Nine Months In, Nine Months Out

Hard to believe ol' Zach has been with us now for the same amount of time it took him to come out! Mom was looking back at pictures from when I was nine months old. I was crawling and standing up by then, whereas Zach seems to be content being stationary for now. That is just fine with us, although it is frustrating when he keeps flopping over on his back and needs someone to help him back up. He'll learn when he's ready, even if we aren't ready for him! He's very into feeding himself now and babbling all the time. He's so much fun to have around and I sure love my little brother.

I woke up feeling loads better today. I was able to go to my gymnastics Halloween party today and had lots of fun playing duck-duck-goose and games. I was just thrilled mom remembered to put me in a costume this year. As you can see, Supergirl needs to work on being ladylike and keeping her legs crossed during pictures. I am super excited for tomorrow and hope the weather is good for us little trick or treaters.

Have a great day!
Katherine

Down on the Farm

Happy Monday. Well, I'm not so happy today. I am sick AGAIN and have to miss school today. I have a bit of a snot fountain coming out of my nose, and I'm coughing, so I better rest up for Halloween. I did have a great weekend though! We got to the farm Friday afternoon. I didn't get to combine though because the grain bins were too full and there was nowhere to put the corn. I did get to ride the tractor for awhile and even survived when mom drove down the field a bit. That was a little scary! On Saturday, we met Nana, Papa, Betty and Papa Miller for lunch in Dixon. They are leaving for Florida later this week. Mom said they are snowbirds, which I thought was funny. We had a nice lunch and I'm glad I got to see them. Maybe some day we can visit them in Florida and go to Disney.

Better go get some tissues, I feel a sneeze coming on, watch out!

Katherine

Here We Come to Save the Day!!

Check out our fly superhero costumes. Halloween season has officially been kicked off. Mom said I will get to wear my costume about 5 or 6 times by the time we have gone to all of my events. Yesterday was spooky storytime at the library. Afterwards, we were able to trick or treat around one side of the square. It was only four businesses, but it was chilly out, so that was probably for the best. We made a cute mummy craft at the library and heard some nice stories that weren't too scary. Zach even skipped his nap and joined in on the fun. He was really good and not crabby at all. We're glad he held up and didn't turn into a supervillain!

I'm off to Grandma D's for the weekend after school today. There's a little bit of combining left to finish up and Grandpa says he needs my help. Have a great weekend.

Katherine









Super Zach














Don't worry, Mom is hiding behind that bookshelf.

There's a Mouse in the House!

Check out these little rodents. Nemo wasn't the only varmit in the house today. We had playgroup and decided to make some spoooooky treats. These mice are made of cream cheese and rolled in cookie crumbs and their tails are made of caramel. They like to live in their coconut hay, until some hungry kid comes along and gobbles them up! I even made mice poo with chocolate sprinkles, gross! We had some other cool treats, but everyone ate them and Mom forgot to take the pic *before* playgroup...duh, Mom!

Mom has never been much for Halloween, but she is getting a little more into it now that I am having so much fun with all the ghoulish things.

I think this weekend we are headed to the farm. I got to ride a real firetruck at school today, that was pretty awesome. I'm off to bowl, wish me luck!

Katherine

School Days

Mom just realized she forgot to post my school pics. I look awfully grown up, don't I? I begged to wear a tiny bit of lip gloss for the photos and Mom obliged with some reluctance.

And one last bit of solicitation -- I am selling Christmas Greenery for my gymnastics club. So, if you find yourself in need of 20ft of pine garland or a wreath the size of a cadillac, give me a holla!

Oink. Oink. Oink. BOO!

At the risk of having a rotten, wilted pumpkin, we decided to carve our Jack O Lantern today. Mom can barely type since her hands are still cramped up from an hour of carving! I chose a pig pattern (yeah, he's a pig), and named him oinky. He should scare any ghosts or goblins away with a ferocious, "Grooooooiiiiink!".

We had a nice, quiet weekend otherwise. Zach is starting to really pull up on stuff, as seen in the pic below. He needs a constant eye on him at all times now. The fun begins!

Have a good week my goblins.

Katherine

But WHERE was I?

Tonight, I was treated to a full-length viewing of Mom & Dad's wedding video. Even though I understand 5 years ago was longer than my 4 years, I kind of want to know where was I? I mean if I wasn't here, and wasn't in Mom's belly, then WHERE? She says a twinkling in her eye, which sounds kind of painful, but kind of sweet at the same time.

