Rochester

This last week we stayed with my sister in Rochester. My niece was getting baptized, and since it is a short 6 hour drive, I thought, "why not?" The drive was not at all fun, but it was great to hang out with my sister. It is nice to finally have my family close by, or close enough to drive to their house. Since my sister and her children had visited me earlier, Alicia remembered her children, and becasue of that, Ali ended up loving her kids in no time. Kat did not really care one way or another about them, but I think that they liked her. They have this really cute house in a nice neighborhood, and so we had a good time. Ali mostly just liked the huge amount of space to just play. I think that their backyard is as big as our closest park.

They have this great pile of rocks that Alicia thought were the best. (My sister is doing home repairs that require small rocks). She like to climb on them, throw them, and dig in them. If only I knew where I could fit a big pile of rocks in my apartment.

Kat was great the whole trip, even on the drives there and back she slept almost the whole time. I only stopped once for gas and I fed her then, but she hardly cried at all. I hope she is as good on a plane.


Since they have so much space they got a trampoline. Ali was in heaven. Superheroes on a trampoline, how could it get better?

Apple Tradition

One of the benefits of living in New England is the chance to go apple picking. Since Nick had the weekend off we decided to take the trip to Peabody and it was great. The guy who was helping to run the farm told us there were only a few apples left on the trees since it was so late in the season, but we managed to find quite a few. We also got some great pictures, I wish I could post them all, but then our blog would be too full.

Nick and Ali walking down an apple lane.


We got to take a hayride out to the fields which was quite fun but dusty. Kat, of course, slept for most of the time.


She did, however, wake up when I tried to get Ali to hold her for a picture. She is a fan of Ali holding her, but not when it is pretty chilly outside. She just wanted back in the Bjorn.


Ali, so proud of her apple. She really had fun picking apples. Last year she was still too little to have much fun, but this year she really got into it. She would run to a tree when she saw lower apples and yell, "look an apple, momma I see an apple." Needless to say, she said it a lot.

Professional Pics

Our friend, Rebecca came and took some sweet pics. Check out the link below, but it will expire in 1 week (i.e. Weds Oct 22)

http://www.darling-art.com/darkroom/share/?client/pulham


Nick

Ringling Bros and a hay ride

This week was a fun one. On Wednesday a bunch of us got together to go on a spooky hayride at Wilson Farm. We had a lot of fun. They decorated their fields with Halloween paraphernalia, ghost and witches and such like that. I wasn't sure Ali really took it too seriously, or even understood that it was supposed to be scary. This was confirmed this morning while driving Ali said from the backseat of our car, "Mommy there is lots of ghosts." As I often do I said(not paying too much attention), "oh un-huh and what are they doing." I was surprised when she said, "Just walkin' around." I slowed the car a bit and looked back. Much to my surprise there was not a load of ghosts walking around but a gaggle of geese. Maybe next year she will get it...who knows.

On Saturday Nick and Ali got to go on a daddy-daughter day to the circus, thanks to our good friend Jim. Ali loved it, but she is spoiled by it too, since she now told me it is my turn to take her to see the elephants. :)

Nick bought her some popcorn and she loved it. I guess it was pretty salty, because that night she drank about 10 glasses of liquid.

Just because...here is a picture of Kat this morning. She was in a good mood, so I took out the camera.

First of many

For those who don't know me too well, I don't enjoy the company of stuffed animals. I never really have. I always thought that they were really a pointless toy. They don't do anything, and they most often lose all cuteness after a few months of play. If you don't agree, just look at the post with Alicia's stuffed bunny. Well, when I was pregnant with Ali, some people gave us stuffed animals, and like the naive mother I gave away the toys because, since I don't like stuffed animals my daughter would not like them either. Long story short, stuffed animals of all varieties are her favorite toys. She hugs each one as if they were long lost friends. While I am still a naive mother sometimes, I learned my lesson, so here is Katherine's first stuffed animal. We got it in Vermont, and if drool marks are any indication, it is a hit!

Of course, we got Ali one too. She got the black bear, while Kat got the moose. One day I will take a picture of her with all the stuffed animals, but we need a wider lens first.
PS At Kat's 2 month appointment she weighed 11 lbs 13 oz and she is 23 inches tall.

Nick's Post

FYI, Steph was against this post, but I couldn't resist. A true picture of Ali (snot and all) was too good to pass up.
Enjoy.

Vermont

Saturday we drove to Vermont to witness the changing of the leaves. It was a little early in the season here in Boston, but Vermont was absolutely beautiful. We decided to go visit Joseph Smith's birthplace in Sharon. Really the trip was just to enjoy the drive. Some of the views from the road were amazing, but it is hard to take a picture from the car, so all I got was Nick's profile.

This is a picture of the 3 of us in front of the memorial. (Kat is in the Bjorn)

This year Ali was not afraid to walk on the leaves, so that is a good sign of growing up. Last year, if her foot touched a leaf she would start to shake with fear. They should make a horror movie about how leaves attack, she would relate.