Halloween

For Halloween we took the girls to Crossgates mall to trick-or-treat at the stores. It was in the early afternoon, which we thought better for the girls ages 17 months and 2 months. Celia was Snow White, and Mattie wore a "my first Halloween" onsie. I was going to make Celia a monkey, but I waited until October 30th to get a costume (after a brief dillusion that I could make one) so I had limited options. The good news is that it's too big so we should be able to get more wear out of it. We wore graphic T's with Halloween themes, and Celia enjoyed the people watching more than anything. By the end of the day, though, she had discovered the wonder that is candy.

Well, my maternity leave is over. I'm taking one week of vacation and then it's back to work. I'm going to desperately miss this time with my girls. I thank God they will be in good hands with Auntie.

Pumpkin Carving

,

We only got one pumpkin to carve. Cecilia's contribution was marker all over it - which gave it charm. Mommy scooped it out, which Celia wanted no part of, and Daddy put the face on. It was a lot of fun, and now we have a jack-o-lantern (except we have no candle).

Pumpkin Patch

We took the girls to the pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin. Well, it was a terribly cold and rainy day that we chose. We managed to have fun, but you can't see Mattie in any of the pictures because she's under the blanket and in the Moby wrap (my new favorite baby item). You can see poor Celia's red nose, though, and we never made it to pick our own pumpkin. Instead, we got one from the market. Oh well, we'll plan ahead next year.

Potty

We got Cecilia a potty. Yes, it is a little early, but she has shown an interest so we decided it would be good to go ahead and get the potty. I figure that it gives her a chance to get used to it being there and also to spend some time on it. Hopefully, it will help with potty training. Well, she loves the potty, and she loves to sit on it and read her kid's picture Bible. Go figure.

Sisters

The girls are really doing well together. Cecilia dotes on her little sister and has begun to mother her baby dolls. If sister, as she calls Mattie, needs a diaper change, then so does her baby. If sister needs to be burped, than so does her baby. She is so sweet and is proving to be a wonderful little mother.

Time with Daddy

Daddy loves playing with his two girls. Here is doing flashcards, one of Celia's greatest loves, with both the girls. It looks like Mattie is getting a headstart - although she may be more interested in Daddy's shoe. If it looks like the house is in chaos, that is because it is. Supermom I may not be, but hey, it's early yet.

Mattie's Baptism

Mattie was baptized 10/10/10 at 10am mass. Ironic or meant to be? She was baptized at St. Helen's Catholic Church in Niskayuna. I have most of the pics on our facebook link, but here are a few special ones. We were so blessed to have Ben's brother Elliott and my sister Libby as the godparents. Elliott and Becky, Nanaw and Pawpaw, Oma, and Aunt Libby all came to the baptism. Thank you all for traveling so far to be with us and Mattie on this very special day.

Visit with Oma

Oma came to stay with us a week before Mattie's baptism. We didn't do much, other than hang around and bond. She got lots of cuddle time with Mattie and good play time with Cecilia. She brought Cecilia a baby doll that swims in the bathtub. Cecilia loves to play with it - outside of the bathtub. When it swims in the water, Celia frieks out! It's her favorite doll, though.

Funny story - so the babydoll is an African American baby. Oma (who made the purchase), in her colorblind way, didn't notice this until one of my sisters asked why she made that choice. This happened at the airport on the way to see us :). Celia loves the doll, and as every innocent and unbiased child will, has no notion that it even has a color. God bless the little children.

My regret from the trip - I have no pictures! I have the memories, though.

Auntie made a playhouse

Celia's been a little cooped-up lately, so Auntie got creative and made her a playhouse, with tunnel, out of moving boxes. Yeah for playing with boxes!