once again, woefully behind on this recap, but my motto for this season is "just keep swimming, just keep swimming" so here we are!
1) pumpkin patch. in keeping with our Columbus Day tradition, we visited my favourite little pumpkin patch since the girls were off school. it's smaller than some of the other local patches, but it's free to get in and I'm a sucker for comparing the girls' pictures in front of the sign each year. I may or may not have placed an order for Target drive-up for Victoria's pumpkin outfit and a Halloween shirt for Greta that we picked up literally en route to the pumpkin patch. (then of course it was chilly so Greta wore her sweatshirt over the new shirt anyway.)
a month shy of 10
a month shy of 7
22 months and not feeling the photo shoot
3 months and equally unimpressed
Elizabeth was devouring craisins like her life depended on it
hauling buckets of food up for the goats
they quickly realized they were at an impasse unless they started working together instead of against each other! (cue my mom voice: "so what does this teach us about life?!")
hayride fun!
the more I tried to cajole Elizabeth into smiling, the more she pulled this face
looking back at this picture now, I suddenly realize how Cece got paint stains all over her coat
the girls spent at least twenty minutes playing make believe here, while Elizabeth just ran back and forth squealing with happiness
from what I could gather, the game revolved around some type of orphan storyline, as all the best games do
from this angle it's hard to tell, but yes, she could breathe unobstructed!!
cutest pumpkin in the patch!
2) 13th anniversary. our marriage is a teenager! we had a perfect little day date while the older girls were in school, and our neighbor came over to watch the babies. I've been wanting to visit the Heinz History Museum for years. a somewhat underrated measure of compatibility is one's approach to museums. fortunately, Nick and I both are the type to inspect every item on display and read the attached information. it was delightful to take our time doing this without needing to corral the kids! afterwards, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Wholey's Fish Market (their crab cake sandwich is incredible), and picked up a few staples at the attached grocery store, to wit, local Marburger Dairy sour cream and onion dip (the undisputed winner from a tasting contest Nick and his buddies held over the summer).
gorgeous roses from my groom!
that green turf is the exact spot on which Franco Harris caught the iconic Immaculate Reception during the 1972 playoff game between the Steelers and the Raiders
the original set from Mister Roger's Neighborhood!
thirteen years later, so grateful to be married to my best friend!
our old VCR/DVD player bit the dust after one too many tiny toys shoved in the tray by a toddler who shall not be named, so I found a Walmart deal on a DVD player and had it delivered so I could keep up my thirteen-year streak of watching our wedding video. we have the entire high mass on one DVD and most of the reception on a second; my absolute favourite part of this tradition is seeing family and friends who live out of state, and some who sadly have passed away. plus the girls work themselves up into a frenzy waiting for the moment when we finally "smoochie smooch"!
photo courtesy of Christina Garber Photography
one of my favourite moments of the day: when Nick crowdsurfed over the bridal dance to get to me at the end of the night
3) soccer championships. Cece's combined first and second grade team played in the diocesan tournament the last weekend of October. she was one of only three first graders on the team, and with our team being stacked so heavily with second graders, they won or tied every single regular season game, so I figured we would do pretty well in the tournament. (they played just against other schools with a combined first and second grade team; the diocese has a separate division for the larger schools to compete for individual grade-level team championship titles.) Nick was playing for weddings all day, and knowing that the forecast was for cool weather with a chance of rain, and knowing that we would be there for a minimum of three hours for the 3 games in the first round, I opted to leave the babies with Kim (sitter extraordinaire). Greta decided to stay home too.
it was such a fun day! the Saints won all three of their games without allowing a single goal to be scored. Nick was able to get away from the chapel to come watch some of the first game; Cece's face lit up when she saw him! Cece had some great defensive plays, and one of the other first graders scored his very first goal of the season, to our thunderous applause.
super cute snacks one of the other moms sent for the team!
"Saints on three!"
we moved on to the semifinal game, and ultimately, the final. Cece played goalie for the end of the final game and upheld the shutout: not a single goal scored on our team for the entire day! our sweet kiddos are the diocesan champs! after the trophy ceremony and lots of celebrating, we drove home to find that Kim and Greta had made a pumpkin roll and cleaned the house in our absence. what a day!
a team photo before playing the final game (after four hours, we gave up trying to keep the kids from playing in the dirt in between games, so they were absolutely filthy by this point!)
4) Krista's visit & Halloween. my poor sister had a horrible case of mono in August when the rest of the family came to visit, so she rescheduled her trip to come out the week of Halloween. of course we missed her during the Geigerpalooza shenanigans, but honestly, I'm so glad we had dedicated time just with her! and she got to experience her very first trick or treat. we didn't participate in it growing up, so my first time was in college with Amelia's niece, and then not again until having kids of my own. I read somewhere that Halloween is one of America's last remaining community festivals, and while there certainly can be a macabre side to it, in our town it's a great chance to meet new neighbors and smile at all the kids in their cute costumes.
my baby sister with my baby baby! I could not love this more!
Krista arrived the evening of the soccer championships, so got some extra dirty snuggles from Cece!
baby snuggles while the older girls were at gymnastics
and then, Halloween! Greta and Cece initially proposed a superheroes and villains theme. Krista went all in as the Scarlet Witch from the Avengers, and across the country, Kelli and Milo went as Superwoman and Batman! Elizabeth and I both dressed as Wonder Woman; Nick was the Joker (fully committed to his role with green hair gel and a truly terrifying cackle), Greta was Harley Quinn, Victoria was Batgirl, and Cece ended up going rogue as a cheerleader. it was so cold that we bundled Victoria up in the stroller after the first few houses. Elizabeth was completely entranced by the whole experience, although in the interest of time, we ended up having her ride in the stroller too after we visited the houses on our own street. as we've done in prior years, we stayed out the entire two hours and just left a bowl of candy in front of our porch.
her little cape just slays me!
super sisters
our neighbors always have the best setup; this year was a bee theme, with full size candy bars stashed in the honeycomb!
from over 2,000 miles away: coordinating cousin costumes!! cutest little Batman I ever saw!
