Rolling Up His Sleeves

 Jon's got his sleeves rolled up because he is ready to get some work done at his new job.

 The job is with the same company, but is located closer to home.  Yay!  Shorter commute!  Yay!  Yay!

We started the day with the new breakfast of champions - pumpkin pancakes.  It's a Jon thing to eat pumpkin in summer.  I just roll with it.  Maybe it makes him feel cooler.  Like autumnal coolness.  Not like Chuck Norris coolness.  Anyway, I hope he has a great day and many great days at the new job because I think he is great. 

First Day of Preschool

No tears!  Impossible, right?  Big Sis was ready to go at 7:30 - an hour earlier than we needed to leave AND she dressed herself!  Wonder how often that will happen on future school days.

 Here are some of K's reflections on the school day:

They don't have princesses there.

Some of the boys were not listening and they bumped me.

We read a book about a lion and a tiger that got married and had a baby and a mean uncle.  (Is that The Lion King?)

The boys were running in the class.  (Did I mention there are only three girls in the class?)


K helped me write the photo captions below.

I'm ready to go!

I want to go to school.

Look at C's big mouth.

Look how much Lil Sis has grown.  She's outgrowing her stroller!  Heehee :).

Farmer's Market Menu and Lil Ton of Fun goes to Church

This weekend we celebrated Grandmoochie's birthday with a farmer's market inspired dinner.  Great idea Aunt A!  It was a delicious meal and fun celebration.  We were in stitches over Grandpa's 45 question quiz to find out how well each of us knew the birthday girl.  Ton of Fun was declared the winner.  What a good son!

Lil TOF telling Mad Dog how excited she is about the first birthday party she's attended!

 Here's the menu from our dinner.  Be prepared to be jealous...

pita chips with artichoke bruschetta
baby carrots and ranch dip

roasted corn and edamame salad

green bean and fingerling potato salad

tomato cucumber salad

crispy chicken

lemon meringue pie

Also this weekend, TOF and I decided we needed to be more conscientious about documenting Lil TOF's firsts.  Well, last Sunday was Lil TOF's first time to go to church.  After feeding and clothing, ourselves and the girls, we completely forgot to snap a picture.  So in an effort to document Lil Sis' life at least half as well as Big TOF's, here (drum roll please) are pictures from this morning.  Lil TOF's 2nd time to go to church!

Just a Trim

Katie got her first haircut today.  Goodbye lil' baby ringlets.  She wasn't too sure about the water spray.

But once she saw her reflection she decided this wasn't so bad.  Ms. S was super nice to cut Katie's hair at the big girl salon.  I got my hair cut too, but no pictures.  I'm not as cute.

Ms. S is laughing because Katie is mesmerized by her new do and won't look away from the mirror to let me get a good picture.

The glamorous "after shot" of the Oh So Drastic makeover.  Katie is pleased with the result and I think she looks less unkempt.  So it was a successful salon visit.

Big Girl Bed

Katie's big girl bed got set up last night.  Thanks, Dad and Grandpa!

K was so excited; we had to pull her off a dozen times to get the sheets and quilt on the bed.

Giving the big bed the reading comfort test.  It passed.  And get a look at how many books you can get in this size bed!!!

Cute opossum!

Did she stay in the bed all night?  Yep!

I told her the bed rail kept her in at night, so as long as she believes that, we are set.

This went so well, we are ready for the paci fairy to visit tonight.  I'm willing to bet the pictures of that milestone are going to be less cute and more traumatic.  Say bedtime prayers for us!  Please!

Boo-Hoo Ballet

You may recall that #3 on K's wish list to Santa was for leotards, ballet shoes, and to go to ballet school.  Santa totally came through.  Kate loves her leotards.  She loves her ballet shoes.  And she NEVER wants to go to ballet school again.

Smiling before class, when she still believed her teacher would be a mouse.  Thank you very much, Angelina Ballerina, for that false expectation!

 I now know that the hands clasped in front of her chest means:  I am frozen and when I thaw out it will be with a rush of tears. 

 Where is my mom?  Out in the hall?  That's about 10 feet away!  Too far!   MOMMY!

 Intent little face as she listens to my pep talk.

 Hey, I'm a pretty good pep talker or K-T just really wants to touch the barre.  After all she has been practicing on the handicap rail in every bathroom stall we enter for months now.

K's teacher (who is not a mouse, but is redeemed somewhat for having Rapunzel like hair) gives everyone a glitter sticker for doing such a great job.

Mom and Dad only paid for FIVE more classes.

