Frying Pan Farm Park

Today while Anna was at preschool Abby & I headed over to Frying Pan Farm Park with her little friend Mia. Abby loved all the animals. Every time we walked up to a new animal she got all excited and squealed or made the animal noise. She blew kisses at them and said "hu, hu" with her arms wide open (trying to give them a hug). Whenever it was time to move on to the next animal she would say, "bye shee" (sheep) or "bye chi" (chicken).

Weekend adventures

This past weekend we had a fun trip into DC and started our Halloween festivities. Earlier this week we were reading the book Goodnight Washington DC to Anna and Abby. After the page that read, "Let's have a picnic on the National Mall. Isn't the Washington Monument tall?" Anna asked, "When can we have a picnic by the Washington Monument?" Matt & I thought that was a good idea so on Friday when Matt had the day off we headed into DC. We decided to check out the Lincoln Memorial first then we walked down the mall to have a picnic near the Washington Monument. Besides enjoying the DC sites, Anna & Abby liked seeing the regular helicopters and airplanes flying low over DC, a horse-riding police woman who visited us during our picnic, and a little duck pond we found.

On Saturday we went to a Halloween party. Anna & Abby were both super excited to put on their Halloween costumes:

the cutest Mini Mouse and cutest bumble bee ever!!

Look who else is Mini Mouse this year:

Teagan & Anna

Also this weekend Anna & Matt continued and Abby joined in on an annual tradition of taking walks to look for spooky decorations. We also added some spooky (spiders hanging from our trees) and not-so-spooky (scarecrows on the lawn and pumpkins in the window) decorations to our house.

Cousin Kieran turns 1!

This past weekend we went to Albany to celebrate Cousin Kieran's 1st birthday! We had a great trip. The party was lots of fun and we got to spend lots of time with Nana, Aunt Becky, Uncle Jeff, Liam, and Kieran all weekend. We also had a belated celebration for Nana's birthday.

making salad dressing with Nana

waiting for party guests to arrive

the birthday boy!

yum!

eagerly awaiting birthday cake

picking out candles for Nana's cake - how old are you again, Nana? 19?

Knowing so much and so little...

Breakfast this morning:
Anna: Next week someone is going to be born. (random thought - common from Anna)
Mommy: You were born on April 27th
Anna: I was born on April 27th?? But that's also my birthday!! (Saying as if it is an amazing coincidence)

Apple picking!

This morning we went apple picking. Anna & Abby both had fun pulling apples off the trees. Anna also had fun throwing them in her basket. Abby, on the other hand, liked to pick them off the tree then eat them. We also went pear picking. Well, actually the pears were too high up in the tree so Daddy shook the tree to get them.

check out my apple!

check out my whole bucket of apples!

I just like to eat apples :)

me too!

more apple, more apple!

"Pa" and "Ama" visit

Grandma & Grandpa came to visit this week! Anna & Abby had a great time playing with Grandma & Grandpa around the house and at a number of parks. We all had fun at Famous Dave's for dinner one night. Abby now calls Grandpa "Pa" and Grandma "Ama" One morning after she woke up she looked around the house saying, "Pa, Pa, Pa." Another morning she woke up asking for Grandma in her crib.

climbing on Grandpa

playing "Patty Cake" with Pa and Ama

Grandma & Grandpa also brought us our new car. We excited to now own Grandma's CRV. Whoo - hoo! Thanks for the great trip!

Rainy days

This weekend our apple-picking and Oktoberfest plans were canceled due to the rain. Mom & Dad tried to make the best of the weekend with a trip to the mall and making some chili, but Anna ended up having the best idea: Puddle Mucking!!!

Other ways we entertained ourselves this weekend:

playing poker

Go Giants!

just hanging out

sitting in a big girl seat and eating with a spoon!!