her dominant hand is. But, look at how she keeps her eyes on the prize. Her shot was only off by eight feet or so, but all the other little kids were impressed. (Check out one of her admirers in the background.) Do you think that 1 1/2 is too young to get started on her basketball scholarship?

The Playground Gang

We love the fact that Katie is really starting to bond with other little kids her age. She actually asks for her friends by name, so we try to give her opportunities to see them as much as we can. She's invited to her first big 2nd birthday party in a couple of weeks, which should be a hoot. Today, Katie met up at the playground with Allison (left in picture), Patrick (right), Lyla, and Anamarie. They had fun chasing each other, sharing snacks, and getting into trouble together. (We swear, they are much more apt to wander FAR away when they have a buddy.) It should only get more fun watching these kids grow up together.

Hearts on Our Sleeves

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines...the Major League Baseball playoffs are set to begin this afternoon. Even with the Cubs' game hours away, Katie has already taken her Elmo-couch spot and can't wait to catch the few innings that occur before her bedtime. (Luckily, if the Cubs lose, it will be too late for Katie to watch her Mom and Dad cry.) Obviously, she is wearing her Cubs pinstripes with pride. Two different moms cheered her choice in attire at the playground this morning.

And, just for the heck of it, here is a self-portrait of the two Cubbie girls waiting impatiently for their game. (Traci is too superstitious to wear her Cubs stuff...they always seem to lose when she does.)