Brilliant Disguise

And the answer is...a KANGAROO! It seemed to only make sense given all her jumping in her beloved Jumperoo. Sorry to all those who voted for a ladybug, the overwhelming favorite.

Tonight, Katie didn't actually do any trick-or-treating, but we dressed her up to receive all the neighborhood kids. I don't know if she realized they were dressed up, but she seemed to enjoy having all the kids come over to see her. Happy Halloween, everybody...

The Great Pumpkins

Tonight, we carved pumpkins while watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." With the boatloads of candy that Traci bought (minus what Mike already ate), we should be all set for the tricker-treaters tomorrow night.

Halloween wouldn't be complete without pumpkins for Katie and Geno. Notice the big eyes, small mouth, and forehead scrape on Katie's for historical accuracy...

Happy and Healing

Over the weekend, Katie started to heal from her goose egg quite nicely. Now you can only notice what looks like a rug burn on her forehead. No black eye for this little one!

On Saturday, we also attended Kate's first ever Halloween party, hosted by one of Traci's friends. We'll save pictures for Wednesday, as we wouldn't want to reveal her costume too soon! As cute as she was in her outfit, she only had it on for about ten minutes. (She was way too hot in a room of about 15 kids and 30 adults.) The party was adorable, and we were amazed that no two children were dressed in the same type of costume. We saw outfits ranging from Charlie Brown to Little Red Riding Hood. Of course, we thought that Katie was the cutest in the room.

Grocery Girl

Kate has been joining in on her mom's Sunday trip to the grocery store on occasion. Cleanup on Aisle 7! She seems to love her perch on the shopping cart. This picture was taken last week (i.e., prior to the welt on her head). Notice her stylish track suit. We are planning on raising her as a Tenenbaum (for those that actually get the reference!).

Goose Egg

Kate had quite an unfortunate adventure today. She, Mom, and Geno were on their daily lunchtime walk when near-disaster struck. Rain had drenched our area for a couple days, so all the roads and sidewalks were quite slick. In the pouring rain, Mom slipped on some wet leaves and fell down, with Katie attached in the front carrier. Obviously Katie started screaming bloody murder, so everybody went straight home. When Mom took off the hood of Kate's coat, she found some blood and a HUGE goose egg on her forehead. (The attached picture doesn't quite do it justice.) After a quick check by the pediatrician, all was well again. The little trooper even happily screamed and squealed through her Friday afternoon playgroup. Now Katie just may sport a black-eye (as the blood may drain down to the eye area) for her first Halloween!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

A gloomy fall day in Virginia. Temperatures dropped so much that our little bear cub thought about hibernating for the winter. No? OK, well it was at least cool enough to throw the warm fleeces on the kids (Geno too!). Actually, we are loving the fall temperatures. We could do without the drizzle, but the region sure needs the rain after some drought-like conditions of late.

P.S. This is not Katie's halloween costume...there is still time to vote!

Everybody Do the Exersaucer!

There's nothing like getting to watch a baby do something for the first time. Today, Katie stepped out of the spotlight and let her buddy Connor take center-stage. He got to test his head strength, hand-eye coordination and concentration on the Exersaucer. Katie gives her sign of approval with a few squeals and "ma-mas."