daddy birthday (sur)prise

Matt turned 30 this year.  It was fun...and weird...but we really enjoyed celebrating him on his special day.  Each time something came in the mail for Matt, or we bought something at the store, Kate got all excited for daddy's birthday surprise:) I was pretty nervous that she was going to spill the beans and tell Matt about his gifts, but she held it in!

After church, we went to Fire Rock Grille with my parents and Adam for lunch.  

Kate's monkey face:)

For dinner, we met up with friends at On The Border.  It was so much fun to see everyone - and their kiddos - for a fun occasion.  Matt doesn't like being celebrated, but we wanted to make it special this year.  Our waitress was super great and brought out sopapillas for our our whole table for dessert:)

Matt and I finished the night by watching GATSBY, which we've been wanting to see for a while.  All in all, it was a great day.  Happy Birthday, Matthew!

"punkin patccchhhh"

Our neighbors went to a pumpkin patch a few weeks ago, and ever since they brought their pumpkins home, Kate has been talking about the pumpkin patch on their porch (she learned about the pumpkin patch from a book her Aunt Nikki and Uncle Paul got her:)).

When she says punkin patccchhhh, it's pretty much the cutest thing ever, she really emphasizes the -ch on patch, and sticks out her lips.  It's adorable.

Anyway, we didn't take Kate to a real pumpkin patch, but we did stop at a place called The Pumpkin Patch on 68th Street to pick up a few pumpkins.  We now have our own 'punkin patccchhhh' on the front porch, and Kate likes to show it to everyone.

this one, daddy!

i'll get it, guys

it's a little heavier than I thought!

ok, how about this one instead?

this girl loves her daddy:)

These are all my attempts to get a picture of her looking at me...as you can see, it's a little tough these days!

Kate's punkin patccchhh:)

Gaines Heritage Festival and Frederick Meijer Gardens

Chicago wedding weekend

October 4, we went down to Chicago for Susan's wedding.  She and Bryan had a beautiful ceremony and fun reception at Greenhouse Lofts, and we stayed in Lincoln Park.  We left Kate in GR with my parents (only our 2nd overnight without her!), and even though we missed her, it was much easier not to have a 23 month old in tow.  

We took the train from Michigan City on Friday afternoon.  The wedding was Friday night.  We hung out with my brother, Adam, for a few hours Saturday morning, then had brunch with the Cavicchioli and Eaton families before heading back to Michigan City on the train.

20 weeks!

sister love:)

Lincoln Park Zoo with Adam

I have to admit, being in the city (even though it was less than 24 hours) made me miss it a lot.  I had a lot of fun living in Chicago my senior year of college and it really is a fantastic town.  We need to visit more often.  And, at Adam's request, we'll have to bring Kate along one of these days:)

gender reveal...

Yep, that's right...Kate is going to have a baby sister in February:)

Summersweet Orchard

We love to pick apples.  The weather was really nice for a really long time this fall, so we took Kate out one afternoon.  I busted out my DSLR for the first time since May (slacker!), and got a few cute pictures of our little munchkin.  I really like fall.

copycat

Kate is super verbal, especially for her age, and she's been saying some pretty funny things lately.  We really have to be careful what we say, because she repeats EVERYTHING!

I must use some phrases repeatedly, because she's picked up on them, and uses them now (in context!).  Here are a few examples:

• good job
• oh yeah
• what's the deal?
• it's ok
• check it out
• all good
• okie dokie
• ready, set, go
• you did it
• come on, mom
• exactly

Kate, you crack me up! I love you:)