Happy Halloween

Our Halloween evening began when Miss Lily awoke from her nap at 5. We quickly fed her dinner of chicken nuggets, spider pb sandwiches and apple sauce. As soon as she was done we started handing out candy to early trick or treaters which made Lily very excited to start her first real Halloween.

We got her dressed and started to distract her so I could draw a nose and whiskers on her face. Yep, didn't work so well. This is the little girl that doesn't like finger painting, stamps on her hand, stickers on her shirt so I don't know why I thought she'd let me draw on her face with black eyeliner :). I even drew whiskers on my face but it didn't make her feel any better. The only thing that stopped her from crying was wiping it off with a washcloth...oh well.

Before our friends arrived we went outside to try to get a few pics of Lily. She, in my opinion, is a very adorable kitty cat :).

Then our friends came and tried to get a few more pics to document the holiday. The first pic is of Lily and best bud Lorelei. And then the three moms decided to take a pic with our kids from left: Elizabeth and Lorelei, me and Lil, and Melissa with Kira and Chase. Thank goodness none of them were crying the only obstacle was figuring out what camera to look at :).

We left our house around 645/7 and ventured around the neighborhood. The kids had fun and got the hang of trick or treating by the end but still needed us for support as they went up door to door. It was wonderful being able to chat along the way with the grown ups too. Miss Lily kept Mike and I busy for most of the walk as she would run down the street. Luckily the streets were full of kids and not that many cars so we let her run...crossing our fingers for a smooth bedtime.

After we got inside and stripped Lily of her costume (it was so warm today, high of 80) we let her have some candy. It's her first real Halloween, why not? She enjoyed a couple of smarties and two whoppers before giving the rest to Maci, lucky dog :).

Halloween Preview

of Lily as a Kitty Cat!

Tomorrow she will be in full costume with a black nose and whiskers.

Lily LOVES....

...Halloween Oreos!!!

Presents

Lily received a package from Nana and Grampa. Lily loves her new pjs, Abby Cadabby Look and Find book, new super balloons and a Little People Bus :)!!

Thank you Nana and Grampa!

Pregnancy Update

We are now 16 weeks or 4 months pregnant and they have FLOWN by! I can't believe how fast the first trimester went and we are now a month away from finding out if we're having a boy or girl. This time around has definitely been easier and we are definitely more relaxed about everything. Some things going on with me recently are (good and bad) I've gained ten pounds but can still fit into most of my regular jeans but tops are another story...I've switched to the non-maternity looking ones, they're just more comfy. I've worn my bella band, just don't know if I can walk around with my pants technically unbuttoned. The pregnancy pillow has been taken out of storage and is waiting for me in the corner of our bedroom, it currently is used as a pseudo-trampoline by Miss Lily. I am pretty much off of caffeine minus the rare cup of coffee but have moved onto the instant flavored decaf coffees, yum! I am into veggies and dip, macintosh apples, vanilla pudding and a bowl of cereal before bed. We have yet to take a picture of my pregnant self because I just can't bring myself to do it or make Mike do it. Maybe I'll start at the 5 mth mark...we'll see. Oh..and currently am struggling with the entire H1N1 shot debate..to get it or not to get it?!? Any opinions or suggestions???

Mirror

Lily loves my floor mirror so much that I decided to move it to the playroom so she could access it all the time. Not sure if this is the smart thing to do: get my daughter hooked on looking at herself in the mirror, but I did it anyway. Ever since, Lily has had Mike and I cracking up. One evening after she was done with dinner and Mike and I were still in the kitchen we caught her at the mirror making faces at herself. Just learning if she moves her face it makes it look different. So funny, she would crinkle her nose then open her mouth real wide and then smile. It was definitely difficult to help from laughing but we did it. The picture above shows Lily one morning wanting to put one of my sleep shirts on that she loves and of course she had to run to the mirror to see how she looked. From the looks of her smile, she thinks she's pretty cool to have mama's shirt on :)

Family Sunday

We have started a new Sunday football tradition...homemade pizza! It tastes even better when the Steelers are on tv and winning!

After lunch Lily wanted to take a few pictures. We're so glad that she now knows how to smile for the camera, we were getting tired of the deer caught in headlights photos :).

Warm Saturday

This morning we went to a house warming party for one of Mike's coworkers. It was so pretty outside we had to take a few fall pictures, plus I just love Lily's little cordoroy skirt :)

After dinner Lily gets to watch Sesame Street. This is how we have been watching it while Dada does the dishes. Gotta love my cuddlebug! Hope this cuddle phase doesn't end too soon!

Lunchdate

This week we met at Elizabeth and Lorelei's house for lunch. We had a lot of fun playing and chatting as usual. Melissa was feeling under the weather so we didn't get to get together with her and Chase and Kira. Hope they feel better soon to get together next week.

Photo: not flattering for either one but had to show how they sat while they enjoyed watching Sesame Street YouTube videos together. Too cute until one or the other had to get down and then wanted back up...up and down..up and down..went our afternoon.

Trunk or Treat

This morning we headed to a local park to meet our Mom's group for their annual Trunk or Treat. A cute idea that seems to popular around Virginia Beach, trick or treating out of your parked car's trunk. All the kids were to dress up in their costume and since Lily's Kitty Cat Tail isn't done being made (yes, I'm slacking) she wore a Halloween outfit instead.

Here Lily is posing by our decorated trunk with our treats displayed. I got a shot of Lily holding her Elmo pail but it didn't last long. She doesn't really understand the whole concept just yet but definitely liked some of the treats.

As the kids were busy going trunk to trunk, sitting down while the moms talked, what did Lily do? She insisted on running to the playground...over and over again. How did I get her to stay with me?

