Terrorizing Auntie Jamie

Jamie is spending some time at the nursery she used to work at.   They just set up a pumpkin patch and have the cutest Halloween decorations so I packed up the kids and went to visit her.  Of course it was more like terrorizing Jamie at work as we chased after the boys telling them not to toss pumpkins in the air, put rocks in the pond, or splash water at every fountain we passed.  But the kids always like wandering around the garden, looking at the plants and display bridges.  We all decided our favorite plant was the Shrimp Plant.  Funny looking thing with pink-orange-redish colored leaves that hang with a slight curve resembling cooked shrimp.  I really wish I would have caught a picture of Noah and Julian pretending to be attacked by the fake plastic spiders…that was pretty amusing.  

yay pumpkins

the boys found one just her size

happy to be picking a perfect pumpkin

found a caterpillar

finally all smiling….but looking at Jamie

trying to pick up pumpkins bigger than she is

admiring the fountain

looking at the minnows

what other creatures lurk in the pond?

Noah found a strawberry!

Date Night at the Giant's game!

Yesterday Leo lucked into some tickets to the Giant's 1st playoff game.  We got a sitter for the kids (thanks mom & dad) and headed up to the city!  It's always nice to get time out alone, to get the mental and physical break from chasing after and keeping the peace between the kids.  We were able to talk without being interrupted, we didn't have to cut up food into small pieces, we didn't have to share our phones so the boys could play games.  And even though our seat were the very last row at the top of the stadium and the Giant's didn't win we still had fun!

this was only a portion of the crowd entering the stadium

#1 fan!

nose-bleed seats

but we could see the entire field!

proof of our date

Post Season!

blah bad picture

Buster warming up

Awesome flag!

tug boat drive by

jets flew overhead but I think they were directly above us so we couldn't see them ):

Naomi turns 1!!

Naomi turns ONE today!  It's hard for me to grasp that a whole year has passed!  Even though she is the tiniest little thing, she has grown so much!  She has 1 tooth but really puts that nubbim to use!  She started walking (I mean really walking) at 10 months old.  She has started talking and can say Uh-Oh MaMa and No, as well as giving other words a try (thank you).  She likes putting toys inside containers and loves baby dolls.  But she will also get down and wrestle with her brothers with absolutley no fear. And it's funny, but it's not…she is quite the little fit thrower.  I know you won't believe it until you see it because she is so sweet all the time.  Just trust me, it's a sight to behold.  Her laugh is the best thing I've ever heard and I don't think I've ever met a happier baby (despite the fits).  

We celebrated her first birthday last weekend and we had so many friends and family members show up!  Thanks to everyone who came for making it such a fun and special occassion!

Naomi had a Hello Kitty party - as if you couldn't tell from the pictures below.  I thought it would be fitting to serve Japanese style food.  The menu consisted of teriyaki chicken, white rice, sushi, asian chicken salad, edamame, lots of fun snacks from Mitsuwa and loads of sweets and candies with Hello Kitty pictures on them.  There was barely anything left so I'd call it a success!!

And I wanted to share something that is special to me…the night before Naomi's party I painted her nails for the first time ever!  Isn't that adorable with the heart and butterfly glitter!