Happy Halloween!

Brooke had a very fun Halloween last week. Brad was able to join us at the playgroup Halloween party in the afternoon, which was lots of fun. Brooke adores her kitty outfit and even held still enough for me to draw some whiskers and a black nose. She was so proud of her costume that she started crying when I had to take it off to change her diaper! She wore the hat almost throughout the entire party. Great job on the costume, Nancy! We got LOTS of compliments. She was the only kid there with a custom, handmade costume.



We were exhausted after the party and still had trick or treating ahead of us. Brad took her around to our friends' houses and I agreed to stay behind to pass out candy. I think I got as much of a workout as Brad did jumping up to answer the doorbell every two minutes. I think I now know why Mom is the Halloween scrooge every year who shuts up the house and unashamedly pretends she isn't home. It's not that she doesn't like the kids, it's that she doesn't like getting off of the couch!

On a side note, my computer crashed last week and I am now shopping for a laptop. It's been painful around here without it, which is why it's taken a week for me to get this post up. Hopefully we'll get things straightened out before too long.

ANOTHER kitty!

We are introducing... our FOURTH black cat to the family!!! (Fifth, actually, if you count the stray who hangs around and likes to be a nuisance and pick fights.) This one, however, is definitely the cutest! We decided to let her sleep inside.





Brooke is so proud of her costume and loves to wear it, which is a great improvement over last year! She likes to yell "Myow!!!" and show off her tail. A huge thank you goes out to Nancy for making the costume!

Her debut is tomorrow afternoon at the playgroup party and then we'll make the trick or treating rounds to the neighborhood folks we know -- the list gets longer every year!

Beloved Baba

Anybody who knows Brooke at all knows her blanket (a.k.a., "Baba"). We had tried to only use it for naptime at daycare because she was getting so possessive and the other children were taking it away. She became far more concerned with guarding the blanket than with playing. Putting it away during playtime had worked when she was in the infant room, but we've discovered that now it only makes her want it more! The last straw was when we pulled into the parking lot and she started crying, "Baba, Baba, Baba!" Translation: "I'm at school now and Baba is about to be taken away!" So now she keeps it with her and drags it around everywhere. They do tie it around her waist sometimes, to help keep it a little cleaner and so that she has both hands free to play. See how proud she is! Her teacher took these pics on the daycare playground with her camera phone.








It used to be a gorgeous blanket, handmade by Churchill Weavers in Kentucky (its beauty was only rivaled by the ones that Grandmother and Grandmother Ford gave her, of course!). It is still beautiful, but more in the Velvetine Rabbit sense of the word! We stopped by Berea to see if they had a smaller version to carry around, but I had highly underestimated the cost! Let's just say that Brooke has VERY expensive taste! (And we didn't see any smaller ones.) So thanks, Grandad, for giving Brooke her most prized possession when she was born. As you can see, it's been special from the beginning! This picture was taken when Brooke was three days old.



Oh, well. I'm glad she has something that helps her feel safe! All in all, we have found that she has a kindred spirit out there in Linus! And heaven forbid that she suspects it's being washed!!!

Whirlwind Tour...

Brooke and Erin had a whirlwind tour through Kentucky, visiting friends and family. Here's just SOME of what she did!

At the Orchard with Mommy

Played with Ana.

Read books with Gran and Cousin Elizabeth.

Went for a wheelchair ride with Charlie Stewart (you can tell she loved it!) . Charlie got Erin started in furniture refinishing in college.

Read more books with Granny Pat and Granddad's foot.

And read even more books with Uncle David! (she really loves books)

She also visited Aunt Katie, Cousin Jonathon, Aunt Amy, and Joy but they missed the pictures. Sorry!

And yes, I'm very glad to have them home. :)

Annual trip to the pumpkin farm

Sunday afternoon, Erin and Co. took the girls to the local pumpkin farm. They decided to forgo the outlandish entry prices to the petting zoo, playground, and corn maze. The girls didn't seem to notice. They had a great time being pulled in the wagon, playing with the pumpkins and running through the corn tunnel. And, everyone enjoyed the yummy apple dumplings!

Mommy Wasn't Kidding...

... art is hard work!

Brooke loves to draw and color in her coloring book. She has an interesting habit though: she takes a marker (usually blue) and colors the EYES of all of the characters on the page FIRST. We didn't teach this, nor even point out the eyes in the coloring book. This is completely HER thing.

Unfortunately this habit isn't demonstrated in THIS picture - go figure.

Brooke's Little House

Like many people, Brooke and I often play "blocks". Her favorite game is, of course, "Daddy-builds-a-tower-and-I-knock-it-down". Her 2nd favorite game is "build a house for Mr. Noah" (Noah ia a small doll from her Noah's Ark playset.) Noah's house generally consists of two walls and a roof, and then Noah moves in. Shortly thereafter Brooke reenacts the flood and wipes out the house, and we do it all over again.

So while building my new office with the modular shelving, Brooke saw my stereo cabinet coming together. She recognized it and jumped in!

Brooke's House!

New Office Is Complete!

In my "Catching Up" post I showed you a picture of our guestroom-to-office conversion.  Well, we have finished!  Here it is...



Erin did a new faux finish on the walls, and it is beautiful!  The green walls combined with the linen shades, plus the morning sun make this a very tranquil room.  We're so happy with how it turned out!  (thank goodness for wireless networking)




Skandia shelving lines the opposite wall.  This is a seperate deskspace for personal projects, Bible study, etc - away from the computers.




A few of my favorite things...  Erin designed the WWII arrangement.  I found the blueprint of an F4U Corsair in an old hobby shop years ago.




The chest of drawers will get a paint job soon.  A good whiteboard is a requisite for me.  But what's the small one for?  It can't be very useful so low to the ground, can it?






Sure it can!  Brooke loves to draw, too!

Project time!

Just wanted to let everyone know why we haven't posted in over a week: it's project time! Brad and I have worked diligently on his new office. We wrapped up all of the painting last weekend and he moved in this week. He's installing the new ceiling fan as I type. Everything looks great and we'll get some pictures up soon. We're very happy to say that the room no longer smells like cat pee! (You're all very nice and nobody ever complained, but I know it was a little funky and I apologize!)

I've also been working very hard for a fantastic client this week. This lady is such a sweet, wise Christian woman and I've really enjoyed being around her. I'm doing a gorgeous finish in her bathroom -- if I do say so myself -- and she loves it. I'm afraid to publish a picture because lots of people out there just might want me to do theirs, too! This is my third job for her and she has four more for me after I come back into town, but those will probably be the last faux jobs that I'll take this year. I have some sketches on order and then I'll try to slow things down a bit and just enjoy being with Brad and Brooke over the holidays. Hey, maybe I'll finally get around to redoing our kitchen table!

Brooke and I are especially looking forward to our week in KY! Brad and I will go to my 10 year high school reunion while we're there (now, doesn't that make some of you feel old???).