Oh my goodness, what a full and joyful month! Love all these photos. Your wedding pictures -- wow, they are just stunning! Happy anniversary. :-) And your baby sister with your baby baby -- that caption was so cute! How nice that you got to spend some time with her.
Thank you! I LOVED our wedding photographer. She captured such timeless shots but also so many wonderful candid moments. We spent half of our wedding budget on photography and videography and I don't regret it one bit!
This was just a DELIGHT to read. Wedding pictures! Halloween pictures (gold stars for everyone dressing up). Time with family. And your kids all have eyes that just sparkle. What a lovely post <3
Haha, congratulations on making it through! These monthly posts are always monstrous but I don't want to leave anything out ;) It was super fun to dress up! It's been a few years since both Nick and I have dressed up and it's just so much fun for everybody.
I enjoyed catching up on all the family activities. You've been busy - not surprised. Love the photos. Cece is your mini-me, did you already know that? The girls are so so cute. How great that your sister got to visit during Halloween. Looks like a lot of fun. *I've put my blog on private (hopefully temporarily, until the lawsuit is history). I'm adding readers (I think this will work, if I am doing it right). I'd be happy to add your email to my list of approved readers. I'll try to find your email address in your blog.
Yes, Cece definitely takes after my side of the family!
I would love to continue following along with your blog -- my email address is katewill109@gmail.com. I think it's smart to keep things locked down until the suit is settled. What a rollercoaster for you all!
it's about time for a good old airing of the grievances. while we have ever so much for which to give thanks, sometimes we need the catharsis of enumerating our woes, big and small. (you can read the 2023 edition here.) _________________________________________ first up, potty training. I buckled down and trained Greta and Cecilia both around age 2 1/2, and it went fairly well (I'm a big fan of waiting until the kid is practically ready to train themselves). Elizabeth turned 2 1/2 near the end of the school year, and logically it seemed like a great time to buckle down -- we wouldn't be driving around to after school sports and activities and we'd have more time at home. I kept waiting for the day when I'd wake up full of excitement and motivation to strip off the diaper and chase a naked toddler around the house. and ... shockingly ... that day never came. then we were preparing for our trip to Seattle in July and it definitely didn't seem like the right time
dear Victoria, sometimes I scoop you up and can't stop myself from squishing your little body right into my chest, and nuzzling my face into your neck until you squeal with giggles. you are just so darn cute! you can spend up to an hour scooting around the family room playing with various toys -- recently you've started to be interested in baby dolls and the Fisher Price doll house. you mostly army crawl, but sometimes you pull yourself forward when you're sitting, too, and a few times you've been able to launch forward an inch or so from a bona fide crawling position. you can stand supported for a little while, but you're not close to pulling up by yourself yet. we had another wonderful report from the orthopedic surgeon this month. both hips remain in place. your left hip has what they call a "delayed ossification center", meaning that it's still primarily cartilage since the hip socket didn't form properly to begin with, but the doctor said tha
sitting outside the new independent coffee shop that opened in the neighborhood this summer as a physician assistant with an undergraduate minor in psychology, I've always been fascinated by the connection between the mind and the body. that interest serves me well in my chosen specialty of primary care/internal medicine, as mental health comes to bear so frequently on physical, or somatic, complaints like fatigue, upset stomach, and dizziness. in any given day, I'll typically have one or two appointments that are scheduled specifically so someone can address their anxiety or depression, and it often comes up as a subject of conversation during routine physicals. I have probably recommended therapy to my patients literally thousands of times, whether it's to deal with an isolated situational stress or grief, or more pervasive issues like OCD, chronic insomnia, bipolar disorder, depression, or borderline personality disorder. when we're discussing starting antidepressant
Oh my goodness, what a full and joyful month! Love all these photos. Your wedding pictures -- wow, they are just stunning! Happy anniversary. :-) And your baby sister with your baby baby -- that caption was so cute! How nice that you got to spend some time with her.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I LOVED our wedding photographer. She captured such timeless shots but also so many wonderful candid moments. We spent half of our wedding budget on photography and videography and I don't regret it one bit!
DeleteThis was just a DELIGHT to read. Wedding pictures! Halloween pictures (gold stars for everyone dressing up). Time with family. And your kids all have eyes that just sparkle. What a lovely post <3
ReplyDeleteHaha, congratulations on making it through! These monthly posts are always monstrous but I don't want to leave anything out ;) It was super fun to dress up! It's been a few years since both Nick and I have dressed up and it's just so much fun for everybody.
DeleteI enjoyed catching up on all the family activities. You've been busy - not surprised. Love the photos. Cece is your mini-me, did you already know that? The girls are so so cute. How great that your sister got to visit during Halloween. Looks like a lot of fun. *I've put my blog on private (hopefully temporarily, until the lawsuit is history). I'm adding readers (I think this will work, if I am doing it right). I'd be happy to add your email to my list of approved readers. I'll try to find your email address in your blog.
ReplyDeleteYes, Cece definitely takes after my side of the family!
DeleteI would love to continue following along with your blog -- my email address is katewill109@gmail.com. I think it's smart to keep things locked down until the suit is settled. What a rollercoaster for you all!