Dad took the day off and hung out with us. He's been smoochin' and buggin' Mom all day! He even took me to school for the first time ever, I was so proud. Later, we picked up a movie. We were supposed to go home for a nice dinner, but Dad talked Mom into going out to eat instead. We had some FINE dining at Olive Garden -- classy joint indeed! It was nice and quick, which is important when dining out with kids. Zach will smell like those nasty, garlic breadsticks for days! Lastly, we stopped at Le Bakery (seriously) and picked up some goodies for the weekend. I had fun watching the video and seeing how small my cousins were back then and how everyone looked a little different. Mom and Dad were hoping to crack open one of their dusty bottles of French wine, but instead, the cheesecake and cheesy kids movie took priority. Who's got energy and room left for wine after a busy day with the kiddies?

It should be a nice quiet weekend at home. I think we're going bowling tomorrow and then football on Sunday, of course. Have a good one my friends.

Katheirne





Zach wasn't very patient tonight for dessert

















Cake then

Cake now -- I was the photographer here!

Bubbles and Brides

Happy Monday. Hope you had a super weekend. I was supposed to help Dad farm, but since we're getting over colds, Dad went alone and the rest of us hung back to get some rest. Zach is almost better, but still coughing a lot at night. On Sunday, we drove to Davenport IA for Aunt Cindy's wedding at her church. I had lots of fun dancing and visiting with family. I was really patient during the Church service and enjoyed the music the most. It was nice to see everyone and get all gussied up. Aunt Cindy sure was beautiful and had a very nice ceremony. Grandpa and Betty are leaving for Florida in a couple weeks, so we were happy to see them before they go.

We need to figure out something fun to do this week. It is just my usual routine, so Mom is looking for something to break the week up a bit. The weather is supposed to be nice, so maybe we can get out to the apple orchard.

Have a good one!
Katherine






















Zach and Betty













Corrie has the magic touch














The Miller side with Todd and Cindy














Bubbles!

How 'bout a nice, tall glass of BOO!

Mom was talking about this cool girl named, Maren. Her Mom likes to do projects with her, too. Mom read about their ghost project today, so we gave it a try. I had a lot of fun pretending the glass was a drink of juice and then I'd surprise myself with a BOO! He's a cute little ghost, I hope Zach isn't too afraid of him!

The Nina, The Pinta....ok, just the Nina.

Sniffles and colds don't slow us Dotys down. The genuine, official, authentic, imitation Nina replica was docked at the Riverfront for viewing this week. We climbed aboard and snuck in on the classroom tour in progress. I had fun pretending it was a pirate ship, but Mom kept telling me it wasn't. Turns out SHE was wrong...snap! The guy said the original Nina was actually stolen by pirates back in the day and she was used for looting and all sorts of deviant piratey things. The boat was cool, hard to believe 32 people & various livestock lived on that little boat for months on end. Mom tried giving me a history lesson prior to going, but it is kind of hard for me to understand what 500 years ago really means. I know the dinosaurs lived 50 million years ago, so maybe it was close to then? Nonetheless, I learned a little about ol' Chirstopher and his journeys. Bonus for me there was a park close by and mom let us play since it was just mildly chilly out. It was a fun morning, I didn't even complain about getting schleped to the mall afterwards.

Better go catch zzzzs before French class tonight!

Au Revoir, or as Columbus would say, Adios, or Ciao, or Adeus...no one really is for certain which language he spoke.






Say Ahoy!












These nice girls gave me a lift on the zip cord thingy




















Wahoo!

That'll Make a lot of Pie

So other than the tragic Terry tirade mentioned below, I had a great weekend. We went to a pumpkin patch near Stoughton and I found a 29lb pumpkin! I left it at Nana's and told her to make a nice Thanksgiving pie with it. The "fall festival" was cool. I was not a fan of the haunted house, but I liked the petting zoo and wagon rides. Zach had fun too, despite the unseasonal heat! Yikes...oh well, we will be wishing for that warmth soon! I also went to the park, visited Aunt Corrie, said hi to Cousin Tara ate my fair share of junk. It was a nice break for us to get away for a bit. Dad had fun combining and was working hard till the late hours of the evening. Must've been tough in that air conditioned combine...especially with all that cold beer grandma brought out Dad.

I think we have a fun week coming up. The replica of the Nina is docked here in town, so we'll go check that out later. The three of us have nasty head colds, so no gymnastics today.

