A Fall Breakfast with the Kurtzs and JPO

Since it is difficult to get the Kurtzs, Olivers, Bracewells and McCullicks all together, we decided to try breakfast! Who has anything to do at 8:30 am on a Saturday morning???

Adaline did a pretty good job until the end of breakfast. This is a picture of JPO stopping Adaline from running into the street. As I told Jenny, it takes a village to raise a child - I didn't even see her dash towards the road! Yikes. Adaline is holding the pumpkin JPO brought her, complete with her own Halloween bracelet. Very cute!

I grew up with the Kurtzs and Olivers, so it was very special to get the group together, although it was a bit chilly - our first real fall morning this year.

As you can see, Adaline was quite a pistol by the end of the morning. We will have to get together again soon!

An Evening with the Reicherts

We had a great Saturday evening out with Jill, Tom, and Repp Reichert. Repp and Adaline ran circles around the adults - they were such fun to watch.

Repp is a GREAT bubble blower and will no-doubt teach his soon-to-arrive little brother the ins and outs of blowing bubbles.

Adaline and Repp had even more fun at the outdoor restaurant we visited - there is a boat fountain in the middle of the dining area, and they enjoyed throwing little rocks into the boat. I'm not sure either child ate much dinner - but they had lots of fun!

Mimi's Breast Cancer Walk

Mimi and Poppa returned from three weeks in Russia, and what do they do to catch up on their rest??? Mimi walks a 13-mile breast cancer walk.

Where's Mimi???

Here she comes!

Can you believe she made it? We were so proud of Mimi... The walk raised over $115,000 for breast cancer research!

Mommy-Daughter day!

Adaline had the day off from school, so Mommy decided to take the day off too! We had lunch with our friends Kathryn and Patrick.

Patrick and Adaline are only one day apart in age. He is such a cutie - and said "Yes, Ma'am" and "No, Ma'am." Very impressive. I asked Kathryn to teach the secret to instilling such good manners in Adaline!

We asked the kids to hug good-bye - but Adaline decided it was time to be a two-year old and not oblige... :) Oh well. Maybe next time!

Glamour Girl

Adaline's personality is coming out more and more each day. She is getting the idea of "posing" for pictures - and sometimes the pictures turn out so cute! These are some of my favorites from October...

When I put this outfit on her, I suddenly realized that she was no longer a baby - what a big girl she has become!

Bryan hates it when Adaline pulls out the pacifier - but this picture was too funny, and I had to include it...

Auntie "Nona" gave this to Adaline for Christmas - what a cutie-patootie!

Teaching and Learning

No pictures today - but two Adaline items to update you on...

1. She figured out how to do lace-up toys yesterday in school - the first child in her class to figure it out. :) Bryan and I aren't proud or anything... Unfortunately, she now wants to wear her lace-up tennis shoes all the time, and Mommy prefers the velco tennis shoes... Oh well.

2. Adaline taught a little boy in her class, Grier, how to give high fives - she apparently encouraged him to do it over and over again. Ha!

Have a great Thursday.

Take Three with Santa

Well, we tried again this year. Adaline was excited in the car about meeting Santa, and she was still talking about him when we arrived at the Junior League Marketplace (which was FABULOUS this year, by the way!) - but when we approached the stage and saw a man with lots of hair and a beard, she decided Santa wasn't so great after all...

Santa thought giving her a present to play with might encourage her to like him - but no luck...

Bryan thought she might be willing to at least sit on Santa's lap - but you can see how well that went. I'm not going to post the picture that I think will be our Christmas card - but you can only imagine what it must look like after having seen these shots. Wingate Downs, the photographer, tried and tried to get a good shot, but alas... We will have to wait for take four next year!

Pumpkin Fun with Auntie

Last weekend, Daddy was in "Picks-burg" (aka Pittsburgh) and Mommy had an all day scrapbooking class, so Auntie Mary was delighted to come spend Saturday with Adaline. She planned a fun activity - pumpkin painting!

As you can tell, Adaline is quite the pumpkin painter - they had lots and lots of fun. Adaline is so proud of her pumpkin. Many thanks to Auntie Mary.

Life with a Two Year old

These pictures are a week late in being posted, but they were too cute to not put up... Life with a two year old continues to be an adventure - she is a delightful child 95% of the time and reminds us what having a two year old is all about around 5% of the time. :) Bryan and I are trying to be creative in giving Adaline options when making decisions to allow her some space, but she still doesn't like all the choices Bryan and I give her. We have instituted "time out" in a corner in the dining room - we'll see how that goes...

Adaline loves to run and play - she doesn't really need help with her slide anymore and will be happy sliding by herself for at least 15 minutes at a time. :) Her laughter can be heard all the way across the street apparently!

I thought this was a cute picture - we had the stone pathway put in earlier this year (no grass would grow there...), and Adaline enjoys walking up and down her own personal sidewalk. We've had to teach her not to step on the plants on either side of the walkway, and as you can see, she has learned well. What a big girl!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

What a wonderful birthday weekend little Miss Adaline had! As you can see from her smile, she loved her birthday!

This picture is actually out of place, but I was too lazy to move it at this point - and what great smiles to start with anyway!

Adaline typically loves barbecue, so we got that for our family lunch - but, alas... She was more interested in the birthday presents that had been tempting her on the hearth all day! She kept repeating "birthday, birthday, birthday" during lunch, making sure we remembered her presents! All she really ate was bread and birthday cake, which made for a hyperactive two-year old!

It was such fun watching Adaline, Matthew, and Christopher all together - Adaline's cousins showed her what fun a birthday party can be for kids!

I honestly think Adaline needed little to no help blowing out her candles, but Mom and Dad, of course, were there for moral support...

Adaline's family spoiled her rotten - and Bryan and I are so appreciative of everyone who was able to be there. They were very generous with both their gifts and their time!

Auntie Amy gave Adaline this darling duck pillow - Adaline is now sleeping with it, she loves it so much!

I promise she isn't crying - this is her posed "smile!" She has loved playing with her tea set.

What you can't see in this picture is that Adaline put her tea set in her new golf cart... I suppose she really is a girly-girl! I mentioned to Bryan that she might want to be a cart girl one day, and he said "absolutely NOT!" Ha!
Christopher showed us how talented he is with sport! I forget his final score at golf, but he might have beat Uncle Bryan!

Uncle John seemed to know a thing or two about kid's telephones... He enjoyed showing Adaline how to turn the volume up! :)

Adaline got lots of fun new books, and she asked almost everyone to read one to her that evening.

Thanks again to everyone who was part of Adaline's second birthday, whether in person or in their hearts - we have a wonderful family and feel so blessed.