Wordless Wednesday

The Magic of Fall!

Cooler air, new clothes, the smell of pumpkin spice, crunching leaves...you name it-I love fall!

We had our celebratory fall dinner this week with the Parker's. Taylor and AnnaKate loved playing together but, as usual, Baxter, their dog, won out as AnnaKate's favorite. My favorite thing about the dinner was Cassie's amazing homemade rolls. She bakes all of her bread and these rolls were just divine. We dined on a beautiful apple mixed greens salad, butternut bisque, apple crisp and yummy homemade rolls.

The kids did a great job of sitting at the table with us. They loved drinking their soup out of bowls with straws.

Getting ready for dinner



Delicious kisses from Baxter

No party is complete until AnnaKate plays night-night. Taylor was not going to get stuck in the dark!


AnnaKate is developing by leaps and bounds. When you ask her, "How big are you?". This is the response you get. Also notice her "get up"...beads, purse, etc. This is how she went to the grocery store.

We are also having some big progress in the speech area. AnnaKate is imitating lots of words. I still question myself when I hear her say something, did I just hear that??? But it is not just me, her speech pathologist and teachers at school are hearing it too!!! I am so excited to see progress.

Marsha's son, Frank, came over for a little while on Saturday. AnnaKate loved playing with him. He is so good about making her laugh! Doesn't AnnaKate look like a big girl...

What are you going to do to celebrate the arrival of fall?

Pip Squeak!

I just bought AnnaKate another pair of Wee Squeak shoes this week. She had a pair before she could walk independently and she liked them, but now that she is walking on her own she just loves hearing the little squeak. (The squeaker does get annoying so it can be removed!)

Here's what we have been up to...



Look who is helping mommy grade papers!

She is so cute!

**AnnaKate took a fall about 4 weeks ago and cut her face...it is taking forever for the scar to heal. Maybe she should be scarface for Halloween....


A little time outside in the sand box now that the weather is getting a little cooler.

Fall Fun

I am so anxious for fall! My neighbor brought over nearly a bushel of apples from a trip to the orchard, so I made a wonderful apple crisp tonight. The recipe was from one of my Everyday Food magazines. It is a great magazine...check it out online if you have not ever seen it.

I am enjoying trying a new lens for my camera...a 35mm 1.8 fixed. I have been tinkering with the aperture trying to get some better indoor shots minus the flash. I think these pictures of the apple crisp in-progress turned out quite nice.


This shot is just too good not to share. My mom just finished knitting the hat and sweater and I wanted to show her how cute it was on AnnaKate. It also showcases the greatness of the lens and the cuteness of AK!
AnnaKate and her cousin Ella taking a cruise in the Barbie jeep last weekend. They both had a ball!
Just in case you were wondering...Cindy is still around and doing fine! AnnaKate can do just about anything while wearing Cindy. She is tolerating the pressure of the machine for short periods in the eveing as well. I am really nervous about the sleep study...it is going to be hard to expect her to go from testing out the machine to sleeping with it in one night.
Have a great weekend! I hope it feel like fall where ever you are...

This and That!

Just another fun Saturday around here. I had a nice run this morning. The air is getting cooler and fall really does seem near. I loved having my butternut squash soup this week for lunch. Many of you asked for the recipe and I remembered that I blogged about the soup last fall when Cassie and I had our Welcome Fall dinner. As I looked back for the recipe in my blog archives I saw all the fun fall things that are just around the corner...Race for the Cure, Buddy Walk and pumpkin picking. Ahhh....I do love this time of year! (I am not in denial...I know that there are still some 90 degree days looming ahead.)

Today we did our Saturday errands and made our weekly trip to the Farmer's Market. We are trying to make every effort to buy local and organic if we can. A sweet lady gave AnnaKate a large chocolate sunflower while we were at the market. Isn't it beautiful!

AnnaKate is really getting good with imaginative play. We have lots of neat PlayMobil 123 play sets and she really likes them. Today she enjoyed putting the people night-night in the toy house. She also liked putting them on the toilet. (Those European toy makers have a strange sense of humor putting a toilet in a play house!)

We are making great progress in the area of Cindy the CPAP. AnnaKate still loves the mask and has even created her own sign for it. She asks for it and then signs that she loves it! I can't figure out why she loves it so much but I am not complaining. We have now started turning the machine on for 5 minute intervals. She does not love it but tolerates it well. I am really impressed at how she is doing. (But like the weather, I am not in denial...I know there will be hard nights ahead!)

Have a great Labor Day!

Kitchen Fun!

Yesterday, AnnaKate and I had some fun in the kitchen. I needed to peel some butternut squash so I decided to fill up the sink and let AnnaKate play while I worked. She had a ball! She poured, splashed and giggled. Unfortunately, she poured and splashed water all over the kitchen and I never got my squash peeled BUT we had fun.


Cindy the CPAP has turned out to be a hit! Right now we are just introducing AnnaKate to the mask and she actually likes it. Today she even brought it to me to put on her. Can you believe that? We are not out of the woods just yet, she still has to learn to like the pressure of the air when we turn the machine on and don't forget sleeping with that crazy thing on.


I did get my squash peeled today and my first batch of butternut squash soup is on the stove. The house smells so good. I just can't wait for fall.

We're Back!!

Whew...we are back from blog hiatus! I will try hard not do that again until next August. Being a teacher, the back to school routine is very busy and tiring. A blog break was needed but now we are back with lots to share!!

At the first of August we went to visit Holly and the boys in Maryland. We had such a great time playing, eating and shopping! Look closely and you will see pictures from our day with three kids in IKEA!!

I started running in the spring with some girlfriends and I have found that I really love it! I ran my first 5K in August and was so pleased with my time of 26:41. I have set lofty goal of doing a half marathon in December!

(Which reminds me that I want to remind you to check out Addie's dad. Addie is an RTS sister of AnnaKate' s and Addie’s dad, is running the Milwaukee’s Lakefront Marathon 2009 to raise awareness about RTS. “26.2 miles of feet pounding pavement is a challenge, but the finish line is clear and concrete. When you get there, you are done. Families touched by Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome have an endless course ahead of them, with no clear marker for when things might ease up. If not for the support of other families, there might not be any easing up at all.” Good luck to Michael, we are all cheering for you.)

Here are some pictures of the run and my great running buddies, the MRRC. The back of our shirts says "Run Teacher Run!"

You may remember that AnnaKate had her second sleep study last month. We went back to the doctor yesterday to discuss the results. She has significantly improved since her tonsillectomy- which is great! She is still having some sleep apnea difficulty but her biggest issue is hypoventillation. Basically she is not exhaling enough and her CO2 levels are getting too high. To help AnnaKate get better quality of sleep she will begin to use a CPAP at night. The process is very gradual. Today we got the machine and her mask. For the next few weeks we will spend time getting her used to the mask. The we will let her get used to feeling the pressure of the machine. We will go back for another sleep study on October 2 and they will monitor her as she uses the machine to sleep for the first time. This process is long and gradual so hopefully, AnnaKate will transition well to this strange apparatus. Today the home health nurse came to drop off the machine and try the mask on AnnaKate. We could not believe it but she actually wore the mask for about 15 minutes and it really did not seem to bother her. Let's keep our fingers crossed that she stays this laid back!!

I mean...really????? Isn't this ridiculous....

Our little "elephant girl"!!!

Sorry for not commenting on your blogs lately...I will be better!!

Have a super weekend!

Kelly