Halloween Night

Tonight was the big night! You'll notice that Calder has a lollipop in his mouth in nearly every picture. It was the only surefire way to make sure he kept his costume on!

Before we set out on our trick-or-treating adventure, we got a visit from two sweet little monkeys - Aubrey and Alex!

Here he is marching from house to house. At our very first stop, he just welcomed himself right in and I ended up chasing him halfway through our neighbor's house! He tried it at the next house too, but we were onto him by then. I'm not sure what he was looking for!

As we were finishing up, Sandhya came by to say hello in her adorable ladybug costume.

After the turtle costume came off, Calder was excited to try on the Thomas costume that Aunt Vandana brought over! This should make for great dress-up fun until next Halloween!


And here's Jaiden! He was Thomas yesterday at their neighborhood Halloween party that Calder and I crashed.

Pumpkin Carving

Calder and I finally got around to carving his pumpkin this afternoon. Well, I carved, while he dictated which shapes to use. I tried encouraging him to help take the guts out, but he had no interest in touching them!


Where's his mouth, Mommy?

Posing with the finished product! It was even Calder's idea to give the pumpkin eyebrows!

You may remember Lucky's costume from last year (or was it 2 years ago?) Anyway -- it's a prisoner outfit, that says "Property of the Dog Pound". Calder took one look at it and excitedly said, "Lucky has zebra costume!!!" :)

Halloween Parade

On Thursday, all of the kids in Calder's daycare center came through our building for a Halloween Parade. It was so cute to see them all dressed up!


The little babies were adorable as they strolled through in the big red buggies!

Here comes Calder! I snapped this picture just as he realized that I was there. He immediately made a beeline for Mommy!

There was no way he was just going to wave and pass on by me, so I ended up walking with him for the rest of the parade. I have to admit, it was pretty fun to show off my cute little turtle to all of my coworkers!

A sleepy turtle, hiding in a corner.

First Guitar Lesson

First Guitar Lesson from courtney on Vimeo.

Poppa treated Calder to his first guitar lesson.

Endless Fall Fun

Calder and Sandhya had a blast playing in Grandma's leaves one chilly morning in Michigan.

This picture reminds me so much of some pictures that we took of him a year ago, in our backyard. He's such a big boy now! What a difference a year makes.

Getting covered in leaves!
Mommy breaks out her old high school jacket and gets in on the fun.

Grandma brought out the box to her new dishwasher for more instant fun!
Peek-a-boo!

Before heading back inside, we took a little tour of the corn field. Calder wanted to roam around in there sooo bad, but I was terrified of losing him! Lucky for me, it started raining, so it was time to go in!

Sandhya checking out the corn.

Michigan Weekend

Since I won't be able to travel this holiday season, we took a trip to Michigan this weekend to visit with my extended family. In particular, we wanted to see my Grandma one more time before she heads off to sunny AZ for the winter! Here I am with Grandma and 4 of her 12 great-grandchildren!

Sandhya, Calder and Ethan playing with silly Uncle Sean!

James and Reese blowing bubbles.

Family shot!

Calder and Ella coloring together. Actually, Calder wasn't doing any coloring. He was just telling Ella what he wanted her to color!


Grandma and her three grandchildren!

Another grandparent shot! Pictures like this are only going to get harder, once we add a 4th grandchild to the mix!

Sandhya amusing herself in the mirror.

Learning a few chords from Poppa.

Calder and Sandhya were very excited to see a tractor (it's actually a combine) in Grandma's very own backyard!

Another fall festival...

A few weeks ago, I took Calder to yet another fall festival. This one was much smaller, so I was a little leary about paying $8 each to get in...but it was totally worth it. Calder had a blast! He ran from activity to activity for 2 straight hours. We got there right when they opened, so it didn't start to get really crowded until it was time for us to leave.

He loved this pirate ship. You could climb up on top or down below. He's in the bottom part here -- where he kept saying "I ride Noah's boat!" Ha ha. We have a few books on Noah's Ark that are definitely on the top of his reading list these days.

This was his first-ever merry-go-round ride! He loved it, and kept saying "Whee!"

Taking a ride in the fire truck...

...and the caboose!

Picking out the perfect pumpkin on our way out.

24 Week Belly Shot

A few people have asked for belly shots...so here I am at 24 weeks and 3 days. I had my 24 week prenatal appt. this morning and everything is going well. The baby's heartbeat continues to be fast and strong! We love the opportunity to hear it each month. This baby is extremely active. Much more so than Calder ever was. I am constantly feeling kicks and somersaults -- I love it.

For comparison purposes, here's a shot of me at 24 weeks pregnant with Calder. Is anyone else alarmed at how much bigger I am this time??? Yikes! I definitely think I am carrying differently this time - not as much out front, and I just feel bigger all around. Perhaps a sign that this baby is indeed a girl??

By the way...how long have I had the exact same hair style?

Big Brother In Training

Calder and I were doing a bit of shopping yesterday when he saw this baby doll from about 20 feet away and insisted on holding onto it. I had been thinking about getting him a baby to "practice" with for when the real baby arrives, and I was thrilled that he decided on his own that he wanted it. So, I decided to buy it for him. AND, doing so meant that I avoided a public meltdown by not having to pry it out of his hands before leaving the store. Double Score!
When we got to the car, I could not get the baby out of the box fast enough -- Calder was dying to hold it. (Yes, it's an "it" since Calder hasn't decided yet if it's a boy or a girl.) When we got home, he carried it with him everywhere, and even sang "Rock-A-Bye Baby" -- which is particularly impressive, since we almost never sing that song to him. He loves his baby so much, I know he is going to make an excellent big brother!

Could they be any cuter?

Since I had the day off for Columbus Day, Vandana and I took the kids to the zoo this morning. It was a beautiful morning -- perfect weather for an outside activity.

Calder and Sandhya did a great job of holding hands while we walked along -- it was too cute!!

Calder was so excited to see Sandhya -- he chased her around for a good 10 minutes and tackled her with a giant hug at every opportunity.

For some reason, Calder is really into hopping these days. In this shot, I caught him mid-hop as he hopped all over the zoo's pizza play area.

Three little monkeys!

Happy Birthday, Great-Grandma!

We made a very quick trip up to Connecticut this weekend, and helped Calder's Great-Grandma (my Grandma) celebrate her 83rd birthday (a little bit early.) We wish we could've stayed longer, but we wanted to make sure we made it up there before I'm restricted from traveling.
Calder kept swiping the raspberries off of Grandma's cake!
My cousin Jennifer came up from NJ to visit for the day. Calder had a great time with both lovely ladies!