Welcome to our World

...but didn't need to be! After much procrastination and fear of her little curls being gone forever, I finally decided the time had come for Kaelah's first hair cut. It's amazing what a chair shaped like a car & having Dora the Explorer playing quietly can do. Before shot. Watching a 4-year-old pro holding still for her hair cut. A very proud girl walking back to the cars afterward. The child's hair salon happened to be down the street from Daddy's work so he could be there for the momentous occasion. (: Enjoying the park on the way home. Many thanks go out to Grandma & Grandpa for watching Danny so that Mommy & Kaelah could spend the morning together! Kaelah's not a baby anymore, but she did get to keep her curl. Whew. And I'm very happy I got to have a lock of hair for the scrapbook too. We both had to grow up that day. I still look at her & can't believe she's old enough to get her hair cut. Oh, and she has begun asking ...

We are thankful for nice weather to play with snowballs in! Well, at least us girls are. Danny's not so sure. Maybe it's b/c he knew he was wearing the snowsuit that was mine when I was little. Dude, I keep telling you, it's gender neutral. (; We are thankful for a daddy who can bake his mom's recipes just right, my grandmother's autumn cookie cutters & good friends to decorate sugar cookies with. Kaelah is especially grateful for M&Ms left in a bowl without the usual parental control. Well, us girls are grateful at least. Danny is simply grateful for bottles & the formula inside them. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

November 11th may have been Veteran's Day, may have been Polish Independence Day, but what Kaelah will tell you it was is zoo day! I tried my best to get Dan to play hookie but failed. Luckily I was able to convince Grandma to skip her monthly genealogy society meeting. We can't resist a free day at the zoo as long as the weather is nice! It was great to see the difference in what Kaelah could recognize between now & the last day we were at the zoo (in late February). The only thing that really threw her off was the peacocks roaming around. Guess they aren't featured as zoo animals in the books we read. And of course Danny boy was an angel & went along for the ride like a good little brother can. I think he was just happy that his sister was happy. I am one lucky mommy.

Grandpa came over to help me teach Kaelah how to rake leaves & then jump in them. Aren't they cute together? Turns out the slope of our front yard is perfect to allow Danny to sit up for an entire half hour -- and love it! He wants to grow up so fast. It took some convincing, but Kaelah finally decided to agree with me that jumping in leaves was a fun thing to do. (At first she kept looking at me like I had lost my marbles.) Meigo had to see what all the hubbub was about. You're my little sunshine, Kaelah!

I vacillate between two thoughts concerning Danny boy. 1: How can you be 5 months old today? We didn't even know you existed 6 months ago?!? And 2: Dude, are you sure you're only 5 months old? I love you so much & dang, you sure are acting older than your age! While Danny was 4 months old he cut 2 teeth... discovered he hates Oraljel... is still adored by his older sister... got his first buzz cut... (above = before shot, below = after shot) And began eating rice cereal last night after begging & begging to eat anything & everything he saw us eating for the last week. You sure are growing up fast, Danny J! We can't imagine life without our joy of a boy!

We left our 2 home grown pumpkins in the snow, rendering them uncarvable. Dan, being the genius he is, thought Kaelah might enjoy drawing on them with markers. It certainly wasnt' the carving I was used to, but honestly, I think Kaelah had more fun this way! Meigo could tell something special was going on.... Halloween can be so cute! I just kept cracking up at Daniel in the lion. Ha ha ha. Thanks for the costumes Grandma Karyl! This was Meigo's first time trick-or-treating too. She wasn't sure what to think. Kaelah had a blast. Danny just enjoyed the walk. I'm so grateful the weather was gorgeous! Although she was a novice, it didn't take long for Kaelah to catch on to the fun of trick-or-treating! In the days since then Kaelah has asked more than once if we can go trick-or-treating again. Even though she has no clue what "next year" means, she really likes the "yes" that goes in front of it. (; Add a caption Halloween can be so cute! ...

Yesterday was a blast! I highly recommend the Rocky Mountain Pumpkin Ranch. See how excited she was after seeing the sights as we drove in? That yellow ribbon around her neck is her name badge so she can go to work. Fraggle Rock has taught her working is good and fun and hey, Daddy goes to work a lot, so why not? As Kaelah rode in the stroller she caught sight of the car ride & requested to do that first. Here I am imagining tears as she went by herself, but Dan strapped her in & she was just fine. After our trip to Disneyland in May, I was shocked at how brave she was!!! My dad & I stood there in amazement & decided she's officially a little girl now. Kaelah was too smart for those steering wheels too. As soon as she realized it didn't respond she stopped holding on to it. Here's Daddy getting a great big "thank you" hug after riding in the car. Petting Zoo. Train ride. Danny was angelic, as usual! Here he is smiling at Grandpa while f...