The Big Fall Wrap-up

Fred has set another personal record! His last Fritzwinkle posting was almost three months ago. The man has been busy. But when he’s not busy, or avoiding other work, he’s unwinding with some Playstation soccer. Our daughter knows the sight so well that she tells me, “Daddy watching soccer game.” She’s kind of a narc about Fred slacking.

Snowman Hat
Little toy

Lovin' the Leaves

A lot has happened since the end of September. For one thing our son is now five months old! He’s rolling over, eating rice cereal and jars of vegetables. Squash and green beans seem to be his favorites so far. He’s a big chunk of a boy, weighing over 18 pounds. He’s pretty solidly wearing nine-month sized clothes. It’s fun to remember what our girl was like at this age…and size, which are very different.

Puppygirl
Checking the Candy

Our daughter has really been getting into the Christmas season. She is starting to enjoy all of the holidays, like her mother. Hmmmm…is there a connection? She started off by dressing up as the cutest witch in the world for Halloween. She walked from house to house trick-or-treating on our cul du sac. Then she really enjoyed getting to eat the candy she was given in her plastic pumpkin. As soon as she learned how to say, “Happy Halloween,” it was time to learn how to say “Happy Thanksgiving.” She picked this up much quicker. In the blink of an eye, we were packing up all signs of the fall holidays in order to make room for Christmas.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Letter to Santa

First Snowman

Our little girl got to mail a letter to Santa this year. She had watched some Christmas specials on TV, so she understood the concept. So after I went to vote in the primaries for our new Senator, we walked across to the big red mailbox that had the word “Santa” painted on the side. She posed for a few photos, and then gleefully dropped her letter into the box. Yesterday we actually got a letter back! She loves the Christmas tree, but has a really hard time not touching the ornaments. That’s understandable since she’s two years old. She’s enjoying eggnog – “This is really, really good!” – and opening a door on her Advent calendar every day after lunch. Her absolute favorite thing about Christmas so far is the music. She wants to listen to Christmas music all the time. Then she walks around singing Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Up on the Rooftop. We have several books with the words, so I can sing along correctly. I don’t know what she’s going to do in a few weeks. I’ll probably be listening to Christmas music for months.

All Dressed Up

I will take this opportunity to wish you all Happy Holidays. Check back in early 2010 to see if Fred has made a New Year’s resolution to keep up with his fritzwinkle posts.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

Wow. What a busy month since the last post. The timing of the last update was ever so close to Halloween, so the delay in these pictures is unfortunate. Nevertheless, this year was quite a blast . Hadley could walk around in her costumes and hold out her basket. It was all quite cute. I say costumes because just as last year, she had more than one as last. She was both a bee and a monkey, as the pictures attest.

A Baby Bee   Happy Monkey

I love leaves!   Seriously, I love leaves

Also in the interim, we packed up the car and dragged Keri along west to Williamsport, PA to visit the lovely Great Aunt Ede. It is always a treat to see her and since we were not going to be passing through this year on the way to Chicago, we tried to make a special stop just to see her. So many Scrabble games were played and her spirits seemed lifted. While there, we also got the chance to meet another relative, Great Uncle Frank and Great Aunt Pam. Since they lived in Hawaii for so long and only moved back to the mainland in the last few years, this was the first time that the girls got to meet this particular branch of the Little clan. Having lunch with them made the trip all the more enjoyable. If only we could cut the drive down things would have been even better.

Ede and family   Frank and Pam

Been Swimming   Happy Pigtails

Crouching   This Big!

I recently spent a few days in San Antonio for a work related conference. While the weather was cool or a bit dreary most of the time, I got to spend a little time with Ali’s Aunt Joey while there. The conference was great, but kept me pretty busy the whole time. It was long time to be away from my girls too. Fortunately, I did get the chance to see a few sites the morning I was preparing to leave, just not as many as I would have liked, however.

Alamo   San Jose Mission (front)

San Jose Mission (side)   San Antonio Riverwalk

That brings us up to Turkey Day, and I hope everyone has a good one.

Lost in Leaves

New England Sports Dominance & Hadley’s First Halloween

I have been meaning to write something about the Red Sox since last week. Only a week and a half ago the Red Sox won their second World Series in the last three years and it is already ancient history.

What a transformation.

Apart from the floating rally downtown, Red Sox Nation has simply come to expect post season victories, now the that the curse has been broken. Maybe it was the fact that they didn’t meet the Yankees during October, but this year’s team won and it almost seemed anti-climactic. For all the hype of Colorado’s sizzling stretch run, this one never seemed to be in doubt. Perhaps that’s another reason for the short memories.

Of course, Monday morning, following the celebration in Denver, the Red Sox were very nearly overshadowed by the charging behemoth that is the local NFL franchise. There is no question that this is decidedly a baseball town, and the Red Sox reign. Yet, the Patriot beatdown of the Redskins, earlier that afternoon, was so spectacular that it drew the ire of the sporting world. Moreover, the midseason showdown against the Colts was looming so large on the horizon, it seems these two events stole some of the Red Sox sunshine. Plus, is there a team in the NFL that is likely to beat the Patriots at this moment, because Indy was unanimously the best of the rest and defending champ?

Hadley, however, was ready to go for game four with support for Tito’s team. Witness her below laughing with joy in her Red Sox gear.

On a separate note entirely, Halloween came and went rather quickly too. Yet, we still managed to outfit Hadley with some amusing holiday garb. Aunt Keri had set Hadley up with a peanut costume before birth. Unfortunately it proves hard to tell whether she is a peanut or simply a beige blob. Concerned, Ali secured an alternative for necessary costume changes. The result is a nearly two foot long dog, covered with savory mustard striping. Doesn’t she look positively delicious? Ali often tells our beloved daughter, “I just want to eat you.” Staring at the large all beef looking dog, I suddenly understood this idea on a whole new level.

Beyond that, here are some other pics of the little cutie!