to dye for

Here is a photo of the last time my hair was dyed.

Wasn't I cute? Mom tinted my hair darker to complete my Snow White costume. Then I managed to go about 30 more years without coloring my hair at all... until last week.

I don't have any amazing "before and after" photos to share because, frankly, my hair doesn't look any different. It just has fewer visible grays. I did snap one in-process photo which makes me look like a super villain. Mwahaha!

halloween fun

Daddy picked out Mae's costume for her first Halloween... a football! I bought a long-sleeved brown onesie and attached pieces of grosgrain ribbon for the stripes and laces. She wore it with white tights and a white bow for a touch of girliness! Dan and I wore football jerseys to complement her costume.

Saturday night we went to a party at Kathy and Jason's. They were dressed as Bob Ross and his happy tree! We visited with lots of friends including Ben, Jen, and Anna (Elmer Fudd, the wascally wabbit, and a very cute little strawberry)! Mae was clearly torn between wanting to grab the fake hunting rifle and Jason's glorious wig.

Sunday brought a bit of a scare to our Halloween weekend as we had Mae's first trip to urgent care. She had jammed her finger into her eye the previous evening and it had been red and watery on and off Sunday morning. Urgent care confirmed she had scratched her cornea and said she should heal fine with regular application of an antibiotic ointment. (I think I've managed to get ointment on every part of her body except her eye. How are you supposed to pin down a squirming baby and pry her eye open??)

On Monday, we continued the tradition of going to Nate and Amanda's house to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. We sat around a fire pit at the end of their driveway and ate chili while all the little neighborhood kids came by. I love seeing all the costumes! This year, superhero costumes were definitely the most popular. I wonder what Mae will be next year!

mae's maize maze adventure

I'm pretty proud of that blog title. One could even say it's aMAZing.

So far this has been a very busy fall! Two weeks ago, we visited my family and attended a baby shower for my friends Courtney and Luke who are expecting a little boy in December. I realized earlier in the week that I didn't have a handmade gift for them... and that just wouldn't do! Tuesday evening I picked out a pattern (Elwood Cardigan), and Wednesday morning I popped into my local yarn shop for some Rowan pure wool superwash. It was a bit itchy, but softened nicely after washing. I finished the yoke Wednesday, the body and one sleeve Thursday, and the second sleeve and shawl collar Friday. I washed it Friday evening and sewed the buttons on Saturday. I omitted the stripes from the pattern (no time for stripes!) and only added 3 buttons (because I liked it better that way, not because I didn't have time for a 4th button). I love how it turned out... and I'm pretty proud of finishing a whole sweater in just three days! Details on my Ravelry page.

Dan, Mae, and I had lots of fun at the shower. One of the activities was making an alphabet book for the baby. Dan drew a Pumpkin for P, I drew a Koala, and Mae drew a Zig Zag (actually I was her pinch-illustrator). We enjoyed beautiful fall weather and visited with my high school friends who I haven't gotten to see in a while!

Sunday's weather turned out much drearier than expected but we still managed to make our annual trip to the corn maze! I led us through the Everest-themed maze as we collected all the clues (and as our shoes collected all the mud). Mae and Oliver enjoyed their first maze adventure, though they both fell asleep just a short way in!

Last weekend, Dan's mom came to visit for some quality time with Mae. Mae was so playful and cute all weekend and even drifted off to sleep while playing on GranE's lap, which was adorable.

On Saturday we went to the zoo for a couple hours and then met up with Courtney, Luke, and Zach who were in town for the day. Sunday we relaxed at home and went for a walk to look at some of the pretty homes nearby. GranE said her plan was to lay on the floor and play with Mae, and we certainly did lots of that this weekend... I call it a success!