I'm Awake Already!

This morning's wake-up was abrupt...once I managed to get out of my cozy flannel-sheeted bed. On my way out the door, I almost fell over the Christmas decor that was blown over by the wind...right in the way of our threshold. Then the wind hit me! It was 15 degrees outside with a -5 degree windchill! Brrr! The wind managed to find a way through the top of my coat and down my shirt! So I finally made it into the car (thank goodness for seat warmers and commuter mugs full of coffee). I cranked up the heat and turned on the radio, hoping for a nice, mello Christmas song. Instead, Dominick the Donkey was playing. OK already, I'm awake!

2 1/2 Years Old!

Katherine had her 2 1/2 year check-up last week. She graduated to the stand-up scale for her height and weight. She is 30 pounds and 37 inches. That's right, she's more than half my height!

K-dog is fiercely independent and we hear her say "me do" no less than 20 times a day. She can put her mittens and hat on by herself (with the thumbs in the correct place) and is working on getting the zipper of her coat started. She is regularly doing #2 in the potty and #1 quite often. Some princess panties may be coming soon!

KC loves music; playing her piano, keyboard, drums, and assorted other instruments at home and at Mimi and Poppi's. She already has a good sense of rhythm and dynamics. She regularly holds "parades" and forces us to march along. Her favorite Christmas carols are Little Drummer Boy and Jingle Bells which she plays her instruments to Mimi's piano accompaniment. K tells me these are her "favorite". She also plays "songs" on her piano and sings along.

Katie is turning into a little lady. She has started taking her purse many places and tries to mimic Mommy. She went on the Holiday Candlelight House tour the other night and she did wonderfully, not touching anything, but admiring them all the same. Now if we can just keep her from sitting in her car seat with her legs spread eagle.

We also took Katherine to see The Nutcracker 2 weeks ago. She loved it! By the end, she was trying to "bust a move" like the ballerinas and wanted Rob to be "the man" (the male dancer). Some dance lessons may be in her future.

Do you know the Muffin Women?

Katherine helped me make some muffins the other day. We had a lot of fun, but the muffins didn't turn out great. I honestly think there was an ingredient left out of the recipe in the cookbook. Oh well, we had fun anyway.

Thanksgiving

We had a slight change in plans for Thanksgiving this year. Originally, Dawn and Billy were going to host us at their house. But they decided to bring the food to our house so we could all be closer to Richard (Rob's Dad) who was in Harford Memorial Hospital.

Richard must have been able to smell the Turkey frying on our front walk because they discharged him just in time for dinner. It was a nice, small gathering with a lot to be thankful for.

Here's a picture of the two Turkeys we didn't fry (Brayden and Katherine).

Frenchtown, NJ

We visited Bill and Erica in Frenchtown, NJ this weekend. They met us on our drive up at the Howell Living History Farm. We saw horses, sheep, hens, a rooster, ducks, geese, a cat, and a dog. We also saw them making scrapple and preparing to make sausage. Katherine was taken with the hens.

K caught a quick cat nap on the way to Bill and Erica's house.














At their house, we had an early dinner of smoked pork shoulder and yummy fixin's. We also saw their town's Halloween parade. Small, but cute.
Katherine fell asleep in the car within 5 minutes of leaving for home. She woke up in time to warn us that she had to go #2, which she performed in the Flying J Truck Stop on 295! Good Times!

Halloween

Katherine dressed up as Abby Cadabby for Halloween this year. She checked out our candy before heading out to earn her's. You can see her "Franken-pumpkin" in the second picture. She also insisted on taking our picture before we set out.


























While she still isn't very loud in saying her "trick or treat", K patiently waits while the treats are retrieved. And she's still very thrilled when she gets more candy at each house. By the time she made the candy circuit, the sun had set and it was getting pretty chilly. Before we called it a night, Katherine had an impromptu play date with a little pirate from down the street. Her name is McKenna and will be entering school the same time as K. They seemed to click pretty well. We'll have to arrange for a repeat performance.

