Pictures, video and updates from our family
Today was Mark's first Halloween. It was a lot to take in but I think our little pumpkin had a good time. Here he is having a pre-Halloween festivities snack while Emily iced some cupcakes.
Then we took off for the neighborhood parade and Mommy made the mistake of putting two kids in one wagon with one cup of juice.
Emily likes to dance on the coffee table while watching herself in the mirror. It's best to watch this clip with sound because she really gets into the music. This is edited, it when on for a very long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BybKSNo9l3Y
Emily officially turned 2 & 1/2 over the weekend. Ben and I took the kids to the soccer fields yesterday afternoon. Ben headed home with Mark and I was trying to get Emily off the field and back to the house. She finally relented and said she would head home. She ran ahead of me and towards the strip of sidewalk between the fields and our street. I walked up behind her and told her to be careful of the street and stay on the sidewalk. She didn't turn around, she just slowed down on the sidewalk (a few steps ahead of me) and put her hand up the in the air with her back towards me and said "I'm fine, mom". Emily can be a handful but she is smart, beautiful and strong. I know she will always be just fine.
Here are some pictures of my wonderful 2 & 1/2 year old sweetheart that we love to pieces. Her teachers take lots of pictures at school and post them for us to see. I copied a few and decided to share. Here they are...
Here are some pictures of what Mark likes to do these days. He is on the move!
Finding some free time when both kids are awake, fed, happy and available is pretty difficult these days. This morning both kids were happy and dressed so I figured we could get a good 15 minutes of picture time at the pumpkin patch before dropping Emily at school. Unloading the kids from the car and sitting them together in the patch involved a lot of physical strength, some serious wrestling and one verbal threat, but I got them set up perfect and ready to go. I grab the camera from around my neck, they both smile, and then I realize the battery is dead. Ahhh! Picked up both kids and carried them back to the car to get my iPhone and put down our camera that cost a small fortune. Then I set them up again for some iPhone shots. So, the quality isn't great and their patience had run out, but here they are!!
Here is a video link to Mark's newest trick (and one of his old tricks)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ffqDS87G9A
Emily's school pictures arrived Friday. This is an iPhone photo of the prints so it won't look as good as the real thing but it works.
This pose makes me laugh. She looks like a teenager.
I decided Emily did not need to wear the pumpkin costume for the 3rd year in a row. It's Mark's turn now - more pictures of that to come. Emily picked out her own costume this morning. This was the clear winner because it came with toys. I am pretty sure it was the scissors that closed the deal. Here is our little hairstylist.
We took a trip to Dewberry Farm with Mimi and Grandma. It was a lot of fun. They have jungle gyms, rope swings, big slides, bounce areas, the Cow Train (a tractor that pulls little cow painted carts over a bumpy track), a hay ride (without the hay) around the farm with a stop at a pumpkin patch where the kids can pick one out to take home. You have to get a group together to go on a weekday (we went with my moms group) and for a lot of the activities you have to be with the group to participate. For instance, you can't just ride the cow train whenever you want - you have to go when your group is going. I guess that makes sense, but its kind of a bummer because I think Emily would have liked to ride the cow train over and over again and the place is big so its hard to keep up with everyone. There were also a few other shows and activities that we didn't get a chance to try but I think we still had plenty of fun. Here are some pictures.
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We just bought a new Britax Marathon for Mark. He was getting too long for the infant seat and appears to be happier in his new, bigger seat.
We have a Peg Perego Prima Vaggio Sip 30/30 and base that we no longer need. It was manufactured in November of 2008. If you are a stickler for AAP (and manufacturer) guidelines like I am then that means this car seat is still good for 2 more years. We have never been in a wreck with this seat. It adapts to Peg strollers as well as Bob, bumbleride and Baby jogger strollers. It does not adapt to graco strollers. It is a high end car seat with excellent reviews in good condition. I also have a matching stroller. It is yours if you want it. Here is a link for more info in the car seat.
The weather is beautiful so it is park time again. Here is a video of Emily singing on her favorite stage at spring valley park.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0DqZRIJGco
