Halloween 2009 -- Drake

We celebrated Halloween last Saturday with Drake by taking him to "Night Eyes" at the Zoo here in Des Moines. It is an event that allows children to walk through the Zoo while collecting candy in costume. We had a blast and Drake thoroughly enjoyed himself as Spiderman. It is so much fun to watch him grow up through the last few years and see his personality blossom… he says some of the cutest things! For example, he was completely in character this Halloween as Spiderman. Gordon and I were to address him as "Spiderman" and if we did otherwise, we were corrected. As we were getting ready to leave, I said "Drake, let's get our shoes on" he immediately corrected me and said "I'm not Drake, I'm Spiderman." When we were in the car, I asked "Spiderman" a question about his muscles, he proceeded to tell me that "Drake" has small muscles, but "Spiderman" has big ones...listening to him refer to himself in the third person was adorable!

Below are some pictures of the night, the best was when Drake...I mean "Spiderman", was able to meet the "real" Batman and Spiderman--he thought that was amazing! He even said "How cool was that?" afterwards :)

Spiderman with Daddy and myself in front of the Pumpkin patch:

Drake/Spiderman with the "real" Spiderman and Batman. As well as, Spiderman with the "bunny" ...we told him it was a Kangaroo, but he was convinced otherwise!

Daddy and Drake throwing spiderwebs, although Daddy has fists...Drake should give Daddy lessons on how Spiderman does it! Also pictured is Drake's Halloween basket from Gordon and I!
Spiderman and Scooby-Doo!

Preparing for Baby!

We are still preparing for our baby and I wanted to showcase some of the handmade items that our little girl will be able to enjoy. Below is a cradle that Gordon's Dad made for him to sleep in when he was a newborn. Since then, this heirloom has been utilized by his sister Megan as well as all the grandchildren (Drake, Taylor, and Hailey). I love knowing that Kirsten will be able to sleep in it as well. Draped over the edge of the cradle is a beautiful hand-knit Christening blanket made by Gordon's Mom. The yarn is so soft and the attention to detail is exquisite! These pictures don't do it justice~

Below are 2 blankets that were handmade by a co-worker, the one in pink reflects that we are having a little girl, and the other matches the colors/patterns in Kirsten's room!

This is Kirsten's first hand-knit sweater by Gordon's Mom--she is so talented and continues to amaze me with all of her work. Check out the sweater dress she knit for me last February, I wrote about it in the blog "A Jackie Original".

The Nursery

With only a few weeks left until the arrival of our little girl, we have almost completed her nursery. A BIG thank you to my Mom, she generously purchased all of Kirsten's nursery furniture--Gordon and I are very grateful and I know her first granddaughter will love it too! What is wonderful is that all the furniture can grow with her, the crib converts into a double size bed and the changing table "top" is removable so that it can become a standard dresser. The Rocker is a special chair that means a lot to me...my Dad purchased it for my Mom to rock me in as a baby. Now I can do the same with my little girl! My Dad also purchased the crib bedding--thank you so much!!! The last thing we are waiting for to complete the room are wooden letters of her name to be hung above her crib~ here are some photos (click on the collage to enlarge it).