Treats, marshmallows and donut holes from Dunkin Donuts :). Here Lil is with her three friends: Lorelei the pink poodle, Chase the firefighter and Kira the flower. They were all so cute that we can't wait til we get together for our little Halloween party and go door to door with them.

Not So Fun

So, I had to take a picture of our current problem. Well actually it's a problem we have every fall. The box elder bugs are back! They inhabit a tree in our side yard and overtake it as well as the front of our house. They went into hibernation during the cold spell we had a week or so ago but since it was back into the 70s and 80s they came back out to sunbathe :). The only thing that we found that takes care of them is dish soap and water...do you know how much dish soap we went through last fall?!? ha...we're thinking of an exterminator soon if the weather stays warm.

Ugh..another added expense that comes with owning a home, gotta love it!

Weekly Happenings

I need to apologize for falling off of the blog radar for a week. The camera just didn't seem to be in reach when I needed it therefore, no pictures=no posts. But here is a quick recap of things that I wished I had gotten on video or in pictures... Mama and Dada: Lily has said both for awhile but only when she wants to and didn't really understand what it meant to call our names. She could always identify us by pointing or going to us to get our attention but never by saying our names...until recently :). Lily began calling our names when she wanted us :). In the mornings when she got up, instead of crying she would call Mama, Mama! and the same thing after nap time. When Mike comes home from work she says Dada, Dada! Needless to say, I wish I had this on video already but the time will come. Doorknobs: Lily has known what doorknobs are used for, for as long as I can remember and has been able to reach them for at least 5-6 mths but this week it happened. She became strong enough to turn the knob just enough and pull to get door open. She is even strong enough to open our backdoor! How did I find this out?!? Oh, by realizing Lily let Maci in all by herself :). She opened the backdoor, unlocked the storm door and pushed it open enough to let the dog inside. Yep, we now lock the deadbolt on the front and backdoor so our little girl doesn't head out to explore without us :). Puzzles: This week Lily has fallen deeper in love with her puzzles. While she has her chocolate or strawberry milk after she wakes up we sit at her table and do a few puzzles. One afternoon she even dumped out two puzzles putting all the pieces into one pile. She mixed up the pile and then picked them up one at a time to put them back together, all the while looking at the two bases to see where it would go. And she did this all by herself, I watched in amazement while sitting on the couch!

So cold outside!

We had fun inside today. We all had fun playing with Lily's tent. She loves being inside and then have us look in at her through the mesh windows, she finds it hysterical!

Of course both Mike and I took turns trying to fit in there with her. But as you can see only one of us somewhat fit to take a picture :)

It was a wonderful Saturday! Minus the cleaning and cold, rainy weather.

Weekly Lunch Date

This morning we had another lunch date with our friends. Lily loves playing with her friends Lorelei, Kira and Chase and I of course love chatting with Elizabeth and Melissa. We are going to make this a weekly date and rotate houses which is wonderful since it's getting colder out and the same scenery every day gets boring.

Another selftimer photo :)

Time Out Mat

So I have to begin this post by stating that while I took this picture Lily was not in trouble and was not supposed to be sitting. I had her pose while she was being good so that I didn't have to take a picture of her while in trouble...but she is darn cute while she's sitting there hanging her head but picture taking during it is inappropriate, darn.

Ok...so first, this mat is heart shaped :) kinda ironic huh? Second, we started using this on Monday when we returned from our trip to MD. The main reason for this...she's testing us! Throwing toys when we tell her not to, see that I said "told" not "asked", she's very smart...I even had to start using the phrase, "Obey Mommy and Daddy" I know controversial but I believe there's a big difference between listening and doing, or obeying. Plus, in a year or so I can just hear her say to me...I did hear you! Ha..that's not what I need.

But the mat is working!! When she does something we don't approve of, we say "Lily, No. You don't throw food/toys/whatever. If you do it again, you're going to go sit on your mat all by yourself. Do you understand?" She'll nod her head yes and mostly won't do it again. But then there's always that time that she wants to test us and she does it again. And we make her march down that hall to sit on her mat. She'll walk there herself and sit. She'll look at us and smile and we'll tell her why she's there and that's when she hangs her head.

So, so far so good. I'm extremely proud of Lily for doing this and I'm extremely proud of Mike and I for being consistent and following through. Man, it's so hard to punish a little girl who just looks at you and smiles. It breaks our hearts, but we're hoping this will make the years to come that much easier.

Hunt Club Farm

This morning Lily and I joined the Mom's Group at Hunt Club Farm. We went on a hayride and went into the petting farm area. Lily loved looking at all of the animals including chasing the poor turkeys all over the place. Finally they were scared of a little person instead of us running away from them! She saw little piglets, huge pot bellied pigs, llamas that chased the lambs around, lots of chickens and roosters, bunny rabbits, donkeys (that stuck their nose through the fence so she could pet them) and baby goats that I made her stay away from.

Lily, Lorelei and Kira Lily and Lorelei

Lily and Lorelei on the tire swing Lily and Kira on the hay

After the petting farm area the entire group made their way to the "pumpkin patch", actually pumpkins just on the ground but they could choose one to take home. This is when we decided a group photo would be wonderful. As you can see getting 10 kids to sit and look one direction is near impossible. At the end of our visit at the farm Lily got to go on her very first pony ride on a miniature horse named Bucket. At first, Lily cried but as soon as we started to walk around the "pumpkin patch" she was smiling, laughing and hugging Bucket. So much fun! But...Bucket did have to stop TWICE to do his "business", oh what horse doesn't stop while you're on a ride to do his thing :). What a great end to a great, fun morning!