All Hallow's Eve

This was Emily's first Halloween and she (mostly us) loved all of the festivities!  Patrick has referred to Emily as "bunny" since the day she was born, it actually started out as "honey bunny" and shortened up over time.  So it wasn't a surprise when Patrick picked out an adorable pink bunny costume.

Double poof!

Emily and I began the Halloween celebration the weekend before Halloween at an outdoor shopping center near my parent's house.  We strolled the shops enjoying the nice sunny day and grabbing our share of treats.  It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon and break in Emily's costume.

On Halloween Emily had a party at school where she got lots of treats.  Since it was such great weather, we spent the evening visiting friends and neighbors to show off Emily's costume.  Unfortunately this year we did not get to hand out candy because we thought the commotion would disturb Emily's sleep.  There were still crowds of kids out and we look forward to getting back to handing out candy next year!

Emily's first trick or treat house!

And we can't forget about our little four legged friends.  Sammy and Maggie dressed up to celebrate as well!

Sammy the Sheriff

Maggie the bat

Hope you all had a great Halloween celebration!

The Harrisons

Won't be long!

Emily is getting more and more daring lately.  She's standing on her own and attempting to take her first step (although she still needs to work on her balance : ) ).  But, with the use of a little walking toy, we captured Emily testing out her "land legs".

Enjoy!
The Harrisons

We are so lucky

Two years ago my mother, "Grandma B", was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Luckily, she had good doctors and the treatment was aggressive.  Thanks to that she is now cancer free and Emily has all of her grandmas in her life.  This weekend we participated in the American Cancer Society's breast cancer walk around Lake Nokomis.  It was a nice way to spend Saturday morning.  We take our good health for granted so often that it also helped to remind me just how lucky we are to have our loved ones around us and healthy.

We love you Grandma B!
The Harrisons

This weekend was packed full of fun family events.  We started it off with the Diaper Dash on Saturday morning.  It was a cold morning, but we made it to the Capitol ready for Emily to compete in her first race!  If you are not familiar, the Diaper Dash is like a turtle race, except with babies.  All of the babies start out in the middle of a circle and crawl to the outer edge of the circle.  It was pretty cute and I have to admit I am pretty proud of Emily taking 2nd place!!

Resting before the big race

Emily's first bib!

These adorable signs helped Emily into the finish

Ready for racing...a little distracted by the leaves

"I'm ready!"

Outta my way!

With her medal!

After the Diaper Dash we hurried home for Karen's baby shower.  It was a windy city themed shower so there was a trivia game with Chicago questions and mini deep dish pizzas and mini hot dogs, the food you HAVE to get while in Chicago!  I think everyone had a nice time and that Karen felt "showered" with excitement and love.  The countdown is officially on and I can't wait to meet Shorty very soon!  I am still betting on Shorty being a girl but only time will tell!

Clothesline banner

Shorty banner

Plates!

Favors

Karen and her cake (where is that bump??)

The cake

Shorty!

Pre Shower Playtime

Mini deep dish pizzas

Mini hotdogs

The glowing mama-to-be

With grandma!

We wrapped up the weekend with Patrick's race, the TC 10 mile.  It was cold for spectating so we were bundled up but it was, apparently, great weather for running.  Patrick felt great throughout the run and finished at about 1:47.  In fact, his whole team ran a great race.  According to Patrick, a marathon is next!

Bundled up and ready to spectate!

Mile 3

Mile 6

Johnnie - mile 6

Congratulations daddy!!

Team Reach

Proud mama!

With all of the activities and excitement, we skipped swimming lessons on Sunday but will be back next week.  I haven't blogged about it yet but yes, Emily is in swimming lessons and seems to really like hanging out at the pool with daddy on Sunday afternoon!

We're looking forward to a relaxing October and Emily's first Halloween!!
The Harrisons

I think mother nature skipped fall

and went right to winter!  That's what it feels like the last couple of days at least.  It's been COLD and windy!  I don't know about you, but it sure caught me off guard after our 80 degree weekend!

We took advantage of the weather last weekend and went to Minnetonka Orchards for a few hours with our friends, Stefanie and Josh and Emily's friend, Abby.

We had such a nice time.  We got to play on the swing and the train

take a ride on the tractor-train,

get our face painted

and stroll the grounds soaking up the rays!

This weekend is race weekend!  Patrick is running the TC 10 mile and Emily is participating in the Diaper Dash.  I can't wait to cheer them both on!

We are also celebrating the upcoming arrival of my sister's baby!  Karen and Marcus are driving up from Chicago for her shower today and we're all so excited to get a peek at that growing baby bump.  I haven't seen her in person since August so I know that she will have a lot more tummy!

It will be a busy weekend, but filled with fun events and plenty of family time!

The Harrisons