Martha, again!

A couple of weeks ago, I went with a big group of friends to New York, and we saw Martha, again! They invited us to come back out, and it was a blast. We got tons of giveaways, and all of us were on camera multiple times. The episode aired on Black Friday, which is why we got so many awesome giveaways. We got a J.Crew gift card, a Greek cookbook (it is the biggest cookbook I have ever seen), a Demy digital recipe reader, an eye-fi card (for wireless transfer of photo from camera to computer), and a wire-free charging station for electronic devices. We also went up to Times Square, the Rockefeller Center, and Chinatown.

The ferry ride

This is the waiting room before you go out on the set

We got front row seats, which is why we were on camera so much. They chose our group specifically for these seats. It was awesome!

Times Square

The past month

I am absolutely loving this stage of Nicole. She has grown up so much and amazes me every day. I don't think I could have asked for a happier, more fun-loving little girl. Here are some random photos from the past month or so of Nicole enjoying life.

Nicole supporting her Phillies during the World Series!

OK, she may not look like she's having fun right here (she started crying when I told her that drawing on the wall is a bad thing), but I know she had fun while she was doing it!

Running around in the backyard.

Who knows?

Dancing with her daddy. Look at that belly!

Playing the guitar with daddy.

Captain Vegetable and Strawberry Shortcake

Do you know who Captain Vegetable is? If not, here's a video.

Alex's lifelong dream was to dress up as Captain Vegetable on Halloween. And I helped him fulfill that dream. I feel pretty special.


We went to our ward's trunk-or-treat (this was my first one ever - how have I never been to one of these before?) and Nicole loved it. She went bobbing for apples and ate a donut off a string. OK, she really just reached into the bucket of water with her hand and she pulled the donut off the string and then wanted to put it back on. But she practically did the games right.



She just plopped down in the middle of the floor after it was over so she could enjoy her dum dum. Smart girl.


And here she is her first time trick-or-treating. She caught on really well and didn't want to let that bucket of candy out of her sight.

Trip to Maryland

Alex had a conference in DC last week, so Nicole and I joined him on his last day and then we stayed a couple of extra days in Maryland. It was the first time we stayed in a hotel with Nicole, and she actually did really well. Most of our trip was spent doing things that she would enjoy, but when you have kids, isn't that just the way it is?

Our big outing was to the National Zoo. It's part of the Smithsonian Institute, and so it's well taken care of, and free (and who can pass up free?!). Nicole loved running around and looking at the animals. In fact, Alex and I loved it, too. Neither of us have been to a zoo since we were kids.



We got to enjoy a couple of different parks, one in Alexandria, VA and one in Rockville, MD. Nicole had fun picking up acorns and leaves and handing them to her dad. And she LOVED this swing. She didn't want to leave it. She would just slump down into it and get comfy.



As always, we were all about eating well. We hit Penang, a Malaysian Restaurant. La Madeleine, a French Bakery. Urban BBQ, well, a BBQ place. And on the way home, we stopped in Baltimore and went to Lexington Market. This market has been operating since 1782, and has world-famous crab cakes at Faidley's. They were yummy!

Iron Chef II: Halloween

We had another Iron Chef night with our friends. This time the secret ingredient was Halloween. Everything was delicious, as always! I think MaryAnn wrote up a nice description so I won't go into details, but here are some pictures!

Leah made bean salad.

Jon and Anna made appetizers - witch's fingers and cats.

MaryAnn and Trisha made a tamale pie.

Alex and I made a Haunted devil's food cake.

Marc and Natalie provided drinks - homemade root beer (from a real root!), ginger beer (using real ginger!), and some apple cider.

Here are the Iron Chefs!

Pumpkin pickin'

I had been hoping to go to a pumpkin patch with Nicole so she could pick her very own pumpkin. But, we got a Nor'easter and it rained on the day we planned to go. So, we went to a local market instead, and she still got to pick her very own pumpkin. She loved it.


She still carries this pumpkin around with her. It now has a few dings and no longer has a stem, but I feel like we got our money's worth.


And they had yummy cider donuts and apple cider!