Trick or Treat 2010

After a busy morning of Halloween fun (see post below), we were off to Medford, NJ to Trick and/or Treat with the Frickes.

Several weeks ago, Ariella and the girls settled on a theme for costumes: Morgan would be a monkey, and Gwen's first Halloween costume would be a banana. At the time, Andy joked with Morgan that maybe he would make it a Curious George theme by dressing up as "the Man with the Yellow Hat" -- forgetting the fact that Morgan remembers EVERYTHING.

Well, on Thursday, Morgan remembered what Andy said, and pleaded that Daddy dress up, too. So -- proving again that there's nothing he won't do for his girls -- Andy and Ariella pulled together a makeshift costume for "The Man with the Yellow Hat" using a spray-painted sombrero, an old yellow plaid shirt, yellow tie, a pair of tan khakis, and his weed-whacking boots. In the end, the TMWTYH ensemble wasn't perfect, but plenty of Medford soccer moms recognized it immediately.

Meanwhile, Ariella was spared from dressing up this year, and simply went as a "Mom" according to Morgan.

As usual, the Fricke's neighborhood was crawling with kids of all ages. Morgan, Katie and Andrew ran from house to house, collecting gobs and gobs of candy.

Morgan definitely got the hang of Halloween this year. At each house, she said "Trick or treat!" and "Thank you" without prompting. When given an option, her candies of choice were lollipops and plain M&Ms.

Gwen had a good time, too. She took a nap in her stroller for part of the time. And was the object of "oohs" and "awws" from teenage girls and soccer moms all night long.

Scary Busy Halloween Morning

It's barely noon, and we feel like we've already crammed in a full day's worth of Halloween fun.

Our morning started off with Ariella and Morgan making pumpkin pancakes. You can't tell in the photo, but they're actually in the shape of pumpkins, too.

After breakfast and a quick Halloween shirt photo session (see photo at the top), we were back in the kitchen to carve our Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns.

Gwen chose a very hands-off management style in directing Mom and Dad with her pumpkin design. ("Just surprise me," she said... well, that's what we think she would have said if she could talk.)

Morgan, on the other hand, was excited to design her own pumpkin, and showed Mom exactly where to put the eyes, nose and mouth.

Now it's time for a good nap before Trick or Treating tonight.

Pumpkin Picking

On a windy Sunday morning in mid-October, the Saucier clan made its annual pilgrimage out to the pumpkin patch at Springdale Farms, in search of the Great Pumpkin.

When we asked Morgan whether her ideal pumpkin was a big one or a small one, she answered emphatically, "a small one." Later, she elaborated that we needed one pumpkin that was Morgan-sized, and one that was Gwen-sized. (Thanks for clarifying that.)

As soon as the hayride dropped us off in the pumpkin patch, Morgan raced off to find her perfect pumpkin, while Dad chased after her.

If you think we're kidding when we say that Morgan was looking for her perfect pumpkin, we're not. She passed by dozens of pumpkins that didn't meet her lofty standards... "too heavy", "too green", "why does it have bumps on it, Dad?".

Finally, though, she found one that was perfectly Morgan-sized, and proudly posed for some photos. Luckily, finding a Gwen-sized pumpkin was much easier.

Gwen at 3 Months

Tuesday marked 3 months since Gwen joined the family. She's growing fast (we think she's about 13 lbs) and has officially moved into her 3-6 month wardrobe. Bye-bye newborn clothes!

Gwen's third month can be summed up in one word: playtime.

Almost over night, Gwen went from being an cuddly infant to being a friendly, happy, little baby who smiles constantly, babbles incessantly, grabs at her toys, and is always eager to play with her big sister (who, of course, is just as eager to play with Gwen).

This month, Gwen got her first experiences with the stuffed fish bowl and Morgan's Legos.

Gwen has gotten much better at holding herself up -- which means she can now sit and play in her "Bumbo" seat and exersaucer, and even got her first ride outside on the swing. She's not quite rolling over yet, but she's getting close.

Thanks to Morgan, this month, Gwen also got her first taste of playing dress up. She and Morgan took turns wearing the tutu. Gwen accessorized the tutu with pink flower sunglasses, while Morgan opted for the more avant-garde DJ Lance hat and hipster glasses.

A couple weeks ago, Gwen had her first play date with her pal Cate. She and Cate chatted about important baby topics like "aah-AAAAH-aaahh" and "ooooooh" while Morgan and Cooper ran around the house.

Gwen has quickly taken a liking to her stuffed giraffe toy. It's designed with plastic feet for her to practice chewing -- but, for now, she prefers to chomp on his ears instead.

One other bit of good news from Gwen's 3rd month: after several follow-up tests stemming from her hospital stay in September, Gwen finally received a clean bill of health. Hooray!

4th Annual Columbus Day BBQ

When we starting hosting our Columbus Day weekend party four years ago, it was a convenient excuse for a bunch of old college friends to get together without having to drive all the way to Syracuse for Homecoming Weekend.

This year, the gang introduced four new babies to the party -- making a total of 8 kids born into the Syracuse gang since our first year hosting the party!

The three newest additions, of course, were Cate (i.e. Cooper's little sister), Gwen, and Lucas (Lina and Lance's dark-haired baby heart-throb).

As the party started, Morgan and Cooper proudly modeled their baseball hats and sunglasses -- ready to enjoy our fourth straight year with perfect weather for the party.

Outside, new dads Lance and Jeff compared notes on baby carriers. "Wait a second," remarked Jeff, "that's not a Baby Bjorn!... That's some other baby harness that doesn't have a silent "j" it its name".

Meanwhile, inside the house, Ariella and Morgan showed Cooper, Michael (Link, 3), and Joey (Carapazza, 2) how to decorate Halloween cupcakes. Yum.

Beyond the new additions to the families, the weekend marked another milestone: It's been 20 years since Rob, Lance, Bill, Andy, Jeff and Jen met at Syracuse University. Wow... how time flies.

Later on, outside, Morgan learned how fun it is to be chased around the yard by boys. Then, she got some "girl time" in the sand box with Caitlyn (Michael's little sister, who was born just after Columbus Day last year).

After a great day packed with food, friends, and plenty of bottle feedings for the babies (not to mention the adults), everyone was pooped -- especially the little ones.

Thanks to everyone for making the trip to South Jersey for the party. Can't wait to get together again next year.

Baby Workout

It seems like every day, Gwen gets a little more alert, and gains a little more control over her arms and legs. Which means she's also getting closer and closer to being able to play with her big sister.

Of course, Morgan is very eager to have Gwen be her playmate. So she helps Gwen go through her daily baby workout.

The workout routine starts with tummy time to work out her neck muscles. Then it's off to the play yard, to practice swatting at sock monkeys and singing butterflies.

After that, it's back for round 2 of tummy time. This time, Morgan's baby doll is Gwen's workout buddy.

After all that, Gwen gets some much-deserved snuggle time under the blanket with Morgan. (Then again, blankets make cool forts. So never mind snuggling. It's time to hide in a fort!)