Meeting Santa

Despite the fact this was Addie's third Christmas, she had her first encounter with Santa this year. And as the picture illustrates, it did not go well!

I took her to a brunch sponsored by the Notre Dame Club of Chicago, and while her best friend Evie was there, it did not distract Addie from the large man with a big white beard. She wanted nothing to do with Santa! In fact when he first came out, she grabbed my hand and tried to drag me right out of the room: "Mom, let's go home. Let's go find Daddy. Let's go get bagels." She tried everything she could to get out of the room, so needless to say, I did not get her to sit on his lap. We'll try again next year!

Deck the Halls!

With cheerleading back in full swing, it was hard for Dan, Addie and I to find a Saturday night when we could all decorate our house for Christmas. Luckily we squeezed it in the weekend after Thanksgiving.

This year, Addie was more helpful than ever. She took ornaments out of our big storage box and proudly hung them herself. Catherine was alert, sitting in her bouncy seat, enjoying the night as well. Dan and I both said we could not have imagined a better decorating session - something that used to be a chore was truly delightful and heightened our anticipation for Christmas morning.

Thanksgiving 2009

A couple weeks before Thanksgiving, we had a major health scare with Catherine. She caught a cold from Addie and spiked a fever of 102.9. Our pediatrician sent us straight to the ER at Children's Memorial, and they admitted us for two nights while they ran several tests. Through a spinal tap, blood work, and a catheter, they concluded she did not have a bacterial infection, and that it was most likely a virus that caused the high temperature. Ah, the perils of being a second born!

So needless to say, we almost opted out of the trip home to Kentucky for the Thanksgiving holiday, but Dan knew that would break my heart, and so he insisted we take the risk and just keep Catherine quarantined upstairs at my parents' house when necessary. And so off we were - with a 23-month-old, and a one-month old!

The trip went very well - Addie was able to enjoy so much more of the Holiday traditions, from hiking on Friday to candy houses on Saturday, she fit right in with the other kids. Catherine did very well too - she hung out with Mimi while Dan and I hiked with Addie, and she enjoyed watching the touch football game with me in the Camry as her Dad sprinted around faster than anyone!

All in all, a great trip that nearly erased the trip the hospital a week before. We had a lot to be thankful for!

Halloween 2009

Addie's Princess Leia costume from 2008 put a lot of pressure on Dan and I to keep up the creativity for years to come - or at least that's what I tell him!

I think we did well this year, making our own Maggie Simpson costume from scratch. We went to Jo Ann fabrics, and bought cloth in various colors. To make the hair piece, we sewed the yellow cloth to a headband and stuffed it with cotton balls. Even Dan spend a few hours the weekend before Halloween sewing the blue pajamas together. As you can see from the pictures, the costume turned out quite well! Now what the heck will we do next year to top that????

Catherine Clare is born!

While I know it has been three months since her birth, I promise now to keep the blog updated in a more timely fashion! At 1:49 pm, right in the heart of downtown Chicago, Dan and I welcomed our second daughter Catherine Clare. She came so quickly that my OB, Dr. Nye, was still driving in from Oak Park when she arrived. But don't worry, the residents and attending physician were wonderful, and she came out beautiful, happy and healthy.

From the moment Catherine arrived, Addie has taken to her little sister. Not once has she shown jealousy or resentment, rather she is quite protective of little Catherine. I feel so blessed to have two wonderful daughters!

Carving Our Pumpkin!

In anticipation of Halloween, Dan, Addie and I carved our pumpkin tonight.

As a family, we discussed possible shapes for the facial features. I asked Dan if the eyes should be upside-down or right-side-up triangles, and as he was about to give his opinion, Addie quickly answered "upside-down, upside-down." So of course we obliged her request! We wanted it to be a happy Jack-O-Lantern, so Dan carved a huge smile.

Addie stood on a chair next to Dan and I as we took turns carving. She was very interested in the entire process, and although she seemed a little scared when we first turned out the lights and lit the candle, after a little getting used to it, she was very proud of her Jack-O-Lantern!

The Pumpkin Farm

In anticipation for Halloween this year, I researched local pumpkin farms where Dan and I could take Addie. I found one about an hour outside the city, and with my sister Elizabeth's family, and my cousin Sarah's family, we trekked out to the suburbs in search of a little fall fun.

The farm was amazing! There was a petting zoo with animals ranging from normal goats and sheep, to an exotic camel and zebra. Addie loved feeding the animals carrots and petting them gently. There was a little train that she rode with Dan, Jeff and Nate. We also were able to take a tractor-wagon ride out to a field where we could pick out pumpkins.

It was a perfect fall day - brisk and sunny. I believe Addie's favorite part was running around the pumpkin field from pumpkin to pumpkin, trying to get them to roll.

Before we left the farm, Addie picked out a little pumpkin for the "baby" - hopefully he or she will arrive before Halloween - and we also bought a couple large pumpkins to carve into Jack-O-Lanterns in the coming weeks. It was a great day and we are already planning our trip back next year!