Happy Halloween!

What a great Halloween we had today!  Sage had so much fun.  We went to the gym, then met some friends out at Chick-Fil-A for lunch - yum!  Then Sage took a SHORT nap and was ready for the Halloween fun. 

 Checking out the candy we had to hand out.  She had to dig in!

 "I'm ready to go Mom!"

 This pumpkin was mine when I was little.  Very special that Sage gets to use it now, thanks Mom for saving it.  She carried the pumpkin to all the houses and wouldn't let it go!

 She couldn't wait to get to the first house!

 A good family picture - finally.

Heading to Carrie & Joey's - you can see she was excited!

 Mom let me go, more houses = more candy!

 She had so much fun, we only went to a few houses but this profile shot shows her excitement!  

Bubbles with Daddy kept her occupied after Trick-or-Treating.  She also kept yelling Happy Halloween to people across the street!

One of Sage's favorite people stopped over - so we had to get a picture of Melissa (or Issa as Sage calls her) & Sage

Another Halloween shirt!

This is the third and final shirt Sage has for Halloween.  She had school today so I had to send her in her a Halloween shirt!  She loves to play in her room when she gets up from her nap and today was no exception.  She was all over the place reading her books, playing with her toys, and counting her bows.  Sage got a Halloween card today from Nana & Papa - they included $2 in the card.  Sage was so excited to put it in her piggy bank - until she realized that she couldn't get it back out.   She was not a happy camper when she realized that once the money goes in, it doesn't come back out.  At least not for awhile!

Books

Reese and I both like to read and we hope that our love of books gets passed down to Sage.  We read to her all the time.  After her nap today she got cuddled up with a blanket and a few of her favorite books.  She has been starting to ask for certain books by title - I love it! 

Busy Day

This morning started off with Papa reading to Sage - she kept bringing him more books to read.  You know Papa ranks pretty high when Sage puts off watching Mickey Mouse to read with Papa!

Than came more stamps and stickers - we played with stickers for almost an hour.  Amazing!  Then Sage proceeded to get out every toy in the family room.  The coffee table was covered in toys. 

This train I brought up from the basement today and Sage found it very interesting.  

 

Then Sage took two of her stuffed animals and set them up on the couch and gave them each a block to play with - so cute.

 

Sage was pretty sad to see Nana and Papa leave - she stood waving to them as they pulled away from the house.  Then turned around to me crying and saying Nana, Papa, Napa, Papa.  She definitely had a fun few days with Nana & Papa.

Today

While my Dad and I went with Reese to the hospital for his gall bladder surgery, Nana stayed home with Sage.  Reese's surgery went well and he is getting lots of rest now that he is home.  Nana & Sage had a great day - it started off with her sleeping in until 7:45 - why can't she sleep in like that for me?  She also took a 2.5 hour nap today for Nana, apparently Nana needs to visit more often!

We have to get some work done on my car and had to take Sage's seat out - we need to put it in Reese's car for a few days.  She was trying to put the straps together. 

Sage stamping with Nana, one of many activities they did today!

 She loves to hide by the wine cabinet.

Nana & Papa are here!

My parents got here this afternoon and Sage was so excited!   Sage has been a whirlwind since they arrived.  We had to get out almost all of our toys and play with them all!  It is fun to watch them interact - the pure joy on Sage's face and the absolute love on Nana and Papa's faces.  The relationship between grandchild and grandparent is truly a special one! 

 There were numerous tea parties - the carrot tea was a hit!

She sat and played with her bracelets forever - mind you Papa was sitting there for awhile and then it was Nana's turn.  Mommy & Daddy got a break!

I brought this game out yesterday and it is a HUGE hit!   It is a version of Candy Land and Sage loves it .  You pull the lever and shapes come flying out, then the shapes are put on their corresponding game board.  It is a great game to help teach colors and shapes. 

The Owl Shirt

You all know how much I love holidays and I am hoping to pass that love onto Sage.  I have all sorts of decorations for each holiday!  For Sage we have fun holiday shirts.  For Halloween she has three shirts - I only bought one!  She calls this shirt the "Owl" shirt.  I think she looks pretty cute in orange.  Reese is at a late meeting tonight and I was putting Sage to bed and she was crying for Daddy.  She goes in phases of who she wants to put her to bed and lately it isn't Mommy.   She wasn't happy that Daddy wasn't here - he must sing her songs better than I do:)

 

I had to include this photo of her fish lips - she was leaning in to give me a kiss!

Sage's Message for Brady

Sage was saying "Happy Birthday Brady" all day and of course when I get the camera out - nothing!   This was as good as we could get. 

Happy Birthday Brady!

We hope you are having a great day!   Happy 2nd Birthday!   We can't wait for your party.  See you soon.