Have a super week, I'm off to the grocery store, woohoo!

Oh yes, and one more thing....Go BEARS!!!

In Memorium

There was a tragedy this weekend. Terry the Triceratops, a friend of over a year, was involved in a lawnmower vs. dinosaur accident. Unfortunately, there is not enough super glue to fix Terry this time. Terry was purchased at the museum last year, upon our arrival to the U.S. He has been Katherine's prized possession ever since. There is a back-up Terry (actually, his sister named Trisha), but there will only ever be one real Terry.
















Here's a song we've been working on (sing to Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer)
Ooooh, Terry got ran over by a lawnmower
Layin' in the yard at Nana Vicki's
Terry used to be a good lookin' dino
But now he's just all chopped up, gross and icky

I think next time, I am going to get a stegosaurus.







The day I brought Terry home

A Hiking We Will Go

Here it is, a week into October and the leaves are still so green around here, you'd think it is spring. 5 years ago, Mom and Dad were hoping for a seasonal autumn wedding only to have the leaves long since fallen by October 19th. So today, we decided to go on a mini-hike to see if things in the woods were a little more autumny. I wanted Mom to carry Zach in the Bjorn and me in the backpack, but she wasn't willing to lug two kids on one body, so I had to walk, which turned out to be a great thing so I could pick up loads of cool stuff off the ground. We found tons of nuts, leaves rocks and sticks. I put them in my nature box at home and we'll have to come up with stuff to do with them later today. The woods were nice and shady and cool. The bugs weren't too bad and the creek beds weren't too full, so we could cross them easily. I had fun pretending we were Hansel and Gretel. Zach had fun too, he loves to be outdoors. There was a park close by, so I got to play for a bit. There is a homecoming parade we were going to go to this afternoon, but I'm pretty wiped out from that hike and may need a nap before French tonight.

We're off to WI for the weekend. Not sure for how long, but I have a 4 day weekend from school, so we'll probably just wing it and see where we end up.

Have a great weekend...it's almost here!
Katherine





Ooooh, wabbit twaks














Zach came, too!













Under the bridge I go















Taking a break

Bet Your Bottom Dollar, You'll Lose Your Blues in Chicago

Hooray! I thought my hunch was right. Mom and Dad took me to Chicago for two days to explore, learn and have fun. We kind of felt guilty for abandoning Zach on his 8 month birthday and felt even MORE guilty for dumping him on Grandma D! I guess he was up at 5am and was a bit of a pistol. Although, there were several moments (getting lost, waiting in line and eating) when we were kind of happy that we didn't have a baby's schedule to contend with!

First, I felt obliged and happy to go help combine on Saturday. I rode along for two rows of corn and proceeded directly back into the house to soak up my fill of cartoons and candy that is legendary at Grandma's house. We left on Sunday morning and drove straight to the Sears Tower. I kept calling it the "tallest tower". The 103 flight elevator ride sure made my ears pop and was really quick! We had some good, Chicago pizza afterwards and watched the Bears on TV. Later, we walked to Navy Pier. I liked the rides and ferris wheel. I had lots of junk food and liked watching the boats on the lake. Our hotel was right off Michigan Avenue, so we headed out later that night to walk around and find some grub. After dinner, we went for a really cool horse and carriage ride downtown. I was kind of hinting at it, but Mom was sure it would be a "rip off". Well, I just solemnly said "Maybe next time".... and she bit like a fish. See kids, when you don't whine and beg, but act mature and sullen instead, it usually pays off. The horse ride wasn't too bad of a rip and they even took our picture for $5 on a polaroid since mom's camera was dead...what a bargain! My horse's name was Allie and got to pet her, she was a good horse and didn't get freaked out by the traffic.

On Monday, we spent a good hunk of the morning just trying to get OUT of the hotel area and to the museum. I really loved the evolution exhibit and seeing how the dinosaurs started and ended. The Hall of Dinos was awesome and of course, Sue, the T-Rex was pretty amazing. After that, we headed to Shedds' and saw lots of fish! We were hoping to hit the planetarium, but as always, there is never enough time, and we had to go get Zach. I had a very special trip with Mom and Dad and told them that maybe next time, we can bring Zach and I can show him around.

There are some pictures here, but we couldn't take many of the aquarium since you can't use a flash in there and it is so dark.

This week will probably be pretty quiet compared to the weekend, but I have a feeling it will find a way to be exciting as always.

Later!
Katherine