Happy Late Halloween!

I had every intention of getting these pictures downloaded last week. But after a trip to San Antonio with no camera battery charger or cord to connect to the computer (and two kids with a stomach bug), I couldn't get the pictures off of my camera until today.

We had such a fun Halloween week! It was busy, filled with fun activities and lots of friends.

My friend, Julie and I decided to take our kids to a pumpkin patch one day. It was supposed to be the greatest day for our kids, filled with wonderful memories of an amazingly fun outing. Just wishful thinking by two moms. It was such a cold day...and there were HUNDREDS of kids there! I mean, really! There were so many school buses there. We both had our babies in strollers, trying to keep them happy and warm, and were chasing after two toddlers who were excited about the pumpkins and animals. We got done and we were exhausted. The kids seemed to have fun, even though their moms were stressed out.

When the kids got their food for the animals, they spent most of their time doing this: pouring it from one cup to another. We kept trying to encourage them to actually feed the animals...but this seemed to be much more fun.

Picking out her pumpkin

This was sadly the best picture I could get of Anna Lee and J.D. together




Anna Lee had a fun Fall party at her school. We have loved her new school this year. Her teacher, Mrs. Carrie, is super sweet and great with all of the kids.

Making a ghost craft

Halloween night, we got everyone dressed up and met up with some friends and our neighbors to walk to a carnival they had in our neighborhood. We had a great time. They had a bounce house, games, cotton candy, a cake walk, face painting, etc. The kids seemed to have a really fun time together...and the adults did too!

I thought this picture was so funny. Don't they both look ready to have a great time?!? J.D.'s monkey feet make me laugh every time.

J.D. was awake for a few minutes at the beginning....

and then was fast asleep for a good bit of the evening.

Anna Lee had a blast. She jumped and jumped in the bounce house, and then enjoyed playing the games and getting her face painted...with a ladybug.

The babies enjoyed the carnival together from the stroller.

Off to Trick or Treat. Anna Lee had so much fun with that this year. It was the first year that she had really understood the concept that she could go to someone's door, say "Trick or Treat," and she would get candy in return. What a deal!

Notice the hand holding. They are too much. The costumes seemed to make them extra cute all together.

What a fun Halloween! Now time to get ready for Thanksgiving!

Trunk or Treat!

This past Sunday night, our church had Trunk or Treat. I always love this event. Everyone decorates their trunk with a theme (some of the favorites this year were the Polar Express, a school, a mad scientist lab, the Veggie Tales, etc.) and the kids get to go from trunk to trunk and get candy. It is so fun to see the kids in the cute costumes...and just as much fun to see all of the creative trunks people decorate. This year, Anna Lee dressed up as a ladybug and J.D. dressed up as a monkey. Anna Lee originally wanted to be a princess (surprise, surprise), but I was able to squeeze one more year of a non-princess costume out of her.
Anna Lee had even more fun this year, since she really understood the fact that she was going to get candy out of the deal. She was wired for a LONG time when she got home...there is NO telling how much candy she ate!

We decorated our trunk like a jungle this year, with a bunch of bananas around our little monkey. We passed the bananas out along with candy. J.D. did a great job sitting in the trunk, and was completely mesmerized by the bananas...and eventually the candy too.

We had so much fun with a bunch of our family getting to come on Sunday night. Kasey, GranDee and Pops, and Mom-Mom and Grandad were all able to be there with us. It made it even more fun!

But the happiest kid of all was this little one when we finally took his hot costume off. One can only be a cute monkey for so long.

More Halloween fun to come this week!

Growing Up...and Falling Down

J.D. learned to sit up this week! It makes me feel like he is so big! This is one of my favorite changes babies make because it makes them look and feel so much bigger and helps them have a new independence. J.D. has really enjoyed being upright this week, and has just sat and played with toys by himself so much.

But the increased muscle strength has been problematic too. Yesterday, I went to the utility room to do a load of laundry. I had buckled J.D. in the swing for him to take a nap (which is where he enjoys taking a lot of his naps). He was swinging along and then started crying. I let him cry for a couple of minutes while I finished up in the laundry room. Should have gone in sooner. When I came back in, J.D. wasn't in the swing. He had apparently sat himself up and then fallen out onto the floor, and his foot was still stuck up in the strap of the swing. I could NOT have felt worse!!! Poor little guy got lots and lots of hugs and kisses after that.

That mean ole' swing.

Halloween Preview

We got J.D.'s Halloween costume in the mail today and tried the hat on him. It made me laugh so hard! Can't wait until he gets to wear the whole thing!

Happy Little Guy

We got these great shots of J.D. when my dad was here last time. I just couldn't love a sweet little smile any more than that!

Flower Girl

There's nothing particularly special about this picture...I just like it. Anna Lee loves to pick flowers out of our front flower beds and put them in her hair or behind her ear. It is a regular activity. I grabbed a picture of her doing it the other day, and thought it was sweet.

Great Friends

Anna Lee's little friend Ryan came over to play today. Those two make me laugh so much! They love each other so much and play as hard as they can while they are together. Ryan is as boy as they come and Anna Lee is as girl as they come. The combination of the two of them is so funny! They have been two little tornadoes blowing through this house all morning. I love to see the two of them play together and to listen to and watch them work through things together.

This morning I went to take care of J.D. for just a few minutes. When I came back to Anna Lee's room, this is what I found...

chaos... and calm...

We loaded everybody up at lunch to go get Chick-fil-A and a movie from Blockbuster. It was a crazy shopping experience in the movie store. Before we left, I had gotten J.D. ready and told the kids to go get their shoes on and meet me at the door. This is how they met me. Can't have too many accessories!One of my favorite things about Ryan is his sweet mommy. We were good friends in college, and have had a blast watching our kids become good friends too. Ryan's baby sister, Chloe, is due to arrive any day now. We can't wait to meet her and love on her too!