 This was from the marathon last weekend.  Sage was giving Brady kisses and he had had enough!   Love that they are so close in age:)

Bows & Bracelets

Sage loves bracelets and she likes to take my hair ties and use them as bracelets.   I finally found a bunch of colored hair ties and she loves them!  Cheapest bracelets I will ever buy her!  One of her latest activities is taking all of her bracelets and bows out and trying them on and organizing them.  She will have up to 4 bows in her hair and her arms full of bracelets.  Here she is enjoying some Sunday afternoon football with Daddy and playing with her bracelets!

Fashion Plate

We got family pictures taken today and I can't wait to get them back!  It was a chilly and windy start to the day so I hope they turn out.  We also had a little monster on our hands.  Sage didn't want to smile or follow directions - I know a toddler not following directions - unbelievable!   I am hoping our photographer got a few good shots out of the hundreds that she took.   When we got home Sage and I both took a nap.  When she got up she wanted to stay in her comfy clothes.  Here is our little fashion plate - brown socks, striped shirt, strawberry pants and a Halloween headband! 

We were on the phone with Mimi & Pop-Pop, but Sage was to interested in this phone to talk.  She was very aggravated that the handset was attached.

Then as soon as we hung up with Mimi & Pop-Pop, Sage grabbed the real phone and wanted to talk.

Beautiful Fall Day = Trip to the Zoo

I love Fall and it has been beautiful these past few weeks.  I love that it is comfortable outside and the leaves are turning - my favorite time of year!  We had our playgroup at the zoo this week.  It was great, the weather was perfect, the kids had fun and we got to walk all over the place.  All the kids had lunch and looked at the animals and us Mom's got to chat!   A perfect day:)  It was even better that it was my birthday and I got to spend the morning with some great friends!

Sage, Allison, JJ, Andrew, Case and Leia

Sage, Case and Andrew looking at the monkeys and each other!

New Car Seat...

Monday morning Sage wasn't really herself.  She didn't want to eat breakfast and she was VERY clingy.  Don't get me wrong I love to cuddle with my girl but not have her hanging on my legs!  We went and ran a few errands and she fell asleep while grocery shopping.  She never falls asleep while at the store to many things to look at.  I knew she definitely wasn't feeling well.  I could tell she had a fever and gave her some Tylenol when we got to the car.  She perked up a little bit on the ride home and asked for her water.  As we pulled onto our street, she started throwing up, it wasn't pretty.  Thank goodness Reese was home and he came and helped me.  I got her out of her seat and she was covered and so was her seat.  We undressed her in the garage and Reese took her in to clean her up and I tackled the car.  Most of you know how weak a stomach I have so it wasn't a pleasant job - but I got it all cleaned up.  The hard part was cleaning the car seat.  The seat cover and pads went into the washer - but the seat itself - YUCK!   Shelley suggested spraying it down with the hose and we did.  Luckily while the seat is being decontaminated we have a spare seat that we can use.  She still wasn't feeling good Tuesday morning so we took her to the doctor.  When Sage got into the car she looked at me and said "New seat Momma,"  our observant girl.  Late Tuesday morning the fever was gone - but she was still a clingy girl.   Tuesday night she seemed fine and she was running all over the neighborhood playground.

This picture was from Tuesday morning - Sage got to watch a few extra shows in our room.

Happy Birthday to us!

Today is our birthday!   It is so fun having a sister I get to share this special day with.  Happy Birthday Shelley - love you!   It was so fun to see you this weekend:)

I was trying to find a recent picture of the two of us - but can't seem to find any.  Just pictures of the kids.  So here is one us from a few years ago.

The Marathon

We went and watched Elise run the Chicago Marathon this weekend.  She did amazing!  It was her third and final marathon and she ran it in honor of Reese.   She raised over $4,700 for heart research and we are so honored that she ran for Reese.  Shelley, Ty and the boys went to Chicago as well.  It was great to see them and to support Elise.  It was definitely different trying to go around the marathon course with three toddlers in tow.  Lots different than when it was just the adults chasing Elise all over the city!  What a weekend:)

So proud of Elise!

Sage was trying to give Brady a kiss!

 Elise and Sabrina - they have been good friends since CMU. 

 I just found this picture of Elise, Sabrina, and I from the 2005 Marathon - had to include it!

Fun in the Crib

The other day Sage wanted to get in her crib and play.  She had to have all her favorite stuffed animals in there with her.  She wanted to make sure her baby had a pacifier.  Sage calls her pacifer a "caci".  I can only guess that since she couldn't say paci - she started to say caci.  She brought a bunch of books in the crib with her and pretended to read to her stuffed animals - adorable!!

Holding Hands

 This pictures was taken as we were leaving the YMCA on Monday.  Thanks Bev for snapping such a cute picture.  Sage grabbed Case's hand and they walked hand in hand to the car.  It was adorable!   I love seeing Sage with her friends.

Our Pumpkin

Here is our little pumpkin with her Halloween pumpkin!

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we visited a local apple orchard and pumpkin patch.   We all had a great time.  We took a hayride and walked through the pumpkin patch.  Sage got to jump in a bounce house - she had a blast!  We got to listen to some good music and just enjoy being out on a beautiful fall day.  I love the Fall - it is my favorite season!