Halloween

Halloween was fun this year. We took Katelynn and Mark to the Pumpkin Patch, I don't think that we will go there again, the pumpkin selection wasn't the greatest,  but we did enjoy hayride. 

I liked my Halloween decor this year. It really did feel pretty festive.

This was the first year that we actually carved a pumpkin. I tried to carve the pumpkin but I wasn't getting too far so Ben ended up carving it all while I emptied the pumpkin. Katelynn thought it was pretty weird what we were doing but she was pretty entertained by it too. And Mark just watched from his carseat. After we got the face done Katelynn liked to put it back together like a puzzle.

For Halloween Katelynn was Dorothy Mark was a lion and was a witch. I made Mark's mane,   even though some thought he was a flower. He looked cute no matter what.

We had a good showing of people come to our house Trick-or-treating. By the end of the night Katelynn  was so excited to hear the door bell and she would be wanting to help hand out the candy. She was also excited to hand out candy to herself. By the end of the night she was saying trick or treat to me so that I would give her candy! 

Katelynn's First trim

In two and a half years I haven't cut her hair. It was finally time to do something with it though. It was looking pretty scraggly. I was going to take her in and have someone else cut it, but after Ben said he only wanted an inch cut off I decided to do it myself. Her hair has so many different layers cutting an inch off wouldn't even get close to trimming all of her hair.

Katelynn's hair EVERY morning, quite the raggamuffin


Before

After


She didn't even know I did anything. I was hoping she wouldn't see the scissors cutting and get an idea.



I barely cut anything off, but it looks so much better. I did save that tiny bit of hair that I cut off.

Katelynn 2.5 years old

Katelynn is now 2.5 years old. She is my ball of fire, always wanting to go somewhere and do something. She is fun and she is a handful. You really never know what she is going to get into. Her conversation skills are improving so, that is nice. I am trying to increase my conversation level with her to help her know more words and be able to express her needs to me.
At 2.5 years she likes to watch Cinderella (yea-yea), Princess and the Frog (Frog), Mulan, Tangled, and Toy Story (Woody and Buzz) and Mouse (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse).
She likes to line things up. She will get her letter and number magnets and line them up and down the fridge. She will also line up the silicone cupcake wrappers.
She is starting to know wonder where Mark is more. She asks where the baby is quite a few times during the day and she won't give up looking for him until he is found. He is usually napping and so I try to quietly show her where he is but she will call out "ere he is" and wake him up 50% of the time. She knows to be gentle with him but isn't always gentle. She hasn't hit him purposefully that I have seen but she will try and put too much of her weight on him when she is giving him a hug.
Her favorite toys at the moment are Mr. Potato head and Mega Blocks (which we have 200 blocks) and her Little People Farm.
She is growing up right before our eyes and I am just trying to love this time that is going by too fast, but loving this time is hard when she is whining at you that is for sure.
Katelynn was playing in the bathroom and Ben called to her in the front room, she stopped playing and said, "I comining...I comining daee" (daddy) and went to him in the front room. I thought it was the most adorable thing to hear her say that. She is learning and growing and I love her to death. I surely hope she understands what I say when I tell her I love her each day.

Pictures taken on 10/5/11
She was saying "Oh No!" in a sad way about something.


I took these pictures while I was chasing her around the tree in the front yard. I knew by doing that I would get a good smile, and I did.


My personal Favorite! The true wild woman in action! LOVE it! I can just see the life in her eyes.



A Smile

Mark 2 Months

Mark is now two months old. Wow! He is my little blue eyed boy that I love to snuggle with and love on.
He has better head control now but still has some drunken moments where he violently swings back while we are holding him against our chests. He smiles so much now, usually in the morning before we get Katelynn out of bed. I am sure he likes the alone time that he is getting then.
We put him in the Bumbo for a minute and then his neck muscles wear out. He plays under his little gym in the morning and usually falls asleep under it while Katelynn and I eat breakfast. He has the routine down of: eat, play, sleep and repeat. He will take a few cat naps and then at least one 3 hour nap during the day. He is eating 6 or 7 four ounce bottles a day. He is wearing size two diapers and almost grown out of 3-6 month clothes.
He really is a good baby. It doesn't take much to console him once you figure out what he needs, which usually takes a minute or two to figure out. Ben, thinks he is more high maintenance than Katelynn was, I don't. I think it is more our attitude. I was stressed with Katelynn so, I was never relaxed with her, so I thought that she was a crazy baby. Ben is more stressed with Mark and so he thinks that he is more high maintenance.
Here he is in all his 2 month glory. Today we had the perfect temperature so we went outside and got a few shots. Isn't he the cutest thing.




His shirt says "Rock and Stroll" in case you couldn't read it.
Updated 11/15/11: On 10/31/11 Mark had his 2 month appointment and weighed 12lbs 15 and a half ounces and was 23.5 inches long