Halloween

The thing I love about Halloween for little ones is that it is not a one-day affair, but rather a week-long celebration! Madeline got a chance to wear her costume no less than 6 times that week. We definately got our money's worth out of the costume, and fortunately, she loved being that little butterfly!

The Sunday before Halloween we kicked off the week with some Trick-or Treating at the businesses downtown Naperville.

It was a beautiful day, and Madeline quickly learned that she liked this "trick-or treating" thing.

On Tuesday we got to wear our costumes to music class. Madeline loves playing the bells

and using the hoops to sing "Pop Goes the Weasel"!

On Wednesday we enjoyed our Playgroup Halloween party!

Here's all the kids in costume...

and we enjoyed delicious homemade soup, bread, and other treats with good friends.

On Halloween Eve we stopped by Grandma Schmitt's school to see all the kids dressed up in their costumes.

Trick or treat! Then, later in the evening we visited Great-Grandma Luzinski and got lots of treats!

Madeline inspects the candy with Aunt Marie

and enjoys time on the couch with Grandpa and Grandma Hay.

Finally, on Halloween, here's Madeline with her next-door buddy, Cooper.

We all went trick-or-treating together, but only made it to a few houses before landing at another neighbor's house for the evening.

Uncle Mark even stopped by to deliver a treat!

Phew... what a week!

Fall Pictures

We went to the Arboretum today to take some fall pictures. I've heard that trying to get pictures of a toddler in a studio is next to impossible, so I wanted to try to get some good ones on my own. We have a beautiful picture of Madeline at age 1 framed in our

family room and I'd like to get one at age 2 as well.

New Windows!

Our home improvement project this summer was to replace the windows in our Living Room and Dining Room. All of our windows are 50 years old, and the ones in the front don't even open anymore. Instead of just replacing them, we decided to put in a bay window to open up the room a bit more.

What do you think???

Outside view before...

And after...

Dining room window before...

New dining room window with privacy glass so we don't see our neighbor's big screen tv.

Madeline enjoyed the space to run in the living room!

And here she is supervising with Dad.

A BIG hole!

Ahhh... we love the morning sun streaming through the new window!

The final product. We're quite happy! As soon as we get the interior painting and finishing done, I'll get those pictures posted too.

Swimming Lessons

We've signed up for swimming lessons at a nearby pool, and so far it's going pretty well. Madeline hasn't been in the water too much, but seems to really enjoy it. She loves to play in it on her own, but hasn't been too fond of floating on her back or going under. That seems to be pretty typical.

Camping!

5 families, 5 toddlers, 3 babies. A great camping experience! Our playgroup decided to be brave and take the families camping at Indiana Dunes State Park. Dan and I haven't been camping since we got married, but we quickly remembered the fun of being outdoors, the torture of getting out of a warm sleeping bag in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and the comraderie that develops around the campfire.

The three of us squeezed into the tent Dan used for camping as a teenager. Madeline was wedged in between us on the air mattress, and she loved it. We agree that before we do this again, we need to invest in a bigger tent!

After we arrived and set up camp, we spent early afternoon at the beach. It was a beautiful day and water was warm enough to wade.

This beach tent was a great idea! We had sandwiches, fruit, and chips for lunch... and nothing ruins a sandwich like a little sand. Madeline stepped on my plate and knocked the sandwich off. I tried to salvage it, but it was just too crunchy.

We headed back to camp in hopes of taking some afternoon naps. No luck. But Madeline did enjoy taking everyone's picture.

The play-doh was a big hit.

It was a little chilly the next morning, but a hot plate of eggs, sausage, and pancakes warmed us all up.

We could have stayed another night! Maybe next time. :)

Our artisic picture of the weekend. A spit bubble.

It's a.....

???

Stay tuned January 12, 2010 to find out. :)

Great-Grandma Schmitt's 90th birthday

We took the good old Amtrak down to Quincy again Labor Day weekend to celebrate my grandma's 90th birthday.

It was a huge gathering of "immediate" family- my dad's siblings, my cousins, and Madeline's second cousins. Counting New Baby Hay, there were 32 1/2 of us there. Madeline loved playing with the girls, especially cousin Bethany.

Great-Grandma arrived and was thrilled to see all of the kids. "That's what makes the world go round" she kept saying.

Yummy pork sandwiches, fresh fruits and veggies, and pies for dinner.

Cousins!

Here we stand and sing "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow" before dinner, our traditional family grace.

We then spent the evening sharing updates on our lives and our memories with Grandma. Laura and Hunter were the only ones absent- way out in Colorado. It was nice to spend the weekend with everyone!