Fall Festival and Halloween

Ok, so I'm a tad behind on posting our Halloween fun. Better late than never. It started with the Fall Festival. I am the Activities Committee at church and I planned to have a Trunk-or-Treat with carnival games and then a Chili and Soup Cook-off. It was a big hit and a lot of work. I'm so glad everyone had a good time! Our family arrived as the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood, and the 3 Little Pigs. Because I knew I would be busy with the activity, I started working on the costumes at the beginning of September. By the time Halloween rolled around, O, our third little piggy, barely fit in his!

Us with the piggies who strut their famous straw, sticks and brick.

Each table at the activity had a one of a kind display of fall nature.

We have always had fun with Halloween. Here's a look at last year.

Since it was the last year of the beloved book series, we decided to be Harry, Hedwig, and Hermione. I loved sewing these costumes!

On Halloween, we took a little stroll around our neighborhood for E's first Trick-or-Treating experience. Last year, she only went to a few houses and had no idea what we were doing. Ring the doorbell. Say what? They give me something. I say thank you. I leave. What? Another house? This year she was a bit shy, but enjoyed it and never forgot to say thank you to our neighbors.

We were on our route home when we had an unfortunate event. I was the look out for any questionable characters that may frighten the kiddos, mainly our first little piggy. I would give A a heads up if someone questionable was coming and he could turn E away or distract her until the coast was clear. Well, we were ambushed by two small, yet positively scary, black cloaked, white faced ghosts and before we could react the damage was done. E literally stopped in her tracks. She cried out in terror. As A tried to block her view, he explained that they were silly masks for pretend. I looked at the dad (or maybe it was a death stare) who was with the kids as if he might offer an apology or something. But no, he just stood there watching his kids swoop in like vultures towards my child. Needless to say, we were quite upset. As we were making our way home, E stomped her feet to a dead stop in the road. As she held A's hand, she yells out, "You can't get me you siwy (silly) monther (monster)!" She began to walk again, but continued her yelling. We were surprised. Wow. Empowerment. "Go away, you siwy monther! You can't get me! No!" It was one of those moments where you're flooded with more than one emotion for your child. At that moment, I saw growth in her. It was a happy moment. I was proud of her and how she was reacting. At the same time, it was oh so sad. I was thoroughly bummed that she had that horrible experience. I was also extremely surprised that she was making her voice heard (literally) because she is usually shy. I exchanged glances with A and we joined in as a chorus, chanting away the silly masks. I guess it was reaffirming to her that there was nothing to be afraid of and her evening was pleasant. We won't make the same mistake again. Next year, we'll make it home way before the creepy kids come out.

With that aside, we had a fun time. E collected quite a bit of candy, however, there just wasn't enough chocolate. She did get a few surprising treats- yogurt covered raisins, Doritos, Cheetos, a pencil, and stickers. Awesome.

Hooray for chocolate!

Birthday Weekend Part Three

Cake and Ice Cream~

By the third day, we were continuing the celebration. For dinner, E slurped spaghetti, which is one of her favorite meals. Daddy cleaned her up after dinner and we thought she looked fine, but when we saw the pictures, we realized she still had a light shade of red around her mouth. Oh great. So, now we know that we need to wash, scrub and exfoliate her face after spaghetti...especially if we're taking pictures.

For previous birthdays, we have chosen a theme that really describes E. Her first cake was a lion because E communicated by growling...ever since she was a month old.

This was my very first decorating experience. I tried to make it simple.

For her next birthday, I decided to go the big cookie route. We knew it had to be decorated with Pink Bear, her best friend, her beloved companion. She went everywhere with Pink Bear. Unfortunately, my amateur decorating skills went out the window this year and Pink Bear ended up looking like a pink pig. I was bummed. I ruined her birthday. I'm an awful mother.

The cookie sure was good though.

This year she has been watching and really loving a children's program on PBS called Super Why. To tell you the truth, I have also been loving this show. Each morning we're both excited to see Super Why, to sing songs, find super letters, and learn to solve our problems. E becomes a super hero "with the power to help" for the duration of the show and is eager to do her part to save the day. So naturally, this year I made a Super Why cake. It was a lot of fun and she was very excited to see Super Why at her birthday.

Birthday Weekend Part Two

The Family Bonfire~

Birthday Girl

Birthday Celebration Weekend~ Part One

It's amazing and so hard to believe that my tiny baby girl is 3! We had a fun weekend celebrating her birthday. It was packed full of fun things to do. We got to sleep over at Grandma and Pa's house, went to a free class at Gymboree with her cousin, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows at the family bonfire, survived a hayride at night with lanterns, played Hide and Seek in the dark (Ghost in the Graveyard), played in a new nursery class at church, AND had cake and ice cream. E had a blast and we thank everyone who added to the birthday fun.

