Whirlwind!

SO...this post was started almost a month ago...what can I say, we've been busy!

August and September were a blur!  Here's a brief recap (with pictures of course!)

August
- Catie had her second visit to Chicago and was introduced to the racetrack.

- Mother nature caused quite the scene in Maryland with an earthquake, hurricane and floods!

Catie's bed when we weren't sure if the winds were going to knock down our trees

Our very "comfy" air mattress

Irene's track

- Catie had her last days at daycare

With one of her favorite teachers

- AND most importantly...football season started!

Go Irish!

September

- Auntie Beanie and Uncle Rip came for a week

- I turned the big 3-0

Best birthday present ever!

Catie claws!

- We partied down as Katie Harris became Katie Harris Cartwright

The happy couple!

Ms. Karen!

Gotta have the ND t-shirt on!

We still saw kick-off!

Gangsta

West-siiiiide

Puppet-master

Let me get that for you

Aww honey...I think ya got something in your ear

No whammy, no whammy

Gotta love dress up

Another happy couple

Mr. Roy!

Rock'em Sock'em Robots!

Needless to say...a good time was had by all!

- Carley turned 4!

Birthday girl!

Cousins!

- We took the girls to Sesame Street Live

- And more football!

I think they are tired of their moms having them pose!

If you made it to the end of this 2 month long post...I'm impressed!

Start of Football Season!

This is a big time of year in the McDesi household! Football season is upon us. NFL, college football, fantasy football...we are into it all! Don't be surprised if there are several blog posts coming about this! For now, I'll leave you with a picture of Catie in her first football outfit. Sure you can't see most of it, but it is a purple Raven's onesie!

Not to worry! She has plenty of Notre Dame onesies to wear for the season too!

Yummy Cereal!

Exciting day in the McDesi household! Someone had their first taste of "solid" food

I'm ready! Bring on the food!

I'm not sure about this...

Actually, this is pretty fun!

Why do you keep taking pictures of me?

I like it better when Daddy feeds me. He makes airplane noises!

Ocean City Vacation

Last week Mary, Catie, and I joined Rick, Jen, and Carley for a week down de ocean, hon! It was Catie's first trip and she had a full week of the beach, the pool, the boardwalk, skee ball, and putt putt.

It started out rough...a stomach virus is not what you want mere hours before going on vacation! But we rallied and some of us even made it down to the beach on the first day (way to go Rick and Carley!) Of course, there was the aftermath...

By Day 2, we were ready to head to the beach...a little windy but BEAUTIFUL!

Did I say a little windy? Jon keeping our canopy from blowing over. Yes, we do learn from experience ;-)

Catie got her first beach and ocean experience.

I don't know Dad...

water's kinda cold...

Think I'll just hang out in the pool with Mom :-)

Well if Carley's doing it...

Must not be so bad!

We had lots of fun in the pool...

Carley has the best faces!

Catie even got used to the water.

We had fun at the boardwalk playing games. Our personal favorite is skee-ball. We got enough tickets that Carley walked away with the most awesome junk! I think she got a squishy caterpillar, a toy helicopter, 3 dinosaurs and 2 squishy pigs.

Catie was all tuckered out from mini-golf and the boardwalk.

Carley hit up the rides.

Too cool!

Catie got used to the water and had some fun with Mom and Dad.

Too cheesy Mom!

Last but not least...we stopped at our favorite breakfast place, Bayside Skillet. It's home of the neverending supply of strawberry paraphernalia...you can see it on the coffee mugs in the picture below, and trust me that's just the beginning!

Bye Ocean City! We'll miss you!

On the way home...

4 months

It's hard to believe our baby girl has been with us for 4 months and at the same time it seems like she has been with us for much longer (which I guess technically she was). I have so many great things to about her to share and I wish I had the time right now to do justice with a good blog post about it. But being on ICU is really limiting my time! So I will just have to make this a picture post (which I know everyone really wants...really it's all just about wanting to see Catie ;-)...right Col? And I can't blame you all...she is pretty much the cutest baby ever.

Happy Baby!

Big eyes!

 

Getting so big :-(

Goodbye PT Cruiser

During college, a mini PT Cruiser sat on top my computer monitor. It was a 3 inch version of the car I hoped one day I would get to drive. Shortly after Mary and I started a new life together and I started a new job, I pulled away from the Chrysler dealer in a black, turbo charged, full size version. Over time, the PT Cruiser was a part of a many experiences in our life. It endured many trips to the landfill and Home Depot while renovating our first house. It felt the wrath of a anxious dog jumping around in the back seat. It witnessed my exceptional parallel parking skills. Last year it accompanied me to many houses as we looked for a new home. And back in February, it welcomed our daughter Catie to the family as it provided a quiet ride home from the hospital.

But recently, the PT Cruiser began showing its age. As it approached 100,000 miles, the turbo charged engine no longer had the pep it once did. The engine started needing expensive repairs and the air conditioning kept failing. It was time to say goodbye to my metal friend.

So I spent this past weekend cleaning the dirt and polishing the scratches left behind from those experiences hoping to restore some of her old glory from the day I drove her off the lot. And on Monday, I rode the PT Cruiser for the last time to the Toyota dealer.


I began the process of trading in the car I wanted for the car I needed. I needed a car with good mileage for commuting. I needed a car so my wife can get to work in the snow. I needed a car to hold a lot of kids stuff. I needed a "grownup" car.

After a couple hours of test drives and paperwork, I no longer owned the PT Cruiser and now owned a Toyota Rav4. It is a nice car and has everything I need for this stage of my life.


As I grabbed my belongings from the PT Cruiser, I gave my friend of my 20's a final pat and walked towards her more mature counterpart.

We're grown-ups now!

We got new bedroom furniture.

Our new bed and Jon's dresser. I love the sleigh bed!

We've got TWO nightstands now! Plus I have a dresser that has functioning/not broken handles.

In a different light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah the things that I find interesting and exciting as I have gotten older may be a little sad ;-)