The Halloween Kitty

We decided to avoid San Francisco this weekend due to the Bay Bridge closure which has backed up traffic all around the bay. Instead we stayed in Marin and took Bridget to a local mall.

She was excited to get dressed up in her "kooshka" cat costume and her trick-or-treat bag.


Our first stop was, appropriately, a pet store where our shy kitty got her first piece of candy.


She continued to be shy in other stores but she quickly realized that candy makes everything better.


Soon her confidence was up and she was getting candy left and right.


We also ran into some other "kooshkas" - Leanna and Nikki (her friends at daycare) and Nonna (her daycare provider). Unfortunately Bridget did not recognize them outside of Nonna's house. This is Leanna in the picture, along with Julie the dog, and Bridget did not know it was them!

Pixie Park Halloween Parade

(This is the first official post from Nathan's blogger profile)

Today I took Bridget to the Pixie Park Halloween Parade. It is an annual event put on by a local co-op park that our friends Whitney and Dennis belong to. This was Bridget’s first chance to make a public appearance in her "kooshka" (kitty) costume. It was a little hot so she only wore the top and not the matching pants.

















Here is Bridget posing behind the stereotypical Halloween Cat (black, just like Bridget’s cat, Panzer).

















The local Fire Department (City of Ross) was also there. Bridget was very interested in the Fire Truck.
















She also had a chance to get inside of the fire truck and they gave her a very cool City of Ross Fire Hat.
















The weather was a little warmer than expected so Bridget changed out of the kooshka costume but she kept the Fire Hat.


















Bridget then found the Sith Lord Darth Vader (AKA Finn). Finn is Whitney and Dennis' son who is almost 5, and their daughter Fiona (dressed as a purple witch) was also there. Bridget says "Finn and FEE-ona" are her "Fwends!".
























Then to complete the day there was a kid project table where Bridget created a glitter Halloween mask. Dad is still cleaning up the glitter. And when we got home mom questioned whether I took Bridget to the Halloween Parade or to San Francisco.

B is for Bridget

I realized after I wrote yesterday's post about initials that I haven't posted any pictures of my new tattoo.

When Nathan was taking the picture of it today, Bridget ran up and struck the same pose...I couldn't have staged that if I tried!

The tattoo experience happened during a work trip to Austin in September (the same trip where I got Bridget's pink boots). I never really envisioned myself getting a tattoo, mostly because I never had anything that I cared about so completely and unconditionally until our little girl showed up. But now that I have one I am really happy with it. I went with a stylized "B" for Bridget. It's a good thing it didn't hurt as badly as I anticipated - because I basically committed myself to getting another tattoo if and when we have another child!

Initials

How cute are these initials that I found on another blog?







And how serendipitous that Bridget's initials happen to all be in the same color pallette? We're thinking about transitioning Bridget out of her crib and into a toddler bed at the beginning of the year. When we do that, I will be looking for cheap ways to update the decor of her room. I'm thinking these would look really good printed and framed on the wall.

You can go here to find your own initials, almost all the letters are there now.

Stand Off

We had an epic battle of wills on Sunday morning. The issue at hand was an uneaten bite of pancake. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but we had asked B to take "just one more bite" before we got dressed and headed off to the Pumpkin Patch. She was having none of it, and it quickly became an issue of power and not just an issue of uneaten food.





Bridget is very independent, and we love that about her, but certain times we need to remind her who is in charge. The whole ordeal easily took 30 minutes. We both stood our ground, but mommy ultimately won out. Guess who Bridget ran to as soon as she finished her bite and it was all over?

Pumpkin Patch

We found a great local pumpkin patch to take Bridget on Sunday. The Nicasio Valley Farms Pumpkin Patch, located in a small town in West Marin, had all the traditional fall farm traditions like a hay ride, kids music, mazes, a petting zoo, local vegetables, and of course, Pumpkins. I can see this pumpkin patch becoming a tradition for the Foley's each October.

There was a hay maze just Bridget's size and she had fun running through it.


Time to find a pumpkin. Bridget loved this one but it was a little too heavy for her.


Ahh, this one was more her size:


Look! A scare crow!


Bridget was not ready to go home at the end of our visit and this is how she showed us.

Family Visit

We had a visit from another set of Bridget's grandparents this weekend. Nathan's mom Becky, and her husband James came down from Klamath Falls, Oregon. When Bridget was introduced to "Grandma Becky" she decided James would naturally be called "Papa Becky." It actually makes sense if you think about it from a 2 year-old perspective.

