Greetings! I am coming to you at 11:58am, but as we all do for the first few days of Daylight Savings...I'm realizing that it is "really" 12:58pm. Ahhh, daylight savings time. When I was in my younger years, I LOVED it! It was like an unofficial holiday and my gift was one extra hour that I could decided just what I wanted to do with it. In those days, it usually meant sleep. Now, daylight savings is something entirely different. Now...I have a toddler who does not know, and does not care that we have gained an hour. AND I am completely at his mercy in doing what HE decides he wants to do with it. My toddler did not choose the sleep option...but instead to use it as an extra hour to be whiny and crabby, and torment his mother! :) Needless to say it has been a bit of a rocky weekend in the Keimig house. After having several weekends in a row with visitors, roadtrips, and lots of excitement he is having a hard time with the mundane events at home. Throw a little readjusting after Halloween in there and you have a nasty mix that includes too many timeouts to count, a trip to the grocery store that required four attempts to get out of the house, and one EXHAUSTED mother! How do people add another child to their families at this age?!? I can barely survive my one and often think about how hard it would be to have a toddler and a newborn. Obviously, it was not a path I was meant to walk...and now I see why! Whew! Lets look back on the exciting times of the last few weeks...
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| Family photo by Annie Farber |
Mid October brought my family for their annual MEA trip to Cedar Rapids. It is hard to believe this has been happening for 6 years now! Each year has it's own special moments and fond memories, and this one didn't fall short. Friday brought a much needed girls night out for my sister and I. We dined on sushi and mojitos before getting our nails done and doing a little shopping. It was perfect! I look forward to more special times escaping with my sister in years to come! Saturday we ventured to Bloomsbury Farm, a pumpkin patch just outside of Cedar Rapids. Despite the chilly wind, we took in all the pumpkin activities and festivities they had to offer. What fun! I just wish we all would have dressed a little more for the weather. Saturday night the kiddos enjoyed pumpkin carving and a special glow bath (glowing pumpkins and glow sticks in the tub). Then we scrubbed the kids in preparation for our special family picture photo session. We had lined up time with our favorite photographer to get a big family photo and several small family photos as an early gift for my mom's birthday! What a great way to wrap up a very special weekend together!
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| At Bloomsbury Farm |
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| Carving Pumpkins: Vinnie LOVED it, Ella checked things out and supervised... |
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| ...and Livvie wanted no part! :) | | | | | | |
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| Outside the Field Museum of Chicago |
Not soon after that special weekend, was another special weekend. Jon, Vinnie, and I ventured to Chicago to celebrate the wedding of Pat and Chris! While there we were able to enjoy some of the sights by taking a trip to the Field Museum for the dinosaur exhibit. We also enjoyed celebrating with Pat and Chris on their special day with a beautiful ceremony, amazing food, and some rowdy dancing!
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| Family photo |
Vinnie had his first adventure in Trick or Treating this past week. Dressed as a Twins baseball player, Vinnie visited 5 houses around ours to get a little taste of trick or treating, before heading home and helping me hand out candy. I'm not sure which he liked better...but both were quite fun! He has been enjoying munching on his special treats ever since.
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| 1st House, Al and Sandy's... |
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| Getting the hang of it! |
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| Home and ready to help mom hand out the candy. |
Now that Halloween is over, it seems like everyone has made the shift to Christmas, and we haven't been too far behind. Vin and I did a little bit of shopping this weekend to get a jump start on all of our Christmas shopping. He is a great helper, especially when it comes to picking out gifts for his cousines Ella, Olivia, and Caleb! But...before Christmas comes, we have more fun and adventures, including birthday celebrations and Thanksgiving festivities!
Stay tuned!
The cold weather has arrived...a bit earlier than I remember it in past years. My birthday does not usually require a hat, mittens, and a winter parka! It was bound to happen sooner or later though, so we might as well bundle up with it and deal. Along with the winter weather, it appears sick season has made its way to our house. I am home early today with a sick little Vinnie. His mouth is covered in sores from "hand, foot, and mouth". That nasty daycare... We spent some time at the doctor this afternoon confirming our suspicion, and are taking the rest of the afternoon. Vinnie is currently fast asleep, and I figured I'd try to tackle some projects on the computer. Vin has been out of sorts the last few days, cranky, clingy, sad, and not sleeping through the night, that I knew something was up. But, we have so much change and confusion going on with life right now, it is hard to pinpoint exactly where that something comes from. Lets hope he is up and at 'em tomorrow...I'd really rather not spend my 30th Birthday home with a sick kiddo.
