Happy Halloween!

Here are our Halloween pictures. Audrey was happy to wear her costume again and do some trick or treating. We had a great night hanging out with family, carving pumpkins and eating good food (and candy of course)!The monkey with mouse hands

Kittens @ 2 Weeks

For those that care, the kittens are still in Eric's closet. They are 2 weeks old, opening up their eyes and starting to walk around a little. Anyone want a kitten or three?

Post Toast

As most of you know I am pregnant and experiencing symptoms that go along with that, mostly nausea. Being nauseated with a toddler presents new challenges that you don't even think of with your first pregnancy. Wiping up a messy toddler after mealtime or changing a stinky diaper can throw you over the edge if you are already nauseous. Luckily, I haven't had to throw up if front of Audrey too often. I usually (every morning) run to the bathroom as soon as I am vertical to throw up before getting Audrey up. My nausea (at least the throwing up part) usually isn't too bad during the day, but then flares up again after dinner and after she goes to bed. She has witnessed it from afar before and asks me if I am "spiting." This morning, I wasn't so lucky... after my toast breakfast Audrey and I went upstairs to get ready for the day and I felt it coming. I threw everything up with Audrey right beside me. She was so sweet and concerned, "Mommy, are you sick?" She even went down stairs to get my water for me (she is really good and cautious with the stairs, so don't worry all you moms out there). After I was done, she said, "My turn!" and proceeded to pretend to throw up. Oh, how they mimic everything!

Zoo Boo

Every year the Baltimore Zoo puts on a Halloween event called Zoo Boo, the kids all dress up and go trick or treating. We thought Audrey would enjoy some extra time in her costume and trick or treat practice. She loved visiting the monkeys in her monkey costume.
The most exciting part of the day was the playground. Zoo vs. the Slide- the Slide wins! We joined other astonished parents at the playground whose kids wanted to keep playing instead of going to see the animals. Who can pass up the rush of a good slide?

Lidia's Visit

Lidia just came for another visit (her third). We had a great time together. I feel blessed that our friendship has not suffered since I moved here a year ago. It rained five out of the seven days she was here and felt more like winter than fall with temps in the 40's though we did not let the weather stop our plans. Here are some pictures from some of our adventures.

We returned to Larriland Farms for some apple picking (one of Lidia's favorite things to do). Audrey also enjoyed the pumpkins but was traumatized by the fighting lamas.

Geebin, Lidia's friend from work joined us.She ate three, I ate about five.

Us last year.

We hung around Baltimore a little and went to the Baltimore Museum of Art and Baltimore Conservatory, both of which are free and full of beautiful things.

Audrey brought Monkey on our outing.


Us it front of the "Red Fuzzy" plant.
We used to have one of these in our apartment during our Biola days.
Audrey and I got to feed the fish.

We also ventured to Pennsylvania to go to Longwood Gardens (so far our favorite garden visited thus far). It was a cold rainy day, so we only got to see a fifth of the gardens (everything inside).

There was an amazing water lily garden. Cold, but worth it. They heat the water to 84 degrees, the mist coming off the water combined with the mist of the rain so it looked very spooky and surreal.

These lily pads grew up to 7 feet in diameter and could hold up to 150 pounds!

Fun in the Children's Garden:

Audrey got very wet enjoying all the fountains.

This was a brilliant design moving water along a ramp.
You can really appreciate it when you have a toddler whose energy you want to run out.
It worked perfectly as evidenced by the next picture.

Death Pumpkins

They had the most amazing Orchid Room. I will spare you the other 50 pictures, but this one with the moth image is worth posting.

Other activities enjoyed, but not photographed, were baking, cooking, and most importantly, eating. We enjoyed many dishes with leeks and various fall squashes. I am looking forward to Lidia's next visit some time this winter.

Preggo!

For those that did not catch my status on Facebook yesterday, I announced that Eric and I are expecting baby #2. We are due early May!

Birthing Closet

For those of you who keep up with the blog, you might remember the neighbor's cat that comes and spends time at our house. She can be found in most of the house pictures because she was shadowing me from room to room. I had been noticing that she was "gaining weight" lately and suspected that something was amiss. When Eric went to put her out last night, he found her in his closet tucked in underneath his hanging pants. Upon further inspection, he found her in the middle of giving birth to three kittens. So now "neighbor cat" (or "new cat") as Audrey calls her and her new brood have taken residence in Eric's closet and his pants are forced to live elsewhere. We tried to keep the pictures light but sorry if they are a bit graphic. If you were around for our "bunny phase" you know that we will keep you updated on the kittens' growth and development.

Doris Hood Deans

Saturday, we commemorated my Grandma Deans' life. She passed away October 1st after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Though it was very sad to have her pass, it was also a relief to know she is not suffering anymore. The hidden blessing was the ability to get together with family I haven't seen in a very long time. I was able to spend time with aunts, uncles and cousins to celebrate the life of my grandmother. It was actually the first time in 8 years that all 8 cousins were together.