Keeping Warm

I have discovered a LOVE of warm hats and scarves! I can't believe that I loathed their very existence last week. They are so very cool that I made mom find some hats for my guys "La-La" and "Puppet Show".















Stay warm 'cause it's so very, very cold outside...although I still try to wear short-sleeve shirts and take off my pants whenever I get a chance!

My First Stitches

This is me standing by the culprit only days before it did me in....

Yesterday, Virginia came over to babysit us. Mom and Dad were going to go out to dinner. As they were getting ready to leave, Jakie and I decided to chase each other. So off we went at the speed of light around the kitchen island, past the dining area, and into the living room. I was just making my 3rd or 4th loop (I don't quite member) when BAM! I hit the kitchen counter and went belly down on the kitchen floor wailing. And that's where Dad found me.

He thought it was going to be only a bump- boy was he surprised to see a deep bloody gash. We got ice on my head and headed to the Urgent Care, where the nice nurse told mom and dad that Children's is the place to be if I didn't "want to be traumatized for the rest of my life". Whatever that means. So a quick stop at McDonalds and off to ST Paul we went. The admitting nurse was so nice- she wrapped my head in a purple smiley face wrap and even gave 'Teddy Grace Terhaar' her very own admit arm bracelet. I neede to wait 45 minutes for the LET gel to kick in to numb my forehead. We hung out in the waiting room watching Diego and then got to go to another room that was filled with toys. I opted for the Little Tikes car...I filled it with gas and then drove Teddy around.

Finally, nurse Dawn was ready for me...



I got to lay on a big bed in a purple dressing gown and watch a Dora movie while Nurse Dawn did something to my forehead...I didn't feel a thing! There was a another nurse in there helping nurse Dawn who told Daddy that if he felt faint he could sit down. My daddy's no wimp- he watched the whole thing.

After the 5 stitches (yeah, you heard me, 5 STITCHES) I got a huge popsicle, 5 stickers, AND the 60 ml syringe that was used to clean out my wound (aka squirty guy which I'm gonna use to get Jakie in the tub). Mom and Dad said I was very brave.

I get to go to the pediatricians office on Monday to get the stitches out- hope they have popsicles too!

Devin and His Kitty

My kitty is my BFF! I take him (and I think it's a he) everywhere- he keeps me calm and sane.

Do you know what's even better than my kitty- two kitties! Whenever I get a chance I steal Jakie and Lily's kitties and given the love they are craving. Jakie and Lily only want their kitties when I take them- what's up with that? And, as you can see, they make great pom-poms!











Now this is what I'm talking about- me and all the kitties going for a stroll around the kitchen island. It won't be long before my brother and sister realize what I have done and a chase will ensue...gosh, I LOVE to be chased.















I now try to pose for pictures- how do you like my camera smile...I'm going for a Lily/Jakie combo. Do you think I've achieved it?
















I think I am the biggest goof-ball in the family. Oh, and yes, I did bend Lily's dolly stroller, but Dad fixed it before Lily saw. So mums the word.

Trick-or-Treat Adventure

Before we bundled up and went out into the cold to trick-or-treat we stopped to take some pictures.

















The plan was for mom to take Jakie and Lily trick-or-treating and Dad was going to stay home with Devin and hand out candy. It was too cold for Devin and Mom handed out candy last year.















We kept saying we didn't need coats, but as you can see, coats were a necessity. It sure was cold, especially for mom. She made it through both sides of our block and then said it was Dad's turn to brave the other blocks.















Here we are being goofy by trick-or-treating at our own house! If you look closely you'll see Devin stealing candy from Lily's pail...that was his thing. Whenever the kids came to the door the kids would take candy from us...and Devin would take some from them. No one ever saw- what a sneaky little guy!














Devin was dressed as a black kitty to help mom, who was dressed as a witch, hand out candy. He was a big hit with the other mommies who kept saying "Oh, how adorable'!
















We finally made it home with a TON of candy. We neede to make sure that we got our favorites- Lily got her lollipops.

















And Jakie got his chocolates. And there's Devin helping himself to a lollipop.

















Dad decided it was okay to let Devin have a lollipop. All was well until...

















Mom took it away.

Hope you had an extra spooky Halloween.

Princess Dora Meets Dora the Explorer

The night before Halloween we decided to check out Nickolodeen Universe at the Mall of America. We got to wear our costumes AND ride the rides. Here I am waiting patiently in line to meet Dora and Diego. Jakie was upset that we had to take time out from rides so he refused to meet my idols. So I waited and waited...and waited.













