Their favorite game.

Big Will chases her. 

She runs away from him. He intentionally doesn't get her.

Then like a wild animal he pounces on her and wrestles her to the ground.

Prepping for Halloween

I decided it was time to get the Halloween costumes out from hiding.  I wanted to get Big Will comfortable with the idea of dressing up as he was scared of the costumes last year. I also wanted to try and persuade Miss M into dressing up as something other than Elsa. I wish the Frozen princess would go away. 

Big Will dressed up as a bear and loved it but sadly I didn't get any pictures. I am hoping it's not his last dress up as a bear.  

Miss M loved her Kangaroo outfit again this year.  She was sad that Cater didn't fit into her joey outfit from last year.  

Cater did however fit into the tiger costume we received from a friend when Miss M was born. I think each of the kids have worn the tiger outfit. I am going to have to go dig around for those pictures.  She didn't mind the tiger hood which was shocking bc she won't leave a hat on her head.

I went to the mall this weekend to return a few things that didn't fit and ended up at the Disney store. It had been a long weekend and so why not! Miss M pleaded for a Jasmine outfit. I thought the outfit was so cute. I also was happy she didn't ask for Elsa.  They had a mini Jasmine outfit for Cater. There was also matching shoes too. I couldn't resist.  It really is an adorable outfit.

Watching Cater march around with her belly hanging out is worth the price. You can just see the strut. It's all too much. I love it. 

My Jasmine girls. 

Big Will wasn't deprived at the Disney store.  He picked out a Jake and the Neverland Pirates outfit. I need to find him a hat or bandanna and a sword.  He was excited to dress up with the girls but it didn't last as long.

Big Will's best 'arg' face.

I have a feeling we have a lot more dressing up to do in the months to come!

Together. Forever.

During Spirit Week at the preschool there was an ice cream social.  On ice cream social day the kids are supposed to wear blue to support the school.  I was able to manage a picture before school of everyone wearing their blue. It's truly quite a feat to get a picture in the morning as we are always running late. There's usually a lot of yelling to get people moving in the correct direction.  Clearly we forgot to comb Miss M's hair. She doesn't like to wear barrettes or hair accessories to keep her hair out of her eye.  She always tells me she likes her curl as she has one big curl right over her eye. 

The neighbors have these pink think clouds displayed all over their yard.  Majority of the people who come by ask if the neighbors are having a baby.  No. The neighbors are not having a baby rather it's an organized outdoor art project that expands locally and internationally. The neighbor suggested we take the kids' picture by the signs so that's what we just did one night.

Big Willie getting in on afternoon project time.  

Killing time at the park one evening.

I am not looking forward to the days of winter when the days feel so long and there's no more fun at the park.   

Miss M

I bought a new book with screen free activities for the kids. Now that Big W's not napping we are a project doing house in the afternoons.  Miss M loves a good project. I love a trip to the Dollar Tree to buy random stuff for projects. 

We found random small objects around the house. Froze the objects in a solo cup. Bowl of hot water. Bowl of cold water. Bowl of hot salt water. Used the pipettes to squirt the water on the ice and extract the frozen objects.  

Miss M had fun at fall fest.  She loved the face painting table.  They had a table where the kids could paint their own face and have another one where a professional painted their face.  The paint-your-own table was definitely a hit.

 Miss M and her best friend. Unfortunately her best friend isn't in her class or at preschool in the morning. We try to have plenty of playdates to make sure they see each other.

Cater was obsessed with Miss M's face painting. She wanted to touch it and laugh at her. 

Big W

The boy has seriously curly hair. The back is so curly and out of control.  I love it. 

 He's discovered his new favorite place to watch television.

Big Will has decided that he's done napping. I blame Miss M. He tells me that naps aren't fun. Well they are fun for me buddy.  We spent a week of me putting him in his crib and one minute later he's snaking his way down his crib, shutting off his sound machine and coming out to play.  The pro - he can go to bed around 7.  The con - he is uncontrollable at a point that makes dealing with him very difficult.

One day last week I had hired a babysitter and before leaving I went to tell him good-bye (he was watching tv in the basement) and found him passed out.

But the problem with him taking a short snooze is that he doesn't go to bed at a reasonable time. He was up with me until at least 10pm. I prefer the babysitter put the kids to bed before I come home!

Here he is another day up late having a mid-night snack b/c he took a nap. It's not worth having him awake late especially when I need everyone up early the next morning.

Big Will in his Hawkeye Saturday gear. He had brought his game day bibs downstairs to wear but he didn't like them after we put them on. We'll try again next weekend!

 Blowing bubbles. Cater and Daddy in the background.

Popcorn snack!

Cate at Fall Fest

The preschool has a party every September for families to celebrate the new school year.  The party is  on a Saturday and the kids know Saturday is 1. A non-work day for Daddy 2. Hawkeye day.  They put on their Hawkeye clothes and wear them proudly! Cate is subjected to us dressing her but I think she'll follow suit.

I couldn't narrow down which pictures I liked best so I am posting all of the ones that make my heart happy.  

 She's cutting a bottom tooth. Currently she only has two teeth on the bottom. Cutting teeth is a nightmare. I think she's in a lot of pain. She typically doesn't cry much and she's been crying/fussing a lot lately. Last night she cried in her sleep for a while.  I went into her room to check on her and she was sound asleep just crying/whimpering. I presume it's from the tooth cutting up through the skin b/c what else makes you cry in your sleep.

Side by side picture of Cater one year ago and currently.  Same sling. Same mom. Same baby. Just a bigger baby. Not a bigger mom. Thankfully.

Cater!

Oh Kitter-Kat. Cater. Catherino. She goes by so many names.  She's such a determined little lady. She's got more determination and persistence than either of her siblings. She wants to be big.  She wants to climb on and up everything. She's going to land us a trip to the ER sooner than later. She is really good at climbing up stairs and has minimal ability to climb down stairs making her a danger to herself.  She's so happy and proud of herself.  She also can throw an amazing tantrum where she goes limp and throws her whole self on the floor and screams at a deafening level.  She also screams at a deafening level b/c she thinks its funny.  

She had her one year appointment (a few weeks late). We had to wait for the doctor to come back from vacation. She does love stuffed animals and dolls.  If she gets really tired she finds a blanket/towel/doll and brings it to me and lays down on the floor.

She measured at 30.15 inches long putting her in the 75th percentile.
She weighed in at 20 lbs and 1/2 of an ounce putting her in the 50th percentile.
Her head circumference is 45.5 cm which puts her in the 60th percentile.

She's growing at a nice pace staying on the projectile curve she's supposed to be on.

She got two shots. I have no idea what they were for but I signed off on them.  She also had to get her two pricked to do blood draws to test for lead levels and anemic levels. She is not anemic and they'll call back in a few weeks, after I have long forgotten about the blood draw, to tell me about her lead levels.

Her comprehension of verbal commands is ahead of her peers (per the doctor) by a month or two. The doctor told me with Big Will that babies understand 80% of what you say by 15 months.  I would say Cater is definitely shaping up to prove this to be true.

Her dare devil self loves to climb on the trampoline and jump like a crazy lady. It's hard to remember at times that she's only one year old b/c she does a really good job of keeping up with the big kids.

 She just started climbing the stairs to go down the slide one day when I wasn't looking.

We've been doing a lot of picnics in the park.  The good part is the mess is contained to the park. The bad part is no one eats anything b/c they are distracted by the park.  I watched Cater crawl into this little bounce seat one day. She slid herself into the seat and bounced like a maniac and then got herself down.  She's only one. It kills me. It's like she forged through being a baby and just entered right into being a toddler. 

One of our neighbors watches Cater on Tuesdays so I can take Big Willie to gymnastics and then I take her daughter another day.  Hazel Lou. Her name's Hazel but I prefer to call her Hazel Lou. It fits her little body. She loves Cate and loves coming over to play.  They get along pretty well.  Hazel has twin siblings that are 4 years old.  They are rough and tumble and in your face and Hazel has a bit of that too. Cater doesn't mind the rough and tumble but she does not like the in your face.  It's fun to have them and it's amazingly quiet.  They don't scream demands at you all day long. They just play and fuss every once in awhile. Then you give them a snack and they stop fussing. It's amazingly easy.

And Hazel Lou likes pushing Cater around.  And Cater likes being pushed. It's a win-win for everyone involved!