Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween at our house.  What about you?

Avery has been telling me for months she wanted to be Glenda the Good Witch for Halloween.  What happened is that she saw a costume (pink) in a catalog and I said "you want to be Glenda the Good Witch?." She said "YES!"  Because I refuse to pay $78 for a costume, I was determined to make something.  This was after weeks of trying to convince her to be something else. But she HAS seen the Wizard of Oz so at least we had that going for us.

I only got excited about her being Glenda when the hubs suggested Ellie should be the Wicked Witch.  Mean right?  Probably.  But super adorable

 

 

So I stocked up on tulle (hello 200 yards for the Glenda costume. yes, 200!) and went to town. I was so proud of my Glenda!  



Avery LOVED her costume.  She wanted to wear it every day.  I can't honestly blame her.  It was pretty awesome. 

I'm not quite sure how Ellie felt about her costume but she was the cutest Wicked Witch ever!

You remember the part where the Wicked Witch bears her belly and must have a paci clip right?  Yeah, me too. But look at her.  Green face? Green legs? To die for dimples? Stinkin adorabe right?

My parents were so sweet to drop by the house to see their girls so we didn't have to make an extra trip.  They couldn't get enough of these witches!

 

And because I got 0 pictures of the girls outside, you are forced to check out a few poor in the poor lighting.

  All glittered up.  We also glittered up her hair and arms.  Can a girl really be too glittery?  I say no.

At our house, witches have to hug it out!

They were seriously the cutest things ever. No bias here!

We had such a great Halloween season.  The girls got to get dressed up and make the rounds at the Fall Carnival at the church were they go to school on the Sunday before Halloween.  The Halloween parties in both their classes were a huge success.  And then tricking or treating Halloween night.  I think we have more candy than what we handed out!

This Halloween has been the best yet.  Avery was super excited to head out and we had a grand time.  I think I was more tired than she was when we got home! I am kicking myself for not getting more pictures of the girls while we were out.  Oh well, it's all in my memory right?

Can't wait until next year!!

PS- I'm sure you are asking yourself "what's that bluish grey blotch on the wall?  that looks weird" It was a paint color we were testing. It's been veto'd.  We may never paint!

Ellie Abigail 10 months

Ellie Abigail,
I can't believe it's been 10 months already!  Where has the time gone? This past month has been our favorite by far.  You are quite the curious little thing and we can't get enough of you!  You love to crawl around (and you are so fast) and explore new areas!  We are on birthday count down and mommy is already in planning mode!  We love you baby girl and can't believe how fast you are growing!

At 10 months you:

• wear size 9 month & 12 month clothes and size 3 shoes.
• still only have those bottom teeth but we know those top 2 are going to be here any day! Mommy and daddy can feel them!
• get everyone with those amazing dimples.  We can't get enough of them!
• are crawling EVERYWHERE and girl, you are fast! You don't hang out long in one place!
• are pulling up on anything and everything.  You have started to cruise around the furniture but you know crawling is definitely faster!
• are clapping and think it's so funny. 
• love to drop your toys and say "uh oh".  We think it's adorable...the first couple of times.
• have started saying "mama" and still say "dada".  You will sometimes say "baba" for your bottle.

You....

• put everything in your mouth and it's a wonder you haven't choked on anything yet!
• still get about 4-5 bottles a day each about 6 oz. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
• are starting to sleep in for us.  You are usually in bed by 8 PM and get up between 7:30-8 AM.
• love to stand at the window and look outside.
• babble constantly.  Between you and your sister, there is never a quiet moment! I can't wait to hear what you have to say.

• are such a good eater.  You usually get cereal and baby food or yogurt for breakfast & lunch.  At dinner we have been giving you a modified version of what we eat that you can feed yourself.  You love to feed yourself.  You especially love grilled cheese, any kind of bean, chicken, tortilla with cheese, peaches and sweet potatoes.
• are really getting good at drinking from your sippy cup.
• are very ticklish. Very.

You...

• started Children's Day Out with big sister this month!  You are a Tiny Turtle and you are the youngest one in your class.  You haven't cried one time during drop off! You must really love Ms Natasha and Ms Daana!
• are trying to get used to 1 nap at school.  You have fallen asleep in your high chair a time or two.  You will usually come home from school and give mommy a big nap!
• got to go to your first pumpkin patch at school! 

• started sitting in a big girl car seat.  Rear facing still.  Sister thinks it's pretty cool that you are in a big seat! You are growing up!
• still sleep with a paci and lovey. 
• have discovered Broozer and Bella and think they are pretty cool.  You love to pet the doggies.
• are so good at waving at anyone and everyone.  Even the dogs. 
• have also started clicking your tongue.  It's so cute!
• have discovered the dishwasher and thinks it a great place to play.
• love to play in the pantry.  You can sit forever and find all kinds of things to do in there.  You especially like to open and close the pantry door.

• have discovered the magnets on the fridge and know just how to make the magnets sing.  You crawl right up and make the magnet start singing.  You are so smart!
• have started really getting some hair.  It has even started curling in the back and behind your ears.
• are really good at putting your paci in your mouth. 
• love your sister.  You are always so excited to see her when you have been apart!

Ellie Abigail,
We cannot believe how big you've gotten and how much you can do!  You are an amazing little girl and we know so much more is to come.  Mommy and Daddy can't believe God gave us you! We are blessed beyond measure with you and your sister!

Speaking of big sister..

I can't believe how big this one has gotten.  She is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.

Even when she combs her own hair, puts in her own clips and gives me a silly grin.

 

My heart is full with these 3.  

Thank you God for this amazing family! My cup runneth over.

Sisters

I think sisters have a special bond and it makes my heart happy.

And daddies have a special bond with their girls. And that makes my heart happy too.

Birthday Party Fun!

We had a birthday party for Avery on Saturday (the day before her actual birthday). Avery wanted to go with a Princess theme- imagine that.  I wanted to keep with the theme but I knew we were getting Avery a special birthday present so I didn't necessarily want to focus the party on Princess.  I think we found a good middle ground.

Because I waited until the last minute I ordered my invitations from an etsy shop.  She actually just designed the invitation and I had them printed at CVS as a photo.  Easy peasy.

I asked my dear, sweet friend John who is an actual photographer to take pictures for me at the party.  He so graciously agreed and I couldn't have been happier! If you need a photographer (or graphic designer) he's your guy! He's worth every penny!

 Beware: the following post has lots of pictures. And this is the narrowed down bunch!

The morning started with some pictures of Avery and the fam (I actually took these).

I can't believe the girl is 4!

Such sweet sisters!

I love this picture of Avery with her eyes closed.  She just loves her sister so much!

After the photo session the fun really started. The girls go to pick their own princess wand,

decorate their own princess crown,

and even had princess jewels including necklaces, bracelet, earrings, ring and even lip gloss.  All the Princess essentials.

The princesses looked divine!

I won't bore you with the details of the present opening but there were lots of gifts. 



But the best gift we had kept hidden for 2 days!

We have been wanting to get a playset for quite some time.  We wanted one that Avery could enjoy for the next few years and something Ellie would be able to enjoy as she got older as well.  We found the perfect set at Sam's.  We even went to Sam's a few times with Avery to look at it and Avery was dying to play on it.  She would talk about it when we came home and she called it a tree house.  We knew she would LOVE it for her birthday! We did get some help from both our parents and we are so appreciative.

We had the playset put together before her party.  The guy started on Thursday and finished up on Friday.  It wasn't too hard to keep her out of the yard, it was just hard not showing it to her. Ronnie and I were so excited.  But we made the big reveal at her party.

I think it was a hit!

She loved it!  As did all her other friends.

Avery wasn't too happy that I made her come blow out birthday candles and take a family picture right after we let her see her big present. But she cooperated for the most part.  In hindsight, that was pretty mean of me! 

Thats my girl!



I did made Avery's cake. It was a 4 layer white cake with each of the layers a graduated shade of pink (it's hard to tell in the pictures).

And while I was pleased with how it looked, I was not pleased with the texture.  It was way too dry!  That's what I get for trying a new recipe before testing it.  I'm sure no one left the party thinking it was a total failure but the the cake was my first cake fail!

The party was great and we are so thankful to everyone that came out.  Everyone had a great time and we couldn't have been more pleased with how it went!  The next party will be Ellie's 1 year party!  Luckily I have a few more months to recover from this one!

More adventures to come!