Pre-Halloween Festivities

Katie has been very busy preparing for Halloween! First we went with a neighbor and her daughter to a HUGE Halloween benefit. Katie got to wear her costume, which she didn't seem to hate. I will have to upload a picture later because those are on our other computer... Stay tuned for an exciting update!

Then, on Saturday we went to the Lincoln Park zoo for Halloween fun, and Katie wore her Gopher cheerleader outfit. She even got to ride on the merry go round with Mom, which was pretty awesome. And on a White Bear who went up and down, no less!

On Sunday we went to a Spooky Singalong at the local music school, which may actually have been the highlight of Katie's young life. She LOVED it, and clapped and danced and sang her way through the concert.

She got so into it, that finally Mom took Katie down to the stage, so she could really be part of the action. Of course that meant trying to keep Katie from actually getting on the stage. You'll note us on the bottom left of picture below.

Hiding spot

Katie's First Birthday Party

We had a fun birthday party for Katie last Saturday. Some of our friends and neighbors came over, and Grandma and Papa Tews and Grandpa Penna came, too! Everyone enjoyed cupcakes, and Katie had a lot of fun with her special cupcake dress and her new birthday chair.










Oh yes, and a cupcake. With a fancy First Birthday hat from Jenny, who was in Mexico! Katie licked all of the frosting off of her cupcake and left the remainder. A girl after her mom's heart!









All of Katie's little friends at the party in one picture. I know it will be hard to believe that this is the best picture out of the 10 we took. Everyone was clearly VERY excited to have their picture taken!

The next day, Mom and Dad got to play some squash while Katie played with Grandma and Papa. We all met up for mini-cheeseburgers. A fabulous birthday weekend!

On the phone

Katie loves the phone. She loves to chat with whomever has called Mom or Dad or Lucy and was very excited when she received a plastic phone of her own for her birthday.

She even talks at the breakfast table...she likes to call Mom from there.

Birthday Present video

Katie loves her new car that she got for her birthday. She rides it around the living room, holding a mylar balloon. And she loves to ride it on the sidewalk and wave at everyone she passes.

She's so proud of her little car! Here is a video of her first ride around the room.

Playgroup Birthday Party!

Today we went to a very fun birthday party hosted by the mom and dad of one of Katie's friends from her Friday playgroup. All five kids had a great time and Katie wore her party dress. She had her first cupcake, which we're pretty sure she liked!

We can't believe she's going to be one tomorrow. It seems like this year has just flown by, and she's turning into such a big girl. She can clap and blow kisses now! And she says "hi" and "daddy" (Dad is her favorite person in the whole world!)

A visit to the apple orchard

We went up to Woodstock, IL last weekend for a nice visit to an apple orchard, where there were some pumpkins that Katie could pose with and animals that Katie could pat.

It turned out that the actual apple trees were a hay ride away, and Katie wasn't really in the mood for a hay ride after an hour and a half in the car, so we just played around near the main buildings, and had a wonderful afternoon.

Playground with Grandma Henn

Katie had a nice swing at the park with Grandma Henn.

We think that it might perhaps be time to get Katie a new hat...

We're back!

Back to blogging!

And we hope to be a little better with our updates in the future.



First, some August pictures from our visit to Minnesota

A beautiful night in Stillwater, riding on Dad's shoulders and playing with Grandma and Papa





A visit to the pool at the Yacht Club





And a nice hug with Aunt Anne at the pool!









Last, Mom and Papa got to sail in Papa's sailboat race while Katie took a nap. A fun trip for all!