Becca is ONE!

Becca turned one yesterday but since Grandma and pa Hatton and Aunt Annie were here over the weekend, we celebrated early. Here is a picture of Mike and Patrick in aprons as they prepare to make the cake. I don't know why the picture turned out so fuzzy.

And here is the finished masterpiece.

Becca watched very intensely as the goodies were brought over.

She was rather dainty about the whole thing. I was a little disappointed she didn't just dive in.

Chocolate cake makes you thirsty.

Annie just had to put some frosting on her nose.

Yeah Cake!

Becca cleaned up on presents. Annie got her this tutu and Becca naturally knew to dance around in it.

And some day, after losing it for several years I'm sure, Becca will love the necklace Annie gave her.

Everybody had a great time and the kids are getting a lot of use out of the new toys already. Thanks for all the cards and phone calls. Becca danced each time someone sang "Happy Birthday". For those keeping track, Becca weighed in at 19lb 6oz and measured 29in long today.

Halloween

Last week we carved two pumpkins, one for each kid. Patrick had a blast digging out all the pumpkin guts, as long as he didn't have to touch them.


As you can see, the event was not as exciting for Becca!

Here is the pumpkin Patrick and I designed and cut.

This is Becca's pumpkin. Can you guess who designed and cut this one?

On Halloween we went over to Showalter's and did some Trick-or-Treating with the girls. Here's Patrick with Sam and Pia.

And Becca and Emily looked pretty darn cute themselves.

Lauren's Wedding

Our weekend started off in South Bend to see both Godfathers (Kanka and Dave) and their fiances. They were in town for Yonto's wedding which we were sorry to miss. We failed to take any pictures but an enjoyable meal was shared by all. We stayed the night with Dan, Teresa and the boys. Here are the four kids having some apple slices around the table.

Patrick found a saxophone and played us some tunes.

Becca was all smiles about all the different toys.

The next day we drove to Fort Wayne were meet with Grandpa and the Venias for lunch.


After the service we meet up with the other Sullivan kids. Here Liam, Patrick, and Gabe investigate the heating and cooling system with Grandma close by.

Erin and Becca bonded once again.

My cousin Anna with Katie and Black Ears (the horse).

Patrick and Liam discussed the Wiggles and did some wiggling of their own.

The local attractions pamphlets were also fun.

At the reception, Patrick displayed his sense of style with a doily on his head.

We didn't hear much of the speeches because we were chasing Becca up and down the hall.

Becca is always happy to hang out with Dad.

And then she got her dance on!

Here are Patrick and Katie looking like an after prom picture.

Erin tried to dance with Katie...

...but Katie did a great job getting down all by herself.

As Mike said, "She's a Hatton. She can fall asleep anywhere."

Here are two short videos of all the kids dancing. Enjoy!


I realize we didn't take good pictures of the bride and groom, but they looked lovely and happy together. We loved seeing all of the Sullivan clan and hope you had as much fun as we did.

Trick-o-Treat

Life has been a little nuts around here lately. Last Sunday we went up to visit Great Grandma & Grandpa Hatton and the kids got to go trick--or-treating for the first time. It was great to see everyone and the kids looked stinking cute in their costumes!

Here they are with King Grandpa.

Patrick fell asleep like this on the way there. He's lucky his arms didn't fall asleep.

Earlier in the week, I got some pictures of the kids playing nicely together with Legos.


Here's my happy girl wearing a Bob the Builder construction hat.

Becca looked even cuter in this Piglet outfit. Thanks for the loan Aunt Elizabeth.


Grandma Sullivan has been here for a few days and we're getting ready to see my nutty family at a wedding this weekend. Thank you Grandma for all your help.

The Horse

I would like to tell you a little story to prove just how stunningly brilliant my daughter is. Two days ago, the kids and I were sitting on the floor playing with a farm puzzle. Patrick and I were telling Becca what sounds each animal makes. When we told her that a horse says neigh, she neighed back! But wait, it gets better.
The next morning, I was recounting the tale to my mother with the kids sitting on the couch. As soon as I mentioned the horse, Becca got up and went over to the puzzle. As she walked toward me, I saw what was in her hand and said "Oh my God!"
"What?" my mother asked.
"She brought me the horse! I'm not kidding, she brought me the horse!"
Can't you believe it? My little girl, whose not even one yet, knew which piece was the horse. Watch out Einstein, here's comes Becca Hatton.

Ides of October

Its already the middle of October and my little darlings are still dressing for summer. Life here is crazy, as it should be, and the kids get a little older every day. Becca is starting to explore the wonderful world of verbal sounds and get some more teeth (its about time). This up-close picture shows them off really well.

Patrick has been growing and growing. I figure this will be my view of him by the time he's twelve.

While cleaning out the closet, I came across this fuzzy scarf. The kids love it and have been dragging it around the house.

Okay, I got him to pose for this but Patrick can often be found "reading" a book to himself or his sister.

Despite their loses, we here in the Hatton household remain loyal Cubs fans.

Happy Birthday to Heather(today), Davah(9th), Katie(11th) and everyone else who has a birthday this month. Patrick is more than willing to call and sing to you, even if it's not you're birthday.

Welcome to October

Welcome to October. The leaves have started to change and our little munchkins are too. Patrick's vocabulary is expanding rapidly (one of his favorites is onomatopoeia) and he can "read" a number of the books on his bookshelf. Miss Becca is so good at walking now that she's into everything and driving Patrick a little crazy. The poor kid can't play with his toys in peace without her nosing around. But he does his best and they manage to have some fun together.

Who knew a $3 trike at a garage sale could bring so much happiness?

This week Becca discovered Patrick's rocking chair. She loves to sit in it, stand on it, or sit on the back of it and rock out. All the better if she scares the crap out of Mom.

Yesterday, Patrick said oh so politely, "Becca, will you get out of my rocking chair please?" It was a proud moment for this mother. She quickly made her way back.

Both little Hats are healthy and strong, something we are gratefully aware of this week. We pray for family and friends who need it.