Trick or Treat! Thank you!

We had so much fun tonight...Michael's first Halloween, Katie's first time trick-or-treating, and a visit from Papa to boot! More cute pictures tomorrow, but here is a short clip of Katie's costume revealed...

Got Paci?

Our little boy is such an eating machine. Even when he's not feeding, he wants to simulate eating all the time. Post-feed/post-diaper-change, he'll give you about 10 solid minutes of adorable gazing and cooing. After that, he wants something in his mouth, STAT! We've stocked ourselves with pacis to help with his oral fixation. We've also been trying to teach him how to get his hands to his mouth. However, when in a pinch, he'll take just about anything soft in his mouth. Case in point, he sucked on this elephant's trunk for a good five minutes. If only he were always so easy to please...

No Visual Necessary

Tonight Traci served baked acorn squash as a side for dinner. Always mindful that a picky toddler may not eat most of what is served on her plate, Traci sprinkled the squash with lots of brown sugar...hoping that the sweet taste would attract Miss Katie. Again and again, Katie refused to even try the side, even though she used to love squash. When Mom and Dad asked why she wouldn't try it, Katie simply replied "It looks like what comes out of Michael's diaper." Hmmm...'nuff said. And, now Mom and Dad don't know if they can ever eat acorn squash again.

What Do We Have Here?

In response to Michael's growing alertness, Traci fished out a huge bag of baby toys today to start cleaning and sorting them. Guess who became very interested the moment the toys appeared? No need to buy expensive, flashy toddler toys for an almost-3-year-old when you have so many cool rattles, blocks, and stacking cups lying around! The funny thing was that she was mostly attracted to some of the toys that scared her when she was little, including a butterfly that plays a very loud rendition of "Rock-a-bye Baby." Wish we had taped her singing duet with the butterfly - it would have hurt your ears.

In Michael news, the little guy's smile is finally starting to emerge out of the shadows. He's not automatic yet, but he will flash you a grin when you least expect it. He's been pretty good at smiling at his sister, much to her delight. (She thinks she's so clever when she "makes" him smile.) We'll try to capture one on film, but it may take a week or two...

Well, hello there, Handsome

Looks like Michael has found a new best friend. And this one's a lot quieter than his big sister! Speaking of which, we've had to keep the siblings separated, much to Katie's chagrin. Her fever extended to another day and she threw up this morning. Needless to say, a brand-new mother-of-two was a little frazzled. Katie eventually rallied like a champ and played the rest of the day. Unfortunately, Michael was stuck playing with his germ-free friend, the mirror.

Pickin' at the Patch

We headed over to a local church this morning to pick out the perfect pumpkins for Halloween. Lots to choose from, but we came away with some winners. The camera-to-pumpkin ratio was, as expected, quite high. What is it about a pumpkin patch that brings out the paparazzi for anyone with small children? Is it just the vivid colors? We had limited time, but still managed to prop a sleepy Michael up for a few pics.

Katie was a good sport. She awoke with a 101 degree fever last night and is still fighting it. After some fresh air, she is currently sleeping it off as we all hold our collective breaths hoping that the flu has not finally found us...

The First Step to Mommy's Freedom

Traci took a little break in the non-stop newborn feeding action today when Mike (and Katie!) gave Michael his first bottle. Of course he ate it like a champ -- was anybody thinking he would turn down food? Katie was so very, very excited to help. Maybe soon we'll let her try her own hand at feeding. We're sure Michael won't care who the heck is giving him his milk!