Halloween Party Time!

If you know my daughter, then you know she is obsessed with kitties, has been for almost a year now.  So I knew exactly what costume to get for Halloween this year...

I was a little worried that she might not like wearing it, but it turns out I had no reason to worry. She LOVES this kitty outfit and wants to wear it all the time.

Our friend Keri had the awesome idea to throw a halloween bash for all of the kiddos. It was SO much fun! We all did one game and brought some halloween themed snacks to share. There was a cakewalk, a pinata, pumpkin and cookie decorating, ballon pop games, apple games. and the classic but always fun game of stick-your-hand-in-the-bucket-and-guess-what-nasty-thing-you're-touching.

(Sorry about the picture quality. It was the best I could do at night with flash.)

I am amazed that Sydney did not get sick that night. Every time I turned around she was at the food table, swiping some cheese balls, jello, cookies, chips...whatever she could get her hands on. We would be outside playing a game, I would turn my back, and she would literally be sprinting to the garage where the food was. That little kitty cat ate for three hours straight.

We had a great time! Thanks Keri and Shaun and everyone who brought food and games! I know Sydney will be back next year, if only for the cheese balls and jello!

Pumpkin Patch - 9 Months

We finally got around to taking Cameron's nine month pictures! Better late than never! We went to the pumpkin patch for most of them and also took a few at home with the same setup as last time.

Happy nine (well, technically ten) months Cameron!

The Mighty Mississippi

I'm just popping in real quick to share a few pictures that I took along the Mississippi River Walk in Dubuque. We recently spent the weekend there for my cousin's wedding, and while I didn't get my camera out too much, I thought I would at least share the few photos that I did take.

I'm so glad I was able to go and visit family that I don't get to see very often (though I'm kicking myself for not bringing my camera with me to the wedding events and getting more photos of everyone.) I wish I could say that I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, but I was still in the thick of my sickness here so it was a bit of a struggle for me at times. I'm still very glad I went and Sydney definitely had a great time visiting the Mississippi River Museum, the awesome indoor water park at the hotel, dancing at the wedding, and spending time with family! Definitely worth it!

I have a few more random photos to share, so bear with me while I catch up on posting all these old pics!

Finally, an update!

Hello...?

Anyone still reading this...?

It's been a looong time since I've done a blog post, and for that I am sorry. I've really missed the blogosphere. Not only have I missed updating my own blog, but I follow a ton of awesome blogs and I haven't been able to keep up on reading those either.

So here's the deal...most of you know from my last post that I was diagnosed with mono back in August. What you may not have known is that at the time I was also several weeks pregnant...double whammy. What's worse, is that once again (just like when I was pregnant with Sydney) I have been dealing with horrible all day nausea and morning sickness, so I have barely had the energy or desire to get off the couch, let alone blog, take pictures, etc.

The good news is that I'm out of the first trimester and I think things are starting to look up! I'm still dealing with off and on nausea, but I have more good days and hours than bad now, and I think I'm finally ready to dust off my camera and laptop and rejoin the land of the living. So, if anyone is still reading this, thanks for hanging in there and being patient with me!

Jon and I are so excited that we are soon going to be a family of four! I'm not sure that Sydney is going to be as thrilled with this development at first, but I'm sure she will come around...and who knows, maybe she'll love being a big sister!

I'm a little over 12 weeks along now, and as I've already mentioned the first trimester has been a little rough on me. I seem to get hungry every few hours, but I can't say that I've had any particularly regular food cravings or aversions. Smells have been hitting me really hard though because of my almost constant state of nauseousness. The slightest off smell can really do a number on me. Let me tell you...diapers have been a joy.

Hmmm....what else...I'm definately gaining weight and starting to show (which is happening much sooner this time around). See for yourself...

I'm still sleeping good, except that I already have to get up to use the bathroom at least once every night. We had a sono the other day and the baby was moving around like crazy! Flipping, rolling, shrugging, kicking, you name it. Of course I can't quite feel any of it yet. We plan to find out the sex of the baby at our appointment in November. Jon's seems to think it's a boy this time, but I have absolutely no idea.

So that's my quick little update on our news and where I've been. I'm really optimistic that I'm starting to finally feel better and I am excited to start enjoying this fall (which is one of my favorite seasons) and our remaining time as a family of three!