Halloween 2013

Today Matthew experienced trick-or-treating for the first time. He dressed up in his Mickey Mouse costume -- perfect for the crisp, damp Fall day. After celebrating the holiday at daycare, we took him to enjoy the festivities downtown. Once again, the streets were packed, but we had a great time stopping by favorite shops, getting Matthew's photo taken at a local photography studio, and visiting the town's children's events.

We then headed home and trick-or-treated at a few of our neighbor's houses. While Matthew didn't necessarily know what was going on, he certainly made the neighbors smile as he knocked on doors and tried to invite himself in to their homes! Towards the end of the night, Matthew even helped hand out candy to other trick-or-treaters. What a fun way to mark the holiday!

Cruising around town in style!

Trick or Treat Miss Shelly! (Isn't this the part where you give me something?)

Enough pictures Mom! Let's go!

Hey! You forgot this candy!

We hope that you had a great Halloween too!

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we carved our pumpkins in preparation for Halloween. This was the first year that Matthew was able to participate, and he certainly enjoyed working with the pumpkin "guts."

The finished products:

We're all set for Halloween -- bring on the trick-or-treating fun!

Frolicking in the Pumpkin Fields

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny Saturday in the Seattle area. We decided to make an impromptu trip to the pumpkin patch since you never know when you're going to get another clear, sunny day in this area!

At first, Matthew wasn't really interested in the pumpkins; sometimes he was more interested in his sunglasses....

Eventually he helped us pick out some great pumpkins though:

After walking through the pumpkin patch, we enjoyed some time around the farm, taking a hay ride and climbing on the tractor. What a great way to spend the day as a family!

I love Fall in the Seattle area -- we are so blessed to be able to frolic on the farm and be surrounded by blue skies and green pastures!

Our First Seattle Storm Game

Today we had the opportunity to attend our first Seattle Storm game as a family. The Storm were in the playoffs, and this was their final game against the Minnesota Lynx. None of us had ever been to a Women's NBA game before, and we enjoyed watching the team and socializing with some of Lennie's friends / co-workers.

Matthew charmed all of the people in the stands around us, and he also enjoyed spending some time with his dad. Although the Storm lost the game (it was a close one!), we certainly had a great time!

Future Husky?

We're working on raising our son right, which includes turning him into a University of Washington Huskies fan. Here's our future scholar ready to root on the home team:



Look out ladies, he's sure to be one of the cutest dudes on campus! (Although, I may be a little biased on that...)

18 Month Old "Art"

At our daycare, the kids are often involved in art projects and other crafty activities. Here are a few of the delights that our son has worked on over the last few weeks (he's getting much better at coloring, I must say!): Autumn Tree with a "Foot" Trunk


Flower Stamping


Paint on Paper Plate


Football!


He may not be Picasso yet, but it sure is fun to see our son continually learn and grow!

Retake Montlake!

To me, it's the most wonderful time of year: the beginning of a new college football season! Husky fans packed the house to "Retake Montlake" today. After a year of construction, the new Husky stadium was unveiled, and it was quite the experience. As a fan, I'm glad to be back on the shores of Lake Washington, and I'm ready to cheer on the team in another great year of Husky Football!




The whole family is ready to cheer on the Huskies. We've been working with Matthew to celebrate with "Touchdown" (as you can see, he's even practicing in his sleep!), and he's just started saying "Go!" as he watches the games. What fun!

Touchdown!

Put me in Coach Sark!

Ready to watch the game with Dad?


What a great day at the stadium -- here's to a great season. Go Huskies!

Lunch - Yum!

My mom is in town this week taking care of Matthew while our daycare was on vacation. I got the rare opportunity to sneak out for lunch with Grammy and Matthew today. We had a great time chatting over a tasty burger, and Matthew charmed the families around us. He even made a dent in his very own corn dog:

Just Chillin'

Our daycare was closed for a few days this week, so my Mom came to town to help out with Matthew. They had a great time taking in the sunshine, playing in the park, and laughing. We also had the opportunity to spend some time with my youngest brother and his family. It's been a whirlwind of guests and adventures, and we're grateful for the time that we get to spend with our family.

After we dropped my Mom off at the airport today, we happened upon a garage sale on the way home. I spied a Spider-man kid's futon for the low-low price of $2. We've been looking for some Matthew-sized furniture, and as soon as we got home, he made himself comfortable -- complete with a book!

I sure do love this kid, and it's so much fun to see him develop his own personality! What a great adventure we're on!

SnoRock Concert

Our fine city is celebrating it's centennial this year, and as a part of the festivities, they decided to recreate a concert festival that occurred here in the '60s. Since it was a free, family-friendly event, we went down to the festival for a few hours to enjoy a picnic lunch and some of the local bands that took the stage.

The SnoRock Concert and Lighter than Aire Faire was an interesting experience. It was not well-attended while we were there, but that worked out because it gave us a little more room to let Matthew explore.

Here's some photos of my boys enjoying the overcast skies and the chance to stretch out in the grass while some good music played: