Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

 

Halloween is a pretty great holiday, my favorite part is that it lasts for more than one day! 

 

A couple days ago I woke up from my nap and found a SWIMMING POOL in my kitchen!  Can you believe it?  I was pretty confused, but I knew it was going to be great. Turns out, I got to paint my first pumpkin!

 

I started out clean...I even had a bath that morning...

I didn't stay clean for very long.  I really liked painting.  I tried really hard to guess the colors...I am good at purple, the rest are hard for me to keep straight...

Turns out, I needed another bath, but not before daddy let me paint in the bathtub again.

Mama and Daddy did a really good job of carving pumpkins.  Here is our family pumpkin, and my Mrs. Potato Head pumpkin!

Mama also made me a Mickey pumpkin!!

These pumpkins turned out pretty cool too...

After prepping all week, the big day was finally here!!  Our first Trick-Or-Treaters were good friends of ours!  Kenzie was a Gothic Bride, and Dani was an '80's Chick! (I am a butterfly!)

Aren't my wings so cute?!!  Mama and Daddy and I sit outside to hand out candy, that way the dogs don't bark and go crazy.  We didn't have as many kids come by this year, but we still had a great time!

The best surprise of the night was when Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Bob showed up!  I love playing with Grandma, she even brought me some crackers from her dinner (I really like the crackers from the Hubble House).

Like I said, Halloween is pretty great!
Linden

Technology is awesome!!

I know I am only one and a half, but I LOVE technology! Tonight Grandma Carolyn called, I love getting to talk to her. It has been a few weeks since I have seen her so it is great getting to talk to her when I want.

I told her all about my weekend and we got to hear about her trip to visit Auntie Megan down in New Orleans.

Have a great night,
Linden

You will never guess who I met today...

You know today had to have been a pretty amazing day if I am getting around to blogging about it already...I met the one and only, Curious George!

 

It was amazing!

 

We went over to the Children's Museum in Rochester for a special Early Opening Event.  Last time I was there the place was all about physics and golf balls, this time, it was all about George.

They had all sorts of stations with all sorts of fun things to do.  I really liked playing in the market with the fruits, veggies, and money.

We also went to the apartment where George got to play the doorman.  I liked opening the mailboxes.

They had a little statue of George, I really liked him, I even gave him a hug and a kiss...and a banana too...

Then the real fun came...It was GEORGE!!  Mama was a little scared of him, he was pretty big, but I was brave and we got our picture taken with him.

Before leaving we made sure to make some art to hang on the wall.  We sure did have a great day.

After seeing George I got to see Grandma Nancy, Grandpa Bob and Auntie Heidi.  It was a pretty great morning.
Linden

Playdough

Mama has a friend named Hailey that she hangs out with each week.  Hailey is 11 and loves to cook so when Mama said they were going to make playdough Hailey was pumped!  I was pretty excited too, that meant I would get to play with playdough too!!

I liked squishing it in my hands and pulling it apart...

Mama even got some cookie cutters out for me to play with.  I liked making twinkle stars and ducks the best.

The only thing I didn't like was how it tasted, it was REALLY salty.  Mama didn't want me to lick it, but it was just so tempting.  I accidentally dropped a big chunk on the ground and Jake ate it, he didn't think it tasted too bad...Mama said he is going to need blood pressure medicine for all the salt...not sure what that is about.

Have a good evening!
Linden

Bounce World

 now that we are done with the sappy stuff...back to my life.

This past weekend Mama had her 10 Year Class Reunion.  Part of the festivities included a family fun day at Bounce World in Rochester.  I had a great time playing with all of the great kids that were there.

Not only did they have big jumpers, they also had obstacle courses and fun balls!

I am getting much better at jumping these days so playing there was fun because I could jump really high. 

For some reason they also had a rocking horse, I really liked the rocking horse, Mama and Daddy thought it was pretty strange to play on a rocking horse when there were all of the other fun toys, but I just could resist.

It was really hard trying to stand up when all of the big kids were jumping too.  This bouncer looked like a GIANT bulldozer on the outside!

They also had one that you could use a bat and try and get the plastic balls through different holes.  I found a friend and we had a great time playing with the balls and climbing on the net. 

One of the obstacle courses had big slides and tunnels, that was my favorite, but there were too many big kids playing rough so I only got to go in there one time.

It was a pretty great event.  I can't wait to go back there again!
Linden

Beware: It is about to get Sappy!

It has been a while since mama has been a guest blogger here and seeing that it is my 200th post I figured I'd give her the honors.  Note the title...It is about to get sappy!!


Hey Everybody!  Mama here  :-) 

Recently I have found myself watching Linden play and grow and I keep thinking, these are the moments that I pray I never forget.  Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I am in love with the meltdowns over spilled fishy crackers, the early morning wake-up calls, or having a constant array of toys spewed throughout my living room.  But those moments are simply blips that connect all of the wonderful times I hope to never forget. 

I know this list will change and evolve over the years, and things that make the list now might even seem trivial in years to come.  None the less, these are the things that make right now so amazing.

• I am totally in love with your joy.  It doesn't matter if you are putting on your shoes, doing a craft, or playing in the yard, you are such a happy kid. 
• You are always moving.  I love when you run really fast, it makes me laugh and think of Phobie from Friends, the faster you go the more your arms flail, and the bigger the smile on your face gets.
• You love to sing.  When we are in the car on road trips to visit Grandma and Grandpa there is sure to be a time in which you break out into song.  Right now you love singing the ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Baby Bumble Bee and the Wheels on the Bus.
• You do NOT like to wear clothing.  This can be frustrating at times, it is getting pretty cold outside.  Most nights when I come in to check on you before bed you have taken your pants off, some nights you even take your onesie off!  I always try to cover you up with your favorite blankie.  Even Gretchen has trouble keeping you dressed at daycare.
• You love to give silly kisses.  One morning you were eating toast with jam and were all sticky, I pretended to get stuck when I gave you a kiss and the "sticky kiss" was born.  You also like to give nose kisses, big kisses, little kisses and puppy kisses!!
• I love how much you love your grandparents.  You are so blessed to have so many people in your life who love you, and I love that you are so happy to be with them.  Any time my phone rings you ask if it is Grandma, and when you are playing with your toy phone that is often who you are calling.
• I love how much of myself I see in you.  You are certainly not a morning person.  And you procrastinate going to bed at night.  You love to sing silly songs.  You are already a perfectionist and you love watching Wheel of Fortune each night.  You love making crafts, doing puzzles and reading books.
• I love how much of your daddy I see in you.  You are determined and strong willed.  but you are also calm and willing to listen.  You love being outside and you love the lake.  You already enjoy helping Daddy and Grandpa Tim move the sprinklers.  You are always busy and on the go.
• You are so articulate.  You started talking early and have never stopped.  You quickly picked up words faster than we could keep track.  You are already speaking in sentences.  It has been amazing watching you learn and listening to you try to make new words.  We never know what you will say next.
• You are very kind and polite.  It is rare that we need to remind you to say please and thank you to people.  When you make bad choices you apologize and give loves.  You are gentle with Jake, Bella and Turk.  You are such a sweet girl.
• You love making tents.  When you get out of the bathtub we pretend to make a tent out of the towel.  And you love to crawl under the blanket with me at night when we are reading books of watching Wheel.

I am totally, completely in love with you.
Your Mama

Apple Dip!

The other day Mama made me a special snack, sliced apples and apple dip!!  Mama mixed Peanut Butter, Vanilla Yogurt and Cinnamon together, it was DELICIOUS!

I really like when Mama gives me apple slices, it is such a big girl snack!

I sure hope Mama makes this for me again!!

Linden

Brains Together for a Cure

This weekend there was a brain cancer walk in Rochester to support Brains Together for a Cure.  All of the money raised goes directly to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for Brain Cancer research.

 

The event was really well put together and we had a great time.  When we got there we found out they had big inflatable bouncers and slides, Auntie Heidi was brave and went down with me!!  After playing on the bouncers for a bit we did the walk.  We decided to walk inside because it was pretty cold outside and Papa Bob has been pretty cold lately. 

 

There were a bunch of other activities.  They had balloons for us to send off into the sky in Honor of our loved ones who are fighting cancer right now.

They also had TONS of great snacks.  I really liked the apples and peanut butter.  After walking all that way I was HUNGRY!!

Mama made our group matching shirts for the event, they say "Brain Cancer doesn't have an Off Season".  Here are some pictures of our group in our new shirts:

 Grandma Nancy and Papa Bob

 

 Papa Bob, Mama and Me

 

Auntie Heidi, Mama, Daddy, Grandma Nancy, Papa Bob and me

 

The turnout was great and we all had a lot of fun.  After the walk there were a couple of speakers who talked about the advances in brain cancer research and another who shared their family's story and they battled brain cancer.  Grandma Nancy said the speakers did a great job (Daddy, Mama and I had to leave a little early).

 

Papa Bob is doing pretty good.  He just finished his 4th round of Chemo and he tolerated it really well.  He is starting to get his hair back from radiation which Grandma Nancy is happy about.  He sure has been a trooper through all of this and we are very proud of him.

 

Hope everybody had a good weekend!

Linden



Let's go play with Mandie!!

Mama has a good friend named Mandie, she has two little boys and we all LOVE to play together.

Last night mama ans daddy made plans with another set of friends so I got to go to Mandie's house!  She is tons of fun and and I always have a great time.

Last night we got to do a craft, we made spider puppets!  We traced our fingers for the legs, then we got to glue on googly eyes. The best part was getting to use the GLITTER!!!  I love glitter.

Mandie also had a fun snack, we got to eat peanut butter cookies. They were yummy, I tried to sneak an extra on on my way out the door, but mama caught me.

Off to see Grandma Nancy, Papa Bob, and Auntie Heidi!
Linden

Up...Down...Across...

Now that Mama and I have recovered from croup, I am back to blogging. 

The big kids at daycare went back to school, which means it is time to start learning for us little kids too.  Last month at daycare we focused on the letter "A".  My last name has a LOT of As in it, so I thought it was pretty neat that we got to start out with that letter.

A is a pretty tricky letter, but after a little bit, I got the hang of it.  Mama did the writing in blue, my writing is in purple...Didn't I do a good job?  I gave myself a twinkle star sticker!!

We got to do all sorts of fun things during our learning about the letter A.  We got to paint with Apples, we played with Acorns and we got to do lots of coloring with the letter A.

 

Gretchen comes up with all sorts of fun ways to help us learn.  To teach us how to to write the letter A Gretchen taught us to say, "Up, Down, Across!"

 

Mama and I were coloring one day and I wanted to show Mama how good I am at writing my name.  Mama wrote in purple and black, my writing is in brown.  I think I am getting pretty close!

 

Off to bed, I have another busy day of learning tomorrow!

Linden

 

 

A quick side note from Mama:  For about two weeks Linden walked around saying, "Up, Down, Across!"  Dave and I kept trying to figure out what she was talking about, maybe a song, or a poem, or something.  After two weeks of her talking about, "Up, Down, Across!" it occurred to me that it was the letter A!  Everyday I am so amazed at how beautiful, smart and wonderful my beautiful little girl is!