Keeping secrets

Grammy's plane landed an hour ago and Mack has no clue that she is in town! It's been the hardest secret to keep but I just can't wait to see her face tomorrow when a late trick or treater shows up at our door!

Ohhhhh scary! Great big Halloween Post

Mack at her first school party! She wore last years princess dress since
her cat costume is a little too warm for indoor use.It was fun helping out in her class and
seeing how she interacts with everyone and putting faces to the
stories that come home. Truth be told, it made me miss my preschool teaching
days quite a bit.

My sweet little Charlie Brown. I may continue to call him
"Chuck" for a few more days just because it makes him smile like this.

Our two Duncans

Ready for some fun? Mack was very tired after a busy day at school
but she quickly got into the right spirit and had a lot of fun.

The gang before heading out on a candy hunt

Mason was happy with his vantage point

Grams and Mack giving me the stink eye. Maybe it's inherited?

Who wouldn't pour out their whole stock of candy to this sweet cat?

                    Mack had more fun handing out candy than she did trick or treating for her own!

Mack brought the crows out.Look at them lined up for the candy at our house.

Mike set the mood with a nice warm fire

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

I, just this week, gave Mack the last piece of last Halloweens' haul and now
look what we have!

Happy 6 months, Mason!

Having some avocado to celebrate his half birthday

I cannot believe Mason is already half a year old! I've never wished I could freeze time more than I do now. Mackenzie is so much fun- full of curiosity and so helpful. Mason is in the happy baby phase and these are two of my favorite stages.

Mason has quite the personality. He is ever the mimic ( like his dad), copying every noise he can. When a cat, dog or sister walks by, he gives out a high pitched laugh to try and catch their attention. Mason doesn't realize that he can't just get up and go until he tries and ends up face first on the carpet! Once this boy starts moving, there will be no stopping him!

Now that Mason is 6 months old, he is very
hard to take pictures of. This picture makes me laugh because it's
almost like he is surrendering.

Six months really does fly by

These are some out takes I snapped while trying to get one decent
six month photo.


Six month stats:

16 # 11 oz ( Hanging steady on the 45% percentile, where he was born)

28.5 inches long( increased to the 92% percentile)

We were given the green light to add in stage two foods followed by yogurt and he can eat Thanksgiving dinner with the family!

Fall snow

We got our first real snow accumulation last night and Mackenzie couldn't get dressed fast enough this morning! Mason watched her play from the window and discovered a new teething tool!

The cat's meow

Mack decided she wanted to be a cat for Halloween this year. Not just any cat would do, she wanted to be our cat, Duncan. I searched the net, knowing I probably wouldn't find anything comparable but Mackenzie agreed that she'd be ok with another kitty costume. Enter Hero Daddy! Instead of making do with a generic kitty costume, Mike took Mack on date to pick out all the things they'd need to construct the perfect Duncan costume. I admit, after seeing several very good, long time sewers struggle with sewing patterns and tricky fabric/material, I was a little apprehensive that things might not come together well. Oh ME of little faith! In just about 8 hours ( over a few days) and after lots of sweeping up fake fur and only a few curse words breathed under breath, Mike did it! I am so , so proud of him and the fact that, despite never having really sewn before, he set out and did what he wanted to do. Way to go, Daddy! Mackenzie was in shock at how cool her costume is . She wore it for several hours yesterday, pretending to be Duncan the whole time.

Years gone by-tradition

A rare moment

I snuck this picture of Mackenzie enjoying a quiet moment. It's rare that she isn't busy, an agenda in her head of things she wants to do. She looked so peaceful watching the leaves blowing in the breeze and her favorite blanket tucked under her chin.