Our Cabin

During our visit to WV, we stayed at the Jerico Bed/Breakfast and Pre-Civil War Log Cabins. We were in the Yank Cabin and were pleasantly surprised. It was well insulated, heated, and furnished. We had a nice little kitchen and all of the amenities we could need. There were several other cabins on the property. It would be neat to have a bunch of people rent the cabins at the same time. It's like camping, only a lot more comfortable!

Trip to West Virginia - Fishing and Scenic Overlooks

On the way back from Cass Railroad, we stopped at a scenic overlook at Snowshoe Mountain. Absolutely breathtaking!












The next day we went fishing. It was very relaxing and Katherine loved it. If only we caught something!










Papa Choo-choo prepping K's rod.












Our big catch of the day! (if you don't count the log Rob caught)

Trip to West Virginia - Cass Railroad

Grandma and Papa Choo-choo took us on the Cass Scenic Railroad. Talk about fun! While we waited for our train, K had a ball playing on the B&O rail car and the playground train. The views from our train were spectacular. We took lots of pictures, but this will give you a taste of the beauty. The train uses a switchback method which allows it to gain altitude up the mountain fairly quickly. Very neat.

Trip to West Virginia - Luray Caverns

We took a trip to West Virginia at the beginning of the month to visit Rob's parents (Grandma and Papa Choo-choo). We made a long weekend of it and decided to stop at Luray Caverns on our way. I had forgotten how gorgeous it is. Katherine loved all of it, but I think her favorite part was the organ. Instead of using pipes like a traditional pipe organ, it uses a mechanism that strikes stalactites with a small hammer. The stalactites were shaved down to achieve certain pitches. The organ is programmed to play one song for the tour groups, but a musician is available to play for special occasions. We think it would be so cool to be married there!

Visit to Lohr's Orchard

I grew up a few hundred feet from Lohr's Orchard in Joppatowne. Sadly, it isn't there anymore. But Scott and I would pull our red wagon (metal not plastic) up the hill to buy apples, cider, peaches, plums, or whatever was on Mom's shopping list.

Lohr's Orchard always seemed to have a place in our family. We shopped there, found Easter eggs, picked blackberries, and Pop-pop even worked there! So it is understandable why I want Katherine to grow up knowing Lohr's Orchard. One of the most exciting times of the year is Autumn when pumpkins can be picked and plenty of fresh apples and apple cider to be consumed. We are lucky to live close to the Lohr's Orchard on Snake Lane and can still enjoy their harvests.

We had a very timely visit with Karen yesterday. Karen used to work at the Lohr's Orchard in Joppatowne. Karen, these pictures are for you!

We went to Lohr's to pick our pumpkins and buy some other fall favorites.

Here are some pictures from our wait for the hay wagon. There was free cider which we all enjoyed.













The hay wagon took us through the apple orchards with an optional stop for picking apples, through the tomato plant area, and then to the pumpkins. There were three wagons making the circuit, so no one had to wait very long for a ride.











Katherine's Find!










So Fun!











It didn't take long for K to find ladybugs!










We discussed how pumpkins start out as blossoms, and then turn into baby pumpkins before they get big and orange.













Guarding the Pumpkin!












There's nothing like a fresh apple on a fall day!

Visit from The Swanholms

Some of our friends from New Jersey came down to visit on Saturday. Despite the rainy weather we all had a great time. The kids played in the basement as only three toddlers and a 5 year old can do! We took a trip to the Promenade downtown during a break in the rain to visit the lighthouse and let the kids run. And then we topped it all off with a visit to Bomboy's for ice cream!

Thanks for coming, Paul, Marie, Tyler, Ryan, Mark, Jodi & Spencer!!!!

Here's a picture of all four kids at Halloween 2 years ago.











The same four this weekend!

Cheese!

The three of us went for a walk down by the lighthouse last night. Here are some pictures. Notice that K wanted to make funny faces! Katherine took the one of Rob. Not bad!