Halloween Preview

Our friends from playgroup all went and had our kids' Halloween picture taken. They are all looking up, b/c they are looking at us moms who were doing everything we could to get them to all pay attention at once. I was really excited that they all stayed still for a few shots, not bad for kids from 9-14 months old.

They all look so cute! I can't wait to see them all dressed up tomorrow for the big day.
From the left:
Natalie is a witch, Hope is Minnie Mouse, Reva is a ladybug, Maki is a pumpkin and Evan is Curious George.

Girl's Weekend in Berkeley Springs, WV

This weekend Peggy, Kathy, Joanne, Kelly, Jill and I went to Berkeley Springs, WV to celebrate Jill's 40th Birthday. We had a great time there. We stayed in this beautiful cabin up in the mountains and got to see some fall foliage (finally!). The leaves are actually beginning to change colors now that it has cooled off a bit. We hung out in the town of Berkeley Springs on Saturday and did lots of shopping and also checked out the natural springs. George Washington even had his own bath there, but by the looks of it, he was a lot shorter then I ever thought he was. Even though Kathy and I had to leave early to help our husbands tend to our sick sons, it was very fun to get away for a night and to hang out with family.

Kelly's Baby Shower

My best friend Kelly is pregnant with her first baby and due on December 12 or so. We had a shower for her on Saturday and it was so much fun! She got lots of great stuff for her baby (doesn't know if it's a boy or girl). Kelly is beautiful and glowing, and also ready to be done being pregnant ;). I cannot wait to meet her little baby and Evan is psyched to meet his new best friend.

Apple Dip Recipe

This is for you Sophia!

Apple Dip

1 block of cream cheese
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 bag of heath bar bites (if you can find them) OR 1/2 of a bag of health bar Halloween candy (individual bars) ground up

Bring the cream cheese to room temperature. Mix everything in and serve with apples. Convince yourself that eating it with apples makes it healthy!

Evan is 10 months old!

On October 18, you were 10 months old! So much has changed over the last month, you are really moving all over the place. You are such a great crawler and you love being able to get where you want to go. You are so deliberate in your crawling, it's really amusing. It has really helped with your separation anxiety. You still cry when I leave you at Ms. Erin's, but she said that you are much happier during the day then you used to be. You no longer cry when dad or I walk out of the room either, you now know you can follow us.

You are also pulling yourself up on everything. You aren't standing up when you pull up, but you get up high on your knees. You are able to pull yourself up to standing, but only when you pull on my clothes, not sure why that is...

Clothes: size 3 diaper still, but that's because we are trying to get rid of them, you will be in size 4 as soon as we finish our jumbo pack! You wear 12-18 month clothes and just bought you size 4 1/2 shoes. Mom decided you need shoes (even though you aren't supposed to wear them until you can walk) after you crawled throughout the pumpkin patch in your socks last weekend.

Illness: You got your first illness right before you turned 10 months old. You did really well through it and I am really just impressed that it took this long to get sick. Here's hoping that you inherited your dad's immunity!

Feeding: You love food, especially vegetables. You would be happy to just eat broccoli all day long (I sure hope that continues!). You also love chicken, turkey, carrots, peas, corn, green beans, daal and pasta. Pretty much-you eat it all.

Drinking: You have mastered the sippy cup after months of trying. You really seem to love water. I'm still not giving you juice b/c I don't see any nutritional value in it. You still love your formula and even though you are great at eating solid foods, you still drink lots of formula a day (24-28 ounces a day).

Toys/Games: Your favorite toy is the one that Aunt Kelly bought you where you are supposed to hammer balls into these holes and then they go through a maze. You just love the balls themselves and playing with them-you haven't quite figured out the rest of the toy yet. But you are so happy to see it all set up, with the balls displayed on top; that you will crawl clear across the room as fast as you can and knock them off. It's hilarious!

"Words:" By far, you say "bye-bye" accompanied by a wave, the most. You love to say that. You still say "hi" a lot and now have returned to saying "mama" and "dada" a good amount too. Dad & I are hoping that you know what those words mean now! You say "baba" for your balls and bottle now too!

Teeth: You now have 6 teeth! Three of your top teeth popped through within 4 days of each other. Now you have 3 on top and 3 on the bottom. Your two middle and the one on your left, both on top and bottom. Do teeth grow on your right side...we'll keep a look out!

Sleep: Lately you've been sleeping to 7 or 7:30am, this is a very welcome present from you to me and dad! Although, you have not been so good about your napping lately. But I think I'll take the later wake up time :). Some days, when we are home all day, you nap twice a day. But mostly, I think you get 1 nap in.

Long Island Weekend

Last weekend, we went to Sayville, NY to go visit our friends Steve, Tara, Callaghan and Quinn. We had such a great time with them! On Saturday we went to the "Apple" Festival down the street from their house. Dad & Steve were very disappointed in the lack of apples at the festival, they counted only 3 and 2 halves references of apples. So, they have decided the festival does not deserve apple in its name, they prefer "Fall Festival".

On Sunday, we went pumpkin picking and wine tasting on the North Fork of Long Island. It was so much fun. The weather was very fall like both days, which was really nice, because at home it still feels like the middle of summer. We each got our own pumpkin, how exciting, your first pumpkin ever! After we went pumpkin picking, we all went wine tasting, although only the adults drank the wine. It was a perfect day!

Progress with our house

After we bought the house, there was no real progress for a few weeks. They had to wait for the permitting process. However, they began drywalling last Wednesday. What a difference a week makes! The drywall is up and the outside of the house is even painted. Now I know, our house is brown. Everyone always asked and I had no clue. I like the color though! Here are some recent pictures.

Nani and Nan come for dinner

Nani (Evan's grandma, Joe's mom) and Nan (Evan's great grandma, Joe's grandma) came over for dinner today. Evan had so much fun playing with both of them. He thoroughly entertained them with his "hi" and "bye bye" (accompanied by a wave). We finally gave Nani her birthday present, about a month late, and Evan enjoyed helping her unwrap it. Looks like he'll have fun on his birthday and Christmas! Maybe turn your volume off if you watch the video, you can hear my rendition of "happy birthday" and it isn't pretty!

Trip to the Baltimore Zoo

Yesterday we went to the Baltimore Zoo with Aditi, Reva, Daniela and Maki. We had a great time once we got there. Boy is the Zoo in the GHETTO of Baltimore. But the trip was a fun adventure! You paid attention to some of the animals this time, but you were definitely more interested in the other people there. You were sure to say "hi" to everyone you saw. I love that you say "hi" so much, it is so cute and friendly! Here are some pictures from our trip.