Gymboree~

She has never done anything like this before, so she was extremely nervous to leave my side. After nudging her along and several "You're going to be ok" lines, she began to explore....on her bottom or scooting herself along. She wouldn't dare stand up or climb.

Crawling along...very slowly, but she really liked it.

Still crawling, but at an increased incline! She watched all the other kids RACE by her, crawl through tunnels, slide down slides and jump off the platform ahead of her. She constantly turned to me for reassurance.

A slide. She can do a slide. This little bumpy slide helped E tremendously. From this one act alone, she gained a great deal of confidence.

Hooray! Up and down ladders by herself.

Rocking in boats.

Hugging the Gymboree clown. Now that is confidence, my friends.

The best part was that E conquered the fear of jumping off the platform. It took some nudging. It took some convincing. It took me saying "1...2...3...jump!"about 15 times. Finally, she took the plunge. The look on her face was sheer amazement.

Near the end of the class we explored a giant parachute.

Look at that face! Bubbles always bring such joy.

At the end of our session, all the kids got a stamp. This is where E wanted hers.

Pumpkins!

Last week we finally made our way to the pumpkin patch. We wanted to arrive in plenty of time to have bright sunny photos, but by the time A got home from work and everyone was belted in the van, the sun started to set. E was so excited to be there. It was hard to keep her with us for a few photos. All she wanted to do was frolic among the pumpkins. All the boys wanted to do was sleep. The situation wasn't ideal to say the least, but we managed to capture an eventful family outing.

On The Move

For a couple weeks now, W has been an official crawler. When he was 4 months old he started rocking on all four and barely moving his legs. It took little over a month for him to finally get moving. Now he crawls all over the house pulling over plants, getting into magazines, and knocking himself into furniture. This is both exciting and frustrating for big sister E. Yes, W can move around and play with her more, but W loves all of E's toys, especially her favorite toys. I can't tell you how many times E has dropped everything to race across the room in order to rescue a toy from her little brother. Or if she's eating lunch, how many times she has begged me to pick up one of her toys because she notices W crawling in that direction. If I don't react or try to talk to her about sharing, she watches in horror as W reaches for her toy, touches it, and rolls it around. The tears well up and crying may follow with a scream or two. Pure agony I tell ya.

As a new crawler, he faces many obstacles...but not even Big O can stop him.

Speaking of O, he's also moving around these days, which surprises us. We thought it would take him a little longer to move because he's just so chunky. But he's also really strong. Seriously, our sweet baby boy has a death grip. So, I guess if he puts his mind to something, he can do it. Or it may just happen accidentally. Here he is hitting and kicking the armoire. However, 5 minutes ago he was laying on that boppy with his face on the burpcloth. He also rolls over and turns himself around in his crib. Way to go big guy!

E has been on the move to enjoy the cooler night air. When she stepped outside to grill with Daddy, the cooler air excited her. There have been several times where she has run to the coat closet to dress herself warmly before heading back outside.

This is the new fall fashion.

Same night, different coat. How quickly she changes her mind.

I've Been Tagged

I'm not sure about this tagging stuff. I've seen some crazy tags, but I think I can handle this one. Thanks Jamie. Six Quirky Things About Myself. Am I quirky? Do I have a peculiar structural or behavioral trait, a physiological or temperamental peculiarity, or an unusual individual reaction to food or a drug? Hmmm...I can probably think of a few, although, I am perfectly normal and will have an extremely hard time thinking of traits that are remotely quirky. ;)

1. Let's get the "reaction to food or a drug" out of the way. My food of choice is my drug of choice~ ice cream! I usually have a dessert after dinner, whether it's a slice of cake or a chocolate chip. But I prefer ice cream. You can pretty much guarantee there will be a big ol' tub of Oreo in our freezer any day of the week. Once I have my ice cream, I feel joy. I feel my day is complete. Ahhh...

2. Another strange food reaction goes to the tomato. I hate tomatoes. When preparing dinner, if there is a tomato involved, I try to avoid dealing with it and leave the job to someone else. If I'm ever asked to slice them, I cringe at the site of the goo spilling out before me. I do not like tomatoes. My husband thinks I'm crazy because he absolutely loves them. He finds it weird that I dislike the tomato, yet enjoy ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and salsa. It's a texture thing.

