Sycamore St. 2013

The trick-or-treaters are ready. This time poor Matthew had croup, but what better activity to do, than to get out in the cold night air and do a little candy hunting? (His doctor even recommended it.) This time CinderBella dressed up in her blue dress, church shoes,and started the night with a crown (which was quickly banished).

 Father and Son (in law)

Isabella did her thing. This year she went to all houses, even if there were no obvious signs that they wanted trick-or-treaters. She still knocked on their doors and then looked in their windows. We had to put a stop to that.

 Brave...

But totally spooked by the giant tarantula that jumped out at her.

Larry's Produce

This year we did our Halloween prep right, and shopped Larry's Produce (in Fairfield) for all our harvest needs.

(All things pumpkin, great and small.)

Larry's knows kids all right, and provides a pit of filled with corn kernels, a hay bale tunnel, and lots of things to climb on and jump off of--and for the parents--produce with prices that can't be beat!

Where else in the Napa Valley (area) can you get pomegranates for 75 cents! A 2-pound bag of oranges for a dollar! Or brussel sprouts on the stalk!

So shop Larry's for all your Halloween Prep/Produce needs (next year) and you too, can decorate your fireplace, deemed unfit for fires, like this:

 A few nights and one haircut later, we carved Isabella's first-ever jack-o-lantern.

 And placed it in the window where everyone (meaning only us because we are out in the country and who's going to see it?) could be totally spooked by our scariness.

We made some caramel apples, too.

Matthew Turns Two!

For his birthday dessert I made him a baked pumpkin and peach thing. It was so "healthy" that Mark and I immediately rejected it from the dessert category. Luckily, though our kids are better than we are and loved it.

It was so healthy and well liked that I served it to them for breakfast the next morning. Matthew rejected it though because he, too,  realized it wasn't dessert.

The best part of Matthew's second birthday was that both Isabella and I witnessed him take his first two independent steps that day. For his present he got a walker to aid him in achieving his next milestone. As you can see, Matthew is a very happy walker:

Email followers: to see the video go here: wwwholsten.blogspot.com

Matthew The Scientist

I recently heard a report on NPR about how it's now believed that babies actually think like little scientists as opposed to the old belief that they are little, irrational monsters. (I'm paraphrasing here). Well, duh, I say. Matthew has been testing the law of gravity for more than half his life. He loves to drop, roll, or throw anything off the table, or bed, or his high chair to see what happens.  He loves to get us to imitate his actions at the dinner table and he loves to repeat things over an over to get a reaction. And then there are the moments when I realize it has become very, very quiet in the house, and I know The Scientist is up to something and must be checked on.

I had filled the tub for Isabella's bath. I'd like to think that this was his first sink/float experiment, but alas, I think sometimes The Scientist just enjoys being a little irrational monster. (and one who took great pleasure in seeing him mom react to the loss of a month's worth of TP)

General Conference Cinnamon Rolls

Back in the day before kids (BK), I thought it would be a fun tradition to make cinnamon rolls for General Conference (our church's semi annual conference- first weekend of April and October-where we get to stay at home and listen/watch the leaders of our church speak). It was an awesome tradition and a guarantee to have homemade cinnamon rolls at least twice a year. But then I had General Conference babies (Isabella, April 4; Matthew, October 8) and so of course, I had to make General Conference birthday cakes. A weekend of General Conference baked goods quickly turned into a week of General Conference baked goods and that was just a little too much, so I dropped the cinnamon rolls--until this year.  They're back.

And they were good. And conference was excellent.

 

Matthew's birthday is in two days. I wonder if he'll mind having a salad for a birthday cake? 

And in other news...

Matthew loves paper. Stick him a room with a box of unfiled papers and he will sort them for you--in his own special way.

 Another reason I love Mark: He has tea parties while I go running.

And Fall is here! We spent the last Saturday morning of September doing yard work and drinking apple cider and eating muffins--until Mark's tendonitis in his hand flared up and the 80 degree weather arrived. By 10 am, it didn't feel like Fall anymore.

Still, the air is definitely more dry, which is very Fall-ish. 

 

Matthew LOVES the piano. Whenever Mark starts to play, Matthew stops whatever he is doing and demands to be lifted up so he can play too.

 He plays with both his hands and feet. Maybe he'll play the organ one day, just like his Dad.

Last Hurrah

Our last big Summer adventure...we took a trip to El Dorado Hills to visit the Stephens family in early August. We went out on their boat at Folsom Lake. I didn't know how Isabella would take to being pulled on a big raft. She loved it. (Matthew not so much)

 I didn't know if she'd feel comfortable going fast. She loved it.

She also loved playing with Captain Picard in the Stephens' backyard. (She called him 'Dragon' because he likes dragons.) We had so much fun and feels like it's been forever since we visited--because it has.