They had a lot of fun coloring and playing, and she also insisted on trying on her Halloween Costume so they could see it. Here is a picture of Bridget sharing her crayons with James, aka Papa Becky.


And when we went to dinner, Bridget wanted to hold hands with Daddy and Grandma Becky.

Coffee Addiction

Have I mentioned yet that Bridget LOVES coffee??? She will take as many sips as you'll give her. She also loves making coffee, so lately I have been letting her help me.

First she gets her stool and parks herself in front of the coffee maker. Then she helps pour the water in and put the filter in. And her favorite part is when she gets to push the blue button to turn it on. Then she just stares while the coffee brews, and she is very careful not to touch the pot because it gets hot (and she reminds me of this about 3 times during the brew process).

Coloring with Daddy

We got Bridget some large crayons and some drawing paper this weekend. She went straight to work as soon as we got home.


Daddy even joined the fun.

Bridget Foley: Stylist and Disciplinarian

On Sunday morning we were playing in the living room when Bridget suddenly announced that she was going to take her baby to swimming lessons. She then proceeded to pack her purse and her diaper bag with toys and clothes.

Then she changed her shirt, added a jacket... and then she ACCESSORIZED:


The necklace wasn't working for her, so she turned it into a headband. She also changed her bracelet into an anklet, and then pushed it up to her knee. Look closely at her right leg and you can barely see the pink and white "kneelet."

A while later, her baby did something wrong, and Bridget placed her into "timeout." Timeout is something we do with Bridget occasionally when she's having trouble listening.

It is really funny to watch her follow the exact script when she puts baby (and sometimes daddy) into timeout.


And after baby's timeout was over she gave her a kiss and told her she loves her.

Rainy Day

We are in the midst of the first real storm of the season. It was pouring when we had to leave this morning, so Bridget got to finally wear her Froggy Boots and Froggy Raincoat. They make her very happy.



This is actually an "action shot." Here she is hopping around the living room shouting "RIBBIT, RIBBIT, RIBBIT!"

Pigtails and Personality

In the past few weeks Bridget has become more tolerant of having her hair styled. When we went to the grocery store on Friday she kept her pigtails in the whole time we were out. Even after her haircut on Saturday she had enough hair left to still get pigtails in, and she requested them. She also is starting to ham it up for the camera, saying "cheese" every time I take a picture of her.

Friday night:


Sunday afternoon:

Briget's Big Girl Haircut

I took Bridget to a local children's hair shop this weekend. Nathan and I debated for the last week about how much we were going to cut, but we ended up just going with some bangs and a little trim all around. Unfortunately I didn't get too many pictures (because she had to sit in my lap for the cut), but here are a few.

This is the BEFORE picture, taken in the play area of the shop.


Here is an AFTER picture. There really isn't much difference, but she very much liked the lollipop she got at the end.


And here is the official haircut certificate and photo she got from the shop owner, Eddie. Unfortunately he wasn't listening closely when I told him how to spell Bridget's name, but BRIGET likes her certificate.

Fashion Frenzy

The weather is starting to cool down, Bridget's summer wardrobe is starting to get small and worn out, and Old Navy happened to have a killer sale a few weeks ago. All those factors converged and we ended up with this in our living room last night.


It all started when I was looking for a Halloween costume for Bridget. Here is a sneak peek of what she ended up with. She can't wait to go trick-or-treat-ing.


But back to the clothes - Bridget has settled into a solid size 3T, and OldNavy.com had a lot of sale items in her size. So I assembled a nice sized shopping cart on the website and went ahead and completed the sale. Later that day I realized I had completely forgotten to add the Halloween costume to the order! So I called customer service to see if I could add the costume to my first order (and thus save myself from having to pay another shipping fee). Unfortunately I could not. But while on the phone she pointed out that I had not used the 25% off promotion code they were offering. So instead of telling me I was out of luck, she actually cancelled my order and manually added each an every item into a new order, this time with the costume, applied the discount, AND found another code for free shipping. Now THAT is what I call customer service, I could kiss you, Michelle in customer service!

Here is a few pictures of Bridget posing with her new wardrobe. That's right, the little girl who usually shouts "NO PICTURES" was POSING with her clothes and saying CHEESE tonight.