Her Favorite Pastime

Pappy & Uncle Ethan

We do love it out here in New England but I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'm pretty much homesick and lonely for family all the time. So, of course, I was giddy with delight when my dad and little bro Ethan squeezed in a weekend visit while mom was at a seminar. It was SO fun. Right before they got here Khloe surprised us by adding to her vocabulary: "Pappy."

First on the itinerary? A fashion show, apparently.
Then a train ride a few stations before we were routed back to the car because of track maintenance (we ended up driving). Khloe just had to hold on to those hand straps.
She COULD NOT be separated from Pappy.
Up to the USS Constitution. The oldest commissioned war ship. The hull is still original! Nicknamed "Old Ironsides" after a battle where cannon balls actually bounced off because of it's white oak/live oak/white oak layers. At the time the live oak gave the us quite an advantage as live oak could only be found in the southern US. "Old Ironsides" never lost a battle.
Then to Bunker Hill. You can't imagine how ridiculous I looked trying to get the tip of the monument and everyone in the picture, sprawled on my back on the ground... Lol. Well, success!
On our last full day we went to Castle Island for a beautiful view as we ate our fried seafood (yum!), swinging, and some rock skipping.
So sweet yet so short. Ahhhh. Well at least we're heading home for Christmas in less than a month! Hopefully we'll get our family fix then. :)

Babies Must be Made of Cartilage

A most traumatic thing happened on Tuesday. Khloe and I were out and we got home past Khloe's nap time but had to take Ellie out before I could put Khloe down. We got a new crate for Ellie (since the old one smelled really bad like skunk) and we put her in there whenever we go somewhere. When we get home I can set Khloe on the sidewalk after I get her out of her carseat and tell her, "go get Ellie." She climbs up the steps and into the house and lets Ellie out. It's adorable. Anyway, Ellie was going potty and Khloe was standing at the top of our stairs looking out at the yard. She walked a little too far and started teetering on the edge of the top step. It was one of those horrible moments that seem like they are going in slow motion and you know whats going to happen before you even have time to react... She was trying to catch her balance but pitched forward down the stairs. She smashed and kind of bounced off her face on the middle step then did a flip and landed on her back at the bottom. I swear her neck looked like it bent so far it was broken. I freaked. She cried and cried. In a split second her whole forehead was a goose egg. Of course I did what I always do in an emergency and prayed while I headed to the phone to call mom. After a trip to the doctor she was deemed bruised but fine. I think it was way more traumatic for me than for her. I still feel a bit sick over it.
Thursday follow-up pics.

Trick-or-Treat

Okay, so the big summer trip blog kinda put me behind... But here at last are Khloe's Halloween pictures.

Her wonderful grandma sent her Elmo push-ins for her pumpkin.
I had been thinking about making Khloe a Dorothy costume so she and Ellie could coordinate. (plus I had Oz on my mind since I recently saw Wicked at the Boston Opera House-loved it!) Remember last years coordinating bees?
I made up my mind when I saw the perfect little red shoes at Target.
We spent Saturday at the big ward Trunk-or-Treat. She didn't learn to say "trick or treat" in time, but it didn't take her more than a couple cars to figure out that everyone was giving her candy and she was only too happy to tell everyone ''tank ou."
She definitely has a sweet tooth just like her daddy. Whenever someone offered her a choice of candy she always picked a lollipop. Actually that was surprising because she's our little chocolate-lover. Notice the death-grip on her candy bag? By the time I got in the car myself she already had a wrapper off a dumdum.

Dorothy and Toto

The Rollie Pollie

A while ago I purchased the Rollie Pollie pattern from Dana over at MADE. I had a bit of complaint with how the pattern was emailed since it required that I use up my paper and ink, plus I had a ridiculously hard time getting the papers to match up. Bleh. Its shaped a teenie bit more like an egg than a ball but who can tell? Khloe definitely doesn't mind. One of the best things about is that first you make a pillow form then the cover so if it gets dirty-presto chango-rip that cover off and stick it in the wash.

Cheap Entertainment

With baskets and rooms full of toys, why does it seem they're always more interested in the box that held the groceries? Not that I'm complaining. Who doesn't love those extra 15 free minutes while the novelty keeps em distracted?

The Big Summer Vacation, Part 2

You know how sometimes theres something on your to-do list that seems like a mountain too big to climb? Well this post was like that for me. Hence it is November and I'm just now finishing it up.The first stop on the road-trip portion of our big summer vacation was Charleston, SC. For those of you who left their last history class long ago, South Carolina was the first to secede from the United States and is rich in Civil War history. We toured Fort Moultrie. As you went deeper into the fort it was as if you went further back in time where they had an extensive display giving the history of cannons. It was so interesting and strange to realize just how far we've come technologically.

Also in Charleston we visited the Aiken-Rhett house, which is an unrestored home from the Civil War era. I used to sort of think that past centuries lived primitively. Not so. They had large gorgeous wardrobes, homes, meals, etc. they just had loads of servants or slaves to accomplish what is (thanks to electricity, cars, etc) more readily achievable for us. What better place for Khloe to taste her first rib than the south? Love her questioning stare. She still wasn't convinced after tasting it and she absolutely hated having her shirt off. Little Miss Modesty. The next stop on our road trip was the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Here we stopped at the Wright Brothers National Monument. This was incredible! It might have been my favorite part of the trip. Orville and Wilbur had an amazing friendship. They shared the dream to fly and accomplished it so fast! Orville was only 32 by the time they took the first flight. And it was only 66 years from the first flight till we landed on the moon.
The Outer Banks are SO GORGEOUS! We ate scrumptious steamed seafood and played on the beach.
Its a grainy close-up, but you've gotta love the expression.
On the way back Aaron and Tahoe were our hosts.
Of course we ate at Rays since they have the most delicious burgers (seriously) and the guys hit up a Nationals game. Unfortunately, this is also when I started to get sick so we had to cut our trip short and come straight home instead of stopping in Philly. With another long day in the car we pulled out every last trick to keep K happy. These cheap party favors from the dollar store helped us make it thru the last hour.
Luckily once we did get home Wes had a few days till he had to be back at school so he took care of everything while I recuperated from my severe case of Strep throat. You can tell how bad it was (I was out of it for like 5 days) by how great I look here. (at least my closet looks good)