Great weekend!

We had a great, low-key weekend at the Worzala house. Friday night, we had steak & spaghetti to celebrate my birthday. The new reality post-kids had me, on my birthday, on my hands and knees cleaning marinara sauce off the floor & wall where Melanie threw it. I wouldn't have it any other way, though :) Erika took me to lunch on Saturday, and then Jeff and I had date night, and Sunday was shopping & a family wedding reception, before dinner with the Boyetts! Melanie's cough persists, but it doesn't seem to get her spirits down! She loves "cheesing" for the camera, as you can see above. Any time she sees the camera, she says "cheese" - sometimes she brings me the camera, saying cheese - and sometimes as we're driving down the road, she'll randomly say "cheese" and smile. What a quirky kid. She has changed by leaps and bounds lately, doing well following directions (when she wants to), her vocabulary is expanding - both verbal and just "knowing" - pointing at objects when asked where things are, etc., even if she can't yet say them. She has been very affectionate, giving lots of hugs & kisses, and loves to cuddle with her baby & stuffed animals too. One of her new favorite activities is watching the photo slide show that is our screensaver on our home computer; watching that and Elmo are a close tie!

Playing with the Davises

Jeff and I had planned a date night to celebrate my birthday last weekend, but then Mel came down with this chest congestion, so she couldn't stay the night with Gigi & Poppy. Since there was a Purdue game this weekend, that option was out again, so my friend Emily graciously volunteered to babysit! She and Eric arrived Saturday afternoon so Jeff and I could go to a movie and dinner. I warned that Mel might take to Eric pretty strongly, given the track record lately with Uncle Randy and Tim Maines. I was right - she loved him! They went to the park, played outside (Saturday did NOT feel like November 14, that's for sure!), and tried to convert our daughter to a UK fan; I think it was a successful evening!

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We wanted to make sure we got home in time for bedtime, since Mel is a little unpredictable at that time of the evening. We got home about 7:45, and the above scene is what we found; Mel had been asleep for about 45 minutes! So, we have Emily & Eric booked for the next year's worth of Saturday nights :) She even slept through the night after going to sleep so early!

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THANK YOU Emily & Eric for giving up your Saturday night to spend it with our little monkey! This even after I wasn't able to give up MY Saturday night for someone's recent wedding!

Coughing & Snot

Melanie has had a cough & a nonstop runny nose for a few days now. Overnight Thursday/Friday, the rattle started in her chest; we thought it may be croup (over the phone diagnosis by the nurse). Once she started coughing on Friday, it was a "productive" cough, and it's been lingering overnight each night, but overall she seems in a pretty good mood. Her face is nearly rubbed raw from all of the nose-wiping - evidenced in this photo. She missed school on Friday and gymnastics on Saturday, but has been back at school this week. As far as we can tell, she has not had any accompanying fever. I woke up with it starting in my throat this week, and hope that we're both better soon!

Chewbaca & Her Puppy

Sunday night, Melanie and Molly played together when we had the family over for a Halloween dinner. They get cuter every time they are together; they truly love each other. I got a suitcase out to show my sister (Mel's "Going to Grandma's" suitcase), and Mel went in, got her Elmo suitcase, and brought it out and said "This is Molly's," and the two of them rolled those up and down the hall several times. They chased each other, they climbed stairs together, they hugged and kissed....and hugged and kissed.... they shared spaghetti, crawled all over Poppy, and generally had a great time - therefore, so did we, watching it all!

Trick or Treat!

On Halloween night, we participated in the annual Westons parade, starting at the neighborhood park and winding down to our house. Mel was surrounded by bees, lions, monkeys, oh my! She had a great time taking it all in, and then we headed to her friend Aya's house for a party. There were lots of little kiddies there, and Mel did well, until Daddy determined she was getting hot, and took her outside to cool off. Several kids followed her, and she started having some sharing problems, at which point we realized our little Puppy was sleepy! When asked if she was ready to go, she waved and told everyone "bye-bye!" - so we headed out. She didn't make it to Party #2, but after putting her to bed, the crazy pregnant woman headed back out for the campfire party around the corner.

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We simply left candy on the front porch, we weren't home for the trick-or-treaters. The only trick-or-treating Mel did was at Paula & Tom's house; she's not really into candy, so we skipped that for the parties.

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During the day, Melanie was eating a banana, and a bee landed on it. Therefore, every time she saw a bee or a banana the rest of the day (which was frequent, given the Halloween costumes!), she would say both words. They are forever intertwined in her mind!

Zoo Boo!

Sunday was a gorgeous day, so we headed out to the ZOO BOO! Melanie, dressed as a ferocious puppy, had a great time seeing the animals - she's been learning her animals & the noises they make, so she seemed more interested in this zoo trip than she has in previous trips. She waved "hi" to all the animals, waved "bye-bye" and blew kisses when we left each exhibit, and did a great job. We took a "frightful" train ride, and saw lots of other kids dressed up for Halloween!

Russell Farms

After gymnastics and a trip to the vet with Lucas, we went to lunch with Suzi & Wyatt. While there, Alli called to arrange a trip to the pumpkin patch, so Mel and I invited ourselves along! We weren't really in the market for a pumpkin, but we were up for an adventure, and that's what we got! We joined Suzi, Wyatt, Allison, Tim, Bella, Jamie & Doug and their daughters Madelyn and Teagan. They had a great set-up at the pumpkin farm, with petting areas, mazes, play equipment, hayrides, and on and on...... Here are a few highlights of our day, including Mel's new best friend, my cousin Tim! She could not live without him, and she & Tim's daughter Bella almost came to blows over him!