Fall Festival 2011

Daddy has been working nights a lot lately and so while daddy is gone, the kiddos and I try to find some things to do to pass the time. Saturday we went to Resurrection Lutheran Church and participated in their Fall Festival. They did a fabulous job... as always.

Meet Aurora, two skeletons and a Fairy Momma.

Happy 15 month Birthday, Ky

October 27 was Ky's 15 month birthday and we celebrated by going to see Dr. Haggerty and getting our 15 month shots. We sure know how to celebrate. We got his measurements and of course I compared them to the other two Pratt babies. I looked at all 3's shot records book and noticed that I didn't have Micah's measurements in it past 12 months... bummer. But between Caitlyn and Ky... the winner at 15 months is...

Ky Pratt

Head: 19 inches (81%) WINNER

Length: 30 1/2 inches (32%)

Weight: 22 lbs (16%)

Caitlyn Pratt

Head: 18 1/2 inches (75%)

Length: 31 inches (55%) WINNER

Weight: 23.4 lbs (50%) WINNER

So my precious Ky has a big head and a little body.

I LOVE how he always scrunches up his nose. Ky, you are such a blessing to me, I love you.

Ky:

Says clearly Momma, Daaaaaaa - da, No, Uh - Oh.

Sleeps great at night.

Gives great kisses.

Still has "Face Time." (His face has to touch yours for a little while)

The best cuddle-er.

Pulls up to stand and can balance himself for a few seconds, then falls and smiles and claps.

He knows he is funny and tries to make us laugh.

Caitlyn's Funny Story

*disclaimer* I have got to write this story down before I forget it and it really is worth documenting. This story includes Caitlyn's first cuss word. Not that I really think hearing a cuss word out of my precious first borns mouth is funny... she is only 6. BUT, what made it funny was the story that went with it and the fact that I truly think she had no clue that it was a cuss word.

This past summer we have had quite a drought and the bugs have been coming inside to find water, particularly the ants and spiders. Caitlyn was in her bathroom and taking a bath and noticed a couple of small spiders in the linen closet. She called me and made me aware of the situation and wanted me to spray them with bug spray. I came back after retrieving the spray and began spraying the spiders.

Caitlyn then informed me, "Mom, I bet the spiders see you coming and they say D@m^."

"What did you say????"

"Mom, I bet the spiders see you coming and they say D@m^."

"What?????" I could not believe what I was hearing and I kept thinking I was hearing her wrong.

She repeated it again, "Mom, I bet the spiders see you coming and they say D@m^."

I then asked her, "Caitlyn, are you saying D@m^?"

"Yes" she told me very sweetly.

I then told her in my mommy voice, "Oh Caitlyn, that is a cuss word and we don't talk like that. You're a young lady and need to talk nicely. Some people, mainly adults choose to say cuss words when they are frustrated."

Caitlyn then, very simply informed me, "Momma, I am sure those spiders are frustrated."

I can't argue with that. :O)

Hello Morning Glory

Look what showed up in my flower garden... Hello Morning Glory!

Oldies (Not Really) But Cuties - Ky

Considering my 3rd Angel Baby is only 14 1/2 months... his pictures aren't really old... but he sure is still a cutie.

- 14 1/2 months old

- Within the last week, he is realizing he can stand.

- Only walks if he is holding onto something.

- Can say Mama, Da Da Da Da, Do (dog), He-oh (hello) But that is all he wants to say. He babbles, but refuses to say specific words for things... "Up, " "More," "All Done." I do notice that he says something that resembles "Thank You" so that makes me happy.

- Sleeps great at night. Because Micah and Ky share a room, Ky is now used to the noise of another person in the room, so when I go check on my boys at night, he doesn't wake up immediately at the sound of the door opening. I can easily cover him, rub his head and stare at him now and it doesn't wake him like it did before... makes momma happy.

- This past month Ky has realized that Daddy is pretty cool! Ky LOVES his daddy. He still is a momma's boy, but gets really excited when daddy walks into the room. I think Ky's absolute favorite thing is wrestling with Daddy in the mornings in our bed.

- We still call Ky "Bucket" once and a while... cause he does still have his fussy times. We call the 10am hour every morning the "Bucket Hour."

- Brinley does not seem to annoy Ky at all. He can hold his own with her. If she is bothering him, Ky tells Brinley what he thinks and pulls her hair. But, she loves Ky and lets him pull her hair everytime. They have a cute little connection between the two of them. I think he won her over by feeding her from his high chair.

Oldies But Cuties - Micah

My Angel Baby #2, Micah Daniel. What a precious addition to our family he was. We always told Caitlyn that Micah was a present sent from God to us. That we wanted to have a little boy and also that Caitlyn needed someone to play with. Caitlyn and Micah are best buds... but they also pick at each other like there is no tomorrow. One day that will stop... right????

I love these pictures of Daddy and Micah... pictures of the beginning of the "two peas in a pod."

Oldies But Cuties - Caitlyn

I had to get on our back up hard drive yesterday... something that I rarely do considering it is a hard drive that is not in this computer. It's a little black box that I have to hook up two or three cords to and then push this button and then that button and then spin around and do a little dance to open it... or at least that is how I feel. But I forget that on this crazy black hard drive box-ey thingy, are some really great pictures from the old days. There are way too many to put them all up on here... but I picked out a few that I thought I may not have posted yet and that I would eventually want documented when I get my blog published in a book for keepsake purposes. Here are a few that I found of my first Angel Baby, Caitlyn.

This picture was taken right before her 3rd birthday party. I have no clue what got her upset, but even though she is crying in this picture... she still is cute.

Happy Anniversary Baby

9 years ago... these 2 cuties got married.

9 years later... We celebrated by going to Kemah. At 3:30pm, Daniel texted me asking me what we were doing for dinner because he was not scheduled to work. I said, I don't know, we could take the kids somewhere or maybe go somewhere for our anniversary. He then replied... if we were gonna celebrate it, that was the night to do it... the rest of his week was booked. Ok, we were going on a date!!! He said, find a sitter. She arrived at 5:30pm and off we went to Kemah, an hour and a half away, with traffic. I have to say, even though it was last minute for us, and really, we don't go nuts and plan for weeks how we are gonna celebrate (maybe we should.) But, it definitely was made special. Daniel and I like to celebrate our anniversary, but in Daniel's words, "Not that we MADE it another year. But that we are just celebrating those years and the years to come."

Us at the sushi restaurant, Red. I have no clue why the picture turned out like it did, but oh well... it's the only one we have of us.
After dinner we went on a walk. Daniel took me on a Ferris Wheel ride. It really was fun and it reminded us of the time we rode the huge Ferris Wheel in Chicago at Navy Pier. But riding the Ferris Wheel still freaks me out a bit. We then fed some fish. I had to take a picture of it... the fish all clumped together looked weird to me. Daniel also requested that I not drop my phone in the water.

After our wonderful, spur of the moment date that my husband wonderfully put together for us. We made it home from Kemah by 10pm, "because we are just that old." - Daniel

I love my husband and look forward to the many more years we get to spend together. I'm a lucky woman.

Napa - An Anniversary Celebration (Part 6)

Sunday morning, our last full day to enjoy California. Our plan was for Tracy and I to go get a facial together, but unfortunately they only had one facial specialist which for both of us to have a facial, we would have had to take ALL morning long which would take way too long. So we decided to just have one of us get the facial and my sweet friend, Tracy gave me the slot... even though I truly believe that she should have had the facial. Here is just one picture that I took of the spa before the facialist came and got me.

After my facial, off we went to enjoy the day.

Pictures of course had to be taken at the beautiful vineyard, Poetry, a Cliff Lede Vineyard.

Because we loved Bottega so much, we decided to have lunch there. Gnocchi... yummy. Maybe it was so delicious because we were so hungry. We had not made a reservation for this restaurant like we had with all the others. We just showed up for this one because it sounded good. When we walked into the restaurant, the hostess told us the wait was going to be about 1 hour and 15 minutes. We thought, sure, we can wait... people are getting up and leaving. Surly they will call our name soon. The wait really wasn't bad. We were able to sit outside on their patio and enjoy the weather and great company. But, apparently when the hostess says 1 hour and 15 minutes... that is what she means... even if there were tables available. Exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes later, we were seated. It was weird, but we learned our lesson. Always make a reservation. Opus One Winery - Owned by Robert Mondavi & Baroness Philippine de Rothschild

What a beautiful entrance into this place. We would drive by many times and just admire the beautiful view.

This was our last trip to a vineyard in Napa and while we were walking to our car, Daniel noticed by our car that some grapes had fallen off the fine and were laying on the ground. Well, you cant waste them, so he went and picked them up. We tasted them... they are nothing like the grapes you eat at the grocery store. As we were driving home, we noticed that if the grapes had fallen off the vine, then the stem would look like it. Ours didn't look like it. OOPS Apparently, or so we think... the farmers CUT some of the grapes and let them lay on the ground to alter the flavor of their wine. Sounds like a great assumption to me.

After being out and about... this is what we came home to in our sitting room. Cheese spreads, delicious breads, grapes and wine. Delish.

For our last night, we ate at Auberge du Soleil, the best view in Napa Valley.

We arrived just as the sun was going down and so the view was amazing. We were able to sit on the deck... See were the first "cone" shaped roof is from the left... we sat there on the second story balcony.

Here is the view... only imagine it as the sun is setting, it was very beautiful.

Prime New York Beef, Wild Mushrooms, Yukon Gold Potatoes and Caramelized Shallot Sauce.

Toasted Vanilla Angelfood Cake, Trailside Strawberries, Soft Strawberry Cream. This was simple, but very delicious.

While we were traveling around Napa, we passed this sign many times and kept telling ourselves that we HAD to stop and get a picture of Daniel and I under it. We kept telling ourselves... next time. Tonight was the last night we were going to be able to take the picture if we ever were going to do it. So on our way home from dinner, Jason pulled over, we ran to get under the sign to take a quick photo... we were on a fairly busy street. Unfortunately you don't see us very well, but you do see the sign.

This trip was AMAZING and a true Once In A Lifetime experience for Daniel and I. The vineyards were all wonderful, the food was great and my added weight from the trip is proof that it is true, the ranch was beautiful and completely serene and to top it off, the company was the best. The memories we made will last forever.