Halloween pics a few days late!

I've been under the weather lately. One day I think I'm getting better, then I feel awful for the next two- UGH!! Darn sinus infections!! Anyway, thankfully Halloween day was a good day! We got lots done!! Emery had swimming lessons, I finished their tutus, we carved pumpkins, baked pumpkins seeds, made chocolate covered peanuts and pretzels, and prepared for the big event! The girls were excited and had been for DAYS!! And we were invited to a neighbors big Halloween bash, so trick-or-treating and a party! BONUS!! Thankfully I had made a pumpkin cake with maple frosting the day before in a brief period of feeling good, so we took that to the party.


Our neighbors warned us how big of a deal Halloween was in our neighborhood, but we couldn't envision it. We live in a nice community, kind of secluded from others, and apparently those who don't have a good trick or treating area come to ours. They come on trucks, trailers, ATV's, and golf carts. There is security and off-duty police officers EVERYWHERE!! We started to go through our double cul-de-sac around 6:30 after we took some pics and it was dark. Needless to say, we hadn't even gotten through one of the cul-de-sacs, and at least 50 kids showed up in a matter of minutes! It was crazy! Many people just sit outside because they don't get to close their doors there are so many people!


It wasn't bad though. Everyone was respectful, curteous, and kind, there were no problems. The only complaint we heard was that this year people were asked not to drive ATV's and golf carts after dark, they were requested to walk. They were very diligent about it, between security and police officers, people were off of them pretty quickly. That made some people mad, and some happy- go figure. We didn't care- we were walking anyway.


Then we went to a Halloween party, and totally enjoyed watching all the costumes, young and old alike! The kids had a blast playing with their friends, even Evie! We didn't last long though, and were home by 9 to put tired, worn out kids to bed.


Here are a couple pics of the butterflies and fairy before we headed out! A special thanks to Uncle Curt, Aunt Glenda, Kyle and Laura for the butterfly wings and antenna's, and to Auntie Lee for the Tinkerbell costume!! Tinkerbell is missing her wings! She didn't like them, and they didn't fit very well in the stroller, so it ended up being ok. Note her shoes! We just got those the day before. They squeak each time she takes a step, she LOVES it!! And it has encouraged her to walk more, still holding on to others, but much more than before. She had so much fun at the party walking around everything and hearing them squeak! Party-goers enjoyed it too!! We'll see how long I can handle those!

Luckiest mom ever!

I know I'm the luckiest, most blessed mom and wife ever, but it's nice to be reminded! As I go through some of our photos, it's nice to stumble on those photos that remind you why.

As many of you know, Ella asked for a baby sister/brother for her birthday when she turned 4. She obviously got what she wished for. And it's very evident that she truly meant that wish. She loves Evie more than words can say. It's touching how sweet, gentle, and kind she is to her baby sister. Ella loves to do anything with Evie, except change her diaper :) So, this summer when it came time to rock Evie for her naps, Ella eagerly offered to help. I was skeptical. I mean really, can a 5 1/2 year old really rock an 11 month old to sleep? Apparently, they can. She did it on several occasions after this, up until school started. It became her favorite time of day, and mine too. I decided I better get it on camera and share it with everyone instead of being selfish and enjoing the moment myself.

This other photo is just Daddy with his baby girl, asleep. Nothing fancy, but a pretty special moment for me. After a long, hot, summer day and putting the big girls to bed, this totally put a smile on my face. And it still does each time I look at it. To me it just says 'Sweetness', and reminds me why I'm so blessed.

Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!! See you soon!

Naps

I sure miss them. When I stopped working both Ella and Emery were still taking naps. It was a glorious time of day. We'd all climb into my bed and take a nice 2 hour nap. It was AWESOME!! Then in February of 2008, Emery decided she wasn't going to take them anymore. I was beyond devastated, especially being pregnant with Evie, I NEEDED those naps! Ella of course quit when Emery did. We quickly worked out an arrangement though. The girls would get a snack, drink, and get to watch a movie while I laid down. I was still quite sick with Evie, so I really needed to lay down for a bit. That process has worked well to this day! I don't get to lay down much anymore, but we have a daily quiet time while Evie naps, the girls and I all need it!

Emery does occasionally fall asleep in the car when picking up Ella from school, but that never lasts long. So, it is on a rare occasion when Emery naps at home. She adamantly refuses to nap. Emery is so stubborn about it that when she does nap, she hides it. She doesn't tell anyone what or where she is, or that she's tired. Most of the time she crawls in her bed, but when she doesn't, I try to snap a pic because it's usually pretty funny looking.

These first pics are from back in July. I was busy still unpacking and organizing the house. We had been here maybe 3 weeks at this point. Evie was napping, and Ella was coloring and I thought Emery was too. When I realized she wasn't coloring, I started looking for her. It took me two trips looking through every room in the house before I spotted her. I bust out laughing when I did see her, she reminded me of a scene from ET!

The ones below were taken a couple of weeks ago. Evie was down for a nap, Tad was down for a nap, Ella was coloring and Emery was watching a movie. I decided to lay down for a bit. After about 20 minutes, Ella came in asking where Emery was. I got up to go look, and this is what I found. Ella had walked right past her, thinking it was just her blanket laying on the bean bags. What a crack! She reminds me of my brother Kent. My parents have several photos of him as a child sleeping in odd places, or around odd things. Now Emery will have these to look forward to when she's older! :)

I'm having fun going through older photos that I haven't shared! I'll share some more soon! Hope you all had a great week and are preparing for a wonderful weekend!! Love ya!

Ahh, I'm in photo heaven!!

I'm so EXCITED!! I upgraded my photo editing software, and was able to install it on Tad's desktop (since my laptop is about to DIE!), and it is AMAZING!! I can edit so much faster, and there are so many more things I can do!

It has been one of the few highlights this week. It was a horrible week from my point of view. It started Wednesday. I was cutting out a pattern in the kitchen, the girls were playing with the scraps and Evie was napping. I went to check on Evie and accidentally woke her up. I then discovered her leg was wedged in the crib and she couldn't get it out. Neither could I! I began to panic, and couldn't get a hold of Tad. After about 10 minutes of spraying water and rubbing lotion I finally got it unstuck- except she was in full meltdown mode at this time.

I'm trying to calm her down when Ella comes out screaming "Emery cut me" with blood running down her finger. I had her go to the bathroom to run cold water on it. I finally get a wet towel on it and have her sit down with me when Tad gets home. All 3 kids are crying at this point. I look at her finger, and she has gashed it down through the tissue. Off we went to the ER. We saw the dr for all of 30 seconds. He just put glue on it and sent us on our way.
So, I head to get her a slush for being so good at the ER -only to spill half of it handing it to her in the car. Then we get stuck at the swing bridge (it swings open instead of a drawbridge) and Ella has to go potty! The only positive thing on Wednesday was we found someone who wanted to lease our house through the spring immediately.

But Thursday morning I learned we were getting an offer from a couple who had looked at it 3 times earlier in the week. We negotiated all day long, finally reached an agreement and were waiting to sign the contract. Unfortunately there was an expiration of paperwork on the buyers side they would renew Friday morning. I meanwhile tell our potential leaser that we had an offer so they could find something else. Early Friday afternoon I learn the buyer has backed out of the deal because he just found out he was getting his hours cut at work and wasn't sure he could afford it anymore- UGH! I quickly get a hold of the person interested in leasing the house. THANKFULLY I had caught her right before she left to go sign paperwork on another house. We quickly signed all the lease paperwork with her, and the deal is done. We have someone in the house until at least May- and hopefully longer. Whew- what a long couple of days!

We had planned to go to the State Fair this weekend, but it's been raining all week and is cold. I didn't think a cold muddy trip would be fun, and Tad didn't feel well this morning anyway. So we are home, and I've been playing with my new toy!!

Here are a few pics of the big girls from last week. They were waiting patiently for Evie to wake up from her nap so we could go to the Shrimp and Jazz festival here in town down on the waterfront. Ella is now craving shrimp- this is HUGE!! 4 months ago she wouldn't have even tried the stuff, and now she craves it???!!!! Wow- what a difference location makes!! There are some HUGE old trees around town, and one is right down on the waterfront. The girls didn't climb all the way up since there were so many people around, but you get the idea of how big they are with the girls standing on the trunk! They are beautiful old trees that have withstood who knows how many storms!

Hope you are having a fabulous weekend!! Talk to you all soon!

A tisket a tasket a baby in a basket!!

Evie has decided that her favorite new spot is in the baskets underneath my coffee tables! These originally had the girls magazines, coloring books, and some coloring papers. Now, they have a lot of torn pages from magazines, coloring books, and coloring papers ;) Isn't she so stinkin cute??

Family photos

One goal I had while Nana and Papa were here was to get some family photos. We took some down by the dock, and some down by the beach. It was hard to get 3 kids and 4 adults all looking and smiling at the same time!! Whew! Here's the best I got! Enjoy!

Whew!

Boy- it's been a long time!! Sorry about that, my computer is dying a very painful and slow death. We've been trying for a while to get all my pictures off of it in preparation of it dying! Then trying to speed it up, it was quite painful there for several weeks!!

Anyway, I'm back for a bit- till the computer actually dies, then we'll figure something else out. Things have been hopping at our house. School started for Emery- and she LOVES it!! I haven't taken her preschool pics ( I know- bad mom), but I will!!

Shortly after school started for Emery, Nana and Papa T came to visit! They made it here on Friday before Ella's birthday. We immediately had to go to the beach! You can't drive all the way here and not go to the beach!! The week was filled with showing them around (what little we know!) and exploring by just driving around and seeing the countryside. Nana and Papa were loving all the truck farming, the roadside fruit and veggie stands, and the different scenery from home.

The first day they were here we just visited a nice beach that the girls and I like to frequent. The girls were in dresses, not swimsuits, but still ran into the ocean anyway. Emery's got a little too wet, so we stripped her to her panties to run around for a bit. So, of course we had to go back later in the week when it was warmer in their suits so Nana and Papa could see them swim around! Well, before we left Emery managed to convince Papa to prove that he could swim too! So Papa joined the girls in their playing at the beach! Here are a couple of pics from that event!

I'll post more pics of Nana and Papa with the girls later this week. I have to go tend to my into everything, still not walking, but very intelligent 13 mo old!! And get ready for my first girls night out since we moved here! Talk to you soon!