Halloween '09

So I wasn't sure how Halloween was going to turn out for us this year seeing that the H1N1 virus has decided to set up camp in our home. Maia had symptoms of it 2 weekends ago, but it was mild and short-lived. . .then last weekend I had symptoms that improved after a few days and then started to worsen mid-week, then on Wednesday Caden became pretty sick fairly quickly and he tested + for the H1N1 virus but thanks to Tamiflu his symptoms were improved the next day, not gone but DEFINATLY improved, and that night Matt came down with it and has pretty much been in bed or on the couch since then. I wasn't sure if I'd be up to taking Maia out tonight, so my super-sweet friend Katie offered to be on call to take Maia trick-or treating if I wasn't up to it. Thankfully I felt well enough to venture out with the kids and we had a great time. Our new neighborhood is just an awesome place to trick-or-treat with many neighbors sitting around fire-pits in their front yard as they hand out candy and others giving out hotdogs, chips, and hot cider. The second picture is Maia showing Daddy her loot from the night. It cracks me up that this girl will organize and reorganize her candy MANY times over the next several days. . .did I do that as a kid????

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Laumeier Sculpture Park

Recently I took the kids to Laumeier Sculpture Park an a gorgeous Fall Day. We weren't sure if there would be a place for Maia to bike but we threw her bike in just in case and we were glad we did. There is a long paved path just perfect for young bikers. The kids had a great time just running around and trying to figure out what these sometimes huge sculptures were. Maia and I loved coming up with names for the sculptures like, The Crazy Spaghettis. . .and. . .The Never Ending Caterpillar. (I can't figure out how to insert captions under pictures, except for the last picture, but I think its pretty easy to figure out what names go with which sculptures!) This is definatly a place we will be going back to quite frequently.

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Caden was so enamored by all the big "balls" that went on as far as his eyes could see into the woods. He just stood there and stared at them for the longest time.

Fun with the Cousins

So one last post about our trip back to Pennsylvania in September. It was great to spend time with my brother Ron, his wife Pam and their 2 boys Mitch and Jake. The kids had so much fun playing with the Fisher Price Garage that WE played with as kids. Unfortunately one day our picnic was rained out so we had to move it into the garage, but never fear, Pam was there with another great idea. . .A drive in movie for the kids while the adults enjoyed sitting around the table. All the kids got on or in something with wheels and pulled up to the portable DVD player and watched a movie! And meal time was always an adventure with so many kids so close in age. Thanks for spending time with us Ron and Pam, we love you!

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The City of Brotherly Love

It's taking a while to get blog posts up highlighting our trip home. . .life is so full but good. Our home renovations are coming along, with the bulk of the planned work done. . .now it's just finding the time to unpack the kitchen and find a home for everything. It seems that my days are just filled with daily life things and so I've kind of set a goal to unpack 5 items a day. . .not 5 boxes, but 5 items. . .now that seems manageable (most days!). Anyway, here is another highlight from my time home. My sister and brother-in-law made several trips out to my parents to spend time with us while we were home, but the kids, my Mom and I also went to Philadelphia for a day to visit them. Most folks dread driving the Schuylkill Expressway into Philadelphia (and if I had to do it everyday, I might too), but for me it just brings back fond memories of my college days in Philadelphia. While there we hiked in Wissahickon Park and finished off the hike with of course. . .Philly Cheesesteaks. Yum! It was also so fun just to relax in their home and enjoy Lynn's awesome chicken pie for dinner. Thanks for having us Lynn, Nate and Abigail!

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Fun at Gran and Poppi's

While Matt stayed in St. Louis to work and oversee some of our home renovations, the kids and I headed East and spent some time with each of our parents. The following pictures are some of my favorites from our time with Matt's parents. Maia, Caden and I had a great time hanging out with their Seilback cousins, Jonathon, Victoria, and Ethan and of course Gran and Poppi. Another highlight were the turtles that Maia and Gran found on a walk in the woods. When I asked Maia their names, she said without missing a beat that their names were Audrey and Samsy. . .as if they really had told her these were their names. Unfortunately Audrey decided to make a run for it while we were inside eating dinner. . .we all said we would have loved to see how she manuevered herself out of the box and off the porch. After many, many tears from Maia and repeated explanations that Audrey wanted to be back in the woods, Maia decided to put Samsy back in the woods too, "because she could break if she stayed in the box." Of course no trip to Gran and Poppi's could be complete without a trip to Annie's Playground. . .an awesome playground built in memory of a young girl from that area who was killed in a car accident. I'm always touched when we go to that playground by all the life and laughter. . .how meaningful for this family who has experienced such tremendous loss.

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Two-Wheelin' It

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This is just one of those achievements worthy of a blog post. . .Maia has ditched the training wheels and is now riding a two-wheeler!!!! It all started when I was home in PA at my parents for a few weeks (we were having some home renovations done so the kids and I fled the dirt and chaos) and Maia learned the art of balancing on a scooter. After several days of scootering all over the driveway, she asked to go on one of the big bikes and within 10 minutes she had it! Since returning to St. Louis the kids and I have gone to Forest Park and Maia has biked on the trails while I've jogged with Caden in the jogging stroller. This is one of those experiences that has really made me feel like my little girl is growing up. . .no longer is it just me pushing her around the park, but she is old enough, and strong enough, and has enough endurance to take herself around the park. I know it won't be long before we are going on some serious runs together!