Costume #3 - Trick or Treating

Katie's friend Kennedy invited her to go trick or treating in her neighborhood. Before venturing out they watched and learned from Toodee, of Yo Gabba Gabba! fame, that eating too much candy will make you sick. Katie tells us, "I want to get sick."



Two Cool Cats!



This was Katie's first time to go trick or treating. She has been asking us about how it works for a few weeks now. She LOVED it! I am starting to suspect that my shy girl is not really a shy girl after all. Halloween totally brought her out of her shell. I adore this lady for handing out Goldfish crackers instead of candy.



See! No shyness! No trepidation! She's going for it! She's a trick or treat master!

Cheerio

Katie enjoys her first ever bowl of cereal.

It's Honey Nut Cheerios. Yum!



We've been too scared to allow her a bowl full of milk before this. I am pretty sure it's a disaster, including tears and screams, waiting to happen. Although this first run went fine.



I gave her a bite from my bowl. Then she knew she was missing out munching on dry cereal only.

10 years ago today...

Jon and I went out for our first date. Weren't we young!? This picture is not from our first date, but is the earliest existing photo I could find of the two of us. Does anyone have an actual picture from their first date? You never really know how it's going to go, so it's hard to know if the moment will be one for the history books or not.
We are celebrating at home with a big-o slice of white chocolate cheesecake. Maybe I should post a picture of that!

Next Food Network Star

Making a lemon poppy seed cake for Grandma's belated birthday celebration, Katie uses the mixer for the very first time!

Do you watch the Next Food Network Star? It's my favorite show! For those of you that do not watch it, each contestant is required to concisely express their culinary point of view. Katie's culinary point of view is, "I can do it myself. Mommy, you don't help." She yelled at me when I tried to help. She can do so much by herself these days.



Yes, the mixer is on. Katie's whole body was vibrating from it's power, but she takes her baking very seriously and would not let go.

The second picture is included so you know how close by I was and so you can wonder about my outfit. Yep, it's a tank tucked into soffe shorts. It's my Saturday style. I rock the fashion world!

Taking Care of "Business"

I had to bribe her with her weight in M & M'S and Dum Dum Pops, but Katie now does her "business" in the potty (mostly). We are all so proud!

P B & J

Katie's first ever (all natural, no sugar added, organic) peanut butter and (organic) jelly sandwich. She ate two bites. For her, that is a sign she liked it. Actually the fact that she was willing to touch it is amazing. You could say she is a picky eater.

painted piggies

This is a big first for our girly-girl. She sat super still while I applied the polish. Katie selected Opi's Elephantastic Pink. I think she chose it for the name. Just like I do.

She's 2

Birthday tradition #1 - Take a photo of the birthday girl first thing in the morning. Goal for next year is no paci in the morning picture.

Gift from us - a "pit ball" like Katie's friend Jenna has at her house.

Birthday tradition #2 - Eat cake for breakfast! Thanks for this idea, Mrs. Linda!

Katie requested Grandma's "black" cake.

Monkeys at the zoo.

Photo of the first official terrible two tantrum. K was there to see animals and ride trains. She had no patience for our lunch break.

The birthday dress!

Included this one for Meme. It reminds me of a picture she has of me at the zoo looking at lizards when I was itty bitty.

Too tired to finish her banana on the ride home.

Great 2nd birthday!
Party this weekend!

in the hood

I used some of my Christmas money to buy a hoodie pattern from Lil Blue Boo. Here is my first go at it.

I can't believe she is still wearing the hood as I type this. Perhaps her head was cold and this shirt was just the thing she needed. It has a little kangaroo pouch in the front to warm your hands, or if you have Katie's inclinations, fill with gravel.

rad like dad

jon went to a bicycling training camp over the weekend.
k and i went to see meme and papa.
katie rode her bike for the first time.

Halloween - The Real Deal and Aftermath

Here are a few pics Granddad and Grandma, or Mahner as Katie refers to her, took on Halloween.







While K was celebrating at home with the grandparents and cousins, Jon and I were in NYC carbo loading on spaghetti! I saw Elmo - and a few less appropriate costumes - on Times Square.



The next day we ran 26.2 miles.





Then had pizza and dessert.




This video is of Jon after the marathon. Watch the little old lady pass him! A man offered us $20 to pay for a bike cab across the park. Jon looked so pitiful the man didn't think he could make it. Jon gutted it out to the next park bench for a little rest. Then he was fine.

Thanks for helping Jon raise support for Team for Kids and his first marathon!

Back at home, right when we really needed to catch up on laundry, errands, and housekeeping, K and Mommy were hit with nasty colds. This book makes K-T feel better.

I have read it 15 times in 3 days. So if you ever need help with your horse...