Halloween 2011

Halloween was A LOT more fun this year than last year.  We went to a Halloween party with a bunch of kids about the same age as Kara.  Kara wore her monster costume for about two minutes before she pulled it off.  But we all had a good time at the party.

For the last couple of days, Mommy and Kara have been practicing going trick-or-treating.  Kara would pretend to knock on the door and then say "Trick or treat!"  Tonight, however, Mommy had low expectations for going out.  Mommy got Kara all dressed up and planned to try and hit about 4-5 houses before Kara got tired.  After hitting about 6 houses, Mommy brought Kara back, but she kept saying "Trick-or-treat more!", so Mommy took Kara back out for another half hour.  Overall, it was a great night.  Kara's getting to be a lot of fun!

Kara also helped Mommy and Daddy "carve big pumpkin" into a happy pumpkin.  Here's a cute video of her helping out with that:

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Straight to Winter

This past Monday, the weather was a bit on the warm side, being sunny and almost 80 deg F. By Tuesday night, it had started to snow, and we ended up getting almost a foot by Wednesday afternoon. Kara and Daddy had fun testing out our sled in the backyard and made a snowman (Daddy called him Bob). Kara and Daddy also had fun shaking the snow out of the trees (luckily we didn't lose any branches).

Kara just finished up her second swim class. Kara's getting pretty good at blowing bubbles and her back float. We probably have one more class with Mommy and Daddy before she moves up to the next level!

Kara's newest favorite toys are her alphabet blocks. Kara's getting pretty good with the numbers and letter (P is her favorite, we don't know why). She can also stack six high pretty easily. Whenever she knocks over her stacks, she says "Knock over", and then knocks on the blocks like she's knocking on a door.

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Video of Kara helping Daddy shake the snow off a tree (click to watch video).

Pumpkin Patch 2011

This past Saturday, our neighbor from the townhouse, Lu, invited us to go to a pumpkin patch with her. We were all really excited about it. They had caramel popcorn, hayrides, pumpkins, gourds, and even a corn maze. Unfortunately for everyone, the weather didn't cooperate.  It was drizzling most of our time there, and it was pretty chilly (about 40°F).  By the time we left, it was pouring. It's a good thing we got there early!  While we were there, Kara had a great time playing in the mud and picking out pumpkins.  She especially liked the little pumpkins (which she called "tiny pumpkin" in a high voice).  We picked out about 5 good pumpkins.  Mommy got a little carried away with the gourds, and we now have enough to decorate everyone's house in the neighborhood.

Recent conversations with Kara:
Daddy: "I love you, Kara."
Kara: "I love Fifi!" Fifi is her nighttime stuffed dog.

Kara: "What's that?" - Her new favorite phrase

Kara walking to Mommy with her hand cupped (and empty): "Eat this!"
Mommy:  "What am I eating?"
Kara: pause...."Apples! mmm"

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Kara's First Visit to the Zoo

This past Friday, Daddy took off the morning, and our little family went to the Denver Zoo.  Kara especially enjoyed the lions, birds, orangutan, and zebras.  We're not sure if it was the time of day or the time of year, but it seemed like they were cleaning and fixing up the habitats of a lot of the animals.  We only stayed for about 3 hours, but that was probably perfect for Kara.  We got to see just about the whole zoo, and Kara was exhausted by the end (she passed out on the car ride home).

After her nap and the next morning, Kara wanted to "go, walk, Zoo!"  She also wanted to "go to Moon!", but that's a different story....

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Hiking Fun

Fall has started here in Colorado. The weather is distinctly cooler than it was in August and the leaves on some of the trees are starting to turn yellow. The temperatures at nights are falling down into the mid-40's, so it's quite cool in the mornings. Perfect weather for hiking! The last couple of weekends, Mommy and Daddy have packed Kara up in the hiking backpack and checked out the great outdoors. So far we haven't hiked too far (usually less than 2 miles), but hopefully we can start working up to some more exciting hikes!

Kara is starting to get into the imaginative play.  Mimi bought Kara a horse stable and toy horses when she was here in August.  That has quickly become one of Kara's favorite toys, and she enjoys galloping around the table with the horses and then putting them back in the stable.  At bedtime, Kara and Mommy put the horses to sleep, and Kara says, "Night, night horsies."

Mommy and Daddy have decided to back off a bit on the potty training.  Kara is just not quite ready, but we're still encouraging the use of the potty.  Maybe in a couple of months!  Mommy sure hopes so!

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