Boy was it worth it! Dora gave me the biggest hug ever. And she was impressed by my Princess Dora costume- I think she thought she was looking in a mirror. As you can see behind me, Diego CANNOT believe that Devin is dressed up as Boots! Devin actually got alot of admiring glances from the little kids as we walked through the mall. It's only Devin people!












I got to pose for pictures with Dora and Diego. It's a little daunting to be in the presence of such greatness- but I did it! Those guys sure were nice.
















I wanted to take pictures with SpongeBob and Patrick but the line was INSANE! So instead...












I went for a ride on my all time favorite little merry-go-round with Devin while Jakie went on the Backyardigans swing ride all by himself!

Devin's Monster Mash

Here I am right before my guests arrived to help celebrate my first birthday. As you can see, it was a costume party! I decided to come as Boots, Dora's faithful side-kick.
















The theme was "Devin's Monster Mash" Everyone came dressed up- even Grandpa dressed up! He came as Super Mario. That was really cool of him.
















Here's my cake- Target sure makes a yummy one!
















Kitty and I patiently awaited everyone to sing 'Happy Birthday' to me and then CAKE!

















Yeah for ME!


















I wasn't too sure about the cake at first...


















After mom let me have a taste of frosting I was a little more game at trying this cake thing...

















Oh, yeah...I LOVE CAKE! I ate the entire cupcake and was in sugar shock for the rest of the day.

At dinner, I go to have a small piece of cake. When I finished it I looked over at Dad and said "Da" and then signed the word for 'more'...needless to say, I didn't get anymore and boy did I let them know I was unhappy.












We each got to decorate a pumpkin to keep. Here's Cousin Nate...I know, there's picture of him (volunteerely) who knew that could happen! He came dressed as a dinosaur.
















Here's Cousin Julia aka Nancy Drew with her pumpin kitty creation.

















Princess Dora (my big sister Lily) also made a pumpkin kitty. Uncle Ed helped her out- he's not so bad for being a poohmitt!

















Jakie made a kitty pumpkin as well (what's with all these kitty admirers?) He came dressed as a police officer.

















Grandma and Cousin AJ (aka Elmo) settled down to watch me open my presents. They came a little late because Cousin Amelia decided to be born earlier that morning. She probably wanted to come to my party!















All the kids helped me open ALL of my cool presents.


















Thanks for celebrating with me- I sure had a BLAST!

Officially a Toddler

Devin has been walking along furniture for about 3 months now.
A week and a half ago he took off on his own. Everyday he walks
a little faster...and as you can see from the video he'll soon be running.
Afterall, look who has to keep up with!

Afton Apple Orchard

Where in the world is Devin's Kitty? Why at Afton Apple Orchard! When we got to the farm, mom tried to take Kitty out of Devin's hands ( so it wouldn't get lost or dirty)...but Devin had a death grip on Kitty. So Kitty joined us for the festivities.














Before we headed out for a tractor hay ride, we stopped in front of the apple tree for a photo op- gosh those apples sure smelled good. The hay ride was AWESOME! Especially when the tractor needed to give it its all to climb a steep hill.















Yes, we ARE the apple of our parents' eye. Lily, however, is giving the camera her stink eye aka her poohmitt look!

















We also got to measure ourselves. Jacob is a little shy of 4 ft, Lily is a little over 3 1/2 ft, and Devin is about 2 1/2 ft. Of course, do you think that huge ruler was calibrated correctly?















The tractor dropped us off at a GINORMOUS playground- there were these very cool swings made of recycled tires. Only thing is, they didn't swing very well.
















Jake found this incredible slide- it's a metal conveyer belt. It was the bumpiest slide EVER. But we couldn't get enough of it.
















Next, we climbed a huge haystack. Devin almost made it to the top, but he took a little rest. Jake and Lily played king of the haystack-running around it, climbing to the top, and leaping off (and I mean leaping!).















Lastly, we checked out the pumpkins. Decin wasn't sure what to make of them...he kept trying to eat them!

















There we go, pumpkins are for lounging. Devin and his Kitty had a blast in the pumpkin patch.

















Jake wished that they had one of those 1300 lb pumpkins that we saw smashed to bits on tv the other day, but he was ok with the little ones. Next year, we're off to Stillwater for the pumpkin smasher'ama.















Lily had a great idea- lets come here every year! We couldn't agree with you more.