Getting Ready for Halloween

What's In There?
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Kathleen's getting very excited for Halloween. Her costume is finished. Mommy sewed the last little bit a few days ago, so she's all set to be Dorothy. We even found Ruby Red Slippers while we were in Illinois. (How we miss Target!)

This afternoon we carved our pumpkin. At first, Kathleen wasn't sure what to make of it, but she caught on quickly. She always seems to like things that involve getting messy! Jim drew the jack 'o lantern's face... It's supposed to look like Kathleen, if you couldn't tell. There's a gap between the two front teeth, just like our little girl!

All Over Illinois!

Kathleen was literally all over Illinois last week. She flew into Peoria and then visited Kewanee, Bloomington, Dwight, Joliet (okay, that was just lunch), and Morton. She's a well-travelled little girl, that's for sure. But Kathleen didn't just see lots of Illinois, she saw lots of people!

For one, Kathleen got to see her Grandma and Grandpa Golby in Kewanee.

Plus, Grandma and Grandpa Golby organized a lovely open-house event, so Kathleen got to see a lot of extended family, too. While we were in Kewanee, we stayed with the Gustafsons, so Kathleen got to see her cousins, Matt, Ali, and Lizzie. Kathleen had lots of fun playing with the vanity at their house. I can only imagine how much time she'll spend getting ready when she's sixteen, since she has spent a considerable amount of time playing at it already!

Kathleen thinks her cousins are the best entertainment ever. When we went to pick her cousins up from school, Kathleen was getting a little fussy. But when they piled into the van, she lit up like a Christmas tree.

After staying in Kewanee for a few days, we headed to Bloomington, so that Mommy and Daddy could go to Tom and Lannie Boswell's wedding. On our way there, we stopped at Tanner's Orchard, so we could have a full autumn experience. Kathleen checked out the pumpkins, discovered that she adores apple cider, and fed some goats.

The fun continued for Kathleen. While Mommy and Daddy went to the rehearsal dinner and the wedding, Kathleen stayed first with Aunt Angela, and then with the Stewarts. Aunt Katherine, Uncle Eric, Sarah, Ethan, and Melissa Stewart came to Bloomington from Dwight and spent the whole day with Kathleen. She even took her first trip to the zoo!

(Special thanks to cousin Sarah, who spent the night at the hotel with us, so that Mommy and Daddy could stay and dance at the reception.)

From Bloomington, we headed up to Dwight, so Kathleen could continue playing with the Stewarts. Upon arriving at the Stewarts', Kathleen was excited to discover not one, but two dogs! It really was Kathleen's own version of heaven. Our time in Dwight was too short, but long enough for Tim, Shannan, and Megan McFadden to stop by for a visit.

We met friends Paul and Alison Krattiger for lunch in Joliet, then stopped back in Dwight before heading to stay with Aunt Angela in Morton. We flew out the next morning, narrowly missing the storm that closed down Denver airport (which was one of our layovers). Wow! We're tired just typing about all that!

Headed for the Hog Capital

Piggy Back
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Mommy, Daddy, and Kathleen are headed for the Hog Capital! We'll be visiting Grandma and Grandpa Golby and Kathleen's aunts and uncles and cousins. Kathleen is very excited to be able to play with her cousins, because all she could do the last time was lie on her back and watch them! Watch out, everybody, here comes Kathleen!

Stepping Out

Kathleen has been taking some tentative steps, but today she really got the hang of it. Good job, little girl!

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Candlelit Dining
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

Kathleen experienced her first major earthquake yesterday morning, when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake shook the Hawaiian islands. The last earthquake Kathleen was in didn't even wake her from her nap -- it happened this summer when we were visiting her grandparents in San Francisco. There was no missing this one, though. It shook long and hard. Kathleen was already awake, but it definitely woke up her daddy! (It was his first earthquake, too.)

We're thankful that the damage on Oahu seems minimal. We lost a couple picture frames, but nothing else. Well, the only other thing we lost was the power! The power was out until late last night, so Kathleen enjoyed a late supper by candlelight. By the time she awoke this morning, everything was back to normal.

Play Ball!

Kathleen shows off her nascent athletic abilities. She knows she's supposed to throw and she gives it a good try, but she doesn't have much of an arm (or aim) yet. Still, she's far more excited about playing ball than her mother ever has been.

Dreams of Flying

Matt and Kathleen
Originally uploaded by the golbys.

This weekend Kathleen had a vist from Jim's friend Matt Driskill. Matt's a Naval Flight Officer, and his squadron was stopping through Hawaii on their way home from a deployment in Japan. He stayed with us overnight and got to watch Kathleen watch football on Saturday morning. (I'm sure that's what most people want to do when they visit Hawaii!) We've been trying to teach her to say "touchdown," but all she does is squeal. Still, we think that's pretty cute.

Kathleen did some flying of her own recently. She doesn't need a plane, though -- she's Supergirl! We'd found the costume through the wonders of ebay and had hoped that Kathleen would be able to wear it for Halloween. (Not that she needs an excuse to wear a superhero costume. We knew that Kathleen would be a superhero before she was even born!) Sadly, our giant little girl has outgrown the costume already, so we're on the lookout for yet another Halloween costume!

It's a bird...
Originally uploaded by the golbys.