3. Most people don't like speaking in front of crowds. I think it's a fear for most people. I am not excluded. If asked to speak in church, I try to convince them that I just spoke and someone else needs a turn. If I speak, I work myself up, get stressed, worry, and then eventually get sick. If I have to conduct or make an announcement with a microphone in front of me, my nerves go into shock and I fumble over my words or sometimes forget what I was going to say. Which can also hold true when I'm talking on the phone to someone I don't really know. I have been known to forget my phone number, address, or the entire reason I'm calling. Peculiar...especially since I was a teacher for several years and never had this reaction in the classroom or with all the parents. But you know, A and I have noticed I'm not that bad anymore. Maybe kids have worked my nerves over a bit. ;)

4. I like to have all my light switches in the correct position. You know, if the light is off it faces downward. If the light is on it faces upward. Example of a tiny bit of quirkiness: There are two light switches for the stairway- one at the bottom and top. If I'm turning off the lights downstairs, I will turn off the stairway light as well. It's downstairs. I will then walk upstairs in the dark. I don't know why I do this. I just do. Why can't I leave the light on and turn it off once I get upstairs? It's probably because my switches would be facing the wrong direction.

5. I need a fan on while sleeping. Not only do I like the breeze, but I need the noise. It drives me crazy to hear creaks of the house, car doors and engines, or the kids. Yes, the kids. I don't need to hear every sigh, roll, or grunt they make. I need to sleep.

6. Fall is my favorite season. Spring is the worst. Yes, the flowers and bright green leaves appearing on trees are beautiful, but my allergies hit at that time of year, therefore, I dread Spring. It may be odd to hear me moan over the signs of Spring appearing. Plus, you never know what to wear. It's freezing in the morning and before you know it, the day is a scorcher. Spring is the worst.

Are these quirky? Naaaahhh...I am perfectly normal.

First Haircut

Hooray! The day has come. I'm finally making the move to cut his hair. So at 6 months of age, W is getting his first haircut. How did he do? Faaaaabulous!

The before shot.

I wrapped a kitchen towel around his neck.

Started cutting.

E joined in the fun by combing his hair.

Steady...cutting around the ears.

This is when he started to become a little uncomfortable. He didn't like me holding his head to the side.

W never cried, but he started to whine and scream out. He's a screamer...over everything.

Is it over?

Yeah!

The adorable after shot. He's our Little Man!

Grandma's House

Going to Grandma and Pa's house is always a treat. So much joy surrounds this event that sometimes E doesn't know how to contain herself. She talks on her play phone with Pa explaining what we are packing and when we'll be there. She frantically runs around the house, yelps escaping her mouth, and constantly telling us that we're going to Pa and Grandma's house. As I pack things up, which takes hours because I constantly have to stop in order to help the kids with something like eat, potty, change diapers, put down for a nap...Anyway, she is right there instructing me on what to pack and where to put it. My little helper. Then as we finally get on our way, she is practically jumping out of her seat. It's a good thing she's strapped in. "Weuh ahmost theyuh!" She'll announce every 5 minutes. (Translated- We're almost there!) We saw my parents a few weeks ago, and as I packed, E broke from my side and decided to pack her own bag for the trip. She grabbed a paper bag and randomly threw objects inside- a book, her baby doll's blanket, a measuring cup, frying pan and spatula from her kitchen, sunglasses, and so on. She insisted I had to tie a scarf around her waist and she put her old Sunday shoes on her feet, which were a size too small. She walked into the kitchen and proudly announced she was ready to go.

She's getting so big!

They are so stinkin' cute.









After "fixing" her own hair (lovely, isn't it?) with Grandma's brush, E decided to brush W's hair. Afterall, it's long enough. I could put pony tails in his hair. I could braid his hair! He needs a haircut.

Bath Babies

Our boys love bath time. Splashing in the water is great fun. W can sit up on his own to play and E loves the interaction. O is still on his back, but watch out. His arms and legs go wild with excitement, causing big splashes. We thought it was odd that bathtubs have gotten significantly smaller through the years. Look. Our tub isn't as wide as our three month old's arm span . Crazy.

And look at that boy's hair. He really needs it cut, but I keep putting it off.

How cute is this?

The Mouth of Babes

While I waited for E to finish in the bathroom, she asked to see a book. There were several nearby and I asked which one she wanted.

Me: Would you like this one?
E: No. A diffwent one.
Me: How about this one with bunnies?
E: No. I want to wead the Book of Mo-men.

How cute.

This made me think of a few nights before when she was picking out her bedtime story. She was having a hard time choosing and Daddy offered the Book of Mormon boardbook. "No," she said, "I don't want Jesus."