Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame!

We have had a great couple of weekends cheering on the Fighting Irish! Last weekend Mary Pat and Mommy wore their ND attire while we watched the Irish almost beat USC. This past weekend, Mary Pat wore her cheerleading outfit to watch the ND vs. BC game.

We watched the game with our friends Katie & Will Rich and their daughter Madeline at their apartment in NYC. Will went to BC, so him and Madeline were dressed in their best BC attire while Mommy and Mary Pat represented the Irish. The cheerleading outfit was a big hit with everyone and Mary Pat had a great time watching the game, eating pretzels, and playing with Madeline! Here are some more ND themed pictures!
Clapping along with the fight song.
Showing off my new top teeth!

Madeline and Mary Pat modeling their rivalry attire.

Mary Pat and Mommy ready to watch the USC game.

Go Irish!

Another Baby Kolenik on the Way!

You read that right, we are happy to announce that we are expecting Baby #2 this spring! Mary Pat will have a new brother or sister around April 13th. I am about 14 weeks along and starting to get some energy back finally. Well, as much energy as I can maintain with a one year old trying to run around!

We are very excited and will be posting many more details as everything progresses!

Pumpkin Picking

This weekend we took Mary Pat to the pumpkin patch with our friends Katie and Nick Faleris. We had a wonderful time visiting Lewins farm stand where we got some new Halloween decorations and Mary Pat got to see some pumpkins and tractors! Then, we were off to the pumpkin patch where Mary Pat picked out her very own pumpkin. Katie and Nick were nice enough to help take a family pictures of us in the patch! We had a great day and were very happy to be able to share it with wonderful friends. Here are more pics from the day.Family photo attempt at the pumpkin patch
Mary Pat checking out the pumpkins at Lewins Farm

Striking a pose in the pumpkin patch.

Smiling with Mommy at Lewins Farm.

Fordham Homecoming

Last Saturday we went up to the Bronx for Fordham's Homecoming activities. Although it was a rainy day, there was a nice tent with food, music and lots of activities for Mary Pat to enjoy. As you can see, she got to meet the Fordham Ram and the Bronx legend that is Freddy! That's right, Freddy** was walking around the Homecoming tent with his frying pan and spoon. Mary Pat was not sure what she though of him! Here are some more pictures from the day.

**For those of you who don't know who Freddy is, he is an old man who attends every single Yankee game and any other sporting event in the Bronx (i.e. Fordham football and basketball games) with a home-made sign that he attached to a stick with a frying pan that he hits with a spoon. If you see Freddy, you have to hit the frying pan with his spoon! He is a lovable Bronx icon.
Checking out Freddy, complete with his sign and spoon.

Enjoying her snickerdoodle cookie!

YUMMY!!

Reading

Mary Pat loves reading. She loves to be read to and we try to read to her every night. Her newest thing is to "read" all by herself. This usually means holding the book upside down, flipping halfway through it and then chewing on it. Her favorite board books to read herself are "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?", "Ten Little Lady Bugs", and a variety of Sesame Street books from the dollar bin at Target! She also loves to sit in the little red rocking chair (with a scary clown painted on it) that belonged to Mommy when she was a little girl. Enjoy the pictures below as well as this link to more!
Daddy reading to Mary Pat before bed.

Mary Pat reading in her favorite rocking chair.

This night, Mary Pat decided to read to Daddy.

See, the books are better if you read them upside down.

Mary Pat's First Trip to Benihana

One of Daddy's favorite restaurants is Benihana, which is a Japanese steak house where they cook in front of you. We had been eagerly awaiting the day when we felt Mary Pat would be old enough to enjoy the experience. At the end of September we decided to take her for dinner and she LOVED it! We went early enough that there were a bunch of other kids at our table and the chef catered towards them which was great. Mary Pat's eyes were working overtime trying to take everything in and she LOVED the food. She ate hibachi chicken, corn, rice and mushrooms and couldn't get it into her mouth fast enough! It was a very enjoyable meal and we can't wait to go back. Watching all of the action as the food is being cooked.
Trying to figure out why we keep putting this silly hat on her!

Play Date with Jimmy McCann!

A few weeks ago we had a play date with Jimmy McCann at our house. Jimmy is the son of Daddy's friend Jasmin and is about 6 months older than Mary Pat. The kids had a great time playing with each other in the house, especially with the Busy Ball Popper Mary Pat got for her birthday. We hope to be able to play with Jimmy again soon!