HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The Pumpkin Patch

Here are a few shots from our trip to the pumpkin patch Sunday morning. This is the farm in Ramona that we are afraid may no longer be there due to the fires. Once all these fires are gone we're going to drive out to check on things. It's so strange looking at these pictures knowing that the weather and condition out there is SO different now. I'm so glad that we went when we did. We've gone there for several years. Just a quick update (Nate's Grammy McCarthy called today to check in - I hadn't emailed or posted any updates, so she got worried, so I think I better fill you all in!). We are definitely safe. Never had to evacuate. They're starting to lift the evacuations closest to us and the winds have shifted, blowing the fire away from us. Sadly it's just blowing the fires towards other people. Wish these fires would just GO OUT. We're still staying inside in our clean, filtered air. What a week!

On to the fun pictures of our trip to the pumpkin patch - let's lighten things up a bit, shall we? There are a LOT of pics, so get ready (I'm not even posting all the cute ones!) Also, make sure you keep scrolling down. I did a LOT of posts today. :)

Cate did such a good job pulling the wagon all over the farm! It was so dang cute.

Nate makes a new friend...

Nate and I were kind of looking around the farm, then we turn around and Cate's picking pumpkins like there's no tomorrow. She's much stronger than we realized. :) We had to put some of the pumpkins back, and we still came home with more pumpkins than we know what to do with.

What's cuter? Cate pulling the wagon alone, or pulling it with her Daddy? I still can't decide. :)

Believe it or not this is Cate smiling. I could NOT get her to give me a normal smile - she looks like she's in pain for ALL of these pictures. I promise I'm not torturing her! She really is smiling!

Still no smile, but at least it's not quite so painful...

This face actually does reflect her mood. Needless to say it's the last picture I took at this perfect picture-taking spot. I'm just glad I got her to actually sit on the pumpkins - she wouldn't do it earlier because she said she would fall. Ah, our adventurous daughter.

Nate's turn behind the camera trying to get Cate to smile. He was as successful as I was. After several strained, squinty faces, we finally got her laughing, so this is the best we could get in terms of actually looking HAPPY at the pumpkin patch.

It was such a fun morning. I love our little family!

More Cate-isms...

Yesterday Cate started calling her little friend Hannah "Han." (Adrianne always says Han, so Cate apparently has picked up on that.) "There are some trucks for you, Han." "Let's watch Bambi, Han." Cate is such a casual talker, huh? :)

Also, lately when you ask her if she wants something, wants to do something, etc and the answer is "No" she says "I'm alright" instead. Sounds so funny coming out of her mouth. Again, very grown up and CASUAL.

Cate the Ballerina!

Cate had her first Halloween party last Friday, so she finally got to wear her ballerina costume! Once I did her hair and makeup, she looked so OLD. It was adorable, but killing me at the same time! Despite how old she might have looked, that thumb never lies... :)


Here she is in full costume. She LOVES the tutu. Since she can't wear it when she's in her carseat, she just hugs it the whole time we're driving. So cute.


When we were walking out to the car (after showing off her costume to her friends at the park), I turned around and she just looked so cute with her biss (blankie) and thumb in mouth...so I asked her if I could take a picture. She said yes, but then pulled this face right when the camera clicked. Little stinker. She really was in a good mood!

Biddy Sports!

As I mentioned in a previous post, Cate's first Music Class and first Biddy Sports were the same week. The Music Class went BEAUTIFULLY, and she cried her way through the entire morning at Biddy Sports. I was a bit worried how the following 5 weeks of Biddy Sports were going to go, but the 2nd week she LOVED it. It ended up being lots of fun and she starts round 2 next week with her Dad on Saturday mornings! :) Here are a few shots from her Biddy Sports class last week.

Learning how to dribble... (I have a really cute video of this that I'll post up here as soon as Google Video decides to be nice to me)

Cate and Coach Sergio practicing dribbling. Whenever she said "Coach" or "Sergio" it was sooooo cute. "Look, there's my coach's car!" "No, Sergio, it's Sarah's turn." Also, whenever she would practice dribbling with Sergio she would just giggle the whole time. It was so funny.

Here are Cate & her friend Sarah. Sarah was the ONLY other girl in the class. I can't tell you how glad I am she was there!!!!

Cool Socks...

Cate really knows how to make feet look cool, huh? This is how I found Dad & Cate's feet the other night...Cate definitely knows how to make her dad look cool.

fires...

as you've probably heard on the news, there are some crazy wildfires going on out here in san diego. thought I'd let you all know that we are fine - we're only a couple of miles from the edge of the evacuation area, but still not too close to the fire. one of the officials said this morning they think it will actually reach the coast, which is totally crazy. hopefully the winds will die down and that won't happen. anyway, we're doing fine. staying inside with the air filters blasting. a few of our good friends have had to evacuate their homes. please keep them in your prayers and pray these fires actually die down instead of continue to grow. will keep you posted if anything happens where we are, but I think we should be safe.

I'll post some happy pictures later to lighten my mood.

Funny Cate-isms

Cate's going to be a ballerina for Halloween. I finished gluing all the "sparklies" on her tutu today and she can't WAIT for it to be dry so she can wear it. And every time she talks about her ballet slippers, puts them on, anything ballet-slipper related she says "Ta-da!" It's cracking me up.


Her latest funny thing she says ALL the time is "huh?" A few examples: We can't find a parking spot - Cate says "There's no parking spots, huh?" I tell her I'm going to go work - Cate says "You're working, huh?" It's time to get ready for bed - Cate says "I'm going to take a bath, huh?" You get the jist. It is HILARIOUS. It sounds so adult and casual coming out of a 2-year-old's mouth.

I have some funny videos of her that I need to upload. Will do soon!

Cate, Future Olympic Swimmer?

In an effort to make Cate a LITTLE more adventurous pysically, we signed her up for swimming lessons with her friend Hannah. They are complete OPPOSITES in the pool. It's hilarious. Last week Cate's teacher was trying to get her to step down to the bottom step and Cate looked at her and said, "I can't do that, I will fall" which can be loosely translated as "DUH, lady, you could drown in there! Are you crazy?!?!" At the same time, it's everything Hannah can do to stay ON the stairs. Good thing Han's there or I don't think Cate would try anything. Cate is making progress, however - she liked the 2nd week MUCH better.






Cate was at Hannah's house a few weeks ago. Adrianne found Hannah's door closed...she went inside to check on them and they were sitting together on Hannah's bed reading. They are SO CUTE together.


The other day while I was working, Cate's door was closed so I figured she was in her room playing. I went to check on her after a while and found her in the family room fast asleep in her armchair. It was SO SWEET. I had a twinge of guilt...busy, working mom has no idea her daughter fell asleep...but she looked so comfy I think she'll be okay. Plus she had Nikki with her. :)




I'm sorry my posts have been so few and far between! I honestly don't take that many pictures anymore! Although in 2 months time you'll be SICK of pictures from us, I'm sure. That's right, two months from today/tomorrow is the anticipated arrival date of "little sister." Time is FLYING. I am SO EXCITED...and I can't wait for this Christmas season. It's going to be magical. It's everything I can do to not listen to my Christmas music already. December is going to be GREAT. :) Until then, lots to do, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, WORK, baby prep...no wonder I'm tired. Love to all!

What a Happy Birthday!

Tuesday was my birthday and it was GREAT! Check out my food blog for more details and pictures of the fabulous birthday cake. Here's Cate enjoying the chocolatey goodness...


I know she looks like she's in pain here, but Cate really is smiling, mostly because she knows she's FINALLY going to get cake. She kept asking for it all night long, and kept singing "happy birthday" to herself b/c she knew cake comes after the birthday song...we couldn't believe the manipulations she was trying to get that cake! It was really funny.


The BEST part of my birthday was my nephew, Colby James Hansen, was born JUST in time to share my birthday! So fun! Welcome to the world, Colby - we cannot WAIT to meet you!


Here are a few more recent pictures. One quick story first...I've been fighting a cold for over a month now. Last week it caused me to completely lose my voice. I had to whisper and I told Cate I lost my voice...she looked thoughtful for a moment then said "I think you dropped it on the floor." It was so cute - gotta love the kid logic.

So, Cate has been taking her purse everywhere she goes lately. The other day while she was napping, I took a quick snapshot of what she carries with her. She always has that little paper coloring book, 3 pairs of sunglasses, 3 ballerinas, a penny and her brush. The strawberry shortcake dolls were a special addition this day. So cute to see what a 2 year old needs when she goes out...


Here's how I found the party girl yesterday in her bed when she would NOT go to sleep for a nap...she is not allowed to go to college. (yes, that's underwear)


A few weeks ago Cate started music classes and biddy sports. Here she is right before her first music class, which she LOVED. It's only been 3 weeks and she has all the songs memorized and just LOVES class and playing instruments. It's a blast, for her and for me.


Here she is right before her first biddy sports class...sadly the smile did not last for long. She literally cried the entire 45 minutes and would NOT participate. The whole time I just kept thinking, how am I going to do this 5 more times?!?! I kept doing everything the kids were supposed to do, hoping Cate would follow suit. Of course she didn't so I was the only mom out there doing stretches and soccer drills with a bunch of 2 year olds, pregnant to boot. Embarassing. Thank goodness the next week was a night and day difference...she LOVED it and now she likes going to biddy sports. PHEW. Nate's especially relieved since he's scared our kids are all going to be about as athletic as I am...