Blankets and Chicken Soup

It's been a rough few weeks in the Bittle houshold. One of us caught a cold somewhere and it wasn't long until all four of us were struggling. There was coughing, runny noses, grumpiness, snuggles, crying, and lots of sleeping - and that was just Megan! Clara woke up a few times in the middle of the night crying; she couldn't breathe very well and was just tired of feeling crummy. But at least Clara knows how to blow her nose now. Kate just sits there looking miserable trying to breathe through the snot in her nose. The poor girls couldn't figure out why they felt so bad and I could only offer some light remedy with Children's Tylenol. More than once Megan or I fell asleep on the couch with one of the girls sleeping on top of us. Megan had to take a couple of days off work and I had a babysitter come over a few times just so I could go to sleep. It was a rare day that we all changed out of our pajamas - usually we just kept warm under blankets and ate our chicken soup.

Luckily we improved enough by Thanksgiving to enjoy the visits of Tracy and Kyle Bittle and Jim, Tracy, Davis, and Elena Piazza. I've put in some pictures. The first is from a visit to the pumpkin patch. The next two are from the Magic House.

Tricks and Treats

It has been a busy week for the Bittle girls, who spent the weekend with Jenny and Todd while Megan and I took a kid break with friends in Las Vegas. When we planned the weekend, I figured the World Series might coincide, but as the Cardinals were probably in the midst of one of their losing streaks it never occured to me that St. Louis would be a bigger party that weekend than Las Vegas. Megan and I got to be a small part of the World Series, standing in the rain with friends waiting for the game to be called. Our tickets ended up being for the winning game two days later, which we celebrated in the ESPNzone in Las Vegas with dozens of new friends dressed in Cardinals jerseys, as I was. Go Cards!

Clara and Kate got to celebrate with the Cards on Sunday. Jenny and Todd took them to the victory parade.



























Last night cowgirl Clara and little lamb Kate canvassed the neighborhood for yummy treats. My mom made Kate's lamb costume and even Clara was impressed by it ("so soft.") It was Clara's first Halloween trick-or-treating and she took full advantage of it. She tried to walk into the first few houses until she realized that the people at the door were trying to give her candy. She gently reached into the bowl for a piece, put it in her felt pumpkin, then reached for another, then another, then another - ignoring any of our attempts to cut her off. She even got some candy for Kate before we picked her up and carried her away from the magical bowl that was the neighbor's candy dish. When she saw groups of older kids she waved and said, "Hi kids!" We returned home after a few houses and Clara showed her loot to her Nana, jumping around in her excitement.