White Halloween?

We've had some nasty, cold, snowy, windy weather the past couple days. I'm hoping it gets a little warmer for Maggie's first trick-or-treat experience on Friday. And that Jim has smooth sailing through his connecting leg in Philly on the way home.

"C,B,C,Ds"

Maggie has started recognizing letters and loves to sing the alphabet song. She just keeps getting cuter!

Pumpkins!

It's that time of year! We've really been enjoying Autumn lately. Last weekend we explored the Keystone State and ventured to The Grand Canyon of PA outside of the quaint town of Wellsboro. The trees had a few fewer leaves toward the west, but the colors were still gorgeous. We enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading to the overlook. We had just enough time to snap a few pictures before the girls got cranky and it was time to head home.

The next day, against our better judgement, we dragged our tired girls out for another fall adventure. Dressed in their best pumpkin picking clothes, we headed to the same family farm we visited last year. Maggie was really into the festivities this year, favoring the petting zoo and the straw fort. The following week Maggie kept retelling the tales of all the animals she saw and the Mama Llama feeding her baby. I love that she now has memory and the vocabulary to reflect on past events. Claire took the week to recover from her disrupted naps, but she's finally back on schedule. It was worth it though since mom and dad sure had fun!

Fall 2008

We've had absolutely gorgeous, sunny weather lately. The changing colors on the trees are at or near their peak, reminding me why fall is my favorite season. Every time I look out my kitchen windows, or get in the car to drive somewhere, I am inspired. It's as if God took his/her paintbrush and covered the hills with color just to remind me that s/he's near.

I wandered around our yard and subdivision while the girls were napping recently and snapped a few pictures of the surrounding beauty.

6 months!

Claire turned six months old this weekend! I can hardly believe it's been half a year since she arrived. In an effort never to be outdone by big sister, Claire weighed in at the 100th percentile at her check up yesterday, tipping the scales as 21 lbs 8 oz. She's 27 inches long. I call her "little miss grabby fingers" because she's constantly grabbing at any food we eat. The other day I think she would have tried to eat my grilled cheese sandwich if I would have let her. We've started on some finger foods and I'm moving pretty quickly with the texture of her baby food, making sure it's nice and lumpy. I can only imagine the kinds of things Maggie is going to try and feed her now that Claire has more than milk in her diet. Keeping me on my toes that's for sure!

Mmm...Baby Mum Mum is yum, yum

Bizzare toddler eating habits, and a shout-out

Oh the terrific twos! Maggie's eating habits are about as erratic as her moods these days. There's such internal struggle for virtually every decision. Will I eat it? How will I eat it? Do I like it? Milk or no milk on the cereal? just to name a few. The previously rejected scrambled eggs and grilled cheese were both inhaled with vigor today, so I'm glad I took the chance and offered them again. While Jim was dining out on ethnic cuisine in Cincinnati, Mags and I had a frozen pizza tonight (just a slight guilt trip). You can't get a pizza delivered out here, and there's no place we've come love for take-out, so Digiorno it was. The last time we had pizza (5 weeks ago in Cape May) Maggie picked all the toppings off and ate only the crust. Today, she ate all the toppings first and saved the crust for last. Maybe one day she'll just take a bite of it like a normal person? Despite all the challenge, it is great to see her explore her food, change her mind, and come back around to things. Here's hoping that veggies soon return to favor.

Maggie was very talkative at dinner tonight so I grabbed the camera and got this great video. She's giving a shout-out to all her loved ones. Enjoy!

Jumperoo

I dusted off the jumperoo for Claire yesterday and it was quite an event! She loved the freedom to bounce around and seemed to be having loads of fun. Maggie was fascinated by Claire's new toy and wanted a piece of the action. Claire soon learned that it's much more fun as a solo activity.

Maggie says, "I want to play too!"

Claire thinks, "Finally some space to really get going!"

Borders Be Gone

Another room bites the dust! Jim labored for a couple weekends and updated the half bath with some help from his Dad in September. We finally found a mirror and can call our powder room finished. Here's the photo documentation, lest we forget the peach fixtures and lovely border.