Baby No. 2

Last week I went in to Curt's department at the hospital one night to sneak in an ultrasound. My doctor hasn't mentioned setting up another one, and I have been curious to know how big the baby is right now and to see it again now that I'm closer to the due date (Dec. 16). It turns out that baby was 5 lbs, 8 ozs last week, so hopefully it won't gain over 3 more pounds in the next six weeks before it's born! The first photo is the more traditional 2-D version, and it shows Baby's profile. The second is the newer 3-D ultrasound, which gives an amazing amount of detail and makes babies look so much more realistic. I think this baby looks like it's brother!

Trick-or-Treat!

All set, Mom!

For Jackson's second Halloween, he went trick-or-treating for the first time! Last year I figured he was too young, so we stayed home and waited to pass out candy. Only no one ever came to our house. So it was pretty un-eventful. This year, though, I had tossed around the idea of taking him to a church in town for their Halloween event, but I wasn't sure if there would be enough to keep a toddler entertained, or if it was mostly for older kids, so instead, I put him in my cousin Olivia's old ladybug costume, grabbed the pumpkin bag from Auntie Brea, and decided to go visit some neighbors.

It was cute to hear him say "pumpkin," a new word for him. Isn't the bag adorable?!

Jackson was too shy to actually say "pumpkin," "trick-or-treat" or "thank you" to the people, but he kept repeating the words to me in the car as we made our way. He mostly just acted shy in front of the neighbors and kept looking at me like, "What's going on?" It was funny to watch him figure out this whole trick-or-treating thing as we made our way around the neighborhood. The first bag of candy he got, he wanted me to open so he could eat it then and there. He didn't understand that he should put it inside the pumpkin and wait until later to consume it. With some distraction from their dog, I was able to sneak it into the pumpkin without him realizing it wasn't in his hands. By about the fourth house, he knew that it was okay for him to take the candy they offered without looking to me for help, and he had figured out that it was meant to go into the pumpkin. He even tried grabbing five or six pieces from the last bowl he saw! I think he wanted to stay at their house - they had an indoor dog who loved to fetch the ball for him, so he just kept throwing it and throwing it.

Halloween this year was kind of a last-minute, minimally-planned thing (I hadn't even decided he'd be a ladybug; I just never bought him anything to wear), but by the time we had visited about six neighbors' houses, I could tell he was getting sleepy and had probably had enough. We got home, told Daddy about our adventures, and shared some candy. Here's to collecting even more next year! :)

Mmm, chocolate! I think I like this trick-or-treating business!

My Sister's Wedding

Although their day didn't go according to plan, Brea and Andrew had the most beautiful wedding on Friday, September 25th, 2009. The rain in the Hudson area restricted the ceremony to Kilkarney Hills Golf Club, where the reception was held, but it was already set up and decorated so beautifully that it actually worked quite well; there was to be no sound system at Prospect Park in Hudson, where we had rehearsed the night before, but that was all set at the golf club, so in that sense it was probably better. Guests had been forewarned that there might be a change in location, and it seemed that everyone figured it out and made it on time.

They were married by a friend of theirs from UW-River Falls, a woman so spirited and fun that she was able to make the ceremony very personal, funny, and extremely touching, which fit the couple extraordinarily well. The girls wore plum taffeta tea-length dresses and carried multi-colored calla lily bouquets; the men looked classy in black tuxes. Curt and I were both honored to be part of Brea & Andrew's big day, and we had lots of laughs with family and friends - a really great time. Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Jennings, and may there be many happy years to come! We love you!

(To see some of their wonderful professional photos, visit www.dansphotography.zenfolio.com, click on "Weddings," click on "Andrew & Brea," and enter password jennings.)