busy bee

Happy Halloween!

Last year Dan got to pick Mae's costume (and she was the cutest little football ever.) This year I got to choose, so I made her this adorable bumblebee costume!

The romper is the Happy Frog Romper by Puperita which I pieced together with strips of black and yellow poly/cotton blend fabric. I finished the closures with my brand new Kam snaps set. I was looking for an excuse to buy plastic snaps and a snap tool, since they are so useful for baby items! The hat is the Purl Soho sunbonnet without the visor. I added little antennae topped with homemade pom poms. Pom poms are super easy and fun to make!

Mae got to wear her costume several times: to the zoo last weekend, to her day care party this week, to a Halloween party with Ollie on Saturday, and of course while trick-or-treating around our neighborhood!

In preparation for Halloween, we've and been practicing bee sounds. I say, "Bee says Bzzz!" and tickle her belly with my index finger. Now if I ask Mae, "What does a bee say?" she doesn't make any noise but tickles her belly with her finger. I guess we're half way there!

divide and conquer

Dan, Mae, and I each had our own social commitments this past weekend, and each of us spent Saturday in a different city!

Thursday afternoon, we all got together at Mae's day care for her toddler Halloween party. She looked super cute sharing her cup of goldfish crackers with the other little girl buzzing around in a bumblebee costume. Then, Mae and I said "bye byeeee" to Dada and drove to visit my family for the weekend. We arrived just in time for Christopher's birthday dinner. Friday morning we went to the Children's Musem with Mom, Emily, and Oliver. The little ones loved playing in the dinosaur caves and train tunnels (and getting completely soaked at the water table).

Saturday was when things got a little crazy. Dan went to see Penn State play at Ohio State. The loss was heartbreaking, but he had a good time visiting with friends and living the college kid party life for one night. I drove to Notre Dame with Mom, Dad, and Kevin to see the game against NC State. We froze our tushies off tailgating in the misty rain, but we witnessed a good game and stayed pretty warm in the stadium. My tickets were in row 6 of the end zone, so we were protected from the wind (and enjoyed an interesting view of the field).

Mom finished chemo a few weeks ago and had her surgery on Monday, so she was moving a little slower than usual. Since she's usually operating at a super-human pace, this just means she's acting like a normal person now and has to take (gasp) breaks during the day. She still managed to prepare tailgate food for 20+ people, hang out in the cold weather for 8 hours, and stay awake with me the whole drive home!

Mae spent Saturday with Christopher, Emily, and Oliver. They had a blast playing with Oliver's cozy coupe and play-kitchen, getting lunch at McDonald's, and going to a Halloween party in the evening! The babies looked suuuuper cute in their costumes. Mae's bee costume even sort-of coordinated with their Pooh, Tigger, and Christopher Robin costumes. (Pooh bear, honey, bees... it's a bit of a stretch but I think it works).

We got home pretty late from the football game, but I stayed up to wait for Christopher and Emily to drop off Mae on their way home from the party. It felt so funny to wait up for my kid to come home from a party, even though my kid is a 17-month-old! I'm so thankful that Christopher and Emily agreed to watch her all day and that she had such a fun time playing with her cousin! She has been asking for "Ah-yee" (Ollie) frequently since the weekend. Sunday afternoon, we drove home where Dada greeted us at the door and received a big, smiley hug from Mae. We are happy to be all back together again!

fall fun

We had a few fun-filled fall days last week! Friday evening we went to dinner at Ben and Jen's house for some baby playtime and a tasty dinner of pot roast and apple crisp (excellent fall food combo). Saturday we went to a local farm for the usual autumn festivities: pumpkin patch, corn maze, and of course donuts and apple butter! First, we had to take the requisite "baby surrounded by pumpkins" photos.

Mae just wasn't herself during the morning, but she perked up while were exploring the corn maze and while riding on my lap in the barrel train. We also played in a sand pit, walked through some tunnels, and checked out the petting zoo. Mae enjoyed grunting at the noisy pigs but was verrrry unsure about the big, strutting turkey.

While we selected a tiny pumpkin for Mae to decorate, she was much more interested in trying out the big rocking chairs and playing hide-and-seek in the pumpkin pricing board. (Holy moley - She's only $16!)

On Sunday, my whole family came to visit for a trip to the amusement park. We alternated between roller coasters and stroller pushing. It threatened to rain the whole day, but the downpour didn't start until later in the afternoon, so we got to do plenty of rides!

Mae and Oliver were able to ride on a little car track all by themselves. Emily and I were pretty nervous, but both babies stayed put in their seats and loved it! Mae excitedly yells "beep beep!" every time we see a car on our walks, so she was absolutely thrilled to be in her own little vehicle.

Everyone came back to our house when the rain started. Mae and Oliver had fun coloring at her little table. Such a fun weekend!

she never stops talking

... but we have no idea what she's saying!

Here's a quick update on Mae as she approaches 17 months.

She wears her hair in a palm-tree style ponytail most days, and she thinks it's hilarious every time she reaches up and feels it on the top of her head. She says "no?" to everything, usually in a rapid-fire "no? no? no? no? noooooo." She knows lots of animal noises including cat (meow), dog (ff ff), penguin (aa!), lion/tiger/bear (rarrrrr), owl (whoooo), and monkey (ooh-ooh-aah-aah, and sometimes ooh-aah-ooh-aah or aah-ooh-ooh-aah). She says "hi" and "bye" and blows kisses like it's her job. She likes to look at her picture book of family members and knows cousin Ollie (Ah-yee) by name. She loves hiding in her closet and squealing with excitement when she pops out. She brushes her own teeth (not very thoroughly, but these are the practice teeth anyways). She gives hugs generously to her grandmas and her day care teachers.

She tells us that she wants to go outside by yelling "BUBBOOOO" and pointing at the bottle of bubbles. She loves playing in her sandbox, going down slides, and riding her little bike (bi! bi! bi!). She just got her second pair of shoes (shhh's) and has mostly adjusted to walking in the bigger size. She likes to spin around in circles until she gets dizzy and tips over. She was on the receiving and giving end of toddler bite incidents at day care. (I don't know if it was with the same kid; when do babies learn about revenge?) She is obsessed with coloring at her little table and loves to tell Dada about her day when he gets home from work.

She is tall and skinny and rocking this adorable hand-knitted dress from Kathy. I love the ombre effect of the yarn (I think it is a Wonderland Yarns Cheshire Cat mini-skein set).

Mae, you are chatty and adventurous and endlessly silly. We love you, sweet pea!

oh, boy!

September turned out to be a busy month. Early in the month, Dan made a whirlwind, one-day trip out east for his Grandad's funeral. Mae and I were unable to attend, but we hope to see all the family when we visit over Christmas. We also got some things done around the house in September. We replaced the broken sink in our second bathroom, and now we don't have to wash our hands in the bath tub any more! Luxury. Mae and I spent a lot of time going to parks and on play dates. We went to the zoo last Wednesday and Mae is finally showing interest in the animals! She was so enthralled with the penguins that she squeaked excitedly at them and clung to the railing when I tried to move on to the next exhibit.

Last weekend turned out to be the most eventful we've had in a while. Dan's mom arrived late Thursday and snuck a peek at a peacefully snoozing Mae before we headed to bed. Friday morning Eileen, Mae, and I went to story time at the local book store. As usual, Mae couldn't care less about the books but LOVED dancing along to the songs.

Friday afternoon I came down with a short-lived but yucky stomach bug. I rested Friday and Saturday morning while Dan and Eileen took Mae to our local parks and out to lunch. They got lots of goofy quality time together. Cheers!

I rallied myself Saturday afternoon and got moving just in time to catch a ride with Kathy to the Kentucky Wool Festival. We had such a good time at the event last year, that I added this year's festival to the calendar immediately afterwards. Surprisingly, we didn't hit any traffic arriving mid-afternoon this year. Unfortunately, Kathy's mom and friend who were supposed to meet us there were not so lucky and waited in traffic for an hour before giving up and heading home. Clearly, Wool Fest was THE place to be in middle-of-nowhere Kentucky this weekend. We wandered through the craft tents, sampled some tasty fair food, and (of course) bought some yarn! We each picked up a "Mystery Bag" from Jessica's Creations. The little $10 paper bags were taped shut (to preserve the mystery) and contained enough yarn for a pair of socks! I love my sparkly blue and white speckled colorway. I also bought a skein of self-striping yarn called "Aura" from Rock and String Creations. Both are now wound and waiting impatiently to become socks! Although, I have another project to finish first (more on that in a minute).

Saturday afternoon, Christopher and Emily hosted a gender reveal party for the affectionately nicknamed "K2" who will be joining us in February! I was sad to miss the party, but had a guest visiting and yarn to buy. (In my defense, I've had Wool Fest on the calendar longer than this baby has existed.) We sent a photo of our guesses in advance. Mae made her choice very scientifically by selecting a blue pacifier over a pink pacifier.

We were in the minority with our "boy" guesses, but I guess our intuition wasn't lying! Oliver timidly approached his "reveal" cupcake at first, but then smashed his way in to the BLUE filling with gusto! Everyone cheered, and he looked super startled like he had been caught doing something naughty. Yay, Ollie, you're getting a baby brother!

Christopher and Emily have already chosen their nursery theme: Avengers! Emily loved the Harry Potter mobile I made for Oliver and has already requested an Avengers one for K2. I am so excited, I have already sketched out my pattern! Time to order felt and get cutting/stitching! Sock